To be reborn as a porcelain doll Part 15

The golden-leafed brown carriage stood in the middle of an area where colorful large tents were set up. The surrounding scenery was filled with lush greenery, a dense wooded area. The sky was illuminated by shimmering sunlight, and the texture of the trees, with their yellowish or green hues, and the sounds of birds were audible from within the forest.

The door of the carriage was quickly opened by a guard, and a handsome and charismatic man with black hair descended from it with noble steps. Immediately behind him, a woman with beautiful brown hair and green eyes, dressed in a servant's outfit, carrying bags, descended. Following her, an elderly-looking steward with white hair, the middle of his head bald.

People around the carriage and in other large tents seemed to have awaited the arrival of this carriage, as they were lined up along the road, all bowing to greet the man with black hair. All of them expressed their good wishes to the man with black hair in unison.

"May the protection and blessing of the Supreme God Xearix be upon you, Crown Prince. I hope your journey has not been too tiring."

As a formality, Felix only nodded his head and began to walk towards his tent, made of pure gold. As Felix walked, he spoke about where Alyssia and Valnric should leave their belongings.

"Personal items in the bedroom, and the hunting gear at the entrance of the bedroom."

"As you command."

Alyssia and Valnric spoke simultaneously.

A few hours later, Felix began to walk towards the podium to announce the hunting competition. Later, a brown-haired man who was talking to an almond-eyed elderly man noticed Felix and, stopping his conversation, bowed to greet Felix.

"Greetings, Crown Prince... How are you, Your Highness? I don't see the Crown Princess with you. Is she unwell, perhaps?"

"No, Amnessia, she is not unwell, just a little delayed. She should be here shortly, Duke Troomben."

Duke Troomben smiled innocently and then, speaking in a hushed voice, covered his lips with one hand as if to ensure their conversation wouldn't be heard.

"I am concerned about the Crown Prince and Crown Princess lately. Among the nobility, there are rumors that the relationship between the Crown Prince and Crown Princess has soured. Your Highness, if we don't silence these gossipers quickly, they can distort the events and create absurd rumors.I don't dare give you advice., but I consider the honor of the Crown Prince as my own honor because I care about him!"

Felix smiled and said, "I appreciate Duke Troomben's kind thoughts, but I am a bit annoyed with myself as the Crown Prince for troubling the Duke with my concerns."

Duke Troomben was about to wave his hands back and forth, indicating denial, when Felix continued.

"Anyway, let's stop talking about this nonsenses rumor.I heard that Lady Astelle has been weakening and falling ill lately. I wonder if she is well now. I know a good priest and doctor in the kingdom. If she has not yet recovered, I can arrange for them to assist Lady Astelle's recovery. You know, the Crown Prince should think about the well-being of his future subjects."

Duke Trombeen's smile faltered for a moment, but it quickly returned to his face, though his eyebrows were still moving involuntarily. It seemed like he could control his emotions through facial expressions, but his eyebrows were exempt from that.

"I greet the Crown Prince and Duke Trombeen."

"Ah, now that Amnessia is here, you can go for the speech. Take care of yourself, Duke Trombeen."

"You too, Crown Prince and Crown Princess."

As Duke Trombeen clenched his fist, he looked at Felix and Amnessia, muttering inaudibly, "You allowed them to find your father's weakness, you foolish girl."

Duke Trombeen's daughter, Lady Astelle, had fallen in love with a slave and became pregnant. When Trombeen learned about this, he forced her to undergo an abortion, resulting in Astelle's weakened and debilitated condition.

To conceal this scandal, Duke Trombeen spread rumors about Astelle's illness. However, as Felix expressed concern about Astelle's health, his eyes gleamed as if he knew everything.

The reason behind sending a doctor to address Astelle's health was Felix's knowledge of the doctor who performed the abortion. Additionally, Felix hinted that he knew Trombeen's secret and had evidence. Felix warned Trombeen to be cautious in his actions and words, as any misstep or revelation of his scheming could lead to the spread of this scandal. Trombeen was not foolish and was well aware that Felix had caught on to him.

