I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 143
143 Hunting
The party continued late into the night. Some men and women disappeared into the darkened gardens or prepared rooms, while most attendees returned to their assigned accommodations.
The children had been sent back to their respective buildings before sunset.
Dorothy was no exception.
While the children of other nobles were accompanied by nannies or governesses, Dorothy had no such person. For the time being, Daniel was acting as her nanny. That had been the plan.
Unexpectedly, however, that role did not fall to Daniel. The horned rabbit and the unicorn were acting as if they were the ones babysitting the child.
Daniel didn’t know exactly what a Santa-grade adventurer was.
He simply knew them to be top-tier adventurers who possessed mysterious magic beasts. Incredible adventurers, second only to the Heroes sent by the Gods.
‘Well, honestly, I suppose everyone thinks that way.’
But perhaps it was different. Those magic beasts went beyond the category of mere creatures with mysterious powers.
Daniel shuddered slightly, recalling how that tiny baby horned rabbit had bent every single fork and knife. It looked cute, but it was a monster.
A horned rabbit with power he had never seen before, and a unicorn that acted like a human.
Then there was Juhwan, who wielded several types of magic with ease.
Being a Santa-grade adventurer might be something far more formidable than he had imagined.
‘But that’s not the problem right now. Sigh, I’m exhausted.’
Daniel grabbed his stiff neck and rolled his head back and forth.
Juhwan and Riji had already gone to bed. But a servant’s time had not yet come. Tomorrow, they would move to the hunting grounds behind the castle.
It was time to prepare for that. The real work of a servant was just beginning.
‘Haa.’
He straightened the clothes Juhwan had worn today and reclassified the jewelry and accessories.
Items already used were not reused in the same way. They were reconfigured into new sets so that others wouldn’t realize they had been seen before.
No matter how wealthy a noble was, they couldn’t afford to deck themselves out in brand-new jewels and accessories for every single party or hunting season. To some extent, they had to reuse what they had. The mark of true skill was arranging and combining them so cleverly that no one else noticed.
After packing the selected jewels and decorations, Daniel picked up the guest list he had secured in advance.
At a party, men and women stayed in the same place, but once they moved to the hunting grounds, the men would be completely separated from where the women gathered. However, since not all men participated in the hunt, there were countless things to be careful about.
The family crest given to Juhwan and Riji by the Border Count was a powerful ally. But even that wasn’t perfect. The Border Count’s crest only protected them from overt malice and forced measures. It didn’t block the petty spite that teetered on the edge of social norms.
Harassment or mockery that fell just within the bounds of what was permissible could easily occur.
One especially had to watch out for the hooligans who got drunk to the point of stupor, caught up in the atmosphere of the hunt. There were always those types who caused trouble in such places. Daniel frowned as he spotted a few of those names on the list.
With a click, Angelica entered. It seemed she had come to prepare the lady for tomorrow.
“How was it?”
Angelica asked, lightly bumping her fist against Daniel’s back. Daniel shrugged his shoulders slightly.
“The Duke’s grandson became friends with Dorothy. I’m sure it wasn’t what the Duke intended, but it felt a bit strange.”
“Heh, that stubborn young master? That’s unexpected. I thought he wouldn’t even speak to commoners.”
Daniel chuckled, thinking of the Duke’s grandson, whose face had been beet red.
“Maybe it was refreshing for him? Everyone else just says ‘yes, yes’ in front of him. Dorothy didn’t care that he was the grandson of a Duke; she’d get angry at him or tell him to his face that he’s pretty.”
“Without being intimidated?”
“Yeah, that kid is a bit unusual. It’s like she doesn’t understand social hierarchy. Even at her age, she should feel something living among commoners, but she doesn’t. Plus, she’s strangely bright.”
“Hmm, maybe it’s because of the Master’s attitude? Like Grandmother said, he’s strange. He’s different from the people I’ve seen.”
“Ah, I thought so too. How was it on the women’s side?”
At Daniel’s question, Angelica shrugged.
“Typical. Two women tried to step on her dress, one tried to spill a drink on her, and three or four tried to steer the conversation to embarrass her.”
