novelDon't come to the hunting contest in the forest (15)
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Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Don't come to the hunting contest in the forest (15)
After looking straight into her eyes for a while, Lard nodded as if he gave it a pass.
He couldn't easily believe that the arrow Wendy shot killed the giant bear, but it was too clear to deny the fact. He thought that the arrow shot by Wendy could not have a greater lethal power than the arrows of the imperial knights, so she must have turned to different means.
Lard, recalling what he witnessed at the Rajabude Museum and Jerus Hall, felt that it was best to just believe what she said. The fact that she killed a huge bear could bring about more trouble for her if it was widely known.
With a little sigh he patted Jean's shoulders and said, "You have done a great job today."
Jean, opened his mouth silly, looked at his boss as if he couldn't understand, but he was gazing at Jean calmly, as usual. Although he seemed to show no emotion, Jean, based on his long experience dealing with him, knew what he was thinking about. His sparkling eyes suggested Jean should know his place and act properly, otherwise he would be given a good scolding later.
Jean scratched the back of his head as if he was put on the spot.
Melissa folded her two trembling hands and spoke with a touched voice, "Sir Simuan. Thank you so much for saving my life."
Watching tears coming from her eyes, Jean once again scratched the back of his head. As the servant who ran away came back and watched them from afar, Jean had to be more careful. For the servant, quick-witted and smart, had been watching them and could figure out what Wendy intended. He thought as she caught a big bear, it was certain that she would win the contest, but she didn't want it.
As he was the third son of the Simuan family, he had no right to succeed the family, so he might be interested in the baron title, the winning prize of the hunting competition. But no matter how much he wanted the title, he knew it was a shame to claim her credit for his own benefits.
Jean sighed with an uncomfortable expression and spoke to Melissa in an awkward tone.
"Melissa, you must be surprised a lot? How do you feel now?"
"Well, I'm fine."
Though she said she was okay, Melissa kept shivering. As she went through the crisis of being killed by a bear, in addition to her cold, it was natural that she didn't feel okay. Jean had no choice but to approach Melissa and reach out to her to help her get off the horse. He intended to have her share his horse.
Meanwhile, Wendy did not feel very well although her plan worked out as she intended because of Snowyko's strange behavior. Snowyko began to shake again and neigh. Even if Wendy shouted with a stern voice, Snowyko didn't care, neighing violently.
Watching the unusual scene, Lard approached Wedny to help her out.
Snowyko cried loudly, raising her forefeet high. Wendy almost fell from her back because of the abrupt movement. She hastily caught her breath and appeased her, shouting "Whoa, whoa!", but it became more violent and began to run wildly. Because it was galloping at full speed, she had no choice but to hold the reins tightly, closing her dry lips. With a little mistake she would have been thrown into the mud like the giant bear.
Lard hastily mounted Balos, shouting, "Giddy-up!"
Whipping the horse, he chased her. His stiff chin hardened as he drew the horse, watching Wendy's back, she seemed to be precarious in her saddle.
"Ugh!"
Wendy moaned in pain. Her moan was quickly buried by Snowyko's loud hooves through the forest, but Lard could guess even from a distance that she was in trouble. As she struggled to balance herself on the saddle with all her might, Snowyko's galloping was as harsh as that of an angry wild horse.
"Ouch, Snowyko! Calm down!"
She tried to control Snowyko by tightening its reins hard, but it was too tough for her to handle.
"Ahh!"
She screamed at the thick branches right before her face. Hastily bending down to avoid the branches, she grabbed the reins tighter. Running on a horse through the dense forest could endanger her life. She clenched her jaw once again. It was best for her to balance herself while bending down as much as she could.
Snowyko, the white mare, looked crazy. It was far from meek, though Lard said it was. When Wendy moved a little on its back, Snowyko shook her head and flipped her ears back as if it was in pain.
Seeing Snowyko shaking violently at the slightest touch, Wendy finally realized that there was something wrong with the horse. This was even more dreadful than the appearance of the violent bear because her life was at stake.
In the meantime, Wendy was worried about Snowyko's pain. Shetrembled painfully, sweating profusely. Her eyes glowed like a mad animal's as she breathed roughly. Wendy thought that Snowyko had been given something, looking at white saliva drooling down its mouth.
'Maybe that guy did something to Snowyko?'
She recalled that stranger pacing near Snowyko right before the hunting started. She regretted belatedly that she didn't pay more attention to the guy right after he left. Lard once again double checked her and his baggage after they left, but the problem wasn't the baggage or equipment. If the stranger was responsible for Snowyko's erratic behavior, he must have done something terrible to Snowyko.
"Wendy!"
She came to her senses when Lard shouted at her in a thunderous voice. A huge pit in front of her caught her eye. She quickly turned Snowyko's reins in the other direction, but it just ran straight ahead as if it didn't want to follow her order.
When she got close to Snowyko's saddle, anticipating its big jump, it jumped violently over the pit ahead.
"Oops!"
The moment Snowyko landed on the ground, she once again groaned loudly. Snowyko's jumping was much better than she thought. Otherwise, they would have been stuck in the pit. She had to calm her pounding heart.
She could guess that Lard was following her now when she heard the sound of a horse clattering from behind. Snowyko kept running as if it would never stop until it was exhausted.
'Damn it!' Wendy cursed, blaming herself as she was helpless in that situation.
She had already driven Snowyko for a very long time. At first glance, the forest around her was noticeably different. She saw unfamiliar plants and trees that she had seen so far, which suggested that she entered the deep forest.
"Look ahead!" Lard screamed and his voice echoed through the forest. Her heart sank when she saw the steep cliff ahead.
There was no more forest as if it was cut off like a knife. The red soil and rough, exposed roots everywhere were clear warning signs that she should not come into this place. If she ignored the warning and continued to run, she would not be able to leave the forest alive.
Wendy pulled Snowyko's reins with all her strength. She couldn't afford to worry about its pain because the cliff was right ahead of them.
Wendy shrieked, "Stop!"
At that moment Snowyko miraculously stopped with a big whinny. It was not because she pulled the reins hard but because Snowyko instinctively feared the steep cliff ahead.
Snowyko lifted her legs high, cried loudly, and began to turn round on the spot like crazy.
As if the drug was fully in her system, Snowyko's mouth was full of white bubbles. In the end, she lost her balance and was thrown to the ground.
"Wendy!" Lard shouted.
She felt her body suddenly rising in the air. The air of the forest, filled with the smell of wet grass filled her nose.
She was struggling to survive a moment ago, but she was now lost in strange thoughts.
Time seemed to pass very slowly. If time stopped like this, she wished she could stay stuffed in the air of the forest. Then, she could forget everything and feel comfortable.
She thought her past life wasn't so bad and accepted everything that had happened to her. The moment she began to toy with that thought, she rebelled against it and changed her mind. She felt she couldn't fool herself.
Her life had been terribly bitter. Except for the last two years, she had never felt happy. But could she confess she was really happy during those two years? She could not answer easily. She felt that her endless questions like this only disturbed her mind.
While being thrown headlong to the ground, she watched several scenes passing by.
She saw a towering tree and a blue sky hanging from its end.
'Oh, the cloud has already disappeared far away!' The sun, which dried the cold rain drops on her face, looked soft and tender like a newly bloomed flower.
'Why did I live without knowing that clear sky?'
Obviously the color of the sky was blue from the beginning, but she lived without noticing it until now.
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