Chapter 58: The Hunt (9)

The night was black. Even though there were two moons hanging in the sky, they barely reflected the light of their brighter counterpart.

Cornelia was walking to and fro. Her anxious face would turn to the barely visible lake every once in a while. It had been more than two hours since he left.

*Splash!*

She hastily looked at the source of the sound. Adrian lazily swam to the shore.

He looked at her and opened his arms. She understood what he meant. She took out a towel from her bag and rushed towards him. She gently wiped all the water from every part of his body including his manhood.

She then fetched his previously removed clothes. She fitted the shirt first before kneeling before him with the pants in her hand. Adrian nodded in approval before moving his feet.

She pulled his pants up and tidied everything.

“Good.” He smiled at her.

She had mixed feelings about his praise. After all, she was a princess and she was praised for doing the job of a maid.

“Had fun with the mermaids?” She asked mockingly.

“Yes. The kiss lasted for five minutes. And her boobs were bigger than yours.”

She stomped on the ground in response.

“The scenery here is nice.” He said before pointing at the small lakeside woods a few dozens of meters away. “Let’s camp there tonight, shall we?”

“Okay.” She nodded.

In a matter of five minutes, they reached the woods and selected a spot to camp on.

“Good. Build a house here.”

“Sure. I will build a WHAT?!” She gasped.

“What? Aren’t you a woodcutter?” He raised his brows.

“I am a wood CIRCLER!” She puffed her tight chest in anger.

“Wood cutter, wood circler- same thing.” He pointed at the small forest. “All the materials you need are here. Get started.”

She could only bite her lips and follow his orders.

Two hours passes. The night got even darker.

“Phew.” Princess Cornelia wiped the sweat out of her forehead.

Finally! It was done. She was the princess of a nation but she was forced to build a house. Though she was incensed, she did not dare to utter a single word against him. Who knows? ‘Your skin will keep me warm through the night.’ might be the last thing she ever hear.

Adrian who left an hour ago returned back with two cooked fishes in his hands. He looked at the cottage she built.

It’s length and breath were around four metres and height was about two. It was more than enough for the two of them to sleep through the night.

“Here, take it.” He tossed one of the fishes to her. She barely caught it before giving him a suspicious look.

“What? Don’t want it? Give it back.” He reached out his arm.

*Growl*

She shook her head wildly and tightened her grip on the fish. All this labour had her famished.

He sat down on one of the tree stumps and began to feast on his own fish.

She followed and sat down on another stump not far from his.

She took a small bite. Even though she was hungry, her body subconsciously followed royal etiquettes. “Mmmh.” A soft moan escaped her lips.

She looked at the now bitten cooked fish one more time. The texture, the temperature, the salt content, the spice- everything was great! She had rarely eaten such delicacies, despite hailing from royalty.

She did not hold herself back any longer and munched through the whole fish, leaving behind only the skeleton.

“It was delicious.” She did not hold back her praise.

“The food better be of at least this level from tomorrow. Or else…” He gave him a smirk.

The smile disappeared from her face as sweat drenched her body yet again.

He entered the cottage. It was all dark. He brought out a magic candle and lit it up. A small red magic circle also lit up on its side along with the flame on the top.

The room was not dark anymore. She also took her time to leave place for a window at the side facing the lake.

There was a mat placed on one side of the room along with a small pillow on top. He did not waste any time before lying on it. He placed the candle on one side.

“Hey! That’s mine.” She entered.

“Did you already forget?” He smirked as he scanned her whole body from top to bottom, as if he could see through her clothes.

She could not come up with a reply to his statement, nor to his blatant eyes. Her face became crimson as she looked down to the solid wooden floor.

“Proceed.” His casual voice entered her ears.

She bit her lips. Yes, that was right. Her life did not belong to only herself any longer.

She removed her white and blue dress. Only white undergarments remained. But before she could unhook her bra-

“What are you doing?”

She looked at him. “Hmm?”

“Come here and lie down beside me. Why are you stripping? Are you that thirsty?”

His words pushed her into a daze. Blood almost exploded from her cheeks. She wanted to kill herself right there and then.

“Never mind. Come here.” He moved a bit to the side of the mat, creating space for her.

She sighed and lied down beside him, not bothering to wear the clothes again. After all, her body did not belong to only herself either.

He wrapped his arm around her petite body. He was already fast asleep.

