RODH Chapter 22

22.

Whether Alvis repeated the same mistake or not had nothing to do with me.

Still, I pretended to listen sympathetically to his lament, since the accident that took his mate’s life was admittedly tragic.

But in the end, this bastard was one of those who had a hand in killing me.

It was about time to head home, so I stood up from my seat, and Alvis personally offered to guide me out.

“I’ve committed another discourtesy, haven’t I, Lord Ruben?”

“Not at all. It was my mistake for bringing up the loss of your mate so carelessly.”

As I took the blame, Alvis suddenly raised his voice.

“That’s not true!”

“Then whose fault is it?”

“…It was entirely my own. Let’s make today the last time I speak of Tian.”

“Very well. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Alvis followed me with a lingering, regretful gaze.

But having gotten the information I wanted about the Tower, I left the lake behind without a second thought.

The day of the hunting tournament.

I really didn’t want to go, but I dragged myself to the hunting grounds anyway.

As promised, Seor had arrived early to escort me.

“Ian.”

For some reason, the way he called my name sounded unusually gentle today.

“Oh my, it’s His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Ruben.”

“I felt this before too, but doesn’t it seem like His Highness really cares about Lord Ruben?”

Cares, my ass.

This bastard is an alpha who despises omegas with a vengeance.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking about what kind of weapon I should choose.”

“What did you just say?”

Seor practically dragged me off to a secluded corner of the hunting grounds.

“What the hell did I just hear, Ian Pearl Ruben?”

“Exactly what it sounded like. I’ve decided to participate in the hunt today.”

“Aren’t you supposed to stay in place and observe?”

“Why are you raising your voice? You only told me to come as your fiancé, didn’t you?”

“Ian…”

Seor ground his teeth.

This bastard was going to need more time to calm down. I made it clear I had nothing else to say and headed over to where the hunting gear was laid out.

Lucian popped his head out and greeted me.

“Good morning, Ian.”

The way he put emphasis on Ian sent a chill down my spine, but when I reminded myself he was just a disobedient lizard, the shivers eased a little.

Apparently, Lucian had been watching me closely. He leaned in and spoke in a low voice.

“His Highness the Crown Prince looks seriously pissed. What did you do this time, Ian?”

“I didn’t really do anything.”

“So he’s just getting worked up all by himself?”

Sigh.

Why does this guy love prying so much?

“I told him I’d be participating in the hunt, and now he’s acting like that.”

“What? You’re going to hunt?”

“Why not? It’s not like there’s a law saying omegas can’t hunt.”

I said it confidently enough, but maybe I didn’t sound very convincing. Lucian let out a thoughtful hum, then said,

“Ian. Honestly? I don’t think you could catch a rabbit if you tried.”

“I’ll try catching a rabbit at least.”

“Why go out of your way to get blood on your hands? Was that always your thing?”

Just as I was wishing someone—anyone—would get this annoying lizard off my back, Peter and Alvis appeared at the same time.

“……”

“……”

The two exchanged a strange look before coming over to me and asking,

“Why are you looking over the weapons?”

“Perfect timing. Sir Hubert, what kind of weapon would be best for hunting rabbits?”

“Rabbits… you say?”

“Yes.”

Peter frowned like he’d misheard me, but after I confirmed it, he answered without much hesitation.

“Out of the ranged weapons, one of these should do. Since you lack physical strength, I’d recommend this automatic crossbow over a regular bow.”

“Oh. May I try it?”

Peter told me to go ahead and opened the case behind him.

I pulled the trigger on the automatic crossbow, aiming at a tree as a mock target.

Whiiiz—thunk!

Just like they say, small peppers are the spiciest—the bolt embedded more than halfway into the wooden target.

“With this, I could probably hunt a rabbit with my eyes closed. Thank you.”

Peter gave a polite nod.

Seor, who seemed to have cooled off by then, came over and looked past me as he spoke.

“Why is the Tower Lord here?”

“I’ve decided to take part in the hunt. My apologies for the disrespect last time, Your Highness.”

“No need. Don’t bother apologizing if you don’t mean it.”

Alvis slithered through the conversation like a snake.

Just like Seor said, there wasn’t even a hint of guilt in his cold eyes.

Maybe the most dangerous one here is Alvis.

I decided to be on higher alert—who knew where or how one of these guys might try to take me out?

Soon, the bell rang, and Seor stepped up on a makeshift platform to give a brief speech.

Once the speech ended, everyone dispersed freely in search of game.

I was about to head out too when I saw Bain in the distance, waving a handkerchief and crying.

