Chapter 44: Caught Eavesdropping
When the Vampire Lord’s lips moved silently, Samantha could guess he was cursing detestably at something, but despite his effort, that wasn’t enough to hide the pain that reflected briefly on his handsome face, but before she could get a word out, and ask what the problem was, he suddenly stopped. Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he exhaled softly before standing straight and regaining his earlier composure, as if ending a silent battle.
Opening his eyes, his gaze lowered to the young woman who was still staring with her mouth agape, and she blinked spontaneously. She hadn’t been dreaming, had she? She could swear he looked like someone who was in great pain a few minutes ago, but now, he was fine??
"Are you..."
"Don’t speak." He shut her up, returning his fixed gaze to the scenery ahead. "My guardsman will hear you if you continue to speak so feminine. Don’t forget, you’re a man amongst men."
Alerting Samantha of their incoming company, the young human immediately composed herself when she heard approaching footsteps falling behind them.
Herbert, who had succeeded in locating Lord Ivan, politely bowed his head and said. "My Lord, Prince Tobias and Prince Nichole made a great success in the hunting challenge." He informed Ivan who quietly acknowledged the report. He wasn’t surprised, neither was he unimpressed.
"Sounds fair. It’ll be more deplorable to hear Tobias failed the hunt, his hands are more gifted when it comes to handling weapons." Ivan already knew his older cousins were destined for greatness. They were foolish, but when it came to duties and challenges, they threw caution to the wind like they were born to win, and that, he secretly admired.
Samantha on the other hand, was a bit disappointed at the news and pouted her lips. She also wanted to eat some meat at the feast tonight, but if Lord Ivan doesn’t find a deer before Nichole calls an end to the competition, she might not get the privilege to eat at all. If she had known Ivan would keep a low profile during the hunt, she would have asked Lucy to help her steal some meal from the kitchen.
Glancing around the forest with keen emerald eyes, hoping to spot a miracle, and like an answer to her call, Samantha’s eyes snapped wide when she spotted a whitetail deer behind the bark of a tree. Refusing to let this opportunity slip her by, she quickly tapped Ivan’s shoulder, pointing at the whitetail deer in front, whilst drawing Ivan’s attention to it.
Afraid she might slip her tongue and reveal what she shouldn’t, she looked at Herbert so he could see the deer too.
"My Lord, there’s a chance you could win. If you can catch the biggest whitetail deer, it would hold lots of benefits to you and those who serve you."