Chapter 24

The horse moved sensitively, perhaps anxious about the person approaching. The figure of the horse kicking on the ground fast made it seem like he would’ve attacked right away if he hadn’t been trapped in a cage.

“It’s from the family whose horse won twice today, right?”

“That’s right.”

Lord Serafina looked worried.

“Mister, can we say it?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s only to this extent.”

Diana tilted her head. Grandfather shook his head as if it was nothing.

“Yeah. It is Nohibaden’s specialty… but its bloodline is quite unique. It’s a mixed breed of spirits and horses, although the blood has become very light because it happened a long time ago. That’s why it’s mane is blue like this.”

Speed, endurance, and intelligence were all way beyond those of other horses.

That’s why, at the racetrack, the blue maned horse wasn’t allowed to participate, saying that the results of the game would be obvious.

Even if there was no colored mane, and only very faint blood, most of the Nohibaden Family’s horses won first place in the end.

However, there was also a weakness that exceeded all of these abilities.

“If I can ride a horse well, will there be a day when I can ride it?”

“All the horses in this stable are yours.”

Grandfather smiled as he rubbed Diana’s cheek.

“That, that’s a little… I think that’s too much…”

Surprised, Diana looked around. The horses she saw while passing by, had already exceeded ten.

“But, you can’t with that horse. It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous?”

“Yeah. It’s very violent. It has never allowed anyone up on its back. Even several veteran horse managers ran away because of it. If I didn’t receive it as a gift, I would’ve sold it.”

The weakness that exceeded all of its strengths.

It was that the horse would never listen to anyone unless the person had the talent to handle it.

In other words, it meant that mostly only the people of the Grand Duchy could handle it, or an exceptional knight, or an extremely rare outstanding sorcerer.

The blue mane horse was also offered to the Imperial Family because of its rarity. There were two in the Imperial Family, but neither of them could come out of the stable.

It was the Grand Duke of Nohibaden who presented this rare but difficult horse.

‘That kid, too, his stubbornness surely isn’t normal.’

After Thesevitz Bale Nohibaden officially became the Grand Duke, he sent a gift to Count Ohrid.

However, Count Ohrid didn’t even look at the present the Grand Duke sent, and continuously sent the presents back. The last thing that he sent was this horse.

At first, she also tried to send this horse back. However, after three horse managers were kicked and hospitalized, and two more who ran away, Count Ohrid gave up. And the matter was forgotten just like that.

It had been a long time since Spencer saw this horse too. It seemed like it’d die after living in this stable for the rest of its life…

“Mister Spencer! There, the Young Miss…!”

Lord Serafina shouted as if she was puzzled. Grandfather, who had been lost in thought for a while, urgently looked back at Diana. His eyes opened wide at the unbelievable sight.

The violent horse gently stuck its head out of the cage, and Diana was petting it.

No, Diana was only raising her hand awkwardly, but the horse rubbed its head against her hand as if it was asking for a pat.

“G-Grandfather, why is this horse like this?”

The flustered Diana looked at Grandfather with a face asking for help.

“Ho, hoho, ho. Oh my. Really, hoho.”

“It’s really surprising.”

Grandfather couldn’t help but let out a chuckle in disbelief, as Lord Serafina muttered alone.

“You, why are you like this to me?”

Diana asked the horse in a slightly frightened voice.

Of course, the horse couldn’t understand her. The horse just purred as if it liked her awkward gestures.

Watching this, Lord Serafina approached carefully. She only took one step closer, but the horse immediately looked back at Serafina and put its head back into the cage.

“Ah!”

Lord Serafina smiled despondently. The horse in the cage stamped its feet annoyedly as if asking her to go away immediately.

“As expected, the horse only allows the Young Miss’ touch.”

“Is that possible?”

Diana doubted those words, saying that it was impossible. However, as soon as Lord Serafina moved away, the horse stuck its head out again.

“Huh? What? It’s really the truth?”

Diana beckoned Lord Serafina to quickly come again. And as soon as Lord Serafina took a step forward, the horse snorted and went back in.

Watching with a strange face, Grandfather approached.

“It looks like the horse likes you.”

“But I don’t even know how to ride a horse?”

“I’m not sure. Didn’t the horse recognize your talent?”

Diana tilted her head.

“Maybe it is like that…”

Grandfather smiled bitterly for some reason and stroked her head.

“When you can ride it later, name the horse.”

“Can I do that?”

Diana’s eyes sparkled.

My horse!

“Of course. I told you that every horse in here is yours, right?”

