Petty Tricks

"Lady Cassandra, riding a horse with the Prince is – "

"Is it prohibited?" she asked the man who had brought her her horse.

"I believe my lovely fianceé is right. Riding the same horse is not prohibited at all. We are just using this to get to know each other better," said Prince Hunter to her surprise, as he slid his hand around her waist. He was smiling, as usual, acting like a sweet man who would do anything for his fianceé.

What a scary individual.

Cassandra smiled as she lifted her head and looked at the Prince gently. "Thank you."

"Of course."

Seeing their sweet interaction, most nobles who had heard the conversation turned their heads away. After all, seeing people act like this before marriage was not a norm in this place.

"Al—Alright then." Even the man who was holding her horse turned his head away.

"I'll take that horse."

Cassandra immediately hid the surprise in her eyes when she heard Jude Cephie's voice. She felt her body turn cold, and surely the Prince who stood beside her noticed this as well.

"Ah, Lord Cephie." Prince Hunter turned at the man walking towards them. "When we say, we are not riding this horse, we didn't mean that we will leave it here. Of course, we will still take it in case my horse needs to rest."

"Your Highness, you are making it sound as if this is a tour." Jude was smiling, yet his eyes were focused on Cassandra. "The Four great clans… want to win this hunt. And we will win."

Ah, so he was here to warn her. The four great clans…

Were they going to abandon her clan because of her marriage?

That was highly likely.

But was she prepared to face the consequence of this abandonment? No, that was the wrong question.

Was her grandfather willing to face the consequences of her marriage? Or was he going to abandon her just to maintain a good relationship with the other clan? This would surely satisfy the King who wanted them in chaos.

"Only if you are capable," Cassandra said. For years, her fire clan was always the one which was used to burning people. It was never the other way around.

"Sometimes your confidence astounds me, Lady Cassandra. The last time I heard, your brother was always stronger than you. I would believe that the fire clan could win these hunting games only if your brother was here."

Cassandra snorted. "Are you saying that my brother is stronger than you?"

Jude frowned. "You— "

"The pride of the Cephie clan is actually saying that my brother—someone from the fire clan—is stronger than him." She made her voice louder before laughing. "Alright, I will keep that in my mind."

"You—that's not what— "

Sadly for him, Cassandra and Hunter had already turned their backs on him. "Hey!" Jude called out, but the two ignored him and started stroking the horse. Jude felt his face turn hot before he strode towards his horse.

"For a water elemental, he is very impulsive and hot-headed," Hunter said in a low voice. "You on the other hand… can be calm and fiery at the same time. I have seen fire elementals who are rather rash, immediately attacking a demon and dying. That is the weakness of people in your bloodline. Even I, as a bystander and someone who fought against that stupid brother of yours, could say that his impulsiveness was his weakness."

"Is that a compliment?" Ah, the ship was sailing. Did she have to do something to make her brother and this Prince closer? Just the thought of the two together was making her giggle.

He gave her a dirty look. It made her wonder if he could read her… peculiar thoughts? "No. I was stating facts. Jude was wrong. You are stronger than your brother simply because you can be calm in… most situations."

"Most?" she chuckled. Maybe he was right. She could be calm and fiery, and that was only because she was human. Obviously, she wasn't some cardboard cutout of some gentle princess like how most princesses in Zealandia acted.

"We should leave. Everyone is starting to leave."

She nodded. She was actually surprised to see how in spite of looking really gloomy next to her, he somehow managed to give other people some warm smiles. "You know…" Cassandra said after she straddled the horse. She waited for him to position himself behind her before she added. "With you inside the forest, it's only a matter of time before a demon appears." This man had killed a lot of demons in the past and he was a dark one, too.

He was a walking magnet for demons. "I have a question," Cassandra said, as the horse started moving. She could feel him tense and thought maybe their current position made him uncomfortable. "I have heard that Demons hate the dark ones because they survived their… attacks. Is that true?"

"No." Prince Hunter answered almost immediately.

"Are you going to explain?"

"No."

She shrugged and stared at the forest a few hundred meters away from them. She looked at the other people who were entering the forest and sighed as she thought about the crown prince's tracking device that was on their body now.

They were promised that this tracking device could only be used to track their location and monitor their heart rate. Using this, they could easily rescue them using every method possible. However, Cassandra found this reasoning stupid.

First and foremost, any technology would cease to work inside the forest. Even planes and helicopters couldn't fly over them. Phones, cameras, and other gadgets could not withstand the pressure of negative energy. This held true for  everything that ran on electricity too.

She wondered if the device would actually work inside? If the device did work, then it could change everything in Zealandia.

As if sensing her thoughts, a voice suddenly echoed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to enter the forest. I would remind you that the tracker only works on the outskirts of the forest. Once you go deeper into the forest, the device would stop working. Other than that, I would like to wish everyone some blessings! I hope the Gods will bless you! I hope you will slaughter all the monsters that could threaten the peace in this kingdom!"

She turned her head and realized that the voice came from a talisman with the seal of the Kingdom. A spell caster who used a talisman to act as a recorder! Brilliant!

"Look ahead. Don't let petty tricks fool you."

Cassandra rolled her eyes when she heard Hunter's grim voice.