Abortion was forbidden in the Krutal Empire because all living beings came from Xearix and Nyphx, the gods. Life, bestowed by the gods, could only be taken by Xearix and Nyphx. If a commoner killed another commoner, the punishment was death, and the same applied if a noble killed a commoner.

Taking the stage with Amnessia behind him, the Crown Prince cleared his throat a few times to capture the attention of all the nobles before beginning his speech.

"Goddess Fleondra, in the dark times, we were weak and feeble. Struggling to fill our stomachs, we could only eat herbs and insects. It was Goddess Fleondra who descended to the earth and taught us the art of hunting. Through her teachings, we gradually gained strength, and we have never ceased expressing our gratitude to her.

If not for her, while we were still struggling to find food, we might not have had the time to advance our primitive civilization, and the opportunity to lay the foundations of our civilization could have been delayed for a very long time or never achieved. And that's why we presented a portion of the animals we hunted as offerings to Goddess Fleondra to express our gratitude.

As time passed, we grew stronger, and our civilization progressed, but we never stopped making offerings and expressing our thanks. We have never lost the hunting teachings of our mother Fleondra and the instincts she bestowed upon us!"

Felix smiled as he extended his hand forward. While all the nobles raised their hands in a celebratory manner, Felix continued his speech.

"At this moment, I announce the official commencement of this hunting competition to affirm that we haven't forgotten the teachings of our mother Fleondra!"

The nobles applauded, some shouted in excitement, but the determination to prove their love for Goddess Fleondra was visible on all their faces. While the nobles might have different thoughts, their common ground was their faith. In the case of any threat to their religion, they could unite, even if they were enemies in other matters.

Felix descended from the podium, and as his eyes briefly wandered to the side, he caught a glimpse of Amnessia smiling at him with an affectionate look. For a moment, Felix felt like he was seeing illusion, but when he blinked, he saw Amnessia's cold, ice-like face.

Felix didn't pay much attention to it, as he was eager to see Alyysia. Despite the short time since they last met, he had missed her greatly. Felix's heart started pounding faster as he approached Alyysia.

Alyysia, standing a bit away from where all the nobles were gathered, looked at Felix with sparkling eyes. Seeing him coming towards her, Alyysia became excited, and her palms started sweating. After smelling her own outfits and confirming that she had indeed applied the perfume given by the Divine angel, she blushed.

Felix smiled as he approached Alyysia and said, "Could you bring the hunting equipment and the horses, my dear?"

"HUH?"

Alyysia was shocked, her eyes widened, and her face turned completely red. After realizing what Felix had said, she turned around and, holding her servant's dress, spoke while running.

"Alright, Your Excellency."

Felix's smile widened, and then his face returned to its usual expression, though his entire face was still blushing. Alyysia, bringing the hunting equipment and the horses, still seemed completely dazed, as if she had lost consciousness.

When Felix saw Alyysia waiting for him at the entrance to the forest, he smiled at her. As Alyysia approached with the brown-haired black-maned horse, Felix looked at it and praised Alyysia.

"The horse you brought is really good."

"Yes."

Alyysia's absent response made Felix chuckle. As he took the reins and mounted the horse, he took the hunting equipment from Alyysia's hands. Then he said, "Did you forget you were supposed to accompany me?"

Alyysia snapped out of her daze and immediately shook her head as if saying no. Felix chuckled and, with Alyysia seated behind him, they started moving into the depths of the forest. It was natural for a servant to accompany in the hunting competition, as when Goddess Fleondra went hunting, there was always someone to assist her. Thus, this tradition was still being continued.

Moreover, neither the Heartless Dragon Vahenndart nor Frod nor the other guards accompanied Felix because they were not his servants. If they had served him, rumors could have spread that Felix feared the forest of the Goddess Fleondra. Before Alyysia, Valric always accompanied Felix, but this time Felix had asked Valric not to come with him.

Felix and Alyysia were advancing through the forest, where bird sounds and the noise of a waterfall echoed. It was a lush area with many trees and greenery, and colorful orange butterflies were flying over the flowers.

Felix, with an arrow on his back, placed it on his bow, aimed, and then released the arrow. As an animal's groans were heard, Felix smiled and, along with his horse, headed towards where he had aimed the arrow.