IDHT 41

Chapter 41

“What kind of horse would be good for a lady to ride… How experienced are you with horseback riding?”

The owner finally asked, apparently frustrated that the customer was only staring at the horses’ heads.

“I can’t ride.”

Angelina confessed the fundamental and urgent problem.

“You can’t ride?”

“You’ve never ridden before?”

Most noble ladies usually learned horseback riding. It wasn’t exactly mandatory, though. Some were too timid, or cursed with terrible athletic ability, and happily relied on the excellent alternative known as a carriage.

But Angelina belonged to neither category. She wasn’t timid, and her athletic skills were top-tier. Aleksei guessed that Marquis Agert had taught his daughter marksmanship because he hated to waste her talent.

And yet he had never taught her horseback riding.

It was an educational policy he simply couldn’t understand.

Of course, the owner—who knew nothing of her true identity—was merely surprised that someone renting a horse admitted she couldn’t ride.

Angelina herself was just as bewildered.

She knew ordinary noble ladies learned riding. But she’d heard they didn’t gallop around at full speed. Usually they just rode leisurely around their estates or hunting grounds as a hobby. Since the information had come from her father, Marquis Agert, she couldn’t tell whether it was true or merely a carefully constructed lie.

“You just can’t ride very fast, right?”

“No. I’ve never ridden at all.”

Why couldn’t a woman who could shoot guns and climb trees perfectly well ride a horse?

It wasn’t her fault.

In her previous life, the action-noir movie where she’d been the protagonist took place in the year 2050, and she mainly drove advanced automobiles. She might swing through the air on ropes, but she certainly didn’t ride horses.

And in this life, Marquis Agert had forbidden her from even going near one. He claimed it was because he’d seen too many soldiers die from falling off horses.

Thanks to her father’s overprotectiveness and the highly developed technology of her past life, Angelina had become a strange young lady: a genius marksman, excellent tree climber, and completely incapable of riding a horse.

“I usually rode in carriages.”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

“If you need a horse that’s easy for beginners… this one should do nicely.”

The owner quickly brought out a horse.

It had a long face and glossy black eyes—appearance: approved.

Its legs were straight, its body sturdy yet sleek—figure: approved.

“Hiiiing!”

Its cry rang loudly enough to pierce the ceiling—voice: approved.

Even the way it walked looked elegant. More graceful than she was.

“Your name from now on is Nenny. Nice to meet you.”

Angelina was utterly moved by the first horse she had ever owned.

Aleksei signed the contract and paid the fee.

“No matter which region you travel to—even neighboring countries—we have rental branches everywhere, so you can return the horse after your journey. You may also freely use our branch stables. However, additional charges apply if you exceed the rental period or if the horse is injured or dies.”

“Is there an open field or empty lot nearby?”

“There’s a training ground about ten minutes away. Would you like to use it?”

“Let’s do that.”

“The fee is 10 bat per hour for the grounds alone. Hiring a trainer costs an additional 20.”

The owner was quick-witted and an excellent businessman.

“We’ll just use the grounds.”

Aleksei handed over the money.

The three of them entered the training grounds alongside the three horses.

Fine sand covered the ground, and fences were set up here and there.

“Go ahead and try riding.”

Despite Aleksei’s encouragement, Angelina stood there blankly. The emotional thrill she’d felt earlier was now revealing itself to be the thrill of ownership alone.

Actually ride it? It’s so tall!

She could smash rats without hesitation, but climbing onto a horse was another matter entirely.

There were no seatbelts, and the only brake and steering mechanism was a single set of reins.

To accelerate, you didn’t press a pedal—you cracked a whip.

You couldn’t even use turn signals!

Much of Angelina’s fear of horseback riding came from the brainwashing education of the marquis.

‘I want to ride horses too.’

‘A soldier fell today and broke his leg. They say he’ll limp for the rest of his life.’

‘Father, I’ll ride carefully.’

‘Another soldier fell today and broke his neck.’

‘Father, other noble ladies can ride.’

‘Baron Carlis’s child—the one he finally had after ten years—died instantly after falling during riding practice.’

Every one of Angelina’s wishes had been crushed by horrifying stories.

Who cared about horseback riding anyway?

Her father had always said horses were like flowers blooming on cliffs—beautiful, but not something one should approach.

He warned her that a horse’s hooves would crush her bones.

“I’ll hold the reins, so don’t be afraid.”

The terrifying father who used to say such things was no longer here, and she had grown up now, but horses still didn’t look small and cute like poodles.

Angelina took a deep breath.

If I don’t ride, it’s basically the same as walking across America on foot. I don’t have a choice.

Break away from the idea that you can’t do it. Free yourself from the fear that something will go wrong. Then your body can relax.

She remembered the driving lessons she’d taken long ago and grabbed the reins.

Then she leaped with all her strength onto the saddle. Aleksei helped her up.

“Well done.”

And next would come the lesson…

“At first I’ll lead the horse, so let’s start by helping you overcome your fear.”

Completely unaware of what she was worrying about, her husband urged her on.

“Actually…”

“Hm?”

“I’d rather learn from Franz.”

As the saying goes, you should never learn driving from your husband. Mm-hmm.

Aleksei looked as though he’d bitten into something rotten.

“Why?”

“It’s uncomfortable.”

“……”

Those women online had said it clearly: husbands claim they won’t get angry, insist they can teach better than professionals, and yet reality turns out very differently.

The words of experienced people deserved to be taken seriously.

Ignoring Aleksei’s expression, Angelina looked at the instructor she had chosen.

“Teaching isn’t exactly my talent, but I’ll give it a try.”

Franz uncrossed his arms and took the reins. As the horse began to move, Aleksei had no choice but to step aside.

The lesson naturally began.

Aleksei watched the two from a distance.

“Keep your back straight.”

“It is straight.”

“Straighter than that.”

Every time Franz reached toward Angelina’s body to correct her posture, Aleksei’s eyebrow twitched.

Logically, he understood it was a necessary process—unavoidable physical contact.

His heart simply refused to understand.

As the lesson progressed, Aleksei experienced once again the sensation of reason and emotion moving separately.

It wasn’t common, but it certainly wasn’t the first time either.

And at the center of that experience was always Angelina Agert.

Unaware of any of this, Angelina happily rode the horse around. Before even an hour had passed, she was able to circle the training grounds on her own.

“You learn quickly since you’re athletic. I think we can stop here.”

“What do you think? Does it look okay to you too, Alek?”

“Yeah. That’s enough.”

Thank goodness her athletic ability was exceptional. Otherwise Aleksei’s heart might have failed before the lesson ended.

Unaware of his suffering, Angelina was exhilarated.

Now that she had mastered horseback riding, she felt as though she