Chapter 14

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“Hey.”

I raised my eyes trying to catch my breath.

Izek was looking down at me with his head tilted to one side. His red eyes shone faintly.

“You have a weird look on your face.”

‘I told you not to drag me down.’

“Well, come here for now.”

‘Come with me, stupid b*tch who doesn’t know anything.’

I followed him blankly. The eyes of stallions standing on the right side of the wide and dark stable shone on seeing their owner.

Laughing eyes. Animals that laughed while I cried.

“Can you give me one of those?”

‘Bring it here.’

I swallowed and looked back.

A bag of carrots and apples and some whips were hung on the wall.

“This is the only way to treat these stupid snobs.”

(T/N: Referring to the horses)

‘There’s only one punishment I can give to a stupid woman who doesn’t know her place.’

I paused for a moment and made eye contact with the stallion in the front fence.

The horse stomped on one foot and snorted disapprovingly.

I felt like I was slowly burning from inside.

It’s alright, it’s alright. I was the one who said yes to it. I just need to find an excuse for later.

“He seems to have the dirtiest temper, but is pretty simple...” Izek, who was stroking the horse’s nose, stopped the next moment.

“......what are you doing?”

Why was the way of taming the same everywhere? Just let me live.

I approached with a tearful expression of remorse.

“I’m sorry. I’ve committed a terrible crime.”

“What...?”

“It’s all my fault. I didn’t know what to do and acted presumptuously. I’m so hopeless.”

He stared at me. His dark ruby eyes somehow looked a little blank.

“You really-”

His eyes turned downward. He looked at my trembling hands.

His gaze became sharp like razor blades.

“I guess horses eat whips as a snack in Romagna.”

“What...?”

Hiccups kept rising up my throat. He snatched the whip from my hand and threw it over there.

Snap!

The stallion, which was almost hit by the whip while welcoming its owner, neighed discontentedly.

Neigh, neigh.

My hiccups kept pouring out.

I was trying to cover my mouth with both hands, but this man held my hands and forced me to lower them. His cold hard face was very brutal.

“Why did you bring that?”

“That’s all I have, so if you tell me what to do, I’ll fix it...”

“Tell me what you’ll fix.”

“I’m sorry, hic, for doing this. I didn’t mean to– Hic, I know I did something wrong.”

“You did something wrong.”

“E-Everything. I mean, in the first place, I-”

“No, it’s fine. It’s fine. Stop talking. Damn it!”

I kept my mouth shut. Izek let go of my hand, stood back, and stared at me in silence for a long time with an unpredictable look.

Rather than staring, his gaze seemed to be penetrating into my very being. It was more disturbing.

“Why don’t you ease your breathing?”

“Y-Yes, I’ll stop the hiccups...”

I breathed out of my mouth. Fortunately, my hiccups seemed to stop.

Instead, my legs lost strength, gave away, and I sank to the floor. My husband looked simply dumbfounded.

‘You’re driving me crazy.’

He lifted me up like a sack.

Ah, I’ve become a chick again.

It was unsettling to be in the air like this. And I was annoyed with myself. I was always scared for no reason. It was not a big deal. I was just supposed to do the same thing as back then. So, why were my legs so weak?

Come on, get a hold of yourself and get back to the role.

“I was a little dizzy. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I never said you did it on purpose. Damn it. What kind of riding party is this?”

“I’m sorry, I was out of my mind. I just thought, maybe I could get to know some of these people.”

“The people here already know you.”

He took a few steps back.

Then he bent over, grabbed an apple from the basket, and handed it to me.

“Take it.”

“Oh...”

“You said you’d fix it. My horses are snobs, they need a ransom.”

I see. His horses were snobs. So he was telling me to bring them a giant apple– ah, it would have been nice if he had told me before!

I felt relieved and embarrassed at the same time.

I was glad he was not annoyed though. Phew, I need to stay a little more alert from now on. He doesn’t like people crying, so I shouldn’t show that again.

“Can I ride your horse?”

