HSTYM 07

Chapter 7

Monday, after the weekend.

Herace stopped by the Count Velasquez residence.

The news Isaac brought was good. Lambert Mansion had allowed Isaac to visit.

Herace had no idea what had gotten into that crazy person.

Happily, Herace took Isaac with her and headed to Lambert Mansion.

The butler, whom she met after a week, did not show even a little of the confused look he had shown when Herace had left on her own last time.

He simply welcomed the two of them happily, like a servant receiving guests of the Lianeric family.

“Today, the Young Master is taking a little longer to get ready, so I would be grateful if you could wait in the drawing room for a while.”

Herace and Isaac nodded.

But Xenon was much later than expected. Getting bored, the two sat in the chairs in the drawing room and talked together.

Just as their conversation became lively and their laughter began to spill out, the door to the drawing room opened.

Xenon opened the door in a hurry, smiling.

“Herace!”

But that smile cracked like broken glass the moment he saw Isaac.

“What is this?”

“Hello, Young Master Lianeric. My name is Isaac Velasquez.”

“I never allowed something like this to enter my mansion.”

Xenon stared at Isaac with an emotionless face. Isaac was a little taller than him.

Isaac, with his bear-like build, did not know what to do because he was so flustered.

Herace felt that it was time for her to step in and stood up.

“Hello, Young Master.”

“Herace, what is this useless thing you brought today? A new toy?”

“Please be careful with your words. Isaac is my friend. I brought him here to introduce him to you.”

“You are introducing him to me?”

“As far as I know, Lambert Mansion already gave permission.”

Xenon stared blankly for a moment, then let out a short sound.

“Ah.”

Of course. He must have been doing another crazy thing and simply given some careless answer when a servant asked him.

Herace pressed the space between her eyebrows and wondered how she could get through this ridiculous situation.

Isaac, who must have found the situation quite insulting, was the first to try to fix it.

“There must have been some mistake in the message. I apologize for visiting so suddenly, Young Master Lianeric.”

“……”

Even though Isaac apologized first, Xenon gave no answer.

He only acted rudely with a displeased expression.

“I believe I told you to call only Herace Lorca.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“How absurd.”

The atmosphere quickly became unbearable.

If Xenon had acted kindly, there would have been no problem at all. But since he was openly treating Isaac like an unwanted guest, only an uncomfortable silence filled the room.

However, perhaps he did not intend to leave the situation like this, because Xenon spoke with his eyebrows still frowned.

“So, are you saying that you want to be my playmate too?”

“If Young Master Lianeric allows me.”

Isaac smiled warmly, trying to soften the atmosphere.

Xenon watched him quietly and snorted.

“Fine. It’s not like I can’t.”

“Are you sure?”

Herace could see the butler’s face brighten as he rubbed his chest in relief.

But the cold smile at the corner of Xenon’s mouth did not disappear.

“What’s the problem? But I think I should choose today’s game.”

“What?”

Herace, who had been quietly watching until then, stepped forward.

What kind of thing is that man going to do again?!

She was about to shout that it was not allowed, but Isaac stopped her and answered first.

“Of course. Choose whatever you want, Young Master Lianeric.”

“Isaac!”

“Even if it was not intentional, I was rude to the Young Master, so I want to give in this much, Herace.”

He had clearly said that he knew about Xenon’s temper, so there was no way he did not know that Xenon was trying to cause trouble now.

Still, Isaac seemed to have made up his mind. He straightened his broad shoulders and took another step forward.

“Instead, Herace should be allowed to rest. What do you think?”

“Do whatever you want. The game is hunting. The person who catches the better prey wins.”

“Sounds good.”

Herace did not even have time to stop them again.

Xenon ordered the servants to prepare the hunting equipment.

“You heard me, right? We are going hunting now. Prepare everything so the two of them can hunt within thirty minutes.”

After saying that, he crossed his legs arrogantly, as if he had no intention of even changing into hunting clothes.

This isn’t what I wanted…….

Herace had not expected the two of them to get along just because Isaac came with her, but she had never expected them to suddenly start competing either.

The only good thing was that she was not taking part in it.

It seemed they had treated her this way because they considered her a lady. Honestly, she wanted to ask if they could show that consideration by simply letting her play with toys quietly and pass the time.

