Shouts erupted from the forest about what had happened. Because of the sudden loud shouting, too, the horse panicked and ran away. Meanwhile, Lionel struggled in the water, making him look messy and ungraceful.
The instructors rushed forward to save him.
"Are you alright?" one of them asked urgently.
Lionel coughed and nodded weakly as water dripped from his hair and clothes. "I'm… fine," he said quietly, avoiding everyone's eyes.
This is not what he planned at all!
"I apologize, Lionel." Professor Darius frowned. "But your falling means you are eliminated from the event. You should rest and dry yourself in your tent. Your attendants are already waiting for you."
"Thank you, Sir."
Lionel bowed his head but his shoulders were still slumped. He did not say a word anymore as he walked away from the lake. Once he was in the land, his attendants hurried toward him.
"My lord!"
"Are you hurt?"
"Let's immediately go back to your tent!"
Lionel raised a hand slightly. "No. Leave me alone," he said softly. "I want to be alone. I can go back on my own."
The maids hesitated since their lord was so wet. However, when they saw that Lionel couldn't even hold his head up high, they eventually nodded and decided to wait for a moment before following.
They were afraid that with their interference, their young lord would even become more embarrassed.
- - -
"What a good time to be alone." Now that he was alone, Lionel's emotions were on full display.
His clothes were still wet, but he didn't mind it. He was already walking away from the forest, in the direction of the place where the hunting game would be held tomorrow.
At this time, there was still no one around since the horse-riding game was still ongoing. That's why for him, it was the perfect time to go and walk around.
He was still embarrassed, but he wouldn't let his ruined dignity or the day go to waste.
While everyone was feeling bad for him, he was here, turning it into his advantage.
In his last life, he remembered that the reason why monsters appeared in the area was that they found a satchel that contained dark bones in it.
Dark bones were exactly what they sounded like. They were the remains of slain monsters. When a monster was killed, its body wouldn't rot like a normal animal. Instead, its flesh would turn to ash, but its bones would remain.
Those bones were said to carry a strong stench of darkness, which is why other monsters could sense them from far away. Because of that, dark bones were strictly forbidden to keep.
The moment they were found, they had to be burned completely until nothing remained.
That was why in his last life, no one could explain how it got there. In the end, the incident became an unsolved mystery.
And because it happened under the academy's watch, its name was dragged through rumors and criticism for years.
"This time, I would not let that happen again." He wasn't trying to save the academy, but himself.
Lionel's footsteps slowed down as he finally arrived at the location. He looked around carefully. The area was wide and filled with trees and bushes. He could even see some deer and a bunny running around from a distance.
It looked just like any normal hunting ground.
Without wasting any time, Lionel started walking again and going from one place to another to check the ground.
He moved aside fallen leaves with his feet. He inspected the roots of trees and the spaces between rocks and bushes. If there really was something here, he knew he would find it.
However, minutes passed, and there was nothing.
Lionel stood up slowly and frowned.
"There's nothing?" he muttered.
He searched for a little farther, circling the area just to be sure. He searched for an entirety of a few hours, but still, there was nothing. That only made him think.
"If it is not here, then does that mean someone will place it later? Then that means…" Lionel's eyes widened at that thought.
That means the bones were obviously planted.
"But who?"
There was a name in his mind that he couldn't dare to say yet. Either way, this meant that the satchel was not yet here.
"I had to come back later to check…" Lionel sighed and swallowed.
Now that it was like that, it just became more complicated. He was planning to burn it the moment he saw it, but now, he has to find the opportunity to come back again later to find it.
"I guess I have no other choice," Lionel let out another sigh and turned back. He needs to go back to the camp now.
For sure, everyone was looking for him already.
When he returned to his tent, his attendants rushed toward him.
"My lord!"
"There you are!"
"Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you?"
His attendants surrounded him at once, and worry was very clear on their faces. One of them almost looked like she was about to cry.
"You just disappeared without telling us!" Diana said. "We searched everywhere!"
Lionel blinked in surprise, then lowered his head slightly.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I just… wandered off for a bit."
"Wandered off?" Diana raised her brows and repeated, clearly not convinced.
However, when they watch Lionel's current state with his clothes and messy hair, their hearts ache, and pity washes over them.
"Hah…" Diana let out a deep breath, "You must have been very embarrassed, my lord" Diana said quietly, like a worried mother. "That fall must have been hard on you."
Lionel did not respond. He only nodded once and bowed his head even more.
The attendants exchanged glances, then sighed. Their hearts just ached even mor so they decided not to push the talk further.
"Come, my lord," one of them said gently. "Let us take care of you."
They quickly wrapped a dry cloak around his shoulders and guided him back inside his tent. Someone prepared warm water to bathe while another brought out fresh clothes.
Lionel allowed them to fuss over him without protest.
While that was happening, he was just calm on the inside.
Good, he thought. At least they believe it. He closed his eyes for a moment while the attendants did their thing.
They cleaned him, scrubbed the dirt off his body, and put him into new clothes. By the time they were done, Lionel was all fresh and clean.
"This is much better, my lord," one of them said with relief.
"Do you want to go out now?" Diana asked him.
"Yes," Lionel nodded. "Thank you."
"Alright then," They stepped aside and lifted the tent flap for him. As soon as he walked out, a loud wave of noise greeted his ears.
"Cassian!"
"I knew he'd win!"
"As expected of the crown prince's heir!"
Lionel paused for a moment and looked toward the group of people returning to the camp. Everyone was smiling, so was the person in the middle, who had the biggest smile of them all.
"Cassian…" Lionel muttered.
Cassian immediately noticed his cousin from a distance. He raised his hand confidently and smiled playfully at Lionel.
"I won, Lionel."