TYND 82

TL: Motokare

“Theon… they say so many animals die a meaningless death during the hunting tournament… It’s really sad… I heard weasels are especially popular targets. After this festival, lots of Chi-chi’s friends will be gone, won’t they…? It’s too terrible…”

On the night they’d gone to see Elsie Falls, Rothy quietly planted the idea.

“But if it’s the act of hunting that’s important, I’ve a good idea. What if we make wooden dolls of the animals that can move like they’re alive…?”

His emerald-green eyes were sparkling as he suggested the idea. They’d made a test model that day, and even without transformation magic applied, the movements were natural and convincing. 

“Aeruhen put you up to it, didn’t he?”

“But even if Aeruhen hadn’t asked… I would’ve felt just as sad and troubled about it.”

“I suppose so. Fine. I’ll include wooden dolls in the hunting tournament this time.”

Rothy’s eyes widened at how easily Theon agreed to his idea. He placed his hand gently on Theon’s forearm and looked up at him with worry.

“Theon, you can’t just agree to everything I say like that… Think about it more. I can’t become a wicked mage who clouds the cold Northern Archduke’s judgement… I know you want to say yes to everything because I’m adorable, but you can’t just blindly agree…”

“What on earth have you been reading lately?”

“Just a normal romance novel…”

“Even if it hadn’t been you, I would’ve agreed. We’ve been looking for alternatives since the wild animal population doesn’t need culling right now.”

For the past twenty years, animals had been steadily slaughtered by Maton’s offspring. In some ways, their lot was worse than that of humans since they shared their habitats with fiends across mountains, forests, fields, wetlands, rivers and lakes. 

Now with the fiends finally driven back, things had quietened down. The animals were just starting to venture out of their hiding spots to breed again. Holding a hunting tournament now would be the final nail in the coffin for their extinction. 

“This hunting tournament will include the wooden dolls alongside the living ones.”

When he made the announcement, his retainers who shared his concern had agreed wholeheartedly. However, murmurs of discontent began to spread among some of the nobles and commoners. 

“Wooden dolls? Are they telling us to play with toys?”

“This has young Lord Aeruhen’s fingerprints all over it since he and Lord Rothy are the same age.”

“They’re treating our traditions like some kind of barbaric custom. As if they’ve never eaten a single piece of meat in their lives.”

“His Grace has been away from the North for far too long.”

Theon was certain these complaints would die down naturally once the hunting tournament ended. Though he’d spent half his life away from the North, he knew his people well. 

“I was really worried they’d look like toys, but it’s a relief they don’t look unnatural. I hope everyone likes them.”

Rothy smiled shyly and swung his staff. The other wooden animals that’d been lying still began to move with clattering steps. 

GRUNNNNNGH! 

One of the boars even let out a bellow. Zey, who’d been particularly fascinated, crept closer and touched it, but naturally felt only the hard surface of wood. 

“I can’t tell if it’s a boar or a doll until I actually touch it. Magic really is amazing.”

“Zey, you should’ve become a mage.”

“Hey you, that isn’t something you just say to a knight.”

While Zey grabbed Chungnip in a headlock, Rothy busied himself moving from doll to doll, casting magic on each one. The commoners’ hunting tournament had already started yesterday (being small-scale, they hadn’t used the wooden dolls), and the nobles’ hunt would begin in three hours.

Everything had to be ready before then. 

“Rothy, don’t overdo it. If you feel tired, make sure to tell me.”

“Mhm, I will. Now get to work, Theon.”

No other assistant mage could help with these wooden animal dolls. The puppet magic and partial transformation spells had to be cast simultaneously on hundreds of dolls, and only a tiny handful of mages could manage that. Chungnip, who still hadn’t mastered puppet magic, couldn’t do it, and in the Empire, perhaps only Harrié Geelin would be capable. So Rothy had to enchant all these dolls alone, and Theon worried he’d push himself too hard and exhausted himself. 

“You don’t have to finish them all. If you feel even slightly tired, stop at once.”

“Don’t worry. Now go do your work. I refused to become a wicked mage who bewitched and distracts the workaholic Northern Archduke.”

“What sort of novel did you say you were reading these days?”

“A romance novel…”

“Looks like I need to read that too.”

Zey urged Theon, who stood there with his brows drawn tight.

“Your Grace, we need to leave now.”

The Archduke had to arrive at the hunting grounds first to receive the nobles, so they needed to depart now to avoid being late. But Theon still didn’t move. He just stood there with a worried look, eyes narrowed, and made Rothy shrink back.

