Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The fallow deer belongs to you.

Violet frowned and scolded, "Hein? I hope you remember that you are a noble. Staring into a lady's eyes for more than three seconds is rude. Show some respect to your future Duchess, even if she is an absolute beauty!"

He finished speaking quickly, and it was too late for him to realize that he had complimented Isabel's beauty.

Violet paused strangely for two seconds and coughed uncomfortably. "Oh, I mean, even though other aspects of her are not worthy of my praise, blonde girls with blue eyes are still eye-catching."

The ladies laughed good-naturedly.

"There is no doubt that the future Duchess is a beauty."

"Thank you all for your compliments, especially from Lady Violet, if that can be considered compliments." Isabel smiled and glanced at Heinrich. "But the Duke's gaze probably doesn't contain that meaning, am I right?"

"Yes, I am more amazed at your good luck than your blue eyes." He paused and raised his chin, "After all, you are the first 'future duchess' to actually arrive in Chalvey.

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly became silent.

It was a well-known fact that the Duke of Spencer had lost four of his fiancées. This was a taboo subject for the Chalvis, never discussed publicly, but now it was brought to the fore by the Duke himself.

Violet, who valued her family's dignity, immediately frowned, "Heinrich!"

Louisa and Edmund looked at each other, as if realizing that this was a good time to embellish the matter.

Before he could speak, Isabel beat him to the punch.

She smiled widely, seemingly unaware of the secondary meaning behind Heinrich's words, and naturally took it as a compliment. "Really? It's truly my honor."

The ladies were very perceptive and gathered around Violet, chatting and laughing again. A storm was lurking in the air.

Heinrich watched this scene, his eyes moving slightly.

The fiancée who had luckily entered Chalvey's house was more perceptive than he had imagined.

However, on the surface, he still raised his head proudly and snorted coldly.

The next moment, the mount under her crotch came close to Isabel, blinked its big moist eyes, and rubbed her palm.

Isabel had no choice but to touch the champion horse's head.

Unlike its owner, this Hummer galloping across the grassland is extremely docile at this moment.

But Heinrich seemed unhappy about his horse's betrayal. He pulled the reins and said, "Black!"

"Your name is Black?" Isabel patted the black horse's head. It neighed happily and was slapped twice by Heinrich.

Violet chuckled. "Blake hasn't gotten over his habit of paying attention to ladies."

Everyone laughed and Heinrich rolled his eyes.

After chatting and laughing for a while, the servants took away the horses and hunting dogs, and the competitive males couldn't wait to start competing to see who had more and more precious prey.

Edmund proudly held out the red chicken and said, "Hey! Look what this is!"

"Oh! Red-haired pheasant! Great!" Everyone gathered around to show their support.

The red-feathered chicken is a type of wild pheasant native to southern Ceylon. Flying prey is difficult to catch, and Edmund's haul of three was a remarkable achievement.

He picked up the hare he had given to Isabel and gave Heinrich a provocative look. "Hein! I'm sorry, but even though you shot a grey goose, I'm afraid it can't compare to my prey. I'll give Miss Norman a hare on your behalf, as a champion's gift to a lady."

Vincent screamed, "Oh?! Get this straight, Miss Norman is cousin Hein's fiancée. It's not your turn to take advantage of her, buddy!"

Edmund sneered, not without boasting, "Yes, it's a pity that Hein achieved so little today."

"I told you a long time ago." He paused, then slowly walked towards Heinrich, his eyes sinister. "No wolf in the pack can always be the leader, and the champion of the hunting feast will not always be the same person. Whenever the leader shows signs of fatigue, a lurking rival will bite his neck fiercely."

He spoke in a low voice so that only Isabel, who was nearby, could hear it.

Edmund was like a wolf cub, showing no respect to his brother and with aggression in his eyes. And his brother didn't seem to be much friendlier, with indifference and disdain written all over his face.

The arrogance from the alpha wolf instantly ignited Edmund!

"Why are you so arrogant?! I beat you! Heinrich! Look at me! Answer me!" He gritted his teeth.

