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No matter how vast the Actilus Empire was, there was no end to the speed at which rumors spread. Although it was not an official announcement, the story about the hunting festival was already spread throughout the aristocratic society.
The date was the summer solstice.
The place was a newly created hunting ground.
The preys were the Jacques' mother and son, and the hunters were the Emperor, Empress, and Sylvia Jacques.
If it spreads like this, it would be cute.
The fact that I (embarrassingly) collapsed while walking around the gym and received the Emperor's nursing care, and that the Emperor waited for me for two hours today. Even the fact that he then trained me for an hour by demonstrating superhuman patience… And, that I received a bow from the Emperor in the process…
There was nothing the Capital's aristocrats did not know.
I gave strength to my eyes and stared at the maids one by one.
Their sources of information must be these women.
'Haa…'
I was going to scold them for being so light-mouthed, but…
It was not right for me to be angry because the Empress's maids were also meant for that. They hid the bad internal affairs, though secretly bragged about the stories of the Emperor and his wife that looked good.
The act itself is strengthening my position little by little.
If it was conventional wisdom, should they not deserve to be commended?
Although it was a little burdensome for the social world to focus on me, whose ultimate goal was to escape the Actilus Empire. But, at least for now, I needed to give the impression that I was on good terms with the Emperor to prevent the appearance of the second esteemed mother of Marquis Jacques.
There was no need to shy away from the image of being carried on the Emperor's back.
Of course, once I get that image, I have to be more careful than I am now.
"Everyone, please be careful."
I lightly scolded the maids.
To be honest, I am on the dull side, so I may not have realized it when the rumors spread. However, now, I could not help but feel it… It was because there were mountains of gifts that arrived in my bedroom.
"It's likely that Your Majesty will continue to receive as much as this for several days."
The Duchess of Nerma smiled kindly before continuing, "Because it takes several days for the word to reach the provinces."
"Hahaha."
I forced a laugh.
Let's not create discomfort. I am a princess, so this amount of gifts was nothing.
Jewelry was the most common gift. After all, they could not send shoes and dresses without knowing my size. The rarest thing was magical artifacts. Upon opening the enclosed card, I saw that it had been sent by the Duke of Nerma.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Nerma laughed as if she knew nothing.
Ohuu—she is a fox.
The contents of the cards that were splendidly decorated to imprint the name of the family on me were one-of-a-kind.
'Looking forward to hunting.'
I am going crazy.
They should not count on it. Was my skill not spread through rumors…?
Even after Raniero left the gym, my muscles drooped after exercising alone. How much could I improve in a month?
I pushed aside the gift and the people's expectations.
"By the way, when'll the hunting ground be established?"
Cisen replied.
"They say it'll be over soon. Your Majesty should be able to visit it in three days or so?"
I nodded my head at her words.
No matter how much I crammed for a month, it would be difficult to win a fair match with Jacques' mother and son, even if I developed physical strength, visual acuity, and muscle strength. The overwhelming gap must be widened unconditionally in terms of information that certainly could give me an edge.
I had the Duchess of Nerma wield a dagger while I aggressively chewed the chicken breast salad I requested for a snack.
While paying attention to the body trajectory that Raniero had taught me earlier, I look forward to being able to read the destination.
Of course, nothing so wonderful happened.
"When I look at you…"
The dark blue-edged dagger fell helplessly to the floor.
…How many times have I died from this? Thousand times? Two thousand times—?
"I feel skeptical about the brains of human beings."
Raniero's arms wrapped around my waist as if to crush it.
To borrow his words, it meant that there was no improvement with my dull body and head even after several days.
No matter how much I heard Raniero's words nagging me, I unconditionally lay flat and believed his claim that fermented soybean lump can be made from red beans*, though the rebelliousness began to grow in my heart, which was determined to agree fiercely.
[ T/N: It's an idiom, which means 'to blindly believe what someone says.' ]
'Your Majesty, who is telling me that I am not improving, does not seem to have much ability to teach as well!'
"…Should I develop my running skills? So that I can run away well."
"Well."
[ T/N: In this chapter, Raniero says 'well,' a couple of times, although the meaning is more sarcastic since the word he used was "잘도." ]
Snorting, Raniero then kicked a dagger into the air with the tip of his toes.
Hiik.
I did not dare to catch it.
At my reaction, he dropped the dagger and gave me a faint laugh as I quickly picked it up.
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