The Duchesses

Chapter 5 : The Huntress

Then, she also requests Countess Hera's tent to be next to Prince Ares as an excuse to distract Ares from overthinking her impulsive decision.

Then, to prevent Prince Ares from second-guessing her hasty choice, she asks to pitch her tent next to Countess Hera's.

They are not on good terms because Countess Hera has already asked His Highness to end their engagement. However, they have to put up with it in front of their subjects because Hera is giving Ares a chance to make amends after 100 days. After that time, the engagement will be off for good if Hera hasn't forgiven him for locking her in the basement. Therefore, they have never publicly acknowledged that they called off their engagement. Consequently, they must confront each other whether or not they like it.

However, Ares has changed his mind about many things in the past 100 days. Their agreement of 100 days is more like a countdown to murdering the Countess than a means to win Hera's love back. Also, he seems to have already agreed to make Duchess Medea his Empress. He's certain Medea'll accept his offer. Which is why he plans to end Hera's life right now while they are out hunting. With Medea as his Empress, they'll be unstoppable and powerful.

Obviously, the Duchess of Light is well-versed in this. Accordingly, she plans to put an end to the murder plot. It was challenging because Natalie didn't know how they would do it. She and Apollo only intend to keep an eye on the Countess from afar. Her hidden knights are always ready to step in and lend a hand if she needs them to. If Ares makes any suspicious moves, another knight will notice.

"Yes, kind of lame plan. I know, no need to mention it," another part of Aurora's brain argues with each other.

The hunt has now officially begun. There is no sign of Medea anywhere in the vicinity. Perhaps she has started leaving earlier than Natalie. The Countess is currently en route to the territory where she can hunt small animals. The Duchess of Light must follow Hera to the exact location, despite the fact that she cannot yet reveal to anyone that she has trained with Medea in the art of swordsmanship. They exchanged polite greetings and small talk, and then Natalie went on her way to continue the hunt.

Oddly enough, she is ahead of the Countess by a few moves. However, Hera has vanished, and the forest is eerily quiet, almost too gentle. Something is obviously wrong here. Even the knights she sends to keep an eye on Hera have left.

"Where are they?" the ruby eyes search for them wildly.

The Duchess, perhaps worried that she won't be able to save the Countess in time, has given in to her curiosity and set out to find her. However, despite the Countess's healing powers, the Duchess must not forget Ares's formidable fighting prowess. To put it mildly, Ares is a sneaky and crafty fellow.

The Duchess decides to trust her gut and follow Hera's trail. Unfortunately, following the Countess's footprints has become an impossible task. It seems as though she is venturing deeper into the forest to discover something there. For a lady of Countess Hera's stature, this is too risky. It's been said that the larger the beast, the deeper it is in the woods. Her odds of survival are significantly lower in that environment.

Nevertheless, the Duchess is driven to track down Hera by a combination of dogged determination and an adrenaline rush. Hera does not deserve to die in such a manner, and the head of Smith is aware of this despite the fact that she does not know very much about Hera. However, her path has not yet come to an end. Everything in the Countess's life has been predetermined, from the basement to the day of Ares's birthday banquet.

As she wanders deeper into the woods, the Duchess hears buzzy noises from one area. Sounds like people are talking. Her ears perked up when she listened to screaming coming from there.