Awakening the Hunter

I sat there in my room, frozen in the middle of the bed like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over me.

Can you believe it? Someone actually blackmailed me—me!—into calling him "father."

"That damn Grand Duke..." I muttered under my breath, glaring at the wall like it owed me money. My pride? Gone.

My dignity? Crushed. 

I flopped back onto the bed like a sack of potatoes, letting out the most pitiful groan of my life.

"At least I'm going to that hunting festival," I mumbled, staring at the ceiling. "I just hope this stupid hunting festival helps me remember this freaking novel. If not…" I clenched my fist dramatically "I'm going straight back to calling him 'sir.' No. Hesitation."

 ***

The Day of the Hunting Festival...

And then... bam, the day arrived.

The day of the hunting festival. Also, the dresses I ordered—those fancy things that now looked like they belonged to a decent human being.

Yeah, they showed up.

But then... there was Mina.

Mina.

She had gone from a trembling wreck to some weirdly cheerful, overenthusiastic mess. I couldn't believe it. She woke me up at the crack of dawn—literally crack of dawn—and scrubbed my back with rose petals. Like, what? Was I supposed to feel like a goddess or something? But... you know what? It was kinda nice. Relaxing.

"Miss… would you like me to pour this lavender perfume for you?" she asked, like she was offering me some mystical elixir.

I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling too comfortable in this weird spa treatment. "Yeah, do whatever you want," I muttered, too tired to care.

Mina smiled, and suddenly, all I could smell were flowers. Everywhere. Flowers in my nose, flowers in my brain. I felt like I was floating in some perfume commercial. Heaven? Maybe. But also... I was so close to falling asleep.

I was about to drift into my dreamland when suddenly, bam, Mina grabbed my hand like I was a ragdoll and jerked me up. "It's time for you to get ready, miss," she said, grinning like a villain straight out of one of those overdramatic webcomics. You know the ones—where the villain smiles so wide you know something bad is coming? Yeah. That smile.

Something felt off. I wasn't sure what, but I was pretty sure Mina wasn't going to let me sleep in peace anymore.

And... yeah, I was right.

The next thing I knew, I was standing there—completely naked except for a flimsy robe barely hanging on for dear life and a towel wrapped around my head. And oh, that cold morning breeze? It was laughing at me, mocking me with every chilly gust of air that made me feel like I was about to be turned into an ice sculpture.

And there she was. Mina. Standing right in front of me with a grin so wide. But that wasn't even the weird part. Behind her? There were at least four maids, all holding dresses—new, shiny, too shiny dresses—while smiling at me like they were the ones who were going to the hunting festival, not me.

"So... which one would you like to wear, my lady?" Mina asked, her voice so sweet it could've been dripping with honey. Too sweet. Too suspiciously sweet.

I stared at her, trying to keep it together. "You can do whatever you want, just—"

"Please, choose your dress, miss." Mina cut me off, her smile stretching even wider.

I swear, the more she grinned, the more I could feel an icy chill creeping down my spine. What was going on? This was the first time in my life I felt like my own maid was about to drag me into some kind of fashion nightmare I wasn't ready for. I never felt like this as Eun-Byun Lee. I'd been through some tough stuff, but this? This was a whole other level of chaos.

I sighed, already giving up. "Fine."

I looked at those dresses, and I swear, I felt like I was about to attend some royal gala, not a hunting festival. What kind of hunting festival had dresses with shiny jewelry and high heels? Was I supposed to chase down a deer or just twirl in the forest like some kind of princess?

What was this—Cinderella meets Robin Hood?

I turned to Mina. "Mina," I sighed, "do you really think I'm gonna chase a boar in these sandals and dresses? What do you expect me to do—dance with it?"

Mina blinked, looking at me like I was the one who lost my mind. "But lady, why would you chase a boar?"

I froze. Then it hit me—Cecilia didn't hunt. She was too weak to be out there slaying wild animals.

I groaned. "Mina, just get me a dress that's actually suitable for hunting."

Mina's eyes went wide, like I'd just told her I was going to wrestle a lion. "Miss, are you... are you actually going to hunt?" She was panicking so much, I thought her eyes might pop out.

"Yeah," I said, giving her a deadpan stare. "I'm going to hunt. What's the problem?"

Mina's face went from shock to full-blown panic. "But miss... you've never hunted before! You don't even know how to use a knife! How can you—"

I cut her off. "I can. Just get me something that won't make me look like I'm going to a ball."

The maids were looking at me like I'd just spoken in alien—I swear they all froze in place. Mina sighed like I was asking for the impossible.

"But miss... we don't have any dress that suits this occasion," she finally said, defeated.

I cursed under my breath. I forgot. I didn't buy anything practical for this damn hunting festival—just a bunch of sparkly nonsense that made me look like a walking disco ball. What the hell was I gonna do? Was I supposed to go out there wearing a trash bag and pretend I was some wilderness warrior?

Then my eyes landed on a big box of Cecilia's dresses—you know, the kind that looked like they belonged to your grandma. I opened the box like it was some cursed treasure chest and dug through it. And then, bam. I found it—a black long dress. It had these cloth flowers stitched to it like someone tried to make it "elegant" or whatever.

I stared at that stupid black dress like I was a damn mastermind calculating my next move. My brain was working overtime, thinking up a plan that would make me look halfway decent for the hunting festival—the most unpractical event of all time.

I looked at Mina, my eyes narrowing like a hawk about to pounce on its prey. "Mina," I said, voice low, "rip off these damn flowers. I don't care if it's a crime against fashion—just get it done."

Mina blinked at me like I asked her to jump off a cliff, but after a second of processing, she finally nodded. "Understood, Miss."

"Good." I snapped, "And you," I pointed at one of the other maids, "Go to Theodore's room, grab one of his damn white shirts, and make it quick."

The maid nodded, practically running out of the room like she was in a race.

Mina wasted no time and got to work, ripping those cloth flowers off the black dress like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. I swear, at this point, I was beginning to wonder if she secretly had a hidden talent for extreme dress surgery.

She finished, and the dress was finally... semi-decent. I nodded in approval. Then she cut the sleeves off—leaving it sleeveless. I crossed my arms and inspected the progress. "Not bad, Mina," I said, giving her a rare compliment.

She grinned, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thank you, Miss."

Meanwhile, the maid came back, looking slightly out of breath but triumphant, holding one of Theodore's stupidly expensive white shirts like it was a prize.

I snatched the shirt from her hands. "Thanks," I muttered, already pulling it over my head.

Once the shirt was on, I slipped the sleeveless black dress on top of it, smoothing it down like I was prepping for a damn photo shoot.

Mina and the maids stood there, their jaws practically on the floor. Their eyes were wide with awe, and I swear I saw one of them whisper to the other. I glanced at the mirror, and there it was. Damn, I looked like an archer ready to take down anything.

Yeah, I could feel the hunting vibe kicking in right now, just rocking this dress like it was made for me. Mina stepped up, concern all over her face, and said, "But my lady, will you be okay? You never hunted before."

I smirked, already feeling like a whole new person. "Don't worry. I can hunt every damn animal out there now."

Mina still didn't look convinced, and I got it. To her, I'm Cecilia, the timid pushover girl. But she hasn't got a clue. I'm Eun-byun Lee. I've never hesitated to bring down anyone who dared try to cross me.

And today? Maybe, just maybe... I'll finally remember all the damn details of this twisted novel. So I can avoid ending up like Cecilia—dead, stupidly dead.