“Why not?”

What, would you not be angry if I did it without asking?

I thought it was ridiculous, but of course, I didn’t show it.

“Really?”

“......yes, really.”

“Don’t you think the horses will get offended?”

“They don’t even recognize the owner if you give them an apple.”

I faced a muscular black stallion that looked particularly proud of being held in my husband’s arms. His eyes were so arrogant that someone might be scared to become his master.

Puu, puu.

When I gently offered the apple, he looked extremely pleased, his eyes glowing gently.

“I-I’ll give you this, so be nice to me.”

“Snort...”

I could feel a pair of eyes staring at me. It belonged to no one else but my husband.

Why was he looking at me like that? What was he thinking? So far, I had been wondering if he was interested in what I was doing.

“I think he’s pretty majestic”

“You seem to like him.”

“Yes, he’s wonderful.”

“Let’s go then.”

“What?”

“Cedric!”

The stableman that ran away earlier came running again. He looked a little flustered, but when Izek nodded, he immediately approached and began to saddle the horse.

“My Lady... “

“Nevermind, she’ll ride with me.”

Cedric’s eyes grew as wide as horseshoes, but he asked no questions.

As for me, my eyes wide became wide just like Cedric.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“......”

“Are you really taking me?”

“What I really mean is... I don’t do anything on Sabbath, so it doesn’t matter. It’s only the trainees who are excited.”

“But you said you were busy earlier.”

“I was mentally busy.”

What kind of guy is this? Haa, I had to admit he had a very surprising attitude. But, the arrogant paladin who didn’t even want to bump into me, was now talking to me — a great development. I’ll keep trying to gain his interest.

The foot of Lake Greyleo, where the meeting was held, had a lively and noisy atmosphere. People in light horseback riding suits and drivers covering the area were mixed together, flirting and enjoying dinner at outdoor tables. The sky above us was a peaceful blue without the sight of a single cloud. The scene felt really beautiful and romantic as I gazed up.

.....of course, the romantic atmosphere soon shattered.

“....Whoa, sh*t, what the hell is that?”

“Hey, can you see that too?”

“Oh, yes, I can see too.”

“Is that some hallucination spell?”

“I couldn’t sense anything.”

Husband, I don’t think I’m the only one feeling that you’re more of a devil than a paladin. Your friends are about to pull out a sword and come at you.

They were either cursing or taken aback. One man fell off the saddle watching us and some couple spurted juice out of their mouth.

Izek had completely destroyed the good atmosphere, but he could not have had the conscience to be embarrassed. Izek drove his horse without delay and approached the table where a group of women were sitting. Ellenia was there too. In contrast to the shocked expressions of those around her, Ellenia calmly greeted him with her distinctively indifferent face.

“What’s up with you?”

“It’s always up to me to take care of what you’ve done.”

He jumped off the saddle.

And then they just started a family fight-

No, you guys...

“Don’t blame this on me.”

“I’m not blaming you.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t remember asking you to do anything about it.”

“I’d rather be sure from the start.”

“Then what can you do?”

“Don’t be sarcastic. At least I’m grateful, not like my father.”

“I know you’re the only one with conscience in our family. So why don’t you stop fighting back? I’m starting to get annoyed.”

That’s the way it is for this little husband. What’s wrong with Ellenia, who’s so dignified. That’s why I’m like the seed of strife.

Freya, who was sitting next to Ellenia, stood up and approached them. She stood between Ellenia, who sat upright, and Izek, who stood arrogant with the saddle, her purple eyes looking worried. “Stop it, both of you. It’s not something to argue about here. Iz, you should stop teasing your wife, too. Huh?”

Despite the friendly scolding from his childhood friend, the son of a b*tch didn’t budge. Ellenia was also staring at her brother, no fear in her eyes.

Only

“Hey... “

I tried to jump down, but I didn’t manage properly, so Izek stretched out his arms and grabbed me.

T/N: In case y’all didn’t understand, the italicised sentences in ‘ ‘ were flashbacks.