Shadowless Night

The day before the Founding Day’s hunting competition, Ricardis arrived early at the venue. Walkways covered in luxurious carpets had colorful and beautiful makeshift tents lining them. It felt more like a garden with ornamental trees than a mountain forest, and various foods for the upcoming competition filled the tables.

Rosaline wandered around, admiring the enormous banquet hall that had appeared in the forest. Ricardis and the Knights of the White Night were the only ones of high rank among the mercenaries and servants hired for the hunting competition.

As for the reason they arrived a day early…

“I’m not satisfied. Find somewhere else.”

…It was to explore the mountain. Ricardis sat on his horse and haughtily ordered the mercenary guide to lead the way. For the twelfth time, Ricardis complained and expressed dissatisfaction about the narrow paths, the broad areas, the multitude of trees, and the constant flow of people. Even though this was the twelfth time, the mercenary could only bow his head repeatedly, seemingly astonished.

The mercenary group called Lasso was one of the many groups hired to prepare the mountain for the hunting competition. Even if the Imperial family hired them, they usually didn’t receive direct requests from high-ranking individuals. They only received instructions from the subordinates of subordinates of those high-ranking individuals. But this time, something unexpected happened.

In front of them stood the 2nd Prince Ricardis, known to possess the most extraordinary holy power ever recorded in history; the one who had achieved only victories in dangerous wars and whose radiant beauty had blinded three thousand people! That very Laurel of the Snowfield, the 2nd Prince Ricardis!

The leader of the Lasso Mercenary Corps, with a face that seemed like it would shed tears, engraved Ricardis’ statement of ‘I’m not satisfied’ deep in his heart. It was a formidable face that seemed ready to take his words as a testament.

He didn’t give much thought to why Ricardis asked for a place that fulfilled oddly specific conditions: in the forest, a vacant space where the participants of the hunting competition wouldn’t step foot, and a simple path that’s easily memorizable.”

After about two hours of searching, the leader found a suitable location that met the customer’s demands. With Ricardis’ approving remark of “Good,” the leader returned to his group with tears streaming down his face.

Ricardis dismissed the members of the Knights of the White Night and surveyed the area with Rosaline. Macaron, who had followed them, sat on a tree branch, eavesdropping on the conversation.

“Tomorrow, you must come to this place, Sir Rosaline. Can you remember that?”

Rosaline narrowed her eyes and reflected on the places they had passed. The shapes of trees, rocks, terrain, and bushes flashed through her mind.

“Yes.”

“You must never leave this place.”

“Yes. But why can’t I leave?”

“I heard from Sir Calyx that something dangerous is after you. If I were the attacker, I would not miss this opportunity. We’re at an event where it’s natural to carry a weapon. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for him, as you, who have always been with your comrades, will be alone.”

Rosaline let out an “ah”. It was an expression that conveyed understanding. The dangerous thing that was said to be after me, I know it. However, she couldn’t directly mention the true identity of ‘It,’ so she hesitated and stumbled over her words, mindful of Ricardis’ reaction.

“Ah, that… It’s dangerous? I understand.”

Ricardis smirked. It seems like she couldn’t say much since the information was limited.

“I heard that even their face is still unknown. If we wait, your attacker will soon reveal his appearance.”

Rosaline nodded.

“A collision is inevitable. Prepare yourself mentally, Sir Rosaline.”

“Mentally prepare… What do you mean…?”

“Do you know who will reveal themselves here? What if I take out my weapon and rush at you? What if it’s Raymond? Calyx? Will you obediently take the hits?”

Rosaline gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Just imagining it was too shocking and painful. Her pupils shook restlessly. Ricardis chuckled, leaning against the tree.

“It’s just a hypothetical situation. We don’t know who it is. So no matter how close and good that person might have been to you, don’t ever trust them.”

“Yes…”

“Just anticipating an incident will occur won’t give us the upper hand in the situation. That’s why we chose this location.”

Rosaline looked around. This place? Wasn’t it to avoid drawing attention from others?

“You can avoid immediate danger by not participating in the hunting competition. But then the problem will become even more serious. You won’t know when and where someone with an unknown face and identity will target you. The situation in Illavenia is currently precarious, and it’s likely to worsen. We can’t postpone the danger any longer. We have to choose the lesser evil to avoid the worst-case scenario. I want to protect you, Rosaline, but you’re also the bait. There will always be danger.”

“It’s alright.”

“It’s not alright. That’s why we need safety measures.”

As Rosaline tilted her head, Ricardis didn’t answer but instead looked toward Macaron sitting on a thick tree branch.

“I need your help.”