"Beat me?" Heinrich's patience wore thin. He forced a cruel smile, grabbed Edmund by the collar, and lifted him up with one hand. "Listen, Edmund, you're not even qualified to talk to me. In the past, present, and future."

The noise caught Violet's attention. She looked at her two grandsons and said, "Ed, Hein, what are you doing?"

Isabel and Louisa stood beside the old lady and looked at each other at the same time.

Louisa took a deep breath and smiled. "It's nothing, Grandma. It's unavoidable for a victorious general to stumble, and it's unavoidable for Hein to lose his composure a bit. As the winner today, Edmund should be generous. Don't you agree, Miss Norman?"

Isabel raised an eyebrow.

Is this a blatant attempt to open up a battle line?

In her previous life, as Xu Lisha, she had also read some novels about domestic intrigue. Now she realized that perhaps Eastern domestic intrigue techniques were still too advanced for Western ones.

Before coming here, she thought it would take a long time to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, but now, the villains will jump out on their own and give you a hard time. Two-faced, two-faced, etc.... She hasn't reached that stage yet.

As the thought flashed through her mind, Isabel even found the scene in front of her a little funny.

However, husband and wife are one, no matter what happens inside, as the Duchess, she has to protect Heinrich in public.

"Luisa, Heinrich wouldn't lose his composure over a failure, but Edmund did. It's not easy to achieve a hard-fought victory. I'll return this hare to you." Isabel took the opportunity to return the trophy that the other party used to show off.

Louisa smiled. "It's just a hare. It's a token of our love for Edmund and me. If we can win once, we can win again and again."

Then he handed it back.

Of course Isabel didn't answer.

The little wild rabbit in the cage was swaying back and forth, and just as it was about to see stars, a hand reached out and lifted it into the air.

"A hare is not worthy of being a present for the Duchess."

Heinrich snorted coldly and handed the rabbit to the servant.

Edmund, who followed closely behind, sneered, "If I were to give a grey goose, I'd probably be worse off with a hare. At least ladies love fluffy little creatures."

"Grey goose? You always have a poor imagination of the alpha wolf." Heinrich sneered and waved his hand back: "Victor."

A young man wearing gold-rimmed tortoiseshell glasses and a uniform buttoned to the top stepped forward respectfully, then clapped his hands. Eight attendants carried a huge iron cage and walked in orderly steps.

In the cage, a white spotted fawn looked around with its big, innocent eyes. It wore a wreath on its head and a white flower ribbon on its chest, looking very pitiful and cute.

Everyone's attention was attracted.

"Oh my god, that's... a fallow deer?!"

"Your Excellency the Duke captured a fallow deer?! Oh! This is a rare animal that is hard to find even in the Royal Forest!"

…

The nobles, led by Vincent, congratulated Violet. "Congratulations to you and the Duke! This is a good omen for Charvis! Fallen deer are extremely valuable. Whoever hunts one will be the uncrowned king of this game!"

He winked playfully as he spoke, "Poor Edmund will be disappointed. The red pheasant is not even close to the fallow deer!"

Everyone laughed heartily, and even Violet was enthusiastic: "Great! Give the order to hold a ball tonight to celebrate Charvez's big day!"

“Excellent!”

Cheers were heard everywhere, but Heinrich looked calm. Victory was as easy for him as drinking water.

However, Edmund's face gradually darkened amidst the congratulations. When the servant asked him if he still wanted to crown the red pheasant with a wreath, symbolizing the hunting champion, he slapped him to the ground and said, "Get lost!"

Louisa immediately took his hand and whispered, "No, don't lose your composure, Edmund."

The excitement does not belong to the losers, and the winners will not even look at them.

Heinrich was clearly the winner of arrogance.

In the center of the crowd, he waved and ordered his servants to open the cage.

Only then did Isabel realize that the little deer had shackles on its feet and its ignorant eyes were full of helplessness.

The next moment, Heinrich blocked her view, his tone as arrogant as when he introduced himself.

"The fallow deer is yours." He threw the wreath on the deer's head to her as if throwing away something cheap. "Audrey Norman."

The author has something to say:

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Heinrich: When it comes to the decoration, it’s up to me.

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