Assassin (1)

The autumn hunt is underway, with nobles chasing foxes under the King of Midland's watch and the Band of the Falcon standing guard. Unseen, Julius has arranged for a crossbowman to kill Griffith. Guts finds the whole affair tedious, wishing he were on a battlefield instead, though Judeau and Corkus remind him what an honor it is that the band was chosen for the royal guard. Casca overhears them, then turns her gaze to Griffith, who is deep in conversation with Princess Charlotte.

Charlotte confides her dislike of the hunt and of war, seeing both as men indulging a base urge for cruelty. Rather than reply, Griffith pulls a leaf from a tree and whistles through it, then patiently teaches the trick to Charlotte when her own attempts fail, and the two enjoy the moment together. Knights flush a boar from the brush behind Charlotte's horse, which bolts in fright and carries her off. Griffith rides after her and calms the animal in a secluded ravine, apart from the hunting party. The shaken princess clings to him until she catches herself and quickly sits upright again. As Griffith moves to guide her horse back to the others, a crossbow bolt punches through his armor and buries itself in his chest.

The Band of the Falcon serves as royal guard during the autumn hunt. Julius secretly hires a crossbowman to assassinate Griffith. Griffith and Charlotte grow closer as he teaches her to whistle with a leaf. A startled boar sends Charlotte's horse fleeing, Griffith rescues her in a ravine, and the concealed assassin then shoots him through the chest.

An early Golden Age Arc chapter, this installment was published in Young Animal issue 3 on January 22, 1993, over twenty-one pages. It opens the assassination plot that deepens the rift between Griffith and Midland's nobility.