Chapter 15

It was so unexpected that I fell off the saddle, making me clutch his arm and lean on him.

Ah, I don’t like this. I’m worried about being a chick.

There was a commotion around us. I laughed obliviously, pushing out the annoying murmurs.

“Hey, don’t fight.”

“What?”

“Don’t get mad at them. Your handsome face will get ruined.”

Izek stared at me silently for a moment.

Like Satan’s incarnation, his glaring eyes were very fierce. He growled when I wriggled my body in preparation for being thrown away.

“I’m not mad, damn it. Ellen. Am I mad?”

“That’s not so.”

Ellenia, who answered immediately, stared at me. What kind of siblings were they? This was absurd, but of course, I didn’t mention it and smiled widely. When my feet touched the flat grass, I felt alive.

“Thank you for taking me. I won’t forget today.”

“...... ”

“I’ll ride alone too. Is that alright?”

“......do as you please.”

It was said without sincerity, but still a reply. It was pretty hard to be a fan. Freya, who looked at me with interested eyes, smiled softly.

“Come over here and sit down, my lady. Everyone is waiting.”

Thank you for those empty words.

As I approached the table obediently and sat down, I saw that the handle of the teacup was decorated in the shape of a turtle with jeweled eyeballs.

Today sure was a tough day.

“E-Ellen...”

“I’m sorry to have shown you something ugly. He’s always like this, so don’t worry.” Ellenia, who spat out in a businesslike tone, pushed a plate containing finger food toward me.

That was good enough, but why was there a turtle decoration on the plate too?!

I drank tea as much as I could, trying not to look at the decorations.

Freya, sitting next to me, murmured anxiously,”Is it okay if I leave him like that?”

“Leave him alone.”

Ellenia was heartless. Before I knew it, my husband was dragging his horse away.

I glanced at the sight of the men approaching him as if they had been waiting, when someone asked me, “Are you feeling well?”

“Oh, yes, thank you...”

“I’m so surprised to hear that you collapsed at Elmos Port. I heard you even shed blood.”

I swallowed a groan. Well, there was more than one person there at the time, so it was not too much for rumors to spread.

But the fact that I had a bloody nose, did we have to point it out here? Huh? This lady-Consolace or something. She had been poking at my sore spots since last time.

“That’s right. I almost got in trouble. Thank you for your concern.” I replied, smiling with gratitude from the bottom of her heart.

Lady Conolace made a mixed expression, frowning yet smiling, but tried again,”I guess my lady cares a lot about her figure.”

“What?”

“You’re already pretty thin, but I haven’t seen you eat anything since the last time. Do you not like the food here?”

Her gray eyes sparkled as if she was genuinely concerned.

I’m sure you’ve only seen me twice now. It’s sad to think you’re already pointing fingers at me for eating less.

“Is that so? I usually don’t eat a lot.”

“Well, I don’t know what the southern trend is, but health is necessary to withstand the climate here. As you know, a lot happens here, so we don’t want to bother each other.”

I see. A lady like me is a nuisance. So funny.

Nevertheless, I smiled brightly, my eyes twinkling. “Oh, thank you for your concern. You’ve been so sweet since last time, can I talk to you about things from now? As you know, I don’t know many people here, so I don’t have anyone to ask.”

“...well, anytime.”

“Really?”

“...Of course.” Lady Conolace, who murmured bitterly, nodded her head coyly.

She seemed annoyed.

I know, I understand. Insults have to be in sync to make it fun. Don’t worry, I’m not doing stupid things because I like you.

“Ruby.”

“What...?”

“Castella cake is delicious.”

......Yes, Castella cake is delicious. You want me to eat it?

Today’s Ellenia was scary for some reason, so I began to nibble on the bright yellow castella cake.

It’d be okay if I didn’t see this turtle.

“Relax. Why would argue over nothing all of a sudden? Such good siblings.”

“You and your brother are the ones who have a good relationship.”

“My brother? He’s nice, but such a troublemaker. I wish I had a more reliable brother... ” Freya, who playfully trailed off, changed the conversation topic naturally, looking in my direction.

“Come to think of it, I heard that my lady had a very good friendship with her elder brothers.”

There was only one ‘good’ sibling in my family. Enzo was a knight, not a cardinal. That was not the point, though.