“That sounds more peaceful than I expected.”
“Well, Lady Leonard and Lady Pursell’s guard was incredibly tight. The moment a conversation started going south, they blocked it immediately. Oh, and there was a man trying to subtly seduce her. Some low-life without a title.”
Angelica slumped her shoulders as if tired.
“Well, there are fools everywhere.”
Angelica smiled at Daniel’s remark.
“Oh, there’s something to be careful about.”
Daniel looked at Angelica’s face. She caught the look and straightened her posture immediately.
“The Duke’s grandson said something strange. He said the Hero wants to marry Lord Juhwan.”
“Is that true?”
“That’s what the young master was saying. Surely she didn’t tell him directly; he must have overheard it somewhere.”
Angelica’s pretty face contorted. Daniel wondered if he was making the same expression.
“That’s troublesome.”
“It is. I checked the list again, and the Duke was originally scheduled to attend both today’s party and the hunt.”
“Ah!”
Angelica’s eyes widened.
The Duke had only sent his son and his son’s wife to the party. He hadn’t attended himself.
He likely offered some excuse for his absence to the Border Count through his son. But if the Duke himself showed up at the hunting grounds…
“His partner might not be his wife.”
At Angelica’s words, Daniel sighed.
“Exactly. Maybe he intended from the start to bring another woman on the pretext that his wife was ill. That’s why he sent his son in his place on the first day—to show everyone that the Duchess was too unwell to attend the party.”
“Wow, don’t tell me the Hero is coming.”
“Maybe… This has become a headache.”
“Seriously. Sigh.”
Daniel and Angelica bumped their foreheads together.
Unlike ordinary nobles, the Hero was not bound by the rules of this world.
If something happened between the Hero and Juhwan, there would be almost no room for others to intervene. Even if the Hero did something to Juhwan or Riji, there was no one who could strongly stop or punish her.
“It’s hard to come up with a countermeasure for this.”
“We just have to do our best to make sure they don’t cross paths.”
Could they really manage that? Daniel and Angelica sighed almost simultaneously. Please, let their assumptions be wrong.
The hunting ground was a forest outside the city walls. The women traveled in carriages emblazoned with their family crests or in carriages provided by the Border Count’s household.
The men were on horseback. Though some men were in carriages, most were riding.
Juhwan was on a unicorn instead of a horse. When Juhwan, who was much larger than average, mounted Yeonhwa, who was two or three times the size of other horses—well, he hardly looked human. He felt like a giant in a land of tiny people.
Several people glanced at Juhwan as if overwhelmed.
For some reason, the way people looked at Yeonhwa seemed closer to fear than admiration. His mood dipped just a little.
Riji was in the carriage the Border Count had sent, along with Dorothy. She was beautiful today as well.
Dorothy was still in trousers, but this time she wore an outfit that gave off the vibe of a hunter. On her head was a feathered hat, similar to the one Peter Pan wears. She looked cute, like a little hunter.
The hat matched Riji’s. They were almost identical in shape, differing only in size. Perhaps because of that, Riji and Dorothy looked strangely alike. It was odd, considering they didn’t share a single drop of blood.
“….”
Dorothy had her mouth pouted like a grumpy child. With her face pressed against the carriage window, she had been staring at Juhwan for a while now. It seemed she was keeping watch to make sure the Hero didn’t try to marry her dad. Even though he told her it wouldn’t happen, she seemed uneasy.
Juhwan steered Yeonhwa toward the carriage and leaned down. When he lightly poked Dorothy’s cheek with his finger, the air escaped her mouth with a pffft sound.
“Dad, don’t do that. You’re ruining my fighting spirit.”
Fighting spirit. Hearing Dorothy’s protest, Juhwan chuckled softly. Despite her serious face, the way she spoke was amusing. Was she planning to pick a fight if the Hero showed up?
He gave Dorothy’s nose a little squeeze as she puffed her cheeks out again, then straightened up.
‘Does that woman called the Hero really know me?’
After hearing from Daniel that the Hero might come, he had listened to a bit more about her just in case.
