After the wedding ceremony took place, most of the guests left the ice castle the next day. Even as a guest of such an important person as Duchess de Lun, few wanted to linger in the cold northern region where there was nothing but snow.
The only exception to this unexpectedly turned out to be the Crown Princess of the Empire.
This unprecedented event caused a lot of rumors among the public.
Mainly, it became a cause for concern for the Empress. The woman ordered her servant to report on every step of the Crown Princess in the northern territory. And imagine her disappointment when her worst expectations were confirmed.
"...I definitely heard that Her Highness intends to stay at the Northern Duchess's residence for a few more days."
"Why?!.." the Empress dug her fingers into the arms of the throne, "Do you know what they talked about? Is everything really leading to an uprising...?"
The man in dark clothes guiltily bowed his head before his mistress.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to find out..." he stammered, "Security in that place is extremely tight, and even getting onto the territory of the main domain proved difficult. The only information our people managed to obtain is..." the mercenary faltered on the last words.
"Well, speak immediately!" the Empress demanded.
"Her Highness and the Northern Duchess have definitely gotten along well..." Valencia Gross de Ronan turned sharply pale.
"They are even going to go on a joint hunt..." after hesitating, the servant added.
For the Empress, this news was the last straw. A joint hunt is far from as harmless an event as it might seem at first glance. Since ancient times, aristocrats used such events as a pretext for establishing working or friendly relations. People who were in no way connected would never do such a thing.
The woman's blue eyes flickered.
I never imagined things had gone this far...
Could it be that the Northern Duchess's participation in the hunt also meant her indirect agreement to support the coup?!..
The Empress gripped the arms of the throne tighter.
I must... I must prevent their monstrous plans at any cost!
***
The mask of composure I had been strenuously maintaining on my face lately was on the verge of cracking. Damn it, I really couldn't understand what this crazy woman was thinking!
"Do you like it here?" the question the main villainess asked me after the joint meal that day.
The expression on her face as she uttered these words made me wary.
In my current position, it would be rash to show genuine joy. She might decide that for a hostage, I'm living too well, and then...
Swallowing at the thought of the terrifying consequences of any rash act of mine, I replied:
"Uh... The trip went quite well."
"So you're satisfied?"
For some unknown reason, the main villainess kept insisting on my answer. Deciding that nothing terrible would happen, I finally risked adding:
"Well... I was glad to see an old friend I hadn't seen in a long time."
As soon as I said this, the princess's expression became strange again. "I see," she sighed softly.
And, as it soon turned out, the very next day I learned the true meaning of this question. We unexpectedly stayed at the ice residence for another couple of days. I couldn't believe that this happened only because of my inadvertently dropped words. Why would Kaena de Ronan, an unemotional psychopath, listen to my wishes?
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And my doubts proved not unfounded.
It turned out that the time of our arrival coincided with the date of a national competition in the North, held only once every few decades. This was the famous hunt in the Edelweiss forest. Why famous? The fact is that rare animals lived in this forest, some species of which inhabited only this area.
For example, the white deer, whose pelt was considered extremely valuable. Only a person of no lower rank than the emperor could afford a cloak, gloves, or any other wardrobe item made from this material.
Nevertheless, the opportunity to hunt here remained just an unattainable dream for many.
Northerners did not tolerate outsiders and extremely rarely allowed strangers into their territory, especially into such valuable places. The only exception, of course, could be members of the imperial family. It was then that I understood why Kaena de Ronan suddenly decided to stay here...
Wasn't the main villainess the type who preferred to collect rare and valuable things? In the novel, some attention was paid to this trait of her personality.
By starting endless wars, she collected trophies from every victory she managed to obtain. These could be jewels, castles, or even human remains. And the white deer could certainly be considered such a treasure.
She must want to hang this animal's head somewhere in her castle.
Imagining this spectacle, which completely matched my ideas of the main villainess's monstrous lair, I winced a little. On the other hand, let it be a deer rather than a living person... Although I felt sorry for the poor animals, I couldn't do anything about the Crown Princess's ambitions.
Therefore, when the day of the hunt arrived, I planned to sit it out in the castle, instead of watching the slaughter of the unfortunate animals. But the main villainess unexpectedly insisted that I absolutely must go with her.
"Your Highness, I'll only be in the way..." my attempts to weasel out of this predicament seemed futile.
"No, you must come. I'll feel uneasy if I leave you here alone," the princess looked around hostilely, as if we were not visiting but in an enemy trap.
Of course, I immediately guessed what she meant.
Well, she clearly doesn't want to let me out of her sight. After all, staying here, she won't be able to continue watching me either.
I sighed heavily, but still, I had no choice but to accept it. Who was I to argue with the main villainess?
Although I wasn't going to run away from here or commit any other reckless acts behind her back, taking advantage of her absence. After all, I wasn't that desperate.
In any case, when we arrived at the place, the only thing that pleased me was that I wasn't the only one in a similar situation. Jeremy was also forced to go on this hunt. Being the princess's spouse, albeit nominally, he was also the Prince of the North. Which meant he had no right to sit it out in the castle at such a moment.
Thus, finding ourselves in the forest, the guy and I were soon left completely alone. The whole procession, led by the Duchess and the Crown Princess, rode far ahead, while we deliberately lagged behind. Both women were obviously full of enthusiasm to catch the so-called "silver" deer, which was considered an even greater rarity than the white one.
And since nothing like this was required of Jeremy and me, we could say we were just taking an ordinary walk in the forest.
"Last time we didn't finish our conversation."
Jeremy unexpectedly addressed me as we rode along a narrow forest path. The silver- gray mare I was riding was incredibly beautiful and surprisingly obedient. Although I had no previous riding experience, it turned out not to be as big a problem as I thought.
"Hmm?"
The guy took the reins and gently urged his horse forward to draw level with me.
"You didn't say what you're going to do," my friend's voice sounded serious, "Are you really just going to accept this?"
I lowered my eyes, and although I knew what he was talking about, I couldn't answer him.
After Camilla honestly told Jeremy about her situation, the guy couldn't just accept it. The thought that his friend was being held hostage by the bloodthirsty Crown Princess haunted him. Besides being able to see it with his own eyes, and Kaena de Ronan was indeed obsessed with the duke's daughter.
"Even though I myself am powerless, but... How about seeking help from the imperial family?" Jeremy suddenly suggested.
"What?"
"The Emperor and Empress... I mean, she is their daughter, after all. Shouldn't they control her?"
"Control? The main villainess?"
Being well-informed about the Crown Princess's relationship with her parents based on the content of the original novel, here it was probably the opposite.
So, hearing such a proposal from him, I only smiled bitterly.
"Forget it," I waved my hand, "Even if I somehow manage to contact the Emperor, it still..."
I didn't finish my thought, because at that moment my gaze sharply shifted in the opposite direction. Completely by chance, I noticed a shadow flickering among the trees. And the next moment...
"Look out!" I shouted, before Jeremy could understand what had happened.
An unknown arrow was flying straight at us, and it was a sheer miracle that I reacted in time and managed to push my friend aside. I also managed to avoid being hit myself. However... Due to the sudden commotion, the horse under me got scared and reared.
Everything happened too fast.
"Camilla!" Jeremy's desperate voice reached me, but the picture quickly flashed before my eyes.
Losing my balance, I fell off the horse and, it seemed, tumbled somewhere into a ravine.