Escape from the evil lady

‘There's nothing wrong with this woman, is there? ’

The Crown Princess turned back around once more, worry reflected on her face. She had already regretted several times that she had left Camilla only accompanied by that ridiculous red-haired young man. Would a lowlife like him be able to take care of her?

And at the same time…

Kaena de Ronan clenched the reins.

‘No. I wanted to be more patient, didn't I? ’

With difficulty suppressing her inner emotions, the princess finally turned away and looked in front of her.

Together with the Duchess de Lune, they were leading the procession of guardsmen and nobles of the north who had arrived for this hunt. To be honest, originally Kaena had not intended to participate in all of this at all. Events such as hunting seemed to her to be nothing more than child's play that only caused boredom. And if she was going to hunt, she should at least hunt demonic beasts, not just any animals.

Needless to say, she was not particularly excited about this journey from the start? Kaena had never liked the northern region, nor the mistress of these lands herself. The hereditary princess was especially annoyed by this ‘badass’ woman. Unlike other people, even when she bowed her head before her, there was not even a hint of submission in Selina's eyes, which she should have felt as a subject of the Empire before her sovereign. It could even be called arrogance.

On the other hand, getting rid of this woman was not an easy task either. More precisely, the difficulty would be what would follow her death. The Duchy of de Lune had ruled the North for centuries, and as much as Kaena hated to admit it, they were doing an excellent job. So when the Duchess died, it would be difficult to find an equally suitable candidate for the task.

If the northern region was left without a ruler, the place would quickly turn into a riotous region that would be no different from the border.

And since Kaena didn't have the slightest desire to deal with these matters right now, the death of the Duchess would only add to her unsolicited headache. So, she was just going to have to live with it. At least for the time being.

The Crown Princess had planned to leave the north as soon as the wedding festivities were over. However, the words of Camilla, who was very happy when she talked about how happy she was to come here, made her change her mind. Gritting her teeth, the princess had to compromise her own interests when she agreed to stay here for a couple more days.

‘I don't understand, what could she possibly like here? ’

In a global sense, there really wasn't anything entertaining in the northern region that the young lady could enjoy. On the contrary. Prisoners were even exiled here if they wanted to subject them to the harshest punishment. It was hard to imagine that anyone would want to go here just to rest.

Once again, Kaena de Ronan came to the conclusion that this woman really did have very unusual tastes.

Besides, this damned hunt… that had forced her to spend time in the company of the Duchess again.

— Your Highness, I wouldn't jump to conclusions so soon if I were you. A silver stag is not one you can catch so easily.

Kaena de Ronan hummed as the somewhat arrogant words of the northern duchess reached her.

‘How annoying she is.’

— I guess it won't be any harder than the demonic tailwalker I had a chance to finish off not too long ago, ’ she replied with a smirk.

The Mistress of the North annoyed Kaena with her entire icy being, and on any other occasion, she certainly wouldn't spend time together on a hunting type event. Nevertheless, this was a rare chance to get her hands on a silver stag, so the princess couldn't refuse so easily.

‘It will be a beautiful engagement gift.’

As she imagined how gorgeous the silver stag's cloak would look on Camilla and her joy at receiving such a gift as her displeasure at what was happening faded little by little.

‘Well, for the sake of something like this, one can be a little patient…’

The inspiring thoughts imperceptibly took Kaena far away from this place. ‘I want to see Camille right now. And why is she so cute? When she gets embarrassed, her cheeks get round like a hamster. If we have a baby and it looks like her, it'll be my little hamster, won't it? ’

Looking at the monstrous Crown Princess's face, which gradually became smiling, the people around her faltered and could assume that she was plotting something truly horrible. However, Kaena's thoughts were far from carnage, or even affairs of state.

‘A child like Camilla will surely become the jewel of this Empire, be it a prince or a princess.’

While the Crown Princess was indulging in her dreams, sooner or later, she still had to come back to reality.

Specifically, it was at this moment that a sudden shriek sounded behind them.

— Help!

Jeremy de Lune, forgetting all manners, galloped on his horse towards them, bringing the whole procession to a halt.

— Camilla! She… — Jeremy could hardly open his mouth and move his numb tongue after the long ride without respite.

However, that one word was enough to make the Crown Princess appear right in front of him in the next instant.

— What did you say? — Kaena grabbed him by the collar and glared at him with a murderous gaze. She was like a beast ready to tear her victim apart at any moment. For a moment, the baron's son felt a tremendous force digging into his neck and his knees went weak.

‘......’

The faces of the subalterns of the north distorted. Be that as it may, this intimidating pale lad, is their prince. Where was it ever seen that someone could so easily seize a nominal lord of the lands like some puppy? The pride of the North depended on it.

Nevertheless, since the atmosphere was clearly not conducive to this, those watching had no choice but to shut their mouths.

— What's wrong with her?! Tell me! — The Crown Princess demanded sharply, her voice thundering through the forest.

Jeremy's lips quivered and his face continued to turn rapidly blue. He was afraid of the reaction that might follow his words, and so he hesitated to utter a word. After all, how could he say in front of the maddened Crown Princess that he had no idea where his friend was? It would be like throwing himself in front of a bullet.

— I… I… — desperately stammered the Baron's son, as death was already breathing down his neck.

And then…

Someone intercepted the arm of Kaena de Ronan, who was ready to wring the poor young man's neck.

— Please watch your hands, Your Highness.

Everyone present froze in a daze.

— …What?

The bluish violet eyes of the woman, who seemed to be a fearless suicide by opposing the Crown Princess at such a moment, glittered coldly.

— If you are going to harm my husband, I will not stand still even if you are the Crown Princess.

***

‘My head is splitting horribly.’

The first thing I thought as I started to slowly come to my senses. Honestly, I barely remembered what had happened to me.

My last memory…

I think I fell off my horse, and then it was all a blur. The first, by the way, was confirmed by my side, which was aching quite a bit after the fall.

‘Well, if I fell off my horse, I must be somewhere in the snow…’

But, looking around vaguely, I suddenly discovered that I was not in a snowdrift at all, but… Apparently, a tent of some kind. And a very luxurious one at that. It looked like a dwelling set up for the temporary stay of an influential person, and at the same time like a military tent.

I stared dumbfounded at the sight before me. Was I still dreaming? Did I really hit my head that hard?

As I wondered if my sanity was intact, I instinctively recognised the presence of someone else. It frightened me.

The next moment I heard a soft voice that made me shudder even more.

— Are you awake?

Oh shit… That's usually how it starts. I felt like the heroine of a second-rate crime novel, kidnapped and held hostage by a mysterious criminal. No… I would have been better off lying in a snowdrift.

Still holding onto my aching head, I turned around sharply, mentally preparing myself for anything. But… The man in front of me wasn't an intimidating maniac in a black mask.

‘I'm not dreaming this… am I?’

Right in front of me was a beautiful unfamiliar girl with blue eyes.