As May shifted into June, the weather warmed. Hunting season was upon us, along with the annual hunting competition hosted by the royal family.
Socially, it was one of the most important events of the year, on par with the royal birthdays. Thus, it was one of my greatest triumphs and finest proof of my status as the jewel of high society to have been crowned the queen of the hunting competition every year since my debut. Granted, this was only the third year, but it was still an evidential occurrence.
The hunting grounds were half a day's carriage ride away from the capital. This allowed aristocrats at court to depart in the morning, arrive in time for lunch, socialise in the afternoon or have some practice, and get a good night's sleep for the official beginning of the contest the following day.
"We're here, my angel!"
Father was very excited, as usual, and so was I. After the long repression of the violence instinctual in humans by the necessary civility of society, especially our dangerous high society, there was something brutally relaxing about sheer bloodshed.
Our carriage pulled up in front of the grand palace, built hundreds of years ago for this exact purpose and gradually expanded to be capable of housing the innumerous aristocrats it presently did. Unlike the royal birthdays, which were limited to the elites and possessed noble airs of exclusivity demanded by banquets and balls, truly all of high society and all their knights were invited to the contest. With so many people, the atmosphere was filled with animation.
Servants and stewards took our trunks. We were shown to our chambers, then brought to a dining room. After a satisfying meal, we began making plans for the afternoon, which was a golden opportunity for practically anything with everyone who mattered gathered in one place.
"I saw some old friends passing by. I think I'll go meet them, and perhaps we'll go practice with some critters. What about you, my dear? My angel?"
Father beamed and Mother smiled daintily. She was as ethereal as ever, untouched by the unruly joviality of the sport, but eager for the social events.
"Why, I'll be in a drawing room, receiving calls for the rest of the day. I expect you'll be much the same, darling? Only somewhere outdoors in this lovely weather, so as many as possible can admire your beauty."
I nodded with a laugh, looking forward to granting favours. In this fairly equal world, ladies were absolutely allowed to participate in the contest, and many did, like me. The system of favours simply let participants dedicate their hunts to others in name in exchange for a 'favour', usually in the form of a handkerchief or a ribbon. Typically, knights from one's house and admiring gentlemen asked ladies for one or were granted one.
Chivalrously, the lady with the most hunts to her name was crowned the queen of the hunting competition. Obviously, this placed me at an advantage, actually participating myself, though it wasn't game changing as most queens actually did not. With my frequent and excellent dancing and various social affairs, I was very popular among gentlemen, in addition to House Avington's already large number of knights, not to mention the two overpowered male leads.
"Val! And Father, Mother! How nice to see you!"
Damian appeared in the dining room and grinned as he approached us. From his unclouded purple eyes, I was relieved to find him mostly sane today, so I was happy to see him. Since our last dispute, he'd sent me numerous letters a day as usual, and in exchange for me dutifully responding to every single one of them, it seemed we'd formed an unspoken agreement to forget about our row. At the very least, it bought time for Nathaniel to research the holy dagger.
"It's wonderful to see you too. If you visited us more often, perhaps you wouldn't miss us as much."
My playful words made him smile like a delighted child, making it almost difficult to imagine he was capable of destroying this whole palace. Truly fortunate, indeed, that he was on my side.
"Ah, what can I do? Research demands my attention, but of course, I shall always make time for my sweet little sister."
An unwelcome reminder that his magic research was just as important to him as me, and giving it up may be the one thing he wouldn't acquiesce to if I asked. That was a matter for another time, and presently, I reached into my handbag and took out the specially embroidered handkerchief for him. I waved it carelessly.
"You've received many favours again already, I suppose? Would you even care for mine?"
He took out a small hoop completely tied with ribbons and handkerchiefs. Wordlessly, a magic circle appeared at the fingertip of his other hand, from which a flame sprouted and threatened to ignite the tender works of many hearts. I laughed and hurriedly thrusted forward my handkerchief, though noting pitifully that one of the most beautiful pieces bore the crest of House Finley.
"Be kind, Damian, and don't go breaking so many hearts at once. Well, how do you like mine?"
"It's absolutely lovely… I'll treasure it with my life."
I smiled proudly at his delighted awe. I was merely satisfactorily good at embroidery, but the two and a half handkerchiefs I'd made for this occasion were some of my finest works yet. The one for Damian had the crest of House Avington in the center, a red rose with black thorns, and our initials bordering it.
