Chapter 37

The Crown Prince continued his way, ignoring Yijun, who quickly caught up with him. Achil and I sat down, but I didn't feel comfortable, so I told him to return. Achil tried to comfort me, saying, "If that is because of them, they already went," although it was showing he also felt uncomfortable. But I denied it: "No, it's just that I feel cold." And we both returned.

I told Laverna and Tait about what happened, so Laverna saw it as a good sign. She was sure there was no better way to test Aron's interest than to test it when Achil was there.

After that, we deliberately met Aron several times, but nothing happened. However, I continued to stand by Achil's side and didn't let him go like I did before. His presence was beneficial in many ways, not just for Aron.

Our happy times, our excursions, and our adventures returned once again.

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It was a time when the empire held its seasonal hunting competition, which was a first-time experience for all of us. The competition between the contestants grew intense, and Laverna assured us that it would be an enjoyable event with lots to talk about.

Laverna made her first acquaintance with a concubine who was no less noble than her. However, she had been living in the palace for more than a year and had witnessed this event before. The concubine began visiting us with Laverna, recounting the event and other occurrences. She seemed very pleasant, but she did not accept Tait sitting among us. And so, we lost the first friendship we had acquired.

I pretended that I hadn't liked her from the beginning, and Laverna swears that she was the silliest woman she has ever known. Perhaps poor Tait didn't feel guilty and felt she was the reason we lost our first friendship.

After a few days, we all forgot about the concubine and were busy preparing for the coming event. The servants opened numerous gates leading to the forest, and the palace became livelier and grander than the city itself.