Falconry
"Whoosh!" The arrow flew out and accurately pierced the body of the flying prey, which then fell to the ground.
"Duke Stryker's archery skills are as good as ever," King Eilat praised her technique as he watched Tiff shoot her prey so quickly.
Tiff put down her bow and arrow, turned around as if to say something, and saw the king staring blankly, seemingly recalling something.
At first she didn't understand, until her gaze fell on the sharp arrow.
Tiff raised an eyebrow unconsciously.
Oh, so it's the prince who misses him.
When death was mentioned, Tiffany looked at Duke Ferrand, who was clearly also moved by the sight of his son, whom he had caused to die.
Suddenly he realized someone was watching him. He looked up and saw Tiffany, who was trembling with rage and looked like she wanted to tear Tiffany to pieces right then and there.
Tiffany gave him a provocative smile, which made him even angrier.
But there was nothing he could do now but stay where he was, trying to calm himself down.
Tiff, Tiff, that bitch!!!
The king quickly regained his composure and announced, "Let's begin the hunt in groups."
After he finished speaking, his gaze fell on Tiffany. Tiffany didn't understand what he meant until he said, "You can be in a group with Mullie, right?"
So that's how it is; he's trying to set her up with Muli again.
Tiffany nodded in agreement and rode her horse toward Mullie.
"Your Highness, it's been a long time," Tiff greeted Murray first.
"Long time no see," Mullie replied with a smile, her eyes narrowed.
His lips were as pale as ever, and the color of his pupils, revealed by his not-fully-closed eyes, reminded Tiffany of the orange cat Mullie owned.
Also, moles at the corners of the eyes.
Tiff always felt that people with moles at the corners of their eyes had some kind of mysterious aura, probably because when reading novels in modern times, many male and female protagonists had moles at the corners of their eyes.
A finger poked at it, covering the mole, and Tiffany looked up and met Murray's gaze.
He tilted his head and said with a smile, "You really like my mole, don't you? You seem to stare at it for a long time every time."
“I always felt that the mole at the corner of my eye was quite unique,” Tiffany replied frankly.
"Special?" Mullie raised an eyebrow. "Special?"
Mullie tugged at the reins, and together with Tiff, they turned around and rode into the forest, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
Tiff looked to her side and listened to Murray's voice. Suddenly, the female protagonist thought of using her identity as the Red Tower to have Hicks kill Murray. It was almost November, which was mentioned at the end of October, so why hadn't he taken any action yet?
It seems I'll have to meet with him sometime.
Murray could feel the gazes fixed on him. Last time, when Tiff stayed overnight at the palace, he took her blood as the king had instructed, but found nothing.
It's obvious that if her blood had really been contaminated by the Black Magic Stone, she wouldn't be able to sit here riding a horse in peace right now.
But he always felt that something was off about Tiffany, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
At noon, the falconry stopped, and they went inside the Duke of Ferrand's mansion for lunch.
The king naturally sat in the main seat, Ferrand, as the host, sat to the king's right, and Hicks sat to the left. The other guests were seated according to the conventions of the meeting.
“Your Majesty, I am feeling unwell. May I leave for a while?” After a short while of eating, a duke stood up and bowed to the king.
Duke Edelt, his forehead beaded with sweat and his face slightly pale, looked as if he had just been unable to speak.
Tiff put laxatives in his bowl, yet he managed to hold it in for so long before finally speaking, which made Tiff a little impatient.
After receiving the king's permission, he moved aside and backed away.
Hicks looked at this scene, so different from his previous life, and glanced at Tiffany. In his previous life, she was the one who stood up and said she was not feeling well, but when she came back, she brought back the Black Magic Stone that Ferrand had "hidden".
This time it's different; it's just a matter of whether Edelt will bring back anything.
Edelt didn't expect that when he was led to the washroom by the maid, he would pass by a small house with a strange atmosphere. So after he went into the washroom and relieved himself, he sneaked into the house when no one was looking.
Who would have thought that this inspection would lead him to discover evidence of Fran's treason and his possession of the Black Magic Stone?
After weighing the pros and cons, he finally decided to report Ferrand, and that's exactly what he did.
So he took the evidence and ran back excitedly.
Tiff used her fork to pick up a small piece of venison and put it in her mouth.
Her spies at the Duke of Ferrand's mansion should have already alerted Edelt to evidence of Ferrand's treason.
Knowing Edelt as she does, she'd definitely report Ferrand now.
Before long, footsteps could be heard. Edelt looked serious, and when his eyes fell on Ferrand, he looked heartbroken. But no matter how he pretended, he couldn't hide the excitement and scheming in his eyes.
He knelt down and bowed, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
Ferrand's face was slightly pale. He looked so serious, it couldn't be anything good, and he also had the aura of the Black Magic Stone on him.
