Abandoned Maid of the Grand Duke - Chapter 38
Thus, three years passed.
Whenever a passing gypsy procession would march by the unit, and soldiers would embrace women as if it were their last time, Ernst would always think of Julie.
‘Julie.’
It was better to be on the battlefield now than in the hell of not being able to approach her even after realizing his feelings. At the moments when bullets narrowly missed him, he could briefly stop thinking about her.
What kind of spell did you cast on me, Julie?
At first, it was just interest.
For an ordinary servant, it would have been presumptuous, but for Julie, it was a steady means of earning pocket money. Such uniqueness drew her into his sight, and with his tendency to keenly observe anything that caught his attention, he found himself chasing her.
All of this blended together, and before he knew it, the prey was not her but him. The hunter was no longer him but her.
So, Julie, will you capture me? If I survive and return from this hellish battlefield, if I can meet you again, if I am given the chance to see you once more…
‘To tell you that I love you.’
Would you give me just one chance to say it?
Then, I will give you everything. Here, where I have resolved to sacrifice even my life, what use are the remaining things?
You are the only one I need.
‘Isn’t that right, Julie?’
He slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, in the blue sight of dawn, his beautiful prey was shimmering.
He quietly held his breath and squinted his eyes. And when he pulled the trigger, there was no more hesitation in his heart toward his prey.
***
In the midst of a forest path where hot heat waves rose like mirages, an even hotter silence wafted.
‘Well, it’s not like I asked anything significant.’
“I didn’t mean anything bad by it, really.”
“Hey, we just meant you should be a little more affectionate. Your wife still seems shy around you.”
“By the way, how did you two meet?”
Ernst tilted his head, lost in thought, as if he might share the story if they waited a bit longer. So they waited quietly.
But ten minutes passed, then twenty minutes, then thirty minutes.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
At this point, everyone had to admit it.
‘He’s a weirdo.’
That guy is definitely a weirdo. If he wasn’t going to share the story, he should have said so from the beginning. What’s he doing, getting lost in his own memories while we’re waiting here? Can’t he see we’re losing daylight and the prey?
Anyone would want to shout, ‘What the hell is this young punk doing, acting so high and mighty!’
But…
“Ahem!”
The fact is, he has a high-ranking central noble’s recommendation letter and his shooting skills are on another level.
And not only that, today’s haul of blue-feathered ducks far exceeded the value of ten days’ worth of game. Distributing that was up to him.
With the unfortunate one having to bow down, the man who acted as the leader of the group forced a smile and stood up to gather everyone.
“Alright, shall we move? The sun is getting too hot here.”
“Sounds good. Ah, but let’s avoid the west side.”
“Haha, right. Let’s steer clear of that.”
As the hunters began packing up their gear and preparing to move, Ernst, finally snapping out of his thoughts, asked nonchalantly,
“The west?”
Pride doesn’t fill your stomach. The leader, who had firmly decided to recruit Ernst as a regular member, grinned widely and shared a trivial yet practical tip known to all the local married men.
“Ahem, the thing is…”
In the west, over there, well, you see. It’s… boom boom, sounds and all.
It was a well-known local secret. There was a mill by the west bridge, and because it was so noisy, couples from various houses would go there to, well, you know.
Never having seen him before and unsure if such a highbrow person would appreciate this, the leader wondered if he should be sharing this.
‘Then again, he’s a man too.’
He figured Ernst could filter out the cruder details on his own. The leader grinned, making a suggestive gesture with his fist hitting his palm.
Whoosh—
The man’s hunting tools, which he had borrowed from one of the group, were thrown back toward them. He didn’t need them anyway, as long as he had his gun, and he threw them without hesitation.
“Hey! What the…!”
“What are you doing, tossing these like that?”
The equipment was valuable to them, some pieces even priceless. They hurriedly picked up the thrown tools, calling out to his retreating back.
“Where are you going, leaving in the middle of a hunt?”
Yeah, where are you going in the middle of a hunt?
Ernst glanced back at their dismayed faces and smirked. He waved his hand meaningfully and replied,
“……To hunt.”
A different kind of hunt, perhaps, but still a hunt.
“Achoo!”
At that moment, Julie, back at home, felt a tickle in her nose and sneezed.
The rest that happens after this is a secret~♡
