Heads turned as Ingrid entered the premises of the hunting lodge. A variety of surprised expressions graced everyone's faces—some were pleasantly surprised, while others weren't too pleased. But soon a flurry of excitement filled the young participants as though they had found an oasis in the middle of a desert.

However, though all eyes were on her, none caught the attention of the aloof lady except for one.

A complex expression surfaced on Ingrid's face upon catching sight of the towering man amidst the crowd. Unlike the other participants, who wore new and expensive gear, flaunting their wealth, he was the only one who sported clothing similar to those that are worn by peasant hunters. It was a rather odd thing for a prince of an abundantly rich empire to wear something ragged. Had it been someone else, they would have been the subject of sneer and mockery from the other nobles. But none was daring enough to mock the barbaric prince.

Ingrid was genuinely surprised when she found Prince Aleric surrounded by several men, both young and old. With the fame of his tyranny, she thought everyone would stay away from him like he had the plague, just like what happened during his welcoming feast. But to the nobles of military lineage who rarely graced the capital with their presence, Prince Aleric was like a celebrity.

The hot-blooded youths chattered around him with awe. Meanwhile, the more seasoned adults, though more wary when talking with him, still revealed their astonishment and respect for the young foreign prince, whose military merit far surpassed their own.

Prince Aleric was also very generous in giving them his attention. Despite everything he accomplished, he neither bragged nor looked down upon the older generals. He spoke humbly and respectfully towards them—a complete opposite to his arrogant demeanor when in front of the nobles of the capital.

Ingrid wanted to puke at Prince Aleric's hypocrisy. But she stopped herself from grimacing and pulled a rare smile instead. Like a rippling effect, the eyes of those who saw her smile went wide in surprise.

Everyone knows that Ingrid only ever smiles for her father, the grand duke. However, the grand duke is standing beside her, so who could she be smiling for? Everyone quickly looked around to find the lucky person who made such a rare phenomenon appear on her beautiful face.

Before Grand Duke Rasmus could stop Ingrid, she was already making her way through the crowd, her smile never fading. The crowd parted like the Red Sea in response, their bewildered eyes following their goddess's every step.

"What a pleasure to see you again, Your Highness!" she beamed with a wide smile.

Silence.

A deafening silence filled the camp.

It was the very first time that their beautiful goddess had come down from her throne to greet a mortal being. But their dumbstruck faces soon turned to piercing glares as they looked at Prince Aleric. No matter how much they fear or respect the prince, a mortal is a mortal. How can he deserve their goddess's attention?

"The pleasure is mine, my lady," Prince Aleric politely responded and kissed the back of her delicate hand, his soft lips lingering longer than they should have.

Ingrid forced a smile on her face, pretending to enjoy the prince's kiss, amidst the piercing glare behind her. A cold sweat trickled down her back as she felt her father flare with rage, making the surrounding people instinctively step away.

"I thought you hated the hunting festival," Aleric asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear. Whether he was pretending or truly oblivious to noticing the grand duke's deadly glare, Ingrid couldn't tell.

"I do. That's why it will help in convincing my father that I'm interested in you," Ingrid said, with a subtle grimace on her face as she spoke the word "interested."

“What event can better get a message across than joining a celebration that one hates the most for the sake of a person that caught one's interest?" She added sarcastically whilst trying not to roll her eyes at the prince.

"But are you truly fine? You're trembling."

For a second, Ingrid thought that there was a hint of worry in the prince's voice. But she quickly dismissed the thought, thinking how ridiculous it was. The self-centered prince never cared for anyone but himself.

Indeed, she was trembling. The hostile stares from the young men around them were putting her on edge. She felt as though they would suddenly jump and start attacking Aleric at any given moment. Not to mention her father, whose hand is already holding the hilt of his sword. If not for Elias gripping his arm while trying to reason with him, he would have already rushed towards Aleric.

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Prince Aleric's resting jerk of a face wasn't making the matter any better. She subconsciously grabbed Prince Aleric's arm, fearing that a fight worse than two years ago will occur.

"Your highness, will you..."

"Ehem!" coughed the now somehow calm grand duke, bemused by how close the prince was to his daughter. Meanwhile, Elias was on the side wiping his forehead after accomplishing one of the hardest parts of his job—reasoning with an unreasonable boss.

Grand Duke Rasmus gave Ingrid a warning glare, and the latter instantly let go of Prince Aleric's arm, which she didn't realize she was holding. But before he could begin to make trouble for the prince who dared lay a hand on his daughter, Emperor Cecil appeared, drawn by the commotion.

"I'm wounded! To think my niece would greet the Prince of Aradhya before me, her uncle!" The Emperor clutched his chest in a display of mock anguish.

