All I Wanted Was the Alimony - Chapter 30

Lucienne thought she could catch it in one strike the moment it pounced.

Taking a deep breath, Lucienne glared at the jaguar. Their eyes met with intensity.

“……”

The jaguar’s growl gradually faded. Its body, which had been crouched low, lifted again. The fierce aura that seemed ready to pounce at any moment diminished.

The jaguar trembled, then took a step back and rolled over on the ground.

“Kyaong.”

Lucienne’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Grrrrrrrk.”

Now it was even purring. Lucienne rubbed her eyes, wondering if she had seen it wrong.

“What the…?”

No matter how she looked, it seemed like the jaguar was acting affectionate like a cat.

“Why did you suddenly turn into a cat?”

When Lucienne took a step forward, the jaguar flinched, shrinking back as if ready to flee, and glanced up.

“Mi… myaong.”

Its growl was deep but soft. Even Lucienne could see it was scared.

As she stood dazed, the jaguar quickly rubbed its head and body against her leg.

No matter how she looked at it, the only difference was the size—it was just like a cat being affectionate. Though it seemed somewhat desperate.

Watching the jaguar’s behavior, Lucienne was reminded of the black wolf, Softbread.

Its behavior patterns were similar to Softbread’s. Lucienne reached out and stroked the jaguar’s head.

“Ah, you’re really gentle, aren’t you?”

Feeling the soft fur, Lucienne no longer felt like capturing the jaguar.

“Purrrrrrr.”

After petting the jaguar for a while, Lucienne turned her gaze to the cubs. The gray bear cubs that had been huddling together cautiously approached her.

Their behavior wasn’t much different from the jaguar’s. All three trembled slightly as they rubbed their bodies against her or rolled forward playfully.

“Haha, how cute. Where’s your mom?”

Stroking the round cubs, Lucienne muttered to herself, then a thought came to mind about what would happen at the end of the hunt.

“Oh? Could the gray bear the male lead catches be their mom?”

If so, there was no time to dawdle.

She had to return to the hunting ground in advance to stop the gray bear from being hunted.

‘But then Emilion won’t be able to win.’

Lucienne hesitated for a moment, then stood up.

“Whatever.”

Maybe it was just her, but Verdi also seemed to have character flaws.

Then there was no need for Lucienne to wish for the protagonist’s happy ending.

She just had to go, see the situation, and save the gray bear so it could reunite with its cubs.

At that moment, the sound of hunting dogs barking drew closer.

The jaguar and the three bear cubs all became alert at the unfamiliar sound outside the cave.

“I was going to leave you behind, but guess not. Want to come with me?”

The jaguar tilted its head. Lucienne beckoned with her hand.

“Come here.”

Startled, the jaguar immediately came to Lucienne’s side. It seemed to understand her intent.

“Stay still.”

Lucienne placed one of the bear cubs on the jaguar’s back.

The cub squirmed, and though the jaguar looked annoyed, it calmed down quickly under Lucienne’s gaze. The cub soon hugged the jaguar tightly.

Lucienne tossed aside her switch.

Then, with a bear cub in each arm, she stood up.

“Follow me closely. Got it?”

The jaguar gave a soft growl and stood beside Lucienne.

“Kyaong.”

As they exited the cave, five hunting dogs came running toward them from a distance.

“Woof, woof!”

As the dogs barked loudly, the jaguar retreated behind Lucienne.

It bared its teeth, but the number of hunting dogs made it very nervous.

Normally, Lucienne would have been as well. But now she had a different thought.

The first wolf she encountered, Softbread, had been completely submissive and affectionate toward her. The jaguar and the bear cubs had reacted the same way. They even trembled.

It seemed animals instinctively feared demons.

‘Would hunting dogs be any different?’

With that question in mind, Lucienne glared at the dogs and spoke sharply, “Tch! Where do you think you’re going?”

A surprising thing happened. The dogs quieted down and tucked their tails.

“Go.”

As soon as the command was given, the dogs scrambled away.

Now Lucienne was certain.

Most animals would cower before her.

‘But in the animal kingdom, it’s survival of the fittest. And since demons are overwhelmingly stronger than humans…’

Perhaps the animals instinctively recognized that and made their choice for survival.

Either way, the obstacles were gone. And she had four captures already.

