The Mistress Runs Away

The night passed and before they knew it, the last day of the fox hunting season had dawned. The men had accomplished a great result despite the shorter-than-usual two-day schedule.

Rowena thought it was a barbaric tradition as she watched the foxes piling up next to the tents. Five years ago, she didn’t look at anything at all, solely fixing her gaze on Killian, but now that she had seen all of this, she could no longer unsee it.

“I really envy you, Miss Philone.”

While Rowena was counting the number of foxes with her eyes, Countess Rachel, who was sitting next to her, called out.

“What is it that you envy?”

“His excellency has caught the highest number of foxes this year. The partner of the gentleman who catches the most foxes gets extra points at the dinner party.”

“When you say extra points, does that mean being the queen of the night?”

“Yeah, so you did hear about that?”

“Joanne told me yesterday.”

“You can get two extra points in the event. One is if the accompanying gentleman catches the most number of foxes in the fox hunt. The other is if the queen nominates you”

The countess, counting with her fingers, concluded with a smile.

“By the way, since the queen is not participating this time, it is most likely that you would be the main character tonight if you wanted to, Miss Philone.”

“I’m not really interested in that sort of thing.”

Rowena laughed awkwardly as she brought the tea cup to her lips.

“Even if I were to become the queen of the night, there’s nothing in particular that I want to do.”

Even if she could select any gentlemen to escort her, there is no one to name in particular, not only was there no one to name, but she also didn’t want to create a case she might have to deal with its aftermath later. She also was not bold enough to reign as queen and command people around.

“Indeed. It’s understandable, since you already have the best man in the country by your side.”

The countess, who interpreted Rowena’s response in her own way, spread out her fan, and whispered softly as her gaze turned around.

“But in my opinion, Miss Philone, you might as well be greedy and seize the opportunity this time.”

What caught her eye was Veronica’s side, who was smiling glamorously in the center of the crowd.

“Since this is what Lady Taldon is aiming for, you can’t lose to her, not even for one night, can we?”

As Rowena laughed, puzzled as to what to say, her eyes met Veronica’s, who had just turned her head away. Veronica, who had stood up after excusing herself for a moment from the person she was talking to, and began to approach the two of them.

“Lady Taldon!”

“Countess!”

Countess Rachel, welcomed Veronica with a bright smile, as if what she had been saying just now was confirmed.

“What are you two doing here alone? Are you sharing some secrets?”

Veronica, who also greeted her cheerfully as she sat down across from them.

****