Ingrid flinched at her uncle's theatrics. She isn’t exactly close to her uncle, the emperor. She knew that the emperor was only using her and her father to strengthen his hold over the empire. But in reality, the relationship between the imperial household and the grand ducal household isn't exactly that good. Most especially after what happened six years ago.

“That’s not true, your majesty," Ingrid said while bowing. “I was about to greet your majesty when I saw Prince Aleric along the way, so I went ahead and greeted him.”

The Emperor and the Grand Duke looked at each other with an inexplicable expression on their faces. Prince Aleric was standing in the opposite direction from where the emperor was seated. The Emperor quickly grabbed his brother and pulled him to the side.

“You could really tell that they are brothers,” Aleric whispered while the Grand Duke and the Emperor weren’t looking.

The Emperor is the Grand Duke's younger brother. However, it is hard to tell who is older or younger based on their looks alone, as Grand Duke Rasmus seems to have stopped aging. Meanwhile, the Emperor, who holds the weight of an entire empire on his shoulder, wasn’t as lucky in the aging lottery.

“I’ve been wondering about this, but why isn’t your father the emperor? ”

Ingrid raised her brow. “That’s elementary knowledge, and you don’t know?” She mocked, knowing he most likely had people investigating their empire.

Prince Aleric scoffed, “I know that the succession of the crown in your empire isn’t based on a first-born basis. Instead, all of the princes and princesses of the kingdom are given a fair chance to succeed to the throne through fair competition. But your father was the one everyone expected to win the competition..."

“...He was far ahead of his brothers and sisters. The fiefdom he was assigned prospered greatly; the commoners loved and respected him, and many aristocrats rallied behind him. Yet he didn’t become the emperor in the end.”

“That’s because of my mother,” Ingrid answered. “My father gave up his title while they were at the climax of the competition, all because the most beautiful woman in the land, whom he loved the most, was the sole daughter of Grand Duke Lennox. My grandfather has no male heir to pass on the family name, so on his deathbed, he announced he would only accept a son-in-law who would marry into the family. You could guess what happened next.”

Aleric nodded his head in understanding. Though he doesn't think it will happen to him, he does know that there are people in this world who would be willing to give up everything for the sake of love.

“Speaking of your mother, have you seen her face?”

Ingrid glared at Aleric. "Have you forgotten that she died while I was a few months old?"

She did finally see her mother's face for the first time in the secret chamber. But there's no need to tell him that.

Seeing Ingrid's sour mood, Aleric didn't pursue the topic further. He was simply probing how much she discovered about her mother apart from the letters. Her reaction tells him that there isn't much. It seems that the key to discovering the truth about her mother's existence is hidden within those letters. He made a mental note to have Raven instantly solve those letters the moment they arrive.

...Meanwhile, deep within a forest several miles away from Learia, a man riding atop a horse like a delicate damsel suddenly shivered.

"Hey, hey, hey! You excess baggage! Best believe I'll beat you up if you go down with a cold! You've already slowed us down by several days! Slow us some more and I'll hang you on a tree upside down!" berated the robust-looking woman holding the rein.

"I am not!!!" The lanky and sickly-looking man quickly denied, fearing for his life. "I simply had a sense that I'll be worked to death the moment we arrive," he muttered to himself with a shiver.

The robust woman merely sneered and quickened their speed some more...

"Ingrid!" Their attention shifted to the grand duke, who had just finished talking with Emperor Cecil. He glared at Prince Aleric as he pulled Ingrid to his side.

"The journey must have worn you. Allow me to escort you to our tent so you can rest. Let us leave His Majesty the Emperor and the Prince to prepare for the hunt."

Before Ingrid could respond, Grand Duke Rasmus had already pulled her away. He couldn’t wait to take his daughter far away from that bastard prince before some nonsensical relation of some sort formed between the two.

On the contrary, Ingrid was greatly thankful to be taken away. She had already done what she came to do after all, and the attention she was getting was starting to make her uncomfortable.

“Ingrid, do you perhaps...” Grand Duke Rasmus trailed off, his face filled with worry and hesitation.

“Perhaps what, papa?” Ingrid tilted her head, acting oblivious, though knowing full well what the Grand Duke was itching to find out. She needed to act the part of a smitten maiden still ignorant of her own feelings well, else her father become suspicious.

From the look of frustration on the Grand Duke's face, she is doing well so far.

“That bast--prince... Do you perhaps..." Grand Duke Rasmus sighed. “Never mind.”

Ingrid couldn’t help but smile while watching her father walk ahead of her with a dejected face. Although she felt sorry for deceiving him, she had no other choice. After signing the agreement, she's already considered sold to that barbaric prince.