The king naturally noticed this and asked him to stand up and report.
He stood up and reached into his robes. "When I went to the washroom, I found this in a small hut."
He took out a black magic stone from his pocket, and everyone was shocked. They all looked at Ferrand at the same time, and Ferrand immediately knelt down the moment he took out the black magic stone.
The king's pupils contracted, and he immediately turned to look at Ferrand. Even without saying a word, Ferrand could sense the king's intense anger.
The room was quiet. He turned and scrutinized Edelt. "Go on," he said, each word sounding like it was being spat out.
"Actually, this room was sealed off by a barrier at the time, but when I passed by, I smelled a wisp of black magic stone."
"I knew this was about the Black Magic Stone, so I couldn't be careless. After shaking off the maid who was leading the way, I sneaked in, but I never expected to find nothing but the Black Magic Stone!" Edelt shouted angrily, pointing at Ferran.
"This traitor! He actually secretly contacted other small countries and even wanted to depose you and become emperor himself."
"Bang!" King Eilat slammed his hand on the table, his face ashen and his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Duke Ferrand was about to offer an explanation when the King stopped him and beckoned to Edelt to present the evidence.
The king glanced at it quickly, sneered, and threw the evidence at Ferrand's face. "What else do you have to say!"
Ferrand knelt on the ground, several sheets of paper were thrown at his face and scattered all over the ground. Ferrand picked up one or two sheets with trembling hands, and his face changed when he saw the contents.
“Your Majesty, this…this must be…” His lips trembled, and after pointing at Edelt, he suddenly looked at Tiff as if he remembered something.
Tiffany's eyes held a hint of disdain, and the corners of her mouth curled up almost imperceptibly. Her expression shifted just right, allowing Ferrand to see her mocking look while simultaneously making the king appear innocent when he looked at her.
"Tiff! It must be Tiff!" The moment he saw Tiff, he desperately wanted to drag her down with him, like a hungry dog seeing a piece of meat and eagerly wanting to swallow it.
“Otherwise, in previous years the falconry was decided by drawing lots, so why did she directly suggest choosing my fiefdom forest this time?”
“She must have framed me!” Ferrand said, his eyes turning red. “And my son Luke, although we still haven’t found out that Tiffany killed him, I’m sure she’s the real culprit.”
"Ha." What bad luck.
Tiffany sneered, "How ridiculous, you think I'm the real culprit just based on your intuition?"
“You have no evidence that I killed your son, but I have evidence that you assassinated my father, leaving him in a coma to this day.” At this point, everyone gasped, never expecting that the development of the matter would involve the former Duke Strych, who had been in a coma for a long time.
“Your Majesty,” Tiff knelt and bowed, “I proposed setting the falconry operation on the Duke of Ferrand’s fiefdom in order to expose his assassination attempt on my father, which left him in a coma.”
“You…” Ferrand hadn’t expected Tiff to be so shameless, accusing him of another crime in just a few seconds.
"Do you think that just because he's unconscious, I won't be able to find out that you were the one who assassinated him?"
"Do you think you can pretend nothing happened just because he's unconscious?"
"Ferran! What you did to my father, you can never repay, even if you die." Tiffany's eyes were full of hatred. She clenched her hands, gritted her teeth, and said each word slowly and deliberately.
Ferrand opened his mouth and stared at her in shock. Only now did he realize Tiffany's ability to twist the truth.
Before he could offer any explanation, Tiffany had already gone to the king's side and presented the evidence.
First came the Black Magic Stone, then treason, and it even involved the former Duke of Stryker.
The king did want Ferrand to join the ranks of the three great houses and become the fourth great house, but now that the former Duke of Stryker is dead and Tiffany has become his sharpest knife, he no longer needs or has any reason to protect Ferrand.
Even if he wanted to protect him, the treason, the Black Magic Stone—every single thing made him want to cut off Ferran's head immediately.
He looked at Ferrand with a dark and gloomy gaze. "From now on, you are not allowed to leave the Duke's mansion for a moment. Await your judgment."
Ferrand's eyes widened, not expecting the king to abandon him so readily.
To outsiders, this might seem like they were protecting him and not executing him immediately, but Ferrand knew that if he didn't execute him now, someone else must be in charge of the execution.
Hicks looked at Tiffany and had to admit that her strategy of using someone else to do the dirty work was brilliant. It was much better for Edelt to discover the evidence of treason, the Black Magic Stone, than for her to discover it by accident herself, and it also cleared her of suspicion.
Edelt was also part of her scheme.
This plot, different from his previous life, even added the charge of treason, which made Hicks realize…
Tiff suddenly looked up and met Hicks's gaze, her crimson eyes holding a hint of a smile.
Tiff must have known—
He was reborn.
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