novelDon't come to the hunting contest in the forest (3)
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Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Don't come to the hunting contest in the forest (3)
Sweeping back his golden hair, he spoke with a sad look. The boy listened to him as he stroked his hair with his hand gently.
"You're really cool, knight. It looks like you are going to feel thrilled every day!"
"Well, not necessarily. Maintaining equanimity is also very important to knights because their moods are reflected when they wield the swords. Accordingly, it's very important for the knight to be wary of indulgence. It is not suitable for a knight to be swayed by emotions, " he replied calmly.
Wendy was listening to him with interest while chewing ice.
"Are you and my sister here lovers, right? I think you are because you have personally come here to see her!" Benfork said.
The moment Benfork said that, she almost spit out the ice. It seemed that many around her were determined to characterize her as someone's lover. She really wanted to spit out some fowl words but barely put up with it.
"Oh no! How can I be disloyal to my boss? I'm not such a brazen man, folks. Miss Wendy, don't get me wrong!"
Although it was not disloyal to his boss even if he dated Wendy, he took pains to deny it repeatedly, overreacting to Benfork's innuendo, but the fact that the boys narrowed their eyes slightly and whispered among themselves meant that they did not believe him at all.
"Knight, you're really cool. Wow, look at that calluses on your hand! Oh, I have some calluses on my hand, too. See, look here. All over my hands."
"Hey, you didn't get them while wielding a sword. You told me the other day that you got that callus after pulling on the oars when you went sailing with Sara, man! Don't tell a lie."
Carnewin immediately found fault with Benfork's lies.
"If you don't know, shut up. That was this hand, not this one with calluses!"
"Dang it! Put your hands away. It smells like shit. I smell that fertilizer on your hand."
"What did you say, you bastard? I smell the same thing on your hands!"
As their voices rose, Jean quickly interrupted them. As an imperial knight Jean Jacques Simuan was a guardian of peace.
"Hey, guys, stop it! Why are you angry at each other? I clearly told you than it wasn't wise to angry, didn't I? The proper attitude of a knight is to stay calm. You should keep that in mind if you want to be a knight."
When he said that, the boys became quiet at once. He swept his hair back once again, trying to calm them down.
When they went back to the flower garden after the meal, Jean and Wendy had an unscheduled teatime. Actually, he cast a glance at the messy plates on the table as if he wanted to help her clean them up as an imperial knight.
"Do you have anything more to say?" she asked, handing him a teacup.
"Well... I'm just trying to make friends with you because you're close to my boss."
It was a strange logic. It wasn't true that she was close to his boss. Even if it was true, he didn't need to make friends with her. At least, that's what she thought.
After that, he talked gibberish. By the time he had his say, he brought up a topic that she could find useful. In fact, she was pondering over how to drive him out at the moment.
"There will be an imperial hunting tournament soon, but it seems that the crown prince is preparing something terrible. There are rumors that he will have all the women also ride horses for the hunting contest."
"... Women are going to participate in the contest?"
"That's right. I don't know whether such rumors are true or not yet."
According to him, the imperial Burgundy hunting competition has been well received by the young nobles of the capital, thanks to the Burgundy tradition in which they donate the game to women.
When women see men off at the entrance of the forest, they made a team to hunt and donates hunted game to the women. The order of donating is determined by the size and number of hunted game. When the winner of the hunting contest first gives game to the woman he chooses, that woman gets more attention than anybody on the day and becomes the hero of the competition with the man.
For this reason, the number of young nobles who confessed their love to women or solidified their love through the Burgundy hunting competitions increased.
However, if the rumors circulating now were true, the tradition of the Burgundy hunting competition would be broken, and the romance of the young nobles would be destined to shatter. As a result, such rumors would be shocking news to these young nobles who had been waiting for this day earnestly.
"It's a primitive way. So, the strong male who hunts well take his favorite female, right?"
"What did you say a moment ago, Wendy? Did you say male? "He asked, with his hands sweating. Obviously, words like male or female as compared to animals were unfamiliar to a pure imperial knight like Jean. He looked embarrassed at her straightforward remarks.
"Does the woman have any right to veto? Even if someone wins the contest, the woman he has in mind might not like it if he recklessly rushes to her with hunted game."
"Well, veto? I have no idea. There has never been such a case in the hunting competitions until now..."
"Hmmm... that's a very irrational...Besides, the crown prince wants to proceed with the competition based on the rules that he chooses, right?"
"Yes, theee are only rumors, and they are not confirmed yet."
Wendy rather hoped that the rumors were true.
She had no desire to participate in the love game of nobles. Above all, it went against her grain to chat with noble women while waiting for the men who went out for hunting.
And there was no chance that the arrogant noble women would mingle with a commoner like her. If she had to go there at the crown prince's invitation anyway, she would choose a more comfortable situation.
And if any of the women related to Hazlet recognized her face, that would be a most embarrassing and terrible thing for her. In that respect, the prince's idea was welcome for her.
After he was lost in thought for a while, he spoke with a serious expression while stroking his chin, "Oh, I like your description of the game. I have heard lots of ladies praising the Burgundy hunting contest as the crystal of romance, but it's the first time that I heard it described as primitive or irrational. You're looking at the contest from a different angle. Now that you mention it, I think your comment makes sense."
She shrugged her shoulders, as he now looked in good mood.
"So, are you also participating in the hunting contest?"
"Of course! I couldn't because I was on duty on the hunting day last year, but I think I can this year, fortunately."
It seemed that he also had the romantic dream of finding a woman that he liked during the Burgonu hunting competition. Given that he blushed a bit, he was obviously delusional with that vain idea. He might already have been imagining the romance of the century by choosing the woman that he wanted after winning the hunting contest.
She was drinking tea, thinking that the knight's blonde hair and light green eyes were glistening like a woman's.
"Sister! We were done spreading all the fertilizer! Can we go back home now?"
Breaking the silence of the flower shop, Benfork rushed in and yelled at her, reporting that their mission was accomplished. His face stained with dirt showed he eagerly wanted to go hack home.
"Did you spread it in the back of the rose garden?"
"No, because we had no more fertilizer..." Suddenly his voice shrank to half the size.
"Okay, go back today. Can you come back in two days? I will order some more fertilizer."
"Hey, you want us to come again?"
"Of course. Didn't you all promise to do whatever I wanted, right? I want you to finish spreading all the fertilizer in the garden."
"Oh my god! You are so mean! Okay, I don't want to waste my breath arguing with you.
Let me go and tell the boys about what you want."
Benfork, who was about to go back to the garden with a sullen face, suddenly stopped to see the imperial knight and stomped his feet repeatedly.
"Oh, knight! We'll be back here in two days. Can't you come over that day? Let me bring a wooden sword. Can you check my posture? Please?"
Benfork was throwing a tantrum, hanging on to his arms. She frowned at this big boy playing the baby.
"Well, let me double check my work schedule on that day, " he said, smiling awkwardly as if he were in a difficult position.
"If you are not on duty that day, will you come?"
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