Chapter 50: Chapter 50

Doris waved her hands dismissively.

“I can walk back on my own! Besides, if my sister sees me coming back with someone who isn’t even one of our family’s servants, she’ll definitely get the wrong idea.”

“I figured Natalie wouldn’t mind since we’ve met before. But if that’s a concern, I won’t insist. May I at least accompany you to the camp entrance?”

“Well… okay, just to the entrance.”

Without much hesitation, Doris nodded.

Rick beamed, saying, “An excellent choice!” as he took his place beside her. With that, Doris’s silhouette was completely hidden behind his tall frame.

Tristan ground his teeth.

‘What is Rick Ray doing here?’

The workers’ camp was on the opposite side. There was no logical reason for him to “coincidentally” end up here unless he had a specific purpose.

‘Don’t tell me… he knew Doris would be here and came intentionally?’

It sounded absurd, but Tristan couldn’t think of any other explanation. His thoughts felt sluggish, like his mind had turned to mush.

Meanwhile, the two of them grew further and further away until they were completely out of sight.

Whether Rick truly left Doris at the entrance or walked her all the way to her tent was unknown.

The only thing Tristan wanted to know now was one thing.

Doris Redfield.

Was she laughing happily as she talked to Rick?

‘Doris. I…’

And finally, an answer to her earlier question came to mind…

***

I thought I’d be able to fall asleep the moment I got back to my tent.

‘I’m so tired I could die…’

But thanks to my irritation with Tristan, sleep wouldn’t come easily.

I tossed and turned until the early hours of the morning before finally drifting off—only to have another ridiculous dream.

In it, Tristan threw a net at his feet and said, “Hurry up and get caught. I’m too lazy to approach you.”

Show some effort, you jerk!

Dream-me seemed determined to grab the net and throw it back at him.

As a result, I woke up drenched in sweat, feeling utterly frustrated.

As I panted angrily, my maid approached the bed.

“Good morning, Lady Doris. Shall I prepare your washing basin… or would you like to sleep a little longer?”

“Do I look that tired?”

“It seems like you’ve spent the night participating in the hunting tournament yourself.”

Sharp observation.

But sleeping more wouldn’t guarantee good dreams, so I shook my head and got up.

Father was still too hungover to get out of bed. A relief, honestly—I was worried he might break an ankle running around pretending to hunt foxes today.

Meanwhile, Natalie was busy checking the gifts that had arrived early in the morning. She sure is popular.

Most of the gifts were registered game from the tournament, but the small bouquets here and there caught my attention. I didn’t recognize a single one of the flowers, most of which were tiny wildflowers no larger than a fingernail.

“Sis, what’s with these little bouquets?”

“They’re from men who didn’t bother preparing a proper bouquet ahead of time. They’re going for the ‘I’m a pure-hearted guy who picks wildflowers’ vibe.”

“Ah…”

“Truly pure-hearted guys wouldn’t even think of doing this. Unprepared men are always the ones trying to act clever.”

“…”

I felt a guilty pang in my conscience.

Because, yeah, I’m the person who thought a letter would make up for not having a decent gift for my fiancé.

Ugh, how should I rewrite that letter?

‘If I write it in this mood, it won’t turn out well.’

Maybe I should just forget the whole thing. We practically fought last night, so Tristan probably wouldn’t expect a letter from me anyway!

“Doris, what are you brooding over?”

“Nothing!”

“Liar.”

“I mean it!”

I insisted stubbornly. No way Natalie could read my mind!

But she managed to bring up a new concern I hadn’t even considered.

“By the way, didn’t you say you haven’t received any game yet?”

Bullseye.

A new problem was created in an instant.

“…No, I haven’t.”

“Seriously? What on earth has Tristan been doing?”

“He’s been busy with work. He’s been repairing the roads damaged by the rain.”

“He could’ve spared a moment for his fiancée! Are you sure he’ll give you anything by the end of today?”

Definitely not.

We had an argument last night, remember?

“Well, today’s the closing ceremony, so I imagine he’ll be busy again.”

“Tristan catches at least five animals every year at this tournament. And yet this year, when his fiancée is here, he’s empty-handed? Suspicious. Makes it seem like he doesn’t want to give you anything.”

“He really was busy this year. I don’t think it was intentional.”@@novelbin@@

“Goodness, you’re way too kind. What are we going to do? Mother’s going to chew you out, you know. Frankly, I’d rather chew out Tristan myself!”

This seemed like the most pressing issue for Natalie.

Even during breakfast, she mulled it over, and by the end of the meal, she had a solution.

“Let’s get someone else to give you a gift. I’ll convince the men bringing me gifts to hand them over to you instead.”

