102 - The Crown I Will Take from You
Chapter 102
Samon subtly led Medeia deeper into the forest.
“I think I saw a silver fox. It’s a clever one, so it must be hiding well from people.”
Medeia hastily matched her pace to Samon, who was walking ahead.
“Samon, aren’t we going too deep? What if a wild beast comes out?”
Her voice was filled with fear.
“This is a hunting ground that gamekeepers have managed for decades. You know there are no wild beasts. Besides, Dea, you can use a sword. Just swing it.”
“I’ve never caught an animal with a sword.”
Medeia whined.
It was a rare display of familiarity that she only showed to Claudio and her family.
“By the way, Dea, why did you hide that you could use a sword? Our family was so surprised.”
Samon glanced at Medeia and asked subtly.
“I doubt they were more surprised than I was when I didn’t know my brother was hurt. Is your leg okay now? You should have told me if it hurt that much.”
Medeia replied gently.
“……”
Samon, who had immediately rejected her request for help during the duel with Jared, was caught off guard.
He forced a smile.
“And Samon, it wasn’t even a fight. I just remembered what Peleus taught me about basic forms. It was so hard being trained without any flexibility.”
Medeia’s voice was curt, as if she was still annoyed when she thought about it.
‘She was that good with just basic forms……?’
But soon, Samon thought of Peleus.
He had grabbed his first sword at the age of five and soon Awakened his Aura, even personally subduing the King’s Royal Guard, the Agema. It was possible for him.
Medeia was his only beloved sister, so he must have taught her how to subdue enemies even with the basics.
Medeia, who had taken it like a baby bird in a nest, had suppressed the 4th Princess.
“Haha, you two are really…… talented.”
Veins stood out on the back of Samon’s hand holding the reins.
He remembered himself, who had grabbed a sword in the same year and at the same age as Peleus, but could not keep up with his dazzling speed forward.
The deep-rooted inferiority of a mediocre person, which he had forgotten, raised its head.
‘Yes, but your siblings’ boasting is over now.’
Samon whispered maliciously and unknowingly spurred his horse.
“Samon, you’re going too fast. I can’t go that fast. The memory of falling off a horse is so terrible that I can barely hold the reins.”
“I’m sorry. I must have been too focused on the prey. I’ll give you the victory as an apology.”
Samon said kindly, comforting Medeia, his dry eyes scanning her.
The horse Medeia was riding was a docile brown pony. It was gentle and listened well to Medeia’s clumsy commands without getting angry.
‘It gets along well with other people too.’
Before the competition began, the Princess had secretly brought twelve wolves into the hunting grounds.
Samon had hung a small sachet under the saddle of that horse.
The pouch, which emitted a faint musk that only animals could smell, would lure the wolves.
Conversely, he wore a sachet on his body that wolves hated.
‘Even if Medeia tries to do something late, it will be too late. She’ll be torn to shreds and become animal feed.’
Then he could return, pretending to be a victim who barely survived the wolf pack.
Samon sent a regretful apology in his heart.
‘I’m sorry, Dea. But you’ve grown too big. You keep threatening our family. I have no choice but to act first.’
Medeia was clearly a necessary piece for Claudio.
‘But the situation has changed now.’
With the news of Peleus’s victory, it was too dangerous to keep Medeia alive, considering the disadvantageous situation.
So he moved forward quickly enough that Medeia could not stop him, but with enough leeway that she would not completely lose him.
How long had it been?
They reached a deep place where only grass could be seen no matter how far they went.
The trees grew so lushly that they blocked the light from the sky, creating a shady and eerie atmosphere.
“I think I saw a fox tail near here…….”
Samon got off his horse and pretended to look for a fox den, circling around the tree trunks.
In his mind, he was counting the time. They had come to a remote place where no one could see them, so when would the wolves arrive?
Then, Medeia’s voice was heard.
“Samon, I think I saw it.”
“What?”
The fox, or the wolf?
Samon was about to turn his head.
Thwack. He felt a pain as if he had been stabbed by something sharp, and then everything went dark.
\ \ \
Medeia closed the mouth of the brooch again.
The cat-shaped brooch sparkled on her right shoulder.
It was the brooch that Achares had given her before.
‘It’s as effective as he said.’
Medeia looked down at Samon, who had fallen after being hit with a sleep needle, with cold eyes.
Medeia jumped off her horse and took the sword from Samon’s scabbard.
It was an excellent sword that did not match its owner’s skill.
Should she just kill him here?
But Medeia overcame the momentary impulse and decided to act according to her plan.
‘You’ll have to look for me desperately.’
I’m going to disappear from here. Leaving behind clear evidence that Samon tried to harm the Princess.
She was about to leave Samon, who had lost consciousness, when-
Whoosh-!
Medeia instinctively turned around and dodged the presence she felt from behind, then swung her sword.
The sensation of cutting through a blunt mass of flesh was transmitted directly through the sword.
“Kaaack-!”
A beast’s thick scream echoed.
At the same time, the cape that Medeia wore over her shoulders was torn. It was caught by the wolf’s claws.
In the place she had dodged, Samon, who had lost consciousness, was covered in the blood that the injured wolf was spewing out.
He did not wake up despite the terribly pungent smell of blood.
‘There are no wolves in this forest…… So you guys prepared this.’
She had expected them to use some ridiculous trick even in the hunting competition, but wolves.
To be exact, it seemed to be a collaboration between the 4th Princess and Samon.
The Princess had procured the wolves, and Claudio’s side, who knew the hunting grounds well, had brought in the beasts.
“Heeheeing-!”
Then, the mare’s desperate cry was heard.
Medeia raised her head.
She could see several wolves rushing at her horse at once.
The gentle mare could not even scream before being torn to death. The wolves’ blue eyes turned to Medeia.
Even with the sudden appearance of the wild beasts, Medeia whistled with an expressionless face.
An unexpected variable. But it didn’t matter.
No matter how the situation unfolded, she intended to use it as material to complete her plan targeting her uncle’s family.
Samon’s horse, which had been frightened by the appearance of the wild beasts and was wandering around, instinctively ran towards her.
“Hyah!”
Medeia snatched the reins and climbed onto the horse.
She threw away the pretense of being a beginner who had been in trouble on the pony earlier, and spurred the horse.
But the wolves chased Medeia relentlessly.
She turned around and shot a Crossbow, but they managed to dodge it and kept chasing her.
‘They’re trained.’
How long had she gone, passing through tree branches that roughly scratched her arms and jumping over dense bushes?
At some point, the horse refused to run any further.
Medeia, who was looking ahead, roughly pulled on the reins. It was a cliff with no way to go any further.
The wolves, who instinctively realized that there was no way to escape, lowered their bodies and approached, as if surrounding Medeia.
“Krrrreureureung…….”
The rough beasts bared their teeth with ferocious eyes.
One of them ran towards Medeia as if to set an example.
Medeia shot a Crossbow at it, then quickly pulled the reins and turned the horse’s head.
“Kaang-!”
While the one pierced by the Crossbow fell away, the one approaching from below was kicked by the horse’s hind legs.
At the same time, the one aiming for her right abdomen was sprayed with blood by the sharp sword that Medeia slashed upwards from below.
And the last one,
Kyaaaaang-!
Rolled off the cliff with Medeia.