“It’s just normal. My brothers tend to put up with my childishness a lot.”

“I envy you. You were the baby sibling. You must miss them alot.”

“To be honest, I can’t think of anything. I’ve already gotten so much better here.”

Freya was one of the closest people to Izek.

Even if it’s not her, I’ll be careful of what I say, just in case there’s a rumour going around about me.

“Will Cardinal Valentino visit Elendale this year?” It was a question that the lady, who said that she suffered because the food was not to her taste the other day, asked with sparkling eyes.

Haa, apart from the rumours, I forgot how popular Cesare is.

Please don’t come. I really don’t want you to come, but it’s painful knowing you’re already coming.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything yet.”

The match was around late fall, so he still had a few months left, but my future already seemed dark. My body is going to die, trapped between Cesare and Izek, two walls.

After the chatty brunch time, everyone started horseback riding. Fortunately, my husband left the horse alone and disappeared somewhere, so I rode on the snobbish horse and joined. Somehow, Freya and I were walking slowly toward the forest road.

“Don’t mind Lady Conolace.”

“What?”

“It’s just that she’s grumpy. She used to follow Iz around a long time ago. But she’s not a bad person.”

It didn’t matter, but I nodded as if I understood.

“I don’t think she’s bad. Lord Izek is a wonderful man, so it’s not too much to have a lot of people who like him.”

“You’re so sweet, my lady,” Freya tilted her head to one side with her eyes fixed forward.

Sitting on a snow-white stallion, she was like a goddess jumping out of a stunning painting.

“I don’t know how you’ll take it, but I thought you were a very picky person.”

“Me? Why?”

“You are the princess of Romagna. Not surprising if you were.” The playful addition made her smile, revealing her white teeth.

Well, if it were Rudbeckia, she would have taken it the wrong way.

I still felt sorry for the original Rudbeckia.

“But can we go this way?”

“It’s okay as long as we don’t go too far. It’s the safest place to hold outdoor gatherings, so it’s the same every time.”

“Oh... “

“But you seem to be better at riding than I thought.”

“It’s nothing compared to you. Just that the horse is good.”

“Oh, I don’t think so at all. Speaking of which, why don’t we have a match?”

“A match?”

“If you go straight in that direction, you’ll reach the opposite side of the road we came from. How about we race till there? What do you say?”

I nodded because there was no reason to refuse. It was the perfect time for me to get closer to Freya.

Should I win or lose?

“Then, my lady should leave first.”

“Are you going easy on me?”

“I’m more used to this road, so it’s natural to give way.”

That was how I started first. As soon as I stepped up, the horse started galloping as if waiting. I didn’t know how to put up with it. My braids flew wildly. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good. Maybe it was because it had been so long since I rode as much as I wanted to without noticing anything. I wanted to show my skills properly for the first time in a while.

After some time, the road that Freya talked about appeared. As I was running along the side road, I stopped for a moment. A strange feeling rose in me. I couldn’t hear any sound coming from behind.

Where was Freya right now? Maybe she went the other way?

Just when I was trying to detect sounds, something literally popped out of the bushes without a sound swirling around my ankle. I thought it was a snake and screamed in a fit.

Surprised by the momentum, the horse also neighed and leaped on its front legs!

“AHHHH!”

My hand slipped off the reins and my body was thrown into the air.

The shock made my body tingle all over and I was dragged away. I didn’t know if it was a vine that twisted around my ankle, but it was already clinging to my body, dragging me into the bushes. I didn’t even realize I was screaming.

I only felt pain, hitting my head hard against something dull.

There was a brief blackout.

***

“Kuu...”

My head was heavy. Likewise, I found it hard to open my heavy eyelids.

It was dark and calm all over. The white moonlight shone through a spot.

Where am I? What happened last?

“......Gah!”

I made eye contact with it while I was struggling to pull myself together.

Assuming those were eyes.

It was standing by my bedside, looking down at me.

Only

How to express what it looked like? A giant black monster rabbit, or a raccoon? Its two ears, which were on the top of its penguin-like body, were pointed like rabbits, and a pair of green jewels – eyes, shone noticeably in the dark.

And below that...

If that huge hole in its belly was a mouth, I would die as it is.