After the appropriate praise, Damian carefully placed it in his pocket and looked at me.
"How do you plan to spend the afternoon, Val?"
I couldn't tell him the truth, since giving out ribbons to other gentlemen would doubtlessly make him jealous. Luckily, Father broke in.
"The real question is what you're doing, my boy! Come, I must introduce you to a few of my old friends. I believe they have certain precious grimoires back from the Saint's era that they may be willing to share sometimes."
Damian's eyes glinted, with an almost fanatical enthusiasm that I was thankful not to be the recipient of. He followed Father excitedly, telling him in length about magic from the Saint's era. I waited until they were safely far away, bid farewell to Mother with a smile, and headed out.
The weather was excellent, with a light breeze and the sun shining warmly. A short walk later to the spot we'd occupied in previous years, I found Annalise and Delilah at a small tea table in the shade, on a hill that overlooked the picturesque palace. We talked contentedly as we enjoyed the pleasant view, and frequently, young gentlemen approached to request favours from one or more of us.
Delilah and Annalise, being single, each had only slightly less seekers than me. After all, romance was a common intent of favours, and I had to make up for that with political and social attractions, while my friends were fairly near me in status. Annalise was eager to meet men and grant favours with the excitement of her first hunting competition, but Delilah maintained her usual reserve.
I noticed sadly that while Delilah's ribbons were exquisitely embroidered with much more skill than mine, the effort was less than what she'd clearly put into the handkerchief I'd glimpsed on Damian's hoop. I was fairly sure she was not over him, but I also knew her pride prevented her from speaking of it, so all I could do was pray that Damian came to his senses. Meanwhile, I dealt with my own large number of gentlemen mechanically and charmingly.
"May I be so bold as to ask for your favour, Lady Valentina?"
"Certainly. Please take this ribbon as a token of my goodwill."
"Lady Valentina, could you grant me a favour?"
"Of course. Best of luck hunting…"
My mind wandered to the novel's course of events. Given Catherine's reasonably limited popularity at this point, emphasis had not been placed on favours much, though next year they played a much larger role in a sweet moment between her and Oscar. This year, she had prepared a handkerchief that she wanted to give to him, but was unable to find him before the start of the competition, and also grew embarrassed of her horrible embroidery.
Since she was not like other girls, she chose to hunt, but as her other fortunes were balanced with her lack of intelligence, she immediately got lost. Accidentally wandering from the relatively safe zone of small critters to an area where more dangerous beasts resided, the powerful blessing Nathaniel had given her a while ago attracted demons. The prince, who'd been hunting conveniently alone and nearby in the fashion of the true male lead, swooped in and saved her just in time, until more demons came and they fell off a small cliff together trying to escape.
With the blessing from Nathaniel and the power of being main characters, neither of them were injured seriously. Oscar noticed the wounds he did suffer healed unusually quickly, unknown to him to be the blessing, which contributed to his eventual belief that she was the saint. He saw her use the handkerchief she'd made for him and complimented it, feeling touched. They spent a day in the wild, with the romance of shared struggles and passing time with nothing but the company of each other, before they were rescued, with a newly formed bond.
"You remember what I asked of you?"
I asked during a small break in the stream of gentlemen. Delilah nodded and Annalise did too, though the latter with reluctance and disdain.
"She'll be safe with us."
"I bet she could barely hold a pistol. Well, we'll show her what real ladies are made of!"
I smiled with appreciation and approval for my friends. House Finley and House Tennesley had more than enough knights to guarantee their security, especially since without Nathaniel's blessing, demons shouldn't even be drawn to Catherine. I doubted the half-hearted blessing he'd given me would work, so I'd spent hours reconstructing the directions Catherine had gone in the novel with a map of the grounds, with good results.
I'd thought it a minor plothole why Catherine hadn't awakened her powers when attacked by demons, but I supposed if she or the prince had really been severely injured she probably would have, which was why I placed full faith in my friends to carry out the unfortunately important job of her protection. I would be keeping the prince close at all times, so no matter what, they wouldn't get to bond.
The holy dagger was well polished and ready to hunt. In a few days, if all went according to plan, I would be the queen of the hunting competition and the saint that just slayed her first demons.
In my anticipation, a smirk slipped onto my face. I could hardly wait.