“I must look like an abandoned child by the water’s edge, right? I suppose I can’t help how it looks… But these spells are really easy for me. I can handle them without breaking a sweat. Really, I won’t get tired at all. You’ll see for yourself later.”

“Hearing you say that only makes me worry more. I keep thinking you might act like you are fine even when you are tired just to seem like it was easy.”

“Where did all this distrust come from… I’m certain I’ve never used magic until I collapsed in front of you…”

“You passed out from casting too many spells on the battlefield. Several times.”

“……!”

His already round, adorable eyes grew even wider, pupils wavering like candle flames in the wind as he clasped his hands together as if in prayer.

Hic–hiccup

He even started hiccupping. 

Theon swallowed a sigh. Rothy’s face clearly showed what he was thinking. ‘Did he find out who I was on the battlefield?’

Rothy was afraid. 

Afraid that he knew the truth.

“Lord Rothy, here, drink some water.”

Ultje quickly offered Rothy lukewarm water to drink. He didn’t forget to glare at Theon while doing so. Not just Ultje, but everyone present had the audacity to glower at Theon.

Theon tried to soothe Rothy as well.

“I’m sorry for surprising you. I was only guessing. I thought maybe that was how you were.”

The hiccups stopped, and Rothy looked up at Theon with tears clinging to the corners of his eyes.

“You were testing me?”

“…Yes.”

“That was a terrible shock… I’d appreciate a warning next time… If you tell me you’re about to test what I was like on the battlefield, I think I could at least avoid the hiccups…”

“Understood. Calm down now.”

Theon pressed his palm lightly against Rothy’s chest, where his heart thudded fast and hard. But when that only made it race faster, he clicked his tongue and drew his hand back.

“But really, enchanting dolls like these would never make me pass out. Combat magic, everyday magic, and specialty magic all consume completely different amounts of mana… So you don’t need to worry…”

Rothy tried his best to reassure him, but Theon had already seen him hiccup and tremble. That only made him less willing to leave. He even found himself wondering if maybe it was time to do away with the custom of the archduke greeting the northern nobles at the hunting grounds. 

Could Aeruhen not handle that as his heir?

“I’ll stay by Lord Rothy’s side, Your Grace.”

A small figure who’d been quietly listening behind Rothy spoke up, bowing deeply to Theon. It was Naran Daisy, the young assassin from The Mandate.

After The Mandate incident ended, he’d become Rothy’s ‘provisional’ guard mage. His abilities already exceeded those of ordinary guard mages. At present, he was learning basic etiquette and common sense expected of a proper guard. He was set to take the examination early next year, and if he passed, they’d hold a formal appointment ceremony, but… 

“As a mage, I can tell right away if he is overextending himself or not. If I see Lord Rothy overdo it…”

“……”

“I’ll strike the back of his neck to knock him out, bind his limbs, and deliver him to Your Grace.”

Given he still hadn’t shaken his assassin habits, whether he’d actually pass the exam remained questionable.

Rothy’s face went pale.

Seeing his shocked expression, Chungnip cleared his throat and quickly ushered Naran back.

“Don’t worry, Your Grace. We’ll keep a close eye on Lord Rothy. The sooner Your Grace leaves to handle your business, the more comfortably Lord Rothy can work his magic. The most important thing for a mage is mental stability.”

Scree, scree, scree!

With Chungnip actively persuading him and Chi-chi on Rothy’s shoulder stretching tall as if to say, ‘trust me’, Theon finally took his reluctant leave. But not before he pulled Rothy into a tight hug, of course, and received a soft, downy kiss on his cheek.

Zey followed behind Theon and asked quietly.

“Your Grace, do you actually know who Lord Rothy was on the battlefield? Or were you really testing him?”

“It’s only a guess for now.”

It was a guess that bordered on certainty, but Theon had no intention of telling anyone until Rothy confirmed it himself. The further he got from Rothy, the more Theon’s expression hardened into something terrifyingly rigid.

Contrary to his worries, Rothy showed no signs of mental fatigue whatsoever. He finished enchanting all the wooden dolls in time and even had enough energy left to play tag with the extra weasel dolls he’d crafted.

Once the wooden animals had been scattered across the hunting grounds, Rothy rode in a carriage to rejoin Theon. The hunting tournament used portals to run simultaneously across various northern locations, with the nobles’ hunting grounds mostly situated within Falsen territory.

This year’s first hunting ground was the Himil Mountains, the most expansive range in Falsen territory, specifically the area known as ‘Aegay Forest’.