She kept staring at her otherworldly countenance lit by the glittering candlelight for a whole minute before closing her tired eyes.

******

A single beacon of light traveled through a narrow tunnel.

“Are you sure you remember it perfectly? I have been walking, climbing and sliding through this narrow tunnel for three whole days now.” A young male voice echoed through the tunnel.

“Trust me. I know. It is hidden really well and only a handful of people can find that place.” A bewitching voice answered smugly. “And I am one of them.”

“Can we reach the destination by today? I can’t waste all of my time on some treasures. I have to kill some imperial bastards by the end of the Hunt.”

“Boy, you should set your priorities right. The treasure is beyond your wildest imagination.” The blue ring hanging from his neck glinted.

He responded in silence.

“Sigh. If you pace up a bit. We can reach there by the end of today.” She gave up explaining.

After six hours of hiking through a maze of tunnels, Sirius finally reached his destination. A huge door appeared with archaic symbols and figures engraved upon it.

“We are here. What should we do?” He asked.

“Leave it to me.” She answered. “*#*£#*&#*££##”

He could not understand or even clearly hear a single syllable she uttered.

*Rumble*

The ground began to shake as dust blew off from the surface of the door.

*Click.* *Rumble.*

The door began to open- slowly. It took a whole minute for it to open.

He stepped into the room. Contrary to his expectations, the room was extremely small. He sniffed but rust was all he could smell. There was a small chest at the centre of the room.

“That’s it. Go on. Open it!” Her excited voice echoed in his ears.

He approached the rusted chest and knelt down.

*Click*

He opened it.

******

‘The Hellish Depths’

Both Adrian and Cornelia relaxed for the last two days beside the lake. They came in contact with some participants but all of them were from the Confederation.

When Cornelia asked where would they go next, Adrian pointed to the North.

He clearly remembered his answer to why go to the North.

‘I have had enough rest. Let’s go and have some fun, shall we?’

But she really doubted whether the ‘fun’ would also apply to her or not. She had seen him having fun before and she wholeheartedly wanted erase that memory. She had the same nightmare the third time in a row.

“Found one!” Adrian suddenly increased his pace.

She followed, silently praying for the poor soul he selected as his prey.

A bewitching blond haired young lady was walking through the sparsely grassy canyons. Sunlight glinted on her orange hued dress. There were humongous leafless trees spaced apart from each other.

It was her fourth day here, and to her dismay- she had yet to find a prey. Yes, she killed a noble from a tier 1 kingdom, a princess at that; but was it any fun. No!

She was looking for commoner men. Not ‘girly’ as girls or refined as noblemen- they were perfect toys to play with.

Almost half of the 200 students sent in by the confederation were commoners and more than half of those were males. She had already done her research and there should have been 53 male commoner students but she failed to find a single one.

“Tsk. How unlucky am I?” She stomped hard on the ground.

“Very. I say.” A charming masculine voice entered her ears.

She turned toward the direction the voice came from in alarm. A devilishly handsome young man let go of the nape of the beautiful young lady beside him. How could they get so close without alarming her? But she composed herself nevertheless.

“Adrian Darkheart?” She smirked.

“Pleased to meet you, lady Valentina Ross.” He bowed like a gentleman.

“Though you are not the one I am looking for, I can buy a dozen or two young and juicy slaves from the bounty you have on your head.” She licked her lips as she brought out her twin daggers.

Adrian smiled at her before turning to his companion. “Back off, you are not her match.”

Cornelia stepped away.

“How unlucky of you to-“

“To meet one of the seven level 4 students of the Empire? We can decide who is the unlucky one after the duel.” He beckoned her with his fingers to make the first move.

His taunts did not stimulate any sense of wariness in her; rather, it begotten anger. She charged at him with dashing speed, using the essence of her wind attribute to the fullest.

She struck with both of her daggers, but not one connected. He did not move an inch from his spot; both of his hands were holding her wrists.

Fear sparked in her heart. A second year blocked her attack so easily?

She used one of her feet to kick him. But before it could hit him, an overpower dark aura wrapped around her. The kick never connected.

He pushed her against a nearby tree.

“Now, what can I do with you?” He looked into her eyes while rubbing his chin with his free hand.

He suddenly turned toward a certain direction. A smile formed on his face as he looked back at her.

“Am I that lucky? Or you are just unlucky?” The smile turned evil.