103 - The Crown I Will Take from You
103
"Wolves! Wolves have appeared!"
The forest was filled with screams and commotion.
The appearance of wild beasts in the royal hunting grounds, which should have been safe, turned the place upside down.
"Kyaaak!"
"Get out of the way! Run!"
Royal knights hastily drew their swords and aimed arrows at the wolves.
Hunting competition or whatever, people hurriedly escaped from the forest and caught their breath.
They looked stunned by the shock.
It was fortunate that the knights of Baldina dealt with them strongly and quickly; otherwise, how many casualties would there have been if they had been late?
In the meantime, the knights carried out the dead wolves.
"Y-Your Highness, Grand Duke, excuse me, but may I hold your arm for a moment? I'm so scared that I can't take a single step."
Birna trembled as if terrified.
The sight of huge beasts, as big as carriages, being thrown down one by one made everyone's knees buckle.
The Queen Dowager also narrowed her brows with a serious expression.
"What on earth is going on! Why did those wolves appear in this hunting ground! Didn't you say you had confirmed the safety!"
"Kill me. Surely, the breeding season has passed, but how did this happen..."
The hunting ground manager, who was in charge of the forest, just bowed his head.
"The wolves have all been taken care of, so everyone can rest assured. But are all the participants in the competition safely out?"
The knights asked urgently.
"Is there anyone still in the forest? If there are any missing people, please let me know immediately!"
It would be a disaster if there were still people who had not escaped from the forest or had been attacked by wolves.
People looked around, trying to find out who was missing.
Then someone noticed and shouted loudly.
"Princess Medeia and Sub-Duke Claudio are missing!"
"We found Sub-Duke Claudio!"
Samon was found under a secluded, large tree far from the venue. He was unconscious.
Near him was a horse that had been brutally bitten and killed. It seemed to have been attacked by several wolves.
"It's Princess Medeia's horse!"
Someone shouted, having found the saddle and reins.
"Samon!"
Catherine screamed and jumped forward.
Why was her son lying there? Samon getting hurt today was not in their plan.
"Are you okay! Wake up! My son, Mom is here!"
She shouted hysterically and shook her son's body wildly.
Whether her roughness moved the heavens, Samon opened his eyes.
"Mother...?"
He was bewildered. When he opened his eyes, his mother was wailing, and knights were surrounding him in a semi-circle.
Where was he? What happened?
"Oh, he's awake! God, thank you. Samon, I almost lost you."
Catherine hugged Samon and ordered the knights to bring a Divine Physician.
"I thought the wolves had harmed you..."
"Wolves...?"
Samon was puzzled as if asking what she was talking about. Catherine turned and shouted.
"What are you doing not calling a Divine Physician! My son is in this state, and you're just standing there watching!"
The knights were a little embarrassed by her unreasonable behavior, as if the elegant noblewoman had disappeared.
At that time, Iason sensed something was wrong.
The wolves released by the Princess. The Sub-Duke found alone.
Then, what about-
"Where is Princess Medeia?"
The knights, who had been distracted by Catherine, came to their senses at the Grand Duke's remark. The Princess was nowhere to be seen around.
'Medeia is missing?'
Samon also came to his senses. His last memory was until the moment he tried to look back at Medeia.
"Sub-Duke, where is Princess Medeia?"
The commander of the knights asked. It was natural.
He was the Princess's hunting partner, and he had entered the forest with her a little while ago.
"...That, that's..."
Samon didn't know what to say. It was because the plan had gone wrong so differently from his expectations.
Who attacked him?
Where did Medeia go?
They slowly lowered their gaze.
Samon's body was splattered with blood. It was a bright red color, as if it hadn't been long. Samon was also surprised.
"T-This isn't my blood..."
Samon stammered without realizing it.
"Sub-Duke, is this your sword?"
A knight picked up the sword that was lying at Samon's feet.
The blade was stained with thick blood. Next to it, the corpse of the horse, torn to death by wolves, was still there.
"Sub-Duke Claudio. What did you do to the Princess?"
The knight spat out the one hypothesis that came to people's minds: the Sub-Duke's sword stained with blood.
The Princess's horse was dead.
Samon's face turned blue. He waved his hands and denied it.
"I, it wasn't me! Someone attacked me and I lost consciousness!"
But in reality, he was only covered in blood and had no injuries.
Then, whose blood was splattered on Samon's body?
"I didn't do anything to Medeia!"
No one believed his words because of the surprisingly suspicious circumstances.
The Princess disappeared from the hunting grounds.
Her horse was found dead, attacked by a pack of wolves, and her partner, Samon, was found unconscious, covered in blood.
In a situation with many suspicious aspects, the Queen Dowager, while staggering at the news of her granddaughter, steadily gave orders.
"Ciseo, immediately summon a search party and find Medeia. You must investigate everything Medeia ate and wore today, everyone she met and was with, without exception. We need to know who targeted the Princess."
Her instinct, having lived at the pinnacle of the royal family for a long time, told her that today's events were not a coincidence.
'They targeted Medeia... Was it the Kazen delegation? They still harbor resentment over that duel...'
She glared at the Kazen delegation.
'Medeia was a thorn in their side, so they tried to get rid of her. I should have realized it when those guys insisted on the hunting competition. I was foolish.'
Wasn't the 4th Princess also flustered and unable to meet her eyes?
However, there was clear suspicion but no evidence.
"Your Majesty! This was found in the Princess's horse!"
A knight who was investigating brought a blood-soaked sachet and opened it.
Dried herbs came out from inside. The knight who smelled the pieces said.
"It's a scent that lures beasts. Perhaps this is why the wolves attacked the Princess's horse."
Evidence clearly targeting the Princess had emerged.
The most accurate answer as to who targeted Medeia would be Samon, who was with her last.
People's eyes turned to Samon all at once. He opened his mouth in amazement.
"I, I don't know. I don't know why that's on Medeia's horse, someone attacked me and my vision went dark and I lost consciousness, and when I opened my eyes, it was now. Please believe me, Grandmother."
"Claudio, you didn't kill her and are lying, did you?!"
The Queen Dowager shouted harshly. It was a beast-like howl.
Samon knelt down as if he was wronged.
"Grandmother, I swear on my life. I would never harm Medeia, Princess Medeia!"
However, with his appearance covered in blood, any words were just excuses.