Snow blanketed everything.
For most people, it was just an ordinary Christmas — sitting in warm rooms, chatting, drinking tea, and enjoying the festive atmosphere.
But for Duanmu Huai...…it was a hunting hour.
"Stop right there!"
A powerful figure burst through the blizzard, and Duanmu Huai charged forward like an enraged bull. The knee-deep snow did nothing to slow his advance, and ahead of him, a massive dark shadow leaped swiftly through the trees. The thing looked nothing like an ordinary wolf or dog — if anything, it gave Duanmu Huai the impression of some kind of chimpanzee-like creature hurtling through the forest at tremendous speed.
He could see its two front limbs grabbing rapidly at the branches, swinging itself forward through the trees at a breakneck pace. But unlike an ordinary chimpanzee or other primate, it wasn't grabbing branches — it was grabbing the trunks themselves. That made Duanmu Huai furious. He had nowhere near the same kind of agile mobility as his quarry. All he could do was chase hard from behind, trying to keep the damned shadow in his sights and not let it slip away.
"Caw caw caw!!! Caw caw caw!!!"
A cry rang out through the forest — something between a crow and some kind of bizarre creature — echoing all around, as if the damned thing was mocking him. Duanmu Huai's patience snapped instantly.
"You want to die, you little bastard?!"
Watching the shadow bounding and swaying ahead of him, Duanmu Huai felt a surge of rage rise from his gut. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, clenched his fist, took a deep breath, then drove his fist forward and slammed it directly into the massive, thick tree trunk in front of him.
"BOOM———————!!!"
With a tremendous crash, the trunk — so thick it would have taken five people linking arms to encircle it — instantly exploded and snapped apart. The trunk, dozens of meters tall, went hurtling forward and came crashing straight down toward the shadow.
"GAAAAAH—————!!!"
The shadow clearly hadn't expected Duanmu Huai to do something like that. It leaped upward in a sudden burst, trying to dodge the unexpected strike. But at the same moment, the whistling trunk came plummeting down from above, sweeping branches and snow along with it like a giant fly swatter, and came smashing straight down on top of the shadow.
"BANG!!"
The heavy tree crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, driving the shadow deep into the earth. Seeing this, Duanmu Huai let out a cold snort, shook out his fist, and walked over with heavy, deliberate steps.
"Looking for death, are you? Did you think I couldn't finish you off?"
He didn't know why the thing had deliberately shown itself in front of him, but now that it had come, Duanmu Huai wasn't about to let it escape.
Soon he reached the spot where the shadow had been struck down, but unfortunately, it seemed the thing hadn't been killed by the tree. Though he could see the imprint it had left in the ground and traces of blood, the shadow had apparently managed to slip away in the confusion.
But now that it's wounded, where can it possibly run?
Staring at the tracks before him, Duanmu Huai let out a cold snort, then continued following the trail deeper into the forest.
"Let's go, Lingnu. We are definitely finding that damned thing."
"Mrow!"
While Duanmu Huai was raging through the forest in search of the shadow creature, Shirley had arrived at Baskerville Manor together with Mary and Ashelica.
"Thank you very much for inviting us to your Christmas dinner, Baroness Baskerville."
Though Shirley had recovered enough to move around somewhat, she still couldn't walk freely, so she had come in a wheelchair.
"Please, think nothing of it. Welcome to Baskerville Manor, and thank you all for accepting my invitation. After all, on a special day like this, being completely alone would be far too lonely."
The Baroness of Baskerville greeted Shirley with a warm smile.
"It's only a simple Christmas dinner — please, everyone, make yourselves at home. There's no need to stand on ceremony."
"In that case...…we gratefully accept...…but is it only you here?"
"Of course not — there is also Miss Lorena...…ah, here she comes."
At that moment, a petite and adorable girl with pink hair stepped into the room. Seeing her, Mary breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Just as I thought, Miss Lorena is here...…which means Mr. Duanmu must be here too.