She was definitely a complete stranger. The only women Juhwan knew were the ones he had dated, and her overall appearance was entirely different.
He had no idea why she claimed to know him.
“….”
Because of this, Juhwan recalled the faces of his ex-girlfriends for the first time in a long while. To be honest, he couldn’t remember them well.
Human memory was a strange thing. If they were right in front of him, he’d recognize them from a distance, but when he tried to recall their features one by one, he couldn’t remember at all. Only a vague silhouette would come to mind. And even that was hazy.
Juhwan looked at Oz’s white ears twitching below the carriage window and whispered in his heart.
’Oz, I’m counting on you to look after Riji and Dorothy. Keep them safe while I’m not around.’
He had heard that the Hero did as she pleased with the King’s permission. Both Leonard and Pursell said they couldn’t understand the King’s behavior. They said it was strange for even a King to let her run wild like that.
Maybe the Hero used something like hypnosis. If necromancers existed, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to have the ability to manipulate minds. This was a world with magic beyond anything imaginable on Earth. Anything was possible.
“Piii!”
Oz let out a vigorous cry as if telling him not to worry.
“Got it, I’ll do my best too.”
Misunderstanding something, Dorothy spoke while clenching her fists. Riji was laughing softly behind Dorothy.
*
Before long, they seemed to have arrived at the hunting grounds. The loud barking of hounds could be heard.
In a wide space in the distance, about a hundred tents were pitched. There were large tents with open sides and circular tents with pointed roofs. Servants and soldiers could also be seen working.
The men who had been moving slowly between the carriages began to spur their horses forward. These were the participants of the hunt.
Juhwan also pulled the reins slightly to turn. Dorothy was still glued to the carriage window.
“Juhwan, please be careful.”
Riji leaned her face out the window, looking a bit worried.
“Riji, you too.”
“Yes, don’t worry about us.”
Riji gave a bright smile.
Juhwan caught a glimpse of Oz and Dorothy before leaving the side of the carriage.
Yeonhwa might not know everything Oz felt. But there was a connection between the two. He wasn’t sure how far that connection reached, but if something dangerous happened, he would know immediately. It was fine.
‘Well, I don’t even know for sure if the real Hero is coming.’
Perhaps he was overthinking it.
Juhwan galloped forward. Or rather, the unicorn did.
Woof, woof, woof, woof! The barking was deafening.
The handlers were holding onto taut leashes, restraining the lunging dogs.
Shouts of excited men echoed from all around. The loudest among them was the Border Count. He was shouting from atop his horse.
“It’s the first hunt of the year! No need to hold back, so everyone, enjoy yourselves and run wild!”
His voice was almost drowned out by the barking. Saliva dripped from the mouths of the excited dogs.
Once most of the men had gathered, a man in ornate clothing blew a long, circular horn. Bwaaa, bwaaa!
The leashed dogs were released all at once and bolted forward. The men on horseback gave chase.
Perhaps because it was his first hunt like this, his blood began to pump. He felt a surge of excitement, as if he were someone else.
As Juhwan rode in the middle of the pack, the Border Count galloped up beside him and shouted.
“Too slow! At this rate, someone else will snatch the prey!”
It wasn’t just Juhwan who was excited. The Border Count looked so worked up his eyes almost seemed red. He shouted as he galloped.
“Let’s head to the front. Follow me!”
The Border Count’s speed increased. Juhwan also picked up the pace. The Border Count bared his teeth in a fierce grin. He looked like a different person. Perhaps Juhwan looked the same way to others.
The Border Count and Juhwan quickly overtook the others and took the lead.
After passing through a wide field and entering a forest dotted with tall trees, the hounds picked up speed even more. They had caught a scent.
Juhwan spread his Mana Detection thin and wide around the area. It seemed the hounds were chasing a wild boar.
Though it was called a magic beast hunt, it wasn’t easy to find creatures that lived deep in the forest. He had heard that while one might get lucky and find a magic beast, the prey was usually just large game. Juhwan urged Yeonhwa to go even faster.
