The monster ate a lot…
The secretary, after rubbing their forehead for even longer than before, left to inspect the prey recovered from the monster's stomach.
Another secretary chuckled.
"The rankings might shift dramatically. Surely you've imagined yourself wearing the laurel tiara at least once, haven't you?"
I haven't imagined that even once!
But that wasn't the issue right now.
I grabbed the servant who was about to leave.
"Is Prince Tristan in good condition? Has his examination finished?"
"Ah, please calm down, my lady!"
"I am perfectly calm! Right now… No, actually, I don't need to ask further. He's at the royal infirmary, isn't he? I'll go see him myself."
The servant's eyes widened as if I'd said something ridiculous.
"The royal infirmary isn't open to just anyone, my lady."
"…Ah."
I'd taken it for granted, having freely entered and exited the infirmary with Tristan last night.
My shoulders slumped.
The servant, noticing my dejection, hesitated before whispering softly, "Please don't worry too much. His Highness walked into the examination room unassisted, and there were no injuries to his face. I didn't hear any cries of pain during the treatment either."
"…Thank you."
No cries of pain? That probably meant no broken bones.
That was a relief, at least.
Once the tournament was over and things calmed down, I'd go visit him.
***
Shortly after, the closing ceremony began, bringing the situation to a close.
"The Queen of this hunting tournament is Miss Natalie Redfield! Applause for today's beautiful queen!"
The laurel tiara, which looked even uglier than I'd imagined, was placed on my sister's hair. I wondered if they'd designed it with the assumption that it would be worn by a popular beauty, thinking her looks would make up for the tiara's flaws.
As Natalie curtsied gracefully, the initial groans from the audience at the sight of the tiara quickly died down.
Next, the hunting tournament's champion was announced: Arthur Albion.
"Congratulations, Lord Albion!"
"Truly impressive. I hear you barely used any beaters. Could you even take on a wolf pack alone?"
Arthur, looking slightly embarrassed, replied, "I could, but it's not something I attempt often. It's far too dangerous."
"…."
The scariest people in the world are the ones who take flattery at face value.
As for why Maria, who had received all of Arthur's hunting prizes, couldn't be the Queen, the reason was simple:
She released all the live animals.
A very Maria-like decision.
Ironically, that decision was what created the monster.
The misimported juvenile monster had quietly hidden until the end of the tournament. Then, after devouring several wounded animals, it awakened into its adult form. Those animals, it seemed, were likely the ones Maria had freed.
This was explained by the secretary who'd been calculating my gift tally.
"Upon checking, the animals Lord Arthur registered as trophies were among those released by Lady Maria. Those were then eaten by the juvenile monster…"
"…Good intentions don't always lead to good results."
"Indeed. We chose not to disclose the full details of the incident to them."
Of course, I planned to keep this a secret from Maria as well. Telling her would only add another person to the list of those feeling miserable.
'It's more productive to suggest to Tristan that we improve the hunting tournament format.'
Unsurprisingly, Tristan didn't win any awards. Of course not. He only caught one creature, and the animals found in the monster's stomach were registered under Arthur's name.
We gained nothing from this hunting tournament. At least, nothing related to the competition itself.
I overheard whispers among the crowd.
"Is it true Prince Tristan fought the monster? Surely that's an exaggeration?"
"The guards said it was real…"
"Wasn't the sword he carries around just for show?"
Tristan's reputation might change a little after this.
As for me—
"Thanks to you, I really enjoyed the tea time, Lady Dory. It helped me reflect on aspects of myself I'd never considered. …Do you think you'll host another tea party like that in the future?"
"Yes, it was such a delightful gathering. Please invite me if you decide to host one again!"
It wasn't much, but hearing their praise made me feel a little proud.
The hunting tournament, which lasted only two days but felt like a week, was finally over.
Even though:
I reconfirmed how insufferably frustrating Tristan is.He got injured, making it impossible for me to blame him for anything.The storyline diverged from the original because of the butterfly effect I caused.My sister, who won the laurel tiara, kept placing it on my head, saying, "It doesn't suit you at all."
Even with all that, the compliments made me feel like I'd wrapped things up reasonably well.
…No, damn it.
I realized one more infuriating thing far too late.
I completely lost the Sacred Salon bet.
***
"Now, let's settle the hunting tournament scores! First, the person who stepped in the first pile of dung—yes! For the third year in a row, it's the Count of Redfield! And next—"
The atmosphere in the Sacred Salon was lively.