"Miss Lorena, this is the young lady of the Brontë family, Miss Shirley Brontë, and her friends...…"
"I'm Ashelica Dulles."
"Ah, hello everyone, I'm Lorena. And Miss Mary — it's been quite a while, hasn't it? Have you been keeping up with your training lately?"
Lorena greeted everyone with a cheerful smile, and of course she didn't forget to say a few words to Mary.
"Hm? Mary, do you know Miss Lorena?"
Shirley and Ashelica were clearly surprised by Lorena's familiar greeting, since Mary had never mentioned Lorena to them before.
"Ah, yes...…I do know Miss Lorena. It was during the time when Shirley, you were unconscious — she looked after me a little...…"
Mary didn't think much of it and gave her answer readily. But...…she raised her head and looked around.
"Miss Lorena? Mr. Duanmu...…?"
"Ah, the Knight isn't here right now. I think he'll probably come to the dinner? Or maybe not?"
"Knight...…?"
"...…Sir??"
"...…"
For some reason, Mary felt that the looks Shirley and Ashelica were giving her from either side were rather piercing...…um, had she said something wrong?
After exchanging a few words, the Baroness of Baskerville and Lorena stepped away for a moment, and Shirley and Ashelica immediately closed in around Mary from both sides.
"Um...…what is it? What's going on?"
"It seems Mary has been keeping quite a lot from us."
Ashelica crossed her arms and fixed Mary with a dissatisfied stare, and on the other side, Shirley said nothing, but her expression conveyed exactly the same sentiment.
"Ashe had no idea at all — you know Miss Lorena? She's not a student at the Academy, is she."
"It, it was just a chance meeting. She's a traveling shrine maiden...…that's what she said herself."
"So you met at a church?"
"Not exactly — she just guided me through some training...…"
"Training???"
"Mm...…"
Recalling the Spartan-style training Lorena had put her through, Mary couldn't help but shudder instinctively. Frankly speaking, it was absolutely not the kind of regimen an ordinary young lady could complete.
Why would a shrine maiden be so obsessed with physical training...…
"And who exactly is this Sir Knight?"
Shirley spoke up then, and though she wasn't as forceful as Ashelica, Mary felt for some reason that Shirley at this moment radiated more presence than she had back on the altar in the City of Darkness.
"That's Mr. Duanmu...…"
Come to think of it, Shirley should have seen Duanmu Huai back in Antarctica, but she had lost all memory of what happened at the Tartar Gate, so she probably hadn't remembered him at all.
"Why does Miss Lorena address him as Sir Knight? Could that gentleman be a knight appointed by the Queen?"
"Well...…it doesn't seem so. According to Miss Lorena, Mr. Duanmu is apparently an honorary knight conferred by their church, and she serves as his attending shrine maiden — so she addresses him as Sir Knight because of that...…"
"The church?"
Both Shirley and Ashelica were visibly astonished. A knight appointed by the Queen alone was already hard to imagine — a knight conferred by the church was something they had never even heard of. Ashelica's eyes immediately lit up.
"So that means he's a holy knight? I've never seen a real holy knight before — I wonder what kind of person he is...…"
"Um...…"
Watching Ashelica's eyes practically sparkling, Mary couldn't help but smile somewhat wryly. It was true — if one had never met Duanmu Huai and simply pictured a holy knight conferred by the church, a girl's first impression would naturally be of someone golden-haired and blue-eyed, noble and handsome, full of gentlemanly grace.
But unfortunately...…
"I hate to shatter your illusions, Ashe, but I feel I have to warn you — that gentleman is absolutely nothing like what you're imagining."
Honestly, even Mary herself had never once connected Duanmu Huai with the word "knight."
And besides...…he really didn't seem like the type to have anything resembling chivalric spirit.
She recalled the image of Duanmu Huai smashing the skulls of those shadow creatures without the slightest hesitation, and silently sighed somewhere deep inside.
A true knight surely wouldn't do something like that.