The merciless time passed as always, and before even thirty minutes had passed, the servants came to say that everything was ready for the hunt.

Before she knew it, Herace was sitting on a soft cushion under a parasol held by a maid, watching the two boys hunt.

The sunlight was strong that day, but the shade of the parasol kept her from feeling hot.

However, the servants placing an embroidered cushion on her lap and bringing her a teacup and a fan made her feel uncomfortable, and her expression gradually became stiff.

Seeing this, Isaac waved his hand widely.

“Don’t worry, Herace!”

Perhaps he had noticed that she had looked worried for a while, because Isaac reassured her in a confident voice.

Herace did not know what to say, so she awkwardly waved her hand. Then she met Xenon’s eyes.

He was silently looking at Herace without saying anything.

For some reason, the look in his eyes made Herace feel as if waving at Isaac was a very bad thing to do. Feeling guilty for no reason, she slowly lowered her hand.

Then Xenon quickly turned his head and muttered,

“Start.”

“No. You go first, Young Master.”

“Me?”

Xenon twisted up the corner of his lips and gave a small laugh.

“You sure about that?”

“Of course. But this is hunting, so you cannot use magic.”

Isaac often showed a shy side in front of Herace, but he was naturally open and confident.

Besides, giving his turn to a sick Young Master who had been shut inside the mansion the whole time, had pale skin, and was even a little shorter than Isaac was more a matter of conscience than competition for Isaac.

“Who doesn’t know that?”

But perhaps Xenon took his words the wrong way. He gave a hollow laugh, as if he would not refuse the favor being offered to him.

He put one foot in the stirrup, quickly mounted the horse, and received a bow and arrows from a servant.

Then he grabbed the reins and began to gallop fiercely.

Soon, Isaac also mounted his horse and headed in the opposite direction from Xenon.

Meanwhile, Herace worried about whom she should pretend to cheer for.

She did not particularly want to cheer for either of them, but on the surface, she felt she should pretend to support one of the two: Xenon, the heir of the Lianeric family whom her father supported, or her friend Isaac, who had followed her here because of her.

After sipping her tea for a while with a troubled expression, one of the servants who had followed the two boys shouted loudly.

“We caught some prey!”

Herace was startled by the shout, and the saucer in her hand rattled along with her shoulders.

“It is Young Master Xenon!”

Xenon was the first to catch prey.

With just one pull of the bowstring, he shot the king of birds of prey, an eagle.

Without wasting even a single arrow, he cleanly pierced the eagle through the chest.

The eagle that fell to the ground was as large as an adult man’s upper body.

So the servant had no choice but to drag the prey back.

The sound of the bird flapping its wings as it fell filled the air, and dark brown feathers scattered around.

Through them, Xenon sat on his horse and looked down at his prey with an indifferent gaze.

Perhaps because Xenon had gotten his prey so easily, Isaac seemed to become anxious, and the sound of him shooting arrows one after another could be heard.

Then, suddenly, the cry of an animal rang out.

“We caught prey over here too! It’s a wild boar!”

Isaac had caught a young wild boar.

For a brief moment, joy flashed across Isaac’s face because he had caught prey better than a bird.

It was just as Isaac had shot three or four arrows in a row and was riding toward the prey to check it.

A large wild boar, which seemed to be the mother of the young one, charged forward and rammed into Isaac’s horse.

“Ugh!”

At the same time, the hunt ended in chaos.

Isaac fell from his horse. Thankfully, he landed on a pile of soft bushes, so a serious accident was avoided.

“Isaac!”

Herace, who had been watching the situation from under the parasol, suddenly stood up and shouted.

“Are you okay?”

Falling from a horse! It was something that could cost him his life if things went wrong.

When the servants helped Isaac over, Herace approached him in shock. Isaac’s face turned bright red all the way to his neck, and he pushed her away.

“I-I’m fine, Herace.”

“But you fell off your horse!”

“Still, other than scraping my thigh, I’m not seriously hurt.”

Isaac shook his arms and legs, trying to show Herace that he was fine.

But with his red face and stiff movements, he did not look like he was in very good condition.

Herace still could not stop looking at him with worry.

Seeing that, the look in Xenon’s eyes turned cold.