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“Okay, okay. On my faith in firstborns, I promise.”

Venna knew Saulus for long enough to recognize the moments when he was joking, and the ones when he was absolutely serious. And right now, his face indicated how focused and set on this question he was.

“Good. Then let’s start with the equipment. First, our main weapon for the hunt. The bow.”

The entire idea behind this hunt wasn’t about obtaining meat. That matter would be solved by the thousands of hunters that roamed the woods in another area, supported by nearly as many logistical workers and cooks tasked with turning the hunted game into relatively long-lasting rations.

The only reason why Venna was in the woods and listening to Saulus’ lectures about how the standard hunting routine worked, was to get herself away from the court life, even if only for a short moment.

“Do you get everything so far?”

Taking a moment to make sure Venna was following his short lecture, Saulus cast a quick glance at the girl nodding her head before moving his eyes back towards his hands buried in one of the crates.

“Good. Once we manage to hit the prey with one or two arrows, rather than chasing after it, we will get down from the saddles and track it from there. The trail of blood should be more than enough to find where it will fall to its death. Also, the most important bit.”

Finally finding the piece of equipment that he was looking for, Saulus pulled it out of the crate before approaching her. With all the excitement that was filling her for the upcoming adventure, she couldn’t wait for the lecture to end, already jumping on top of one of the horses. Safely lodged in the saddle, she looked down at the item that her childhood friend brought.

“A knife? What for?”

Taking the sharp piece of metal from Saulus’ hands, Venna looked with curiosity and surprise at her retainer.

“This will be your last line of defense. If something bad were to happen…”

Taking a momentary break, Saulus took an additional breath to prepare himself to utter the words of the worst possible scenario.

“If something bad were to happen, rendering both me and my men unable to help you, this might save your life. I know it looks silly, but without proper training, a knife is the best weapon for an amateur like you. And when we take your past in the kitchens into account…”

Referencing the time when Venna was still pretending to be just one of his maids, Saulus hoped to turn her attention away from the implications behind what he said. Because while this hunt was a great opportunity for the Queen to relax and let off some steam, there were a lot of potential threats lying in wait for her appearance in a secluded area like this exact forest.

“Okay. But we both know that neither you nor your people will be able to save me from something… This knife would only help me to take my own life. Is that what you wanted to say?”

With her face darkening, Venna audibly swallowed.

“No, for Firstborns’ mercy, no. If anything of this sort were to happen… Just do your best to stay alive. Slash with it, cut with it, poke with it… And never think about claiming your own life again. Can you promise me that?”

As soon as Venna mentioned suicide, Saulus’ face turned red. His fists tightened, his teeth clattered against each other. Faced with the idea of his queen, his childhood friend and his beloved girl taking her own life out of desperation, it seemed as if a dense wall of intense heat suddenly hit him straight in the face.

“Well… Okay. Under the firstborns’ watch, I promise not to make any attempts on my own life unless I find it absolutely necessary and the only way out. Does that satisfy you?”

Turning her sight towards Saulus once again, Venna looked at him with a strange glint behind her eyes. Too tired and too agitated by the recent wave of emotions that struck him, Saulus only managed to nod his head slightly before finally passing the knife to Venna’s hand.

Moving a few steps back as soon as she hid the weapon at her belt, Saulus didn’t dare to waste any more time. Hunting would be possible only for as long as the sun would grace the world with its bright glory, putting a definitive time limit on this leisure activity of theirs. Given how there was absolutely no time to waste, Saulus quickly hopped on his horse’s saddle, before guiding it towards Venna’s mount.

“Remember, just a few steps away. While I know this entire thing is meant to let you relax and forget about your position for a moment… No, who am I trying to lie to.”

Suddenly closing in on her, Saulus leaned away from his saddle, nearing his lips to Venna’s ear.

“I won’t be able to take it if anything were to happen to you. Not because you are a queen. If I really wanted, I could come up with tons of candidates to be a marionette for me. You are not to step away from me, simply because I don’t want to think of losing you, period.”

Forcing himself to be a bit more honest than usual, Saulus returned to a normal position on his saddle right as Venna’s face suddenly exploded with redness. Hiding her blush by turning her head away from the man, Venna failed to respond to his words.

Noticing how his words made the girl flustered, Saulus smiled lightly before scanning the woods around them. Out of twenty people assigned to this mission directly from his personal unit of veterans, ten of them were already atop their mounts, awaiting the order to move out. The remaining group was ordered to lay low and secure their backs from the shadows. Looking at the line of the trees, Saulus failed to notice the presence of even a single person outside of his ten mounted men.

And that meant not only that the other group from his unit was already properly deployed, but it also signified that all the preparations for the hunt were already done. And that, in turn, left Saulus with just a single thing to say.

“Let’s go!”