“Young master… sniff young master, please don’t get hurt. And please, I beg you, don’t try to catch anything bigger than a rabbit… waahh! Just come back safely!”

Anyone watching would think I was off to war.

“I’ll be fine, Bain. I won’t push myself.”

“Y-Yes, hhhk!”

With Bain’s loud nose-blowing as my sendoff, I slipped into the forest, dodging the alpha bastards who were scanning around like they were searching for something.

Whatever had their attention, it worked in my favor.

As long as I stayed in a calm, quiet part of the forest, I could avoid the likes of Seor and the other two.

Still, I remembered what Lucian said and figured I might as well try catching a rabbit.

But… this was harder than I thought.

Whizz—thunk!

The rabbit sensed danger before the arrow even hit and bolted far away.

“Come on, be a good bunny, huh? Just come over here. If I can’t catch at least one rabbit, I’ll be humiliated.”

Before I realized it, I was in the heart of the forest.

I hadn’t planned on going in this deep, so I looked around, feeling uneasy.

All I could see were trees and grass.

So this is why they call forests nature’s labyrinth.

Carefully wandering around, worried I might run into a bear or something, I spotted a deer whose antlers had gotten stuck in a tree.

“A deer!”

The moment it saw me, the deer struggled even harder—probably because I had a crossbow in hand.

I lowered the crossbow and approached to help.

Grand Duke Kirias’s words suddenly came to mind.

‘A deer is the guide for the lost. My father always said that eating such a sacred animal is the act of a barbarian.’

A guide for the lost, huh.

Kind of a charming title, actually.

“It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to get your antlers unstuck, that’s all.”

Whether or not it understood me, the deer seemed a little calmer now. I slowly stepped closer.

That’s when a hunter appeared.

“A deer!”

The hunter was drawing his bow taut, and I shouted at him.

“Don’t shoot!”

“Huh? Wait, aren’t you Lord Ruben?”

“Don’t shoot. And help me out here. Its antlers are tangled in the tree, and it can’t get free.”

“…Oh, yes, of course.”

Maybe it was my confident tone—he slung his bow over his back and grabbed the deer’s head, giving it a strong pull.

Slip—! The antlers slid free from the branches like butter.

“Whew… Thank you. You’ve got great strength, young lord. Which noble house are you from?”

As I looked at the deer circling around me, I gave the hunter a word of praise.

But then, because the day apparently hadn’t been cursed enough, the hunter looked around and made a ridiculous request.

“I’ve always wanted to be kissed by a prime omega, just once.”

“…What?”

“I know about your relationship with the Dragon Crown Prince. So I thought maybe a pitiful alpha like me could be granted a small mercy?”

His tone was polite, but the way he kept creeping closer wasn’t.

I regretted putting the automatic crossbow down on the ground.

At that moment, the deer rammed its antlers straight into the hunter’s stomach.

“AAAGH! OOF!”

As if repaying the favor, the deer followed up with a solid strike to the hunter’s backside, sending him running for his life with only a bow to his name.

The deer trotted back to me.

This was… a new experience.

“I saved you, so don’t go ramming me like you did that guy, got it?”

“……”

The deer simply nuzzled its cheek against mine.

“I thought you’d lead me out, but all you’re doing is being cute. You should go. It’s dangerous here.”

At my words, the deer bounded off.

I figured it would disappear into the underbrush, but instead, it stopped and looked off in another direction.

Is it telling me to follow?

If Grand Duke Kirias’s father was right, maybe this really would lead me out.

With a strange sense of trust, I followed the deer.

As expected, it was guiding me somewhere.

And the person I ran into was—

“Ian!”

Lucian.

“Wait… this must be a wrong turn.”

“What do you mean? And what’s with this deer? Should I just take it down?”

Lucian’s threatening words made the deer bolt off like lightning.

And once again, I was left alone with this damn alpha.

“What are you doing here, Lucian?”

“Me? Looking for a bear. What about you, Ian?”

I couldn’t bring myself to admit I got lost, so I gave a roundabout answer.

“I saved a deer, and it led me here.”

“So basically, you got lost.”

“……”

“Don’t be so annoyed. I actually like people I can see right through.”

Then maybe you should wear your insides outside, huh?

The snark almost slipped out, but I held it back. This was a dragon who carried an eternal flame.

No good could come from poking at his reverse scale.

“Well then, shall we go find that bear?”

Just as I stood to follow Lucian, a loud, ominous voice rang out.

“Ian Pearl Ruben is here!”