“Even if it’s only one, it’s alright!”

Grandfather shrugged and led Diana.

“Yeah. Well, you have to learn first, right?”

The first thing to learn was how to get close to the horses. She had learned how to pet the mane, pat the back of its neck, and set it at ease. The next part was how to ride it.

“Always mount a horse from the left. You can grab the reins and the mane together like this, and hang your left foot on its back, kick the ground with your left foot and like this— you mount a horse.”

Grandfather mounted at once.

“The important thing is when you mount, you shouldn’t stimulate the horse’s side. If you do something wrong, it’ll start running off like that.”

When Grandfather kicked the side, the horse began to walk slowly. Again, he kicked a second time, this time with more strength, and the horse began to run fast.

‘It’s so cool.’

The figure of her body bouncing up and down while riding a horse couldn’t be that cool.

Grandfather slowed down the horse by pulling the reins and returned to his original position.

“When you get off, bend your body, remove your right foot from the back, and then grab the mane and reins equally and— you can get off like this. Now, I’ll show you one more time.”

While showing it a few more times, Lord Dominic came bringing a small stair.

“Young Miss can mount by stepping on top of this.”

It was a thing that helped beginners and the elderly mount easily. It was time for Diana to climb the stairs and grasp the reins.

“Ah, wait. Diana, come here.”

Tilting her head, Diana headed to her grandfather’s side. Grandfather reached out his hands and turned over her hair.

“You have to tie your hair.”

Grandfather stretched out his hand to Lord Serafina.

“Hair tie.”

“….”

Lord Serafina had a confused face.

“There’s none?”

“Yes. Should I get it?”

“No, I mean, you don’t even have a hair tie?”

“About that… I can not tie my hair.”

Lord Serafina had bobbed hair….

In the end, Lord Dominic went running again to get a hair tie.

“But Grandfather, do you even know how to tie hair?”

“Sure, of course I do.”

Grandfather combed her hair with his big hand. Unlike the maid’s brushing, the movement was awkward.

‘But it looks like you don’t know how to do it….’

Grandfather asked with a serious look.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

“…Yes.”

For some reason, her nose was tingling.

After a long time, Grandfather, who was barely able to tie her hair, breathed out a sigh of relief.

Fumbling around her hair, Diana smiled broadly and looked back at Grandfather.

“So Grandfather really knows how to tie hair!”

“Of course. Didn’t I say I knew how to do it?”

“Hehe.”

Diana buried her face in her grandfather’s clothes. Grandfather, who was stroking Diana’s round head, looked sulky.

“But I think it’s hard to stroke your hair now. Is it because your hair is tied?”

“Of course it is!”

Diana rushed out of her grandfather’s arms just in case he would untie her hair.

If her hair had to be tied once again, she might not be able to ride a horse today.

“Then should we start again? You remember the steps, right?”

“Yes!”

Climbing the small stair, Diana grabbed the reins as she had seen.

Grandfather nodded seeing she had grabbed it right.

Lord Serafina held the back of the horse’s neck at the unexpected risk. Grandfather spoke as if he were calming her down.

“If you can’t, you can just give up. Lord Dominic or Lord Serafina can put it up, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes.”

“Try to pet it once first.”

She could feel the mane under her gloved hand.

“Now get ready.”

Diana gulped.

“One, two—”

Together with the sound of ‘three’, Diana kicked off the stair.

The horse was not excited at all and the posture was stable.

The thing that she was worried about most was the gentle movement that her body made. Making her embarrassed.

“Did I ride it properly?”

“Yeah. You did a very— good job.”

Grandfather replied a beat late.

Relieved that she rode a horse without any problems, Diana released the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

‘Does this mean that blood can’t be denied…?’

***

“Come here! Start with the injured people!”

It had been about an hour since a half-damaged ship entered the previously quiet port.

With the news that the ship had entered, a man rushed to the port pulled the reins. A large ship with smoke rising from it appeared in his eyes.

“This time, too?”

The man’s eyes quickly swept over the ship. With how ragged and torn the ship was, one would be unable to recognize its shape, but the man had a good memory.

“Oh my. To think that even a merchant ship was not spared.”

With the largest scale among the trading merchants on the continent, it was a place where even merchant’s had solid guards because it had enemies in the maritime country.

In the man’s eyes, he could see the one who left and arrived first, alike with him. The man jumped off his horse.

“Thesevitz!”

The Grand Duke of Nohibaden, who was dressed as an ordinary traveler covered by a deep robe, looked back at him.