North x Northwest

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Lil’s wandering mind was interrupted by Shail’s question.

“Have you been hunting often?”

“No. It’s been a while.”

“…I think it would still be too much for you to hunt with a rifle…”

For the first time, Lil actually looked at Shail. The young man, whose appearance was close to those of the Northern Continent, had light brown eyes, probably due to being mixed race.

His face was slightly flushed despite his attempts to conceal it. Meanwhile, Lil responded casually, pretending not to notice.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I saw you practising every day back in the residence.”contemporary romance

“..?”

Shail quickly added after realising his words might be wrongly interpreted.

“…Even the servants talk a lot about the lady…”

Lil nodded calmly. She agreed that guns were still too difficult to use regularly due to the recoil. She then drove her horse, cursing her body for healing so very slowly.

Herders led by hunting dogs soon climbed the mountain, Lil glanced at the people gathering around her and Shail. Shail was a beat faster and asked before she could.

“Are you going to lure them with a flute?”

A middle-aged man who introduced himself as Turrago nodded his head.

“Yes, our flutes sound exactly like the males. To be honest with you, the hard part of the hunt isn’t attracting them, but we simply lack the manpower to catch them. If it hadn’t been for this year’s famine, we wouldn’t have needed more catchers or go as far as to ask our noble guests to help us out…”

Turrago noticed Lil. The way he anxiously alternated between her and Shail, revealed that he had something more to say.

“It’s Turrago, right? Whatever it is that you want to say, it will be better to keep it to yourself. Let’s not ruin the mood, okay?”

Even though he didn’t seem like a very discreet person, Turrago, fortunately, began to explain the habits of the roe deer in this area and the formation of the canyon instead.

Listening to his explanation they eventually reached the canyon.

The forest that covered along the ridge became sparse, and the ground became filled with rocks and moss-covered pebbles instead. With a nearby creek flowing along the valley, Lil found herself standing near the sound of a stream running under the friction of falling leaves.

It was then that the sound of the flutes of the herders, who climbed up the mountain, reverberated downwards and faintly mixed with the wind. At first glance, it seemed like they were exchanging signals by whistling among themselves. That was until the dogs’ barking gradually intensified, and the sound of something moving quickly down the mountain was heard.

‘It’s coming this way.’

Lil quickly fired her crossbow at the shadow emerging from the piled-up leaves. She never confirmed what it was because her shot was done on instinct. It wasn’t until the shadow fell on the leaves that Lil realised it was just a rabbit. However, before she could recite a prayer dedicated to her prey, another shadow darted out. A much bigger one this time.

It was a roe deer.

Lil didn’t have the time to reload her crossbow, so she couldn’t fire anything. Instead, the hunters around her fired their crossbows without break. They needed to aim for their target’s heart, but the flying arrows only grazed the front of the beast. In the end, all arrows fired by the hunters ended up in the river or between rocks, and the roe deer was now beyond their range.

“…It’s so fucking fast! It’s already so far away now!…”

“…Damn it, we’re going to miss it!…”

‘We’ll indeed miss it if we keep shooting from here…’

Lil suddenly exchanged Turrago’s crossbow with hers and kicked the stirrup all the while shouting to the people taking positions with their bows.

“Move!”

Lumiere and Lil split the crowd, who cast themselves aside upon the horse’s sudden presence. The horse’s hooves galloped along the shallow part of the creek, causing water to splash up to Lil’s calves. The beast, scuffed by the hunter’s arrows, jerked up and headed towards the ridge as Lil wrapped the reins around one arm and held the crossbow with both hands.

However, because horses couldn’t endure the uncomfortable posture of their riders for too long, Lil instantaneously turned her body to the left and aimed the crossbow. She felt the wind and her hair flowing sideways against her cheek. Lumiere was already getting unstable, so Lil tightened her feet’s grip on the stirrups.

‘Come on. Just a few more seconds.’

The roe deer was fluttering in her sight. Beneath its shiny brown nape was its heart…

Lil pulled the trigger.

– Pang! –

Without taking the time to check on her target, Lil lowered her stance and grabbed the reins properly. She slowed Lumiere down and turned to gallop away from the creek. The sound of its iron horseshoes hitting the pebbles echoed through the air. Lil then gently stroked her horse’s mane. After all, it must’ve been displeased with her movements.

A little out of breath, she checked on the roe deer for the first time, which had already fallen and died. Looking at the sky, Lil recited a short prayer.

When Lil drove her horse back to the party, she was met with stares alternating between the roe deer and herself. Those stares were all accompanied with wide open mouths. Lil looked at the servants’ astounded faces and ordered.

“Get it.”

Coming to their senses, the two attendants rushed to the animal’s carcass. As soon as Lil handed the crossbow back to Turrago, he muttered absentmindedly.

“…No… how can you… on a running horse…not even a ghost can…”

But Lil merely asked when she was handed back her crossbow.

“So, who’s going to get that rabbit over there?”

***

Only when the sky turned red did the herders descend from the mountain with their dogs panting from the constant activity. Through the chilly and humming wind that swept through the valley, the smell of blood and animal skin flowed along the river.

Shail held out a white cloth after rushing to Lil, who took the handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“I heard there were cavalrymen trained in LeBrun who shoot while mounted.”

“…”

“I recall they were called the Karabinae. I felt like I was seeing them when I saw you up there.”

“That’s right.”

“…Pardon?”

“I participated in the war as part of the Karabinae Unit.”

Shail paused for a moment, trying hard to comprehend what she was saying and nodded belatedly.

“Oh, I didn’t realise. That was rude of me.”

“I was a cadet at LeBrun.”

Lil wondered why he wasn’t mocking her.

‘Is it because the world has changed over the years, or is it because he doesn’t dare say anything against the woman who appears to be Ed’s lover? Or perhaps, he wants to look good in front of me?’

“Even though you haven’t fully recovered yet, your horsemanship and marksmanship were both excellent.”

“You’re quite talented yourself. You weren’t that bad either.”

When the group came out of the canyon and walked into the field, white smoke already rose from chimneys everywhere. As they were heading toward the village, Lil saw Ed stop by. He tilted his head to look at her while lifting the brim of his hat. Thinking that the face appearing at an angle underneath the hat looked wonderful, Lil was shocked at her own thoughts and frowned for no apparent reason.

“Did you enjoy hunting without me?”

“I did.”

“…What?!”

Ed’s voice was raised because he never expected Lil to respond so affirmatively. Lil smiled regardless.

“It’s been a while since I stretched myself like that. It made me feel good.”

“It seems like you got good results.”

Ed looked back and gestured with his chin. Lil followed suit and looked behind her. Attendants following suit were carrying carts full of today’s game.

“You know, if it was me. I would’ve hit a bird too.”

When Ed gestured his chin arrogantly towards the sky, Lil snorted sheepishly.

“Ah yes, that amazing escape story of yours. As I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, how would I know?”

Among the many adventurous stories Ed told her, there was one about escaping a primaeval forest that he narrated with such passion. He almost died of starvation, but survived by desperately slinging stones, catching a bird, roasting and eating it.

Ed asked with a laugh.

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“No, I believe you.”

“You look like you don’t believe me at all.”

“Fine. You caught me.”

Glancing at Ed, his dumbfounded expression couldn’t look any funnier. Ed’s look made Lil laugh out loud, causing Ed to laugh along with her like a mirror. His reactions always made Lil become more comfortable about expressing herself…

***

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