Extra-Changing Fate

Chapter 37 ==Winter Hunt==

"Everyone, get ready," Father announced, his usual serious expression unchanging.

Mother, still eating her dinner, looked up. "What for?" she asked.

"The Emperor is holding a hunt in two days."

A hunt? Now? It was already cold!

"In this season? It's winter for goodness sake! What is that Emperor thinking?" Mother exclaimed, but none of us were surprised by her outburst.

Since it was just us at the table, the King was away at the palace for reasons unknown to me, though Father and Mother likely knew. I didn't really care.

"I thought it was supposed to be in two months?" Brother asked, and Father sighed heavily. "I don't know what happened, but he changed his mind. Since he guessed that none of our family would bother to join the hunt, he specifically requested that every family member must attend," he explained, then turned his gaze towards me.

I wasn't sure what that look meant, but it seemed he didn't want me to go.

Maybe he thought I'd be a weakness or something. But I suppose he had no choice because the Emperor wanted my eyes.

That hunt might be the perfect opportunity to take them from me.

Did I ever mention that none of his children inherited his skill with a sword?

Both my brother and sister disliked going into the wild, so this might very well be our first time attending the Emperor's hunting season.

"I'll get ready, Father. Are there any other guests?" Sister inquired.

"The Southern Kingdom will be there, as well as the Western Empire. And I've heard that the Nesua Kingdom will also attend," he said, and at those last words, all eyes turned to him.

"The Nesuans? Are you sure?" Mother asked, and he nodded.

"Their new ruler, Queen Tara Nesua, wants to marry someone from the continent. Maybe that's why the Emperor wanted to have a royal hunt, inviting every kingdom and empire, using my name as well as the Archduchess'," he explained before continuing his meal.

I guessed the Emperor wanted a good relationship with the Nesuans to gain access to their cave mines and their blacksmiths.

He probably heard rumors that Moonlight's fine metalwork and jewels came from the Nesuans.

But the truth was, it wasn't.

It was the work of the Zodiacs' magic.

"I see. Then I'll try to befriend her, Father," Sister offered, and Father gave a small smile. "As you should, Amelia," Mother responded firmly, then glanced at me, and I noticed it.

"How about you, Alyssa? What will you do?"

"Well, I—"

"I think it's best for you to find a husband during this hunt, Alyssa," Father interrupted me, and I turned to look at him.

"No... like I said, I won't get married... I'll come with you and sleep there," I said seriously, a small smirk forming on my lips as I stood up after seeing that everyone had finished eating.

"Alyssa..." I heard his stern voice. I met his gaze with my smirk still in place. "You've been rebelling so much since you went out with the King," he told me, and I chuckled softly.

"Really? I haven't really notice, because I've been like this ever since I broke up with Prince Benjamin," I retorted, and he glared at me.
Father couldn't touch me.

He couldn't because he was afraid.

"Then, I shall excuse myself, Father... seeing that everyone is now finished," I said with a bright smile, looking at everyone's empty plates.

As I left the dining room and walked towards my own room, I saw Cancer, disguised as Aries. She was the Zodiac assigned to me today.

"Master! I heard!" she exclaimed as soon as I entered my room. "What do you think he's planning?" I asked, sitting on my bed and facing her.

"I don't know, but I've sent a signal to the others. They'll investigate the Emperor's hunting grounds," she explained.

"How about Queen Tara? Do you know anything about her?" I asked.

"Queen Tara is the youngest of all her siblings, and there are some doubts about how she became the ruler. But she's good friends with Catherine Nizel."

Hearing those words surprised me. Catherine Nizel was supposed to be a heroine, but how could she be friends with the Queen?

"Huh? Can you please explain?"

"Actually, Catherine Nizel didn't grow up in the countryside. She grew up in the Nesua Kingdom. The Nizel family had connections with the natives on the island but kept it a secret," she explained smoothly, and I couldn't help but be shocked.

"I mean... when did you have the time to investigate this?" I asked her, seriously, when?

"Actually, Virgo was suspicious of Catherine Nizel when she entered society at Lady Amelia's birthday. Her behavior wasn't like someone from the countryside. So, she requested that we investigate her, and that's when we found out," she told me with a serious expression. She was serious, very serious.

"Ha... unbelievable..." I was so shocked by this sudden information. The Catherine in the story was supposed to be a country bumpkin!

The Nizel family's land was far away from the Nesua Kingdom. When did she have time to become friends with the Queen?

There was no information about what the Queen looked like or what the island was like, even in the book. Queen Tara was mentioned, but only at the very end, when she married my cousin, my mother's brother's second son, who was currently studying at the academy.

Did Catherine know what would happen in the future?

It was highly possible, unless she was also like me... from another world.

Queen Tara was mentioned halfway through the story, which wasn't in the book, and Catherine wouldn't meet her until she visited the kingdom and fell in love with my cousin.

"Catherine Nizel, that woman is dangerous, Master... she may have a clear motive for something," Cancer interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah... like becoming the empress," I muttered, but she heard me. She was supernatural, of course she had super hearing or something.

"It's highly possible, Master, but what good would it do her to have connections with the Nesuans?"

"The Emperor wanted Sister to become the Crown Princess so he could control the Silverton family. But if Catherine claimed to be friends with the Nesuan Queen, that could make her a likely candidate to become the Crown Princess," I explained. Catherine might have knowledge of the future and would use it for her own benefit.

She probably wanted to avoid the path where she just lived while being compared to me by all the male leads. She probably hated that life.

Using the future to her advantage and avoiding getting involved with me—was that why she showed so much hatred during our first meeting?

She must have thought something was wrong when I suddenly survived that fated day I was supposed to die. I needed to be careful of her.

"Yeah... but isn't she afraid of your sister?"

"She won't be... I can feel it."