Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 134

Leonoe stared at Hubert quietly. “Father, giving me Grande doesn’t mean that. You know it.”

 

A long time had passed, but the father Leonoe remembered was not like this. When it came to family matters, he was cold and unwavering, drawing clear lines. He never handled things based on sentiment.

 

“Just take it. Don’t you enjoy archery? If you can find joy in hunting with this bow, that’s enough.” As if refusing to back down, Hubert placed Grande in Leonoe’s hands.

 

“Who changed you like this, Father?”

 

“Who?” Hubert chuckled low and asked back at Leonoe’s question.

 

“Is it Epirosa?”

 

“Yes, that child brought me much joy. And…” Hubert’s red eyes, identical to hers, stared directly at her. “You.”

 

“…”

 

“The time I lost you, and the moment I got you back.”

 

The raw sincerity in his calm words left Leonoe momentarily stunned. Was her father always someone who revealed his emotions so easily? She had many memories of being cherished by him in her childhood, but it was always the kind of affection given to a capable heir candidate.

 

“It’s okay if you can’t continue to connect with the divine beast. It’s okay if you can’t become the heir.”

 

“…”

 

“Just enjoy the hunting festival safely.”

 

“Father…”

 

“Of course, since I’ll be participating in the hunting festival too, it won’t be easy to claim the winner’s trophy,” said Hubert with a smile. At that moment, he didn’t seem like the head of the prestigious Blanche Ducal family, one of the pillars of the empire, but just an ordinary father.

 

Seeing him like that, a smile spread across Leonoe’s face as well. “Yes, Father. I’ll gratefully accept Grande.”

 

* * *

The Grand Garden was the imperial family’s long-standing hunting ground. The vast plain stretching out from the entrance and the rugged hills encircling it like a painting made it a perfect place to enjoy a brief diversion before the event began. Indeed, the plain was adorned with finger foods and seating for pre-event enjoyment, as well as small rooms under tents for comfortable relaxation. The podium where the emperor would step and the victor would hold the trophy stood grandly against the backdrop of the lush green hills.

 

“Because the hunting ground itself is too dangerous.” Mom said as she popped a cookie into my mouth. Her low voice and swift movements made it seem as if she were carrying out a secret mission. “Ice cream, ice cream for my daughter… Ah, here it is. Eat this first, and as for why the hunting ground is dangerous…”

 

Of course, Mom was on a mission. She was simultaneously warning me about the dangers of the hunting ground and feeding me like a baby sparrow.

 

“Mwom, I’m ful… (Mom, I’m full)…”

 

“Then just have a little cream sherbet. Anyway, the hunting grounds are rough, with lots of big rocks scattered around. The terrain is really steep. So you should only hunt in Zone 1. Got it?”

 

The Grand Garden hunting grounds were divided into Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3. The higher the number, the rougher and more dangerous the terrain became. The danger level of the prey also increased accordingly. In Zone 1, there were only rabbits and foxes, but in Zones 2 and 3, there were wild beasts. What was peculiar was that the beasts in Zone 3 were far more ferocious than those in Zone 2.

 

“What bout yu, Mwom (What about you, Mom)…?” I swallowed my food and looked up at my mom. She gave me a sly smile.

 

“Of course, I’ll be hunting in Zone 3.”

 

“That’s dangerous!”

 

“Yeah, it is. Dangerous for the prey, not me.”

 

Her red eyes gleamed with excitement. The look on her face, thrilled at the thought of hunting, was so intense it reminded me of a knight heading into battle. It was enough to make even me, her daughter, feel a little scared.

 

Was Hubert like this in his younger days? I glanced at the bow strapped to her back and thought about it. The bow, named Grande, was the one Hubert had given her.

 

“And Epirosa.” Mom suddenly leaned down and whispered into my ear. “The emperor is hosting this hunting festival here to use Duke Claude Clementi to suppress Crown Prince Ludwig.”

 

“…!”

 

So Mom knew too. Well, it was so blatantly obvious that there was no way the nobles wouldn’t notice. Probably everyone who came here was more interested in watching the rivalry between the two men than in the actual hunting.

 

Mom whispered with a worried look. “You must not get caught up in that competition. It’s more dangerous than the steep hunting grounds or the ferocious beasts.”

 

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll never get involved in it,” I said confidently.

 

There was a different reason I had come all the way here, even learning how to use a bow. It was to find the archmage’s tomb hidden in the Grand Garden! There would be a treasure there that could help Mom communicate with the divine beast. But the problem is that the tomb is in the heart of Grand Garden, in Zone 3.

 

If Mom found out about this, she’d be even more shocked, wouldn’t she? I absolutely can’t tell her. Pressing my lips together, I felt like a bad kid.

 

It was at that moment.

 

“Your Majesty the Emperor and Your Highness the Crown Prince are entering!”

“Duke Claude Clementi is entering!”

 

The emperor and the crown prince appeared. However, it wasn’t their entrance that captured everyone’s attention.

 

“Oh my, Duke Claude Clementi is attending to His Majesty.”

 

“He’s sticking so close to His Majesty. Because of that, he’s even walking ahead of the crown prince.”

 

It was the strange arrangement of the three that drew everyone’s eyes and ears. Even the seats on the platform were arranged for three. The emperor sat in the center, Ludwig on the right, and Claude slightly lower on the left.

 

How blatantly obvious. I clicked my tongue at the emperor’s behavior.

 

It was then that someone approached us.

 

“Oh dear, I heard a woman with a bow would appear at the hunting grounds today, but I didn’t think it would actually be true.”

 

A coquettish, lilting voice. A mocking tone laced over the higher pitch. It was Violet. Having regained the emperor’s favor, she looked at my mother and me with a face full of arrogance.

 

“I get that you want to stand out to the men, but dragging your daughter into it? Isn’t that just ridiculous?” Violet covered her face with her fan and let out a syrupy laugh.

 

My mother and I were simply bewildered. I could understand her targeting me, but why was she suddenly attacking my mother? The answer came in Violet’s next words.

 

“If Diane were still the mistress of the Blanche household, she would never have let something like this happen. Isn’t that right, Stella?” She turned to Stella, who was already standing by her side, and asked.

 

“Aunt must have her reasons. But if it were my mother, she definitely wouldn’t have allowed me to pick up a bow.”

 

Behind Stella, Nicholas stood with a mocking smirk, watching us.

 

Bring up Diane, huh? Her intentions are way too obvious.

 

Right now, the woman with the highest official status in the empire is my mother. As the eldest daughter of the Blanche family and the only legitimate child of the still-active Hubert, she held that position firmly. Violet, who desperately wanted to be the most prominent woman in the empire, must have found that fact unbearable. Diane willingly knelt before her, but my mother would never do that. That’s why today, she’s taking the chance to crush her.

 

“Are you planning to offer a handkerchief to some gentleman without even wearing a beautiful dress?” Violet mocked my mother once again. It was because my mother and I were both dressed in hunting attire.

 

People subtly began to gather around us. Even the emperor and his sons on the platform were looking this way. My mother, however, seemed even more thrilled by the attention, her lips curling into a smile.

 

“I’m going to catch my prey with my own hands. Why would I need to offer a handkerchief to receive it?”

 

“Oh my goodness. Hunting! Are you really planning to commit such a brutal act with your delicate hands?” Violet frowned as if horrified. Her expression practically screamed, ‘Look at this barbarian.’

 

My mother let out a small laugh. “It seems Duchess Violet Clementi has momentarily forgotten. That it was a goddess who personally cast the demonic beasts into Abadon’s abyss thousands of years ago during the Divine-Demon War.”