Of course, it was. After all, the hunting tournament's top candidates had been Arthur and Tristan, while the Queen candidates had been Maria and Natalie. Almost anyone could've earned a chance to collect a coin or two.
Except me.
'I'm doomed…'
In the original story, Arthur got stuck at the bottom of a cliff for half a day, so he didn't win the tournament. Naturally, Maria returned empty-handed as well.
Even the antagonists didn't fare well. Tristan caught plenty of prey but got disqualified because his arrogance led him to climb the mountains until dawn, losing his way in the dark and failing to return on time.
As for Natalie, my sister? She got bitten by a snake that came with her gift of prey and ended up in the infirmary.
Thanks to all of that, unexpected people won, and I should've raked in a ton of coins from betting at those wild odds… but everything I predicted went wrong.
And that wasn't the only thing weighing on me.
Tristan, who can't even admit he has feelings for me but somehow still insists on physical contact, refused to see me when I tried to visit him in the infirmary.
Everything had been fine until I met the royal palace maid.
'Yes, His Highness is fine! He's recovering well. Please wait a moment while I check if it's alright for you to see him now.'
And five minutes later: 'Ah… His Highness has stepped out. I apologize for not informing you sooner.'
This happened three times already.
Stepped out? Yeah, right. It's obvious he just doesn't want to see me!
'From what the maids are saying, it seems like his health is fine, though.'
I guess I should be relieved about that.
"Ha…"
It's depressing how happy I am about something so trivial.
This feels like unrequited love, even though it's not love at all.
'I don't like you either, you idiot!'
I sat in a corner of the salon, sipping on a non-alcoholic cocktail. The more downhearted I was, the more I knew I shouldn't drink.
Not like that guy over there—Rick Rey, the man in the skull mask, merrily downing alcohol in the corner.
'Let's not go near him today.'
I'm not in the mood to hear whatever sad ramblings he might have.
Instead, I focused on eavesdropping on other people's conversations.
June had the hunting tournament as a major event, but July's only significant occasion was the summer festival.
In other words, no major bets would be attracting crowds anytime soon.
'They're probably still talking about what happened at the tournament, though.'
Most likely about Arthur and Maria going on that date!
Even though it was just an awkward exchange of gifts, it's clear as day that their relationship will progress from here.
I wondered how people were reacting to that.
Now that the story was veering off course, I needed to gather as much information as possible.
The group at the nearest table was talking.
"…I hear His Highness Tristan displayed unexpected valor."
"Unexpected, indeed. I thought that beautiful body of his was only good for dancing."
Tristan again.
I can't hear this, I won't hear this, I'm not listening!
Next group!
"Did he really defeat a monster? No way, it must've just been a big wolf."
"No, my nephew swears he saw it. He said its jaws alone were as big as His Highness's arm!"
Tristan! Why do you have to dominate the conversation even here?!
Next group…
"I saw it too, over the guard's shoulder. The moment I laid eyes on it, my legs gave out. How did His Highness face such a monster?"
Ugh, Tristan again.
Just as I was about to walk away, a cold, analytical voice caught my ear.
"Then doesn't this prove he has the minimum competence to manage Blue Atrium? Perhaps that land won't go to Lord Albion after all but remain with Prince Tristan instead?"
Huh?
I hadn't even considered that possibility.
Now that you mention it, Arthur did praise Tristan—saying he analyzed the monster and took it down remarkably quickly for someone fighting one for the first time.
If Tristan learns more about monsters, maybe the future could change…?
As I sat at an empty table, pondering this unexpected possibility, a bothersome voice interrupted.
"Beautiful lady."
"…Yes?"
I looked up to find the skull mask standing before me. His green eyes were glossy, as if he were drunk, had been crying, or maybe both.
"Why are you avoiding me today…?"
"I wasn't avoiding you."
"You've been moving from one seat to another."
It wasn't because of you!
I couldn't find a good reply, so I stayed silent.
Rick plopped down in the seat next to me and spoke again.
"Lady, if you don't mind, I have something I'd like to ask…"
"Whether I mind depends on what the question is."
"I like that sharpness of yours… The rest of the world is so dull and ambiguous. Only things that pierce my heart hurt me like this…"
"Ask me again when you're sober."
I stood up abruptly, grabbing my drink.
But just then, Rick urgently grabbed my sleeve and shouted, "I must ask! Do you… know Dory Redfield?"