‘Three bears and one jaguar. That should do it. If the gray bear is really their mother, that’ll be added too.’

In the original story, it was a gray bear that determined the winner. Since Lucienne intended to bring the gray bear, Emilion could no longer win.

‘Then is the Hero’s Divine Sword mine?’

Unless Paello caught something even greater, Lucienne would win.

She even encountered the rabbit she had wanted to catch while walking down the path. The small, spotted rabbit looked young, and the moment it met Lucienne’s eyes, it fainted. But it was still breathing fine.

“Great, the rabbit makes it perfect. Let’s go claim the prize.”

Lucienne, with the fainted rabbit draped over the jaguar’s back, cheerfully headed toward the tournament hall.

Fweee! Thud!

As Lucienne was briskly walking, a flare shot up with a whooshing sound and red smoke billowed in the distance. It was already the fourth signal.

Someone had apparently hunted four large beasts, each too heavy to move by dragging alone.

Five minutes later, another signal rose. It was the fifth red flare.

Before she could even take a few more steps, green and blue signals also went up.

Those, too, were fifth signals.

“Wow, who are they? So many insanely skilled people.”

Lucienne paused in admiration, then glanced back at the jaguar and the three bear cubs and chuckled.

“Forget winning, even ranking is probably impossible.”

***

Originally, the purpose of the Holy Empire’s hunting competition was to remove dangerous animals and control their population through entertainment.

And the forest near the imperial palace was teeming with perilous creatures due to lack of civilian access. That’s why it was chosen as the tournament site every year.

Therefore, Paello and Joad ignored the small animals in sight and ventured deep into the forest.

Then arrows of unknown origin began flying at them.

They were sniper shots aimed to kill, but not a single arrow could threaten Paello, Joad, or the hunting dogs.

That was because Paello and Joad detected each incoming arrow and deflected them with wooden sticks.

Joad shrugged and lowered his voice. “At this rate, the reason for sending a spy is becoming clear.”

Even though he was being targeted, Joad showed no signs of fear or surprise.

In fact, ever since he learned that the spy had been sent by the emperor, he had been mentally preparing himself.

Paello had also anticipated that something like this might happen during the hunting competition.

“Idiotic. To think they could harm us with something like this.”

Paello gave a faint nod with an indifferent expression.

And now, seeing it for himself, he could understand why Sidell had sent a spy.

The Empress Dowager had governed the state in place of her husband, who died young, until her son came of age.

Her governance was outstanding, and she had fulfilled her duties to her children and grandchildren.

But the only time her expression truly lit up was when she faced the previous emperor.

Perhaps due to her naturally reserved disposition, she was known for being indifferent even to her own family.

Yet from the moment she saw Paello, her response was different.

Though she had sent an invitation claiming she would only watch from afar, when they met face to face, the Empress Dowager could not hide her emotions toward Paello.

Her entire demeanor exuded a deep, wistful longing and profound affection.

As a result, ridiculous rumors questioning the legitimacy of the imperial bloodline emerged, and Sidell must have detested that.

To the point of wanting to kill Paello.

Of course, seeing that wouldn’t have made Sidell feel great, but resorting to sniper attacks like this was a dark and foolish choice.

‘Then the poisoned liquor must have been a scheme by the emperor too.’

As Paello recalled the previous day’s events, his brow slightly furrowed.

Yesterday’s poisoning and today’s sniper attack.

Both were unsuccessful attempts. And in making an enemy of the Ronatere territory like this, only Sidell would suffer the consequences.

‘A ruler of the empire is far too emotional.’

Now that the emperor’s malice was clear, there was no way the Ronatere territory would ever support or assist Sidell’s authority.

At that moment, as he deflected another arrow flying through the wind, Paello said to Joad, “Let’s go deeper in.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Joad led the hunting dogs deeper into the forest. Paello ran with him, deflecting incoming arrows and guarding Joad’s back.

The forest quickly grew denser. And with it, the terrain became more rugged.

But it was no problem for Paello and Joad.

The northern mountain ranges were far steeper, more treacherous, and dangerous. Compared to that, this forest was just a tree-filled plain.

As expected.

The snipers couldn’t even keep up with the two of them.

And when they reached the area near the marsh, the hunting dogs began barking wildly.