We trekked through the forest, the sunlight streaming through the leaves. It was pleasantly warm, with a gentle breeze. Insects buzzed around, despite my best attempts to swat them away. They were only adding to my irritation. 

Beads of sticky sweat were beginning to form on my forehead. It would’ve been much nicer to be relaxing in my room with a nice and cool cup of tea, but now I was here, I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I was going to hunt. 

Finally, Father stopped near another clearing. I almost bumped into him, but stopped myself just in time. 

“Let’s wait.”

Father and I crouched down again, and thus began the tormentous challenge of patience. In this life, no one had dared to make me wait for long, so this was refreshing in a bad way. 

Though humans have accomplished this much, nature was the one thing we couldn’t conquer. Perhaps that was why hunting was entertaining to people that were at the top of society, like nobles, because it provided something they could not have. 

People always wanted what they couldn’t have. In my past life, I wanted success and the affection of my parents. Now, I wanted the throne and the male leads of the novel, everything that the original Valentina couldn’t get but the female lead received. 

It was the same the other way around. The male leads strived for the female lead because she, unlike the other noble girls, wasn’t attracted to them on sight because of their looks or status, and because they couldn’t win her over when they tried to. 

Basically, the author wrote all the other girls as extremely shallow to portray how lovely the female lead was in contrast, and also made her ‘interesting’ because she was hard to get. It was so wrong, on so many different levels, though I couldn’t name all of them if I tried. The toxic tropes used in the novel were now the societal issues I would have to deal with. 

And it angered me just to think about it. Everything was handed so easily to the female lead just because she was chosen by God and the author to be the protagonist. If I wanted to defeat her, I would need to become a ruthless villainess. Yet here I was, not even able to kill a deer. 

I shook my head in frustration. This unfairness was infuriating. Just because fate was against me, I would have to give up on my morals. You couldn’t have everything in life, not unless you were the female lead. My bitterness boiled into a rage ready to spill over. 

Then came the soft but unmistakable sound of an animal’s steps. A rabbit bounded into the clearing and started munching the grass. 

It was so cute! Its pelt was fluffy and a light brown colour, and its eyes were black and shining. Innocent, careless, adorable, naive, pure. 

Somewhere along these lines I began to think of the female lead instead. Hadn’t the prince often described her as a bunny, when he thought she was ‘interesting’? If I couldn’t kill a rabbit, how would I kill a person, if the circumstances required?

The target may be a living being that may have feelings, but it was also an obstacle in my way. That applied to both the rabbit and the female lead. 

My head and heart cooled until I was rational once more. I aimed with preciseness, and fired. 

The bullet shot straight through the rabbit’s fur. For a moment, I thought nothing had happened, but a spot of red gradually appeared on its pelt, and it fell. 

“Yes!” 

Father stood up with an exclamation and so did I, and we rushed to the rabbit’s side. Its chest was still rising and falling, but soon came to a stop. It lay with its eyes wide open, frozen, and dead. 

I felt the slightest stab of guilt and remorse, but I was sure that would go away with time. It was just an animal, no different than the meat the chef would serve. The only differences were that I killed it with my own hands, instead of having someone else do it, and that rabbits were cuter. It would be truly shallow if that hurt me that much. Still, I took a life. However, we took lives everyday, when we would mindlessly kill insects or rodents. What did that say about us? 

Ah, I was spiralling. This could traumatize me, but whatever. It would only be preparation for what was to come.

“I’m so proud of you, my angel!”

Father embraced me, laughing. He lifted me off the ground and spun me around before setting me down. I couldn’t help but giggle. 

If I could protect that grin, I would do anything. The lives and happiness of my family was worth far more than a few rabbits or a saint. 

Father took the rabbit and slung it over his shoulder. He kissed my forehead. 

“You must be tired. Let’s head back.”

Indeed, it was morning when we left, and past noon now. However, the effects of the excitement had not yet faded, so I wasn’t that tired, though I knew that likely wouldn’t last long. We tread back the way we came, talking and laughing. The wariness quickly set in, as I expected, and soon I didn’t have enough energy to talk, so we walked in a comfortable peace. 

All of a sudden, Father froze. He held out a hand to stop me as well. I obeyed, and tried to figure out what it was. 

Before I could react, before I could even realize what he was doing, there was a loud bang. He had aimed and fired a shot. He hurried towards whatever he was aiming at, and I followed. 

Between trees, a deer laid on the ground, fresh blood flowing out of a bullet wound in its chest, and another, in its leg. It twitched and convulsed, before falling still. 

“It’s the one you got earlier. It’s a collaborative effort!”

Father chuckled and clapped me on the back. I laughed, giddy. Father and I made an impeccable team, as expected of a family that produced only perfection. 

“Come on, let’s have the chef cook them up for dinner. Your mother will be happy.”

“Yes!” 

We pushed through the trees, and after hiking for longer than it should have been possible, finally reached the carriage. 

It was funny that it was still so regal, when we were covered in sticks, leaves, and sweat. I couldn’t help smiling as the knights we’d brought helped Father load our prize into a cart, feeling ridiculously proud and happy. 

When I climbed into the carriage, I practically collapsed onto the soft cushions. 

“Tired?” 

Father climbed in after me, smiling. I nodded. I never usually got this much exercise, but I supposed I also never usually had this much fun. 

“You take after me. You’re going to be one of the best hunters in the kingdom, I can feel it.”

“Of course I will! I’ll go to hunting competitions, and win all of them!”

Father laughed, and I would have joined in, but I suddenly remembered something. Hunting competitions reminded me of the novel, and the novel reminded me of the saint. I was displeased that this thought had to interrupt this nice moment, but it was important. 

“Father, do you think I could be a good saint?”

He was caught off guard, I could tell. His expression became more somber, but he still maintained his light-humoured air. His eyes shone with pride and confidence. 

“My angel can be good at anything she wants to be.”

“Then I’ll be the saint!”

Father studied me, and from the earnestness in my eyes, he must’ve understood that I knew what I was doing. He trusted me and my maturity to make decisions, and for that I was grateful. Father sighed and smiled. 

“You’ll be amazing, but don’t worry about that for now. When we go home, rest, and we’ll have something good for dinner. Then, I want to hear the new song you’ve been practicing.”

I agreed readily, grinning. He loved me and cared about me, so he wanted to protect me, but he also respected me, and most importantly, he was proud of me. This was the kind of man I could love, and enjoy loving without ever having to worry about getting hurt. I could be proud of him, and I wanted to make him happy. He would always be there for me, to the very end, because he was my father. 

Father, I definitely would make you even prouder!