Hugo's revenge came faster than Elara had anticipated, and was more insidious.
The next morning, Elara was sent by Piers to a small stream near the camp to clean a batch of mud-caked horse tack. The stream flowed slowly, its banks muddy – the designated spot for servants to handle dirty tasks.
Elara was squatting by the stream, laboriously scrubbing a heavy leather saddle with the icy water, when she heard the sound of hooves and Hugo's obnoxious, boastful voice behind her.
"See this? This is Wind-Chaser, the horse the Lord Baron granted me to ride! In this whole camp, apart from the knights' warhorses, he's the finest!"
Elara didn't turn around. She could sense Hugo riding a horse back and forth nearby, clearly showing off. She just wanted to finish her task quickly and get away from this troublemaker.
However, Hugo clearly had no intention of leaving her alone. He seemed to deliberately guide the horse closer and closer to the muddy edge of the stream.
"Yah!" Hugo suddenly shouted, accompanied perhaps by the sharp crack of a whip through the air!
The horse, "Wind-Chaser," wasn't exactly a docile steed to begin with. Startled by Hugo's actions, it reared violently, letting out a loud whinny! Its hooves came crashing down on the muddy bank, splashing mud everywhere!
Elara reacted instantly, rolling sideways out of instinct to dodge!
Splash! Though she avoided the hooves, she tumbled awkwardly into the shallow, muddy water, instantly covered in cold slime! And the saddle she had just painstakingly cleaned was ruined by the splattered mud!
Worse still, the commotion of the startled horse and Elara's cry immediately attracted the attention of other nearby servants and a few low-ranking knight guards.
Hugo reined in the frightened horse. Seeing Elara's pathetic state, a flicker of smug satisfaction crossed his face, but he immediately started shouting accusations: "You clumsy fool! Don't you watch where you're going?! Popping up from the stream bank like that, you spooked my horse! This is the Lord Baron's favorite steed! If anything happens to him, selling you wouldn't even cover the cost!"
He blamed her first, shifting all responsibility onto Elara.
People gathered around, pointing at the mud-covered Elara. Some were confused, others clearly sided with Hugo, whose status was much higher than Elara's.
Elara struggled up from the icy mud, wiping grime from her face. She was trembling all over, partly from cold, partly from fury! Hugo's intentions were so obvious; this was outrageous bullying!
Just when everyone expected her to collapse in fear, beg for mercy, or tremble silently, Elara did something unexpected.
She didn't look at Hugo. Instead, she turned towards an older knight who had approached at the sound of the commotion, seemingly responsible for patrolling this area. She bowed deeply, properly (though her movements were distorted by the mud), her voice quiet but surprisingly clear and calm:
"Honorable Knight, forgive my boldness. I was cleaning the horse tack here as ordered by Goodman Piers, within the designated area. It was this... Goodman Hugo, who needlessly brought the horse to the muddy edge of the stream and startled it with his whip, causing this accident. The saddle I had just cleaned is now soiled, which might inconvenience the Lord Baron's use."
She didn't cry or plead. She simply stated the facts calmly, subtly raising the potential consequence of inconveniencing the Baron.
Hugo's face changed instantly. He hadn't expected this normally timid serf girl to dare contradict him publicly, and so articulately! He immediately retorted, "You lie! It was you who suddenly stood up and scared my horse! You lowly piece of..."
"Enough!" The older knight frowned, cutting off Hugo's curses. He glanced at the scene—the hoof prints in the mud near the bank, Elara's position, Hugo's slightly flustered expression. While he might not bother seeking justice for a mere serf girl, maintaining basic order in the camp and protecting noble property (the horse and tack) was his duty.
The knight looked coldly at Hugo. "Control your horse! This isn't a place for showing off! If this happens again and a noble's horse is disturbed, it won't just be a few words!" Then he turned to Elara, his tone still cold, "And you! Be more alert when you work! Get that tack cleaned properly, quickly, and stay out of the way!"
With that, the knight ignored them and walked away.
A potential crisis, one that could have brought severe punishment upon Elara, seemed to have been averted.
Elara lowered her head, feeling no relief. She could feel Hugo's venomous glare, like a viper's, fixed on her back, and sense the more complicated gazes from the onlookers.
Though she wasn't punished, she had successfully drawn significant attention to herself. Her brief moment of calm counter-argument seemed utterly out of place in this environment, so... noticeable.
She even vaguely sensed that during the chaos, a sharp, scrutinizing gaze had paused on her for a moment from somewhere distant, unseen. That gaze… sent an inexplicable shiver down her spine.
Elara trembled, forcing herself not to dwell on it. She silently returned to the stream bank, resuming the task of cleaning the mud-splattered saddle, her heart colder than the water itself.
This hunting ground was indeed full of traps. And she had already attracted unnecessary attention.