...probably not, at least.
Truthfully, Mary herself wasn't entirely confident about that.
"So how did you come to know that gentleman?"
"Hm? Well...…"
Oh no, here we go again!
Watching Shirley press forward with a smile, Ashelica quietly stuck out her tongue a little from beside her. She had noticed long ago that whenever the topic turned to the men in Mary's social circle, Shirley would always corner her step by step. Ashelica still remembered that in the past, when the three of them went out together, they would occasionally run into a Mr. Zach who knew Mary. Back then, Zach had only exchanged a few words with Mary before Shirley had subtly steered the conversation elsewhere and sent him on his way.
Mary herself didn't seem to have noticed anything was wrong...…but Ashelica had been watching the whole time. She had long since realized that Shirley didn't seem to like men getting too close to Mary, and whenever a man approached Mary, Shirley would become a little frightening...…
Though from a certain point of view, Ashelica wasn't entirely unsympathetic. After all, Mary had never even had a first love, so it was necessary to think things through very carefully and seriously. Not just anyone could become Mary's partner. If possible, Ashelica hoped Mary could experience a happy and joyful romance, just like herself...…
But...…Shirley was being a little too intense right now.
Looking at Shirley's smiling face in this moment, Ashelica felt a twinge of genuine fear. She could certainly understand Shirley's thinking. After all, even Ashelica herself had never heard Mary mention Miss Lorena or that Sir Knight before, which meant the two of them couldn't have known each other for very long. And if even Shirley didn't know about him, then this was most likely a man who had met Mary during the period when Shirley was unconscious...…come to think of it, could this man possibly be that mysterious man who had taken advantage of Mary? If that was the case, Ashe was absolutely not going to let him off!
With that thought, Ashelica clenched her fist.
When he gets here, she was going to take a good hard look at exactly what kind of man he was!
At that point, the Baroness of Baskerville and Lorena returned, and the group settled in for tea and conversation. Though the title of Baroness of Baskerville sounded impressive, the lady herself was in fact a girl not yet twenty years old. Of course, for most noble young ladies, unless they were students at the Academy like Shirley, Mary, and Ashelica, they would generally enter society, become engaged, and marry quite early.
The Baroness of Baskerville was exactly such a case. So despite the difference in their social standing, the gap in their ages wasn't enormous, and chatting together, discussing the latest fashions and trends, made for quite a pleasant dinner party after all.
And so it went, until deep into the night, when the Baroness of Baskerville invited everyone to stay over. They all naturally accepted.
But...…
"Won't Mr. Duanmu be coming to the dinner?"
The Baroness asked with a hint of unease, looking toward Lorena, who could only offer a somewhat wry smile.
"For the Knight, the commission probably takes priority. When I went to find him today, he wasn't in the cabin — perhaps he has found some kind of lead...…"
"Knock knock knock."
Just then, a knock suddenly came from outside. Hearing it, the old butler nearby hurried over at once.
"That must be Mr. Duanmu — allow me to check."
With that, the old butler left the room. Shirley and Ashelica were naturally curious, but as proper young ladies, they certainly weren't going to run around without decorum. They remained seated in their chairs — and then heard a burst of commotion from outside.
"Welcome...…goodness, Mr. Duanmu, what on earth is that?"
"Oh, I just got back, and it occurred to me it was Christmas, so I thought I'd bring you all a gift on the way...…not bad, right?"
"No, this...…please be careful not to startle the lady and her guests...…"
"What's going on, what's going on?!"
Hearing this, Ashelica's eyes immediately lit up, and she could barely stay seated in her chair. If Shirley and Mary hadn't been holding onto her, she would have bolted outside to look.
Fortunately, after a moment, the old butler walked back into the room — though this time his expression was rather peculiar.
"My lady, um...…Mr. Duanmu has prepared a gift for you."
"Oh my, how very thoughtful of him...…"
"No, that is...…how shall I put this...…please do not be alarmed."
"???"
At that, everyone paused in confusion — and then they saw a large, dark figure step in through the door, with something slung over his shoulder that was...…a deer?!
That's right, a white deer!
And it was alive!
"Blame this thing's bad luck for getting in my way."
Duanmu Huai set the white deer he had been carrying on his shoulder down onto the floor. The deer struggled for a moment, then cowered and sank to its knees. Looking at the white deer before him, Duanmu Huai felt his irritation flare all over again. He had been tracking the blood trail and marks left by the shadow, and had nearly caught up to it, when — apparently having wandered into this white deer's territory — the creature had actually dared to block his path and give him trouble.
That was something Duanmu Huai absolutely could not let slide.
I just learned that grappling technique — was I going to just take that lying down?
So when the white deer came charging at him, Duanmu Huai reached out, grabbed it, and flipped it straight into the ground.
"...…"
Everyone in the room stared at the white deer in stunned silence.
The deer was absolutely beautiful — pure white all over, even its antlers, and its build was enormous, even somewhat larger than a horse. It was probably something of a king of the mountain in its own territory...…but unfortunately, its luck had run out the moment it crossed paths with Duanmu Huai, and he had taken it down with a single grapple.
The fact that he hadn't killed it outright was the only good fortune it had.
"This is truly...…a rather unimaginable gift, Mr. Duanmu...…"
Looking at the white deer before her, the Baroness's eyes lit up. Girls were drawn to beautiful things, and she was no exception.
"May I keep it in the manor grounds?"
"Do whatever you like — it's yours. If you don't want it I'll just slaughter it for roast meat."
"How could you say that, it's so beautiful and precious!"
Hearing this, Ashelica immediately couldn't help but cry out. Indeed, the white deer was huddled at Duanmu Huai's feet, crouched on the floor, trembling visibly, and it did look rather adorable...…
"If it hadn't gotten in the way, I might have caught that thing that's been making trouble...…oh well, I suppose this is where things stand for now."
Seeing the looks the girls were giving him, Duanmu Huai decisively gave up. Sure enough, in this world it all came down to appearances. If this thing had been ugly...…well, never mind, there was no point thinking about that now.
The butler had someone lead the deer away. Perhaps because of the rough handling it had received from Duanmu Huai, it was now remarkably docile — so docile it was almost pitiable. But for Duanmu Huai, the whole situation was deeply unsatisfying. When he thought about it carefully, it was like being in a game where you were about to catch the final [BOSS], and something suddenly jumped out to block your path, and when you turned back around the final [BOSS] had already escaped — that was the kind of thing that could truly drive a person to their grave with frustration.
The only reason he had brought the deer back alive in the first place was that he had been thinking fresh-killed meat bled on the spot would taste better!
Duanmu Huai was taken by the butler to have dinner, and only then did the girls gather together again.
"Goodness, that gentleman is incredibly fierce...…"
Ashelica was the first to quietly offer her opinion.
"Ashe, saying that isn't very polite, is it?"
Though Shirley looked as if she were gently reproaching her, judging by her expression...…she didn't exactly seem to disagree either.
"Mr. Duanmu does look a bit stern, but he's actually quite easy to talk to."
Mary didn't think much of it and spoke up to reassure the two of them. In truth, she had more or less anticipated how her friends would react.
But what Mary hadn't expected was that at those words, both Shirley and Ashelica turned to look at her at exactly the same moment.
"Mary, you seem to be quite familiar with this gentleman?"
"Hm? Well...…not, not particularly?"
"Don't tell me you like him!"
"What? No, that...…"
Hearing Ashelica's question, Mary's face immediately flushed, and she hurriedly waved her hands.
"I don't...…"
"Ugh...…"
Though Mary protested vigorously, watching her expression, both Shirley and Ashelica felt a quiet sinking feeling in their hearts.
Could it really be that someone had slipped in while they weren't looking and stolen Mary's heart?
Something like that — absolutely unforgivable!
(End of Chapter)