Rosaline turned around, and Macaron also followed suit. The Knights of the White Night were nowhere to be seen in the distance. Only Ricardis, Rosaline, and Macaron were in this place filled with trees.

“Sir Macaron.”

Rosaline quickly turned her head and looked at Ricardis.

“If you keep following Rosaline, that person may not reveal themselves. Since they’re also someone within the Imperial ground, there’s a possibility they know that the eagle following Rosaline is the same as them. It’s good to protect Rosaline, but we must catch even a glimpse of that person’s tail in this hunting competition. So Rosaline has to walk alone in tomorrow’s affair.”

Rosaline’s mouth gaped open. Huh, huh? [There’s a possibility they know that the eagle is the same as them.] More than the content of the words, she was astonished that Ricardis was the one saying them.

The eagle stared silently at Ricardis before finally speaking.

“Should I only pursue them after this child is dead?”

“If we miss this opportunity, the danger will only grow.”

“While it’s natural for you to feel anxious and discouraged, that’s no excuse for you to underestimate the abilities of those currently present because of your fears.”

“We need to consider the worst-case scenario. The opponent is someone who once killed the previous Rosaline. And you also know their abilities, don’t you? I’m not underestimating you, but we must push the limits of what we can imagine about their abilities.”

Rosaline glanced back and forth between Ricardis and Macaron during the conversation.

Wait, the conversation is flowing so naturally. Isn’t something strange? Why isn’t Macaron surprised that they’re speaking and carrying on so smoothly? Macaron’s identity is exposed, so why are they so calm? Uh, uh…

“Sir Rosaline.”

“Yes! Rosaline is present!” Rosaline jumped in surprise and answered.

“It’s true that you can’t detect them without using magic, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And using magic is necessary to enhance your hearing and make your senses more acute?”

“…Yes, but even without using it, we can hear better than other people.”

“Then it’s likely that person can’t use much magic while following you. They wouldn’t want to expose themselves. At least until you meet them.”

Ricardis pondered with his arms crossed. Of course, there was no guarantee that something would happen tomorrow. But there was also no guarantee that nothing would happen. They had to prepare for the worst rather than hope for the best. Therefore, he devised a plan which assumed a dangerous individual was following Rosaline.

Rosaline would come here when the hunting competition began tomorrow. Although there may be doubts about the absence of her eagle, their assailant would not miss this golden opportunity to harm her. Ricardis had two requests for the mercenary group Lasso.

One, they were to find a suitable location that meets his conditions, and two, when the hunting competition begins, they should station their members at every corner of the path Rosaline walks down.

Even if they couldn’t use magic, one had to consider the possibility that their senses were much sharper than those of ordinary humans. They must not pursue them directly. The mercenaries should covertly appear as one of the many scattered around the mountains for the sake of the competition.

In the meantime, Macaron would be there, appearing as a human. They had spoken to the leader of Lasso, and the two parties agreed Macaron would wait in the forest, pretending to be one of their new members. Macaron would move upon hearing from the mercenary members that someone was chasing Rosaline.

Of course, they couldn’t rule out the possibility that it was someone who wanted to meet the famous Rosaline. That’s why Macaron should only act after sensing magic. Whether the user of magic was the pursuer or Rosaline herself, it meant that the situation was dangerous to that extent.

The mercenaries would wait for twenty minutes after Macaron left. If Macaron didn’t return, they would move to a designated location. If a fight broke out and Rosaline and Macaron could not resolve it during that time, then the opponent’s power was beyond their imagination.

The mercenaries were not particularly strong, but their numbers made up for it. They provided extra pairs of eyes. The eyes of ordinary people, whom the attacker usually hid from, would serve as a powerful deterrent to suppress them, more so than Macaron and Rosaline’s powers.

After Ricardis briefly explained the plan, Rosaline glanced at him and stammered.

“M-Macaron is just a good eagle…”

What do you mean Macaron should transform into a human? Your Highness, that doesn’t make any sense. Macaron is just an ordinary eagle. You’re taking the joke too far. It seemed like she wanted to say something like that.

“Alright, alright, a good eagle it is. Macaron will only need to be in human form for tomorrow. Starting from the day after, Macaron can go back to being a good eagle.”

Ricardis smiled affectionately and patted Rosaline’s shoulder. Rosaline looked bewildered while Macaron let out a chuckle.

[T/N: The cat’s out of the bag so smoothly that even I was dazed. Also, I’ll use ‘They/Them’ for Macaron’s pronoun no matter their form starting from Book 4 because sometimes it feels awkward describing events using ‘It’. This whole pronouns thing is so confusing, we don’t have ‘em where I came from.]