“Who’s going to give gifts to an engaged woman? That’ll just spark weird rumors.”

“Then we’ll cover it with an even bigger rumor. Let’s see, what kind of rumor should we spread…”

“Calm down!”

Knowing my sister, she might actually follow through with such a plan!

By the time we finished eating and getting ready for the day, Father had also woken up. Though in his hungover state, he resembled a zombie more than a human.

“Those foxessss, they… extended their lives… urp.”

Honestly, the one extending his life is you, Father. If you’d gone out hunting, you’d probably have slipped and broken something again.

Leaving Natalie to sort her gifts and Father to wallow in his misery, I stepped out of the tent.

The hunting tournament was set to end at noon, and the campsite was buzzing with activity.

Some people were already packing up their belongings, while others were preparing their gear for one last hunt.

A middle-aged nobleman clicked his tongue as he passed by.

“Hunting on the second day is dangerous. The gentle animals have retreated far away, and only the fierce ones remain near the campsite.”

Oh well. Looks like I’ll be leaving empty-handed.

Having accepted this, I actually felt more at ease.

At the end of the path, I ran into Maria, who was out for a stroll.

“Oh, Doris! Did you sleep well? I’m so happy to see you this morning!”

“Same here, Maria.”

Maria genuinely looked delighted.

But I knew the source of her happiness wasn’t entirely friendship.

After exchanging pleasantries, I cut straight to the point.

“Maria. I heard you had a good time with ‘someone’ last night?”

“Ah, w-well…”

Maria blushed.

“I gave Lord Arthur a gift. My hands were shaking so much, I thought he’d reject it, but then his hands were shaking just as badly when he accepted it.”

“Wow, you two must have been on the same wavelength.”

“Yes! Realizing that made my heart swell. Even without saying it, we knew we shared the same feelings.”

Maria’s bright smile was captivating.

Most people compare a beauty’s smile to a flower, but Maria’s looked more like a sturdy elm tree, deeply rooted and unshakable.

“Of course, that was all for last night. We haven’t progressed to anything official… but I feel less uncertain than before. Thank you, Doris.”

“Thank me?”

“You encouraged me yesterday, remember? You gave me the courage to offer him the handkerchief.”

“Ah.”

“Thanks to you, I was able to take a step forward. I’ll be counting on you in the future, Doris!”

We exchanged smiles.

Well, this is great. Important events are still unfolding similarly to the original plot.

The conversation naturally shifted to the hunting tournament.

In the original story, Maria hadn’t received any significant game. But this time, our male lead, Arthur Albion, had gone all out to offer her his spoils.

Maria asked hesitantly, “Doris, what do you do with the game you receive?”

“We take it home, have the servants prepare it, and use the leather and meat separately.”

Even after hearing my answer, Maria still looked troubled. I guessed the reason and asked her directly.

“Are you worried your uncle will be upset?”

“Yes… He told me to find a suitable man.”

“What’s done is done. Why not suggest donating the leather in your uncle’s name when the game is prepared? It’ll raise his reputation, and he might be pleased.”

“Oh…! That’s a great idea, Doris!”

I was briefly pleased to have helped Maria, but then she asked an innocent question that hit me like a hammer.

“What kind of animal did you get?”

“….”

Her assumption that I must have received something was so pure it hurt.

“Um… nothing.”

“Really? I’m sorry!”

“Wait, seriously?”

A familiar voice interrupted us.

It was Rick Ray.

Dressed like a hunter from a painting, his casual attire complemented his brown hair perfectly.

He spoke with a mischievous grin.

“I was under the impression you had a wonderful fiancé. Did I get that wrong?”

“You know how busy he’s been. He didn’t have time.”

“True, but even I managed to catch something despite being busy.”

Rick held up a rabbit. It was large and plump, almost as big as a Welsh corgi.

It looked a bit pitiful, but hold on! There’s a bigger issue here!

“Rick! Are you crazy? This is the royal hunting ground!”

You’re not even a participant, and poaching in a noble-owned forest is a serious crime!

Rick shrugged casually.

“I was helping as a beater for the nobles and got this as payment. The guards turned a blind eye to something this small.”

“Oh…”

“Would you like it? It’s just a bonus catch, so it can’t be formally registered as tournament spoils, but it might stop your family from scolding you for coming back empty-handed.”

“Rick! That’s so rude!” Maria protested in horror.

But the truth stung, and I couldn’t muster a scolding. Instead, I let out a faint laugh.

Should I take it or not?

As I hesitated, a voice called out from behind me.

“Doris Redfield.”

My instincts wanted to be glad, but my logic screamed, You shouldn’t be.

The owner of the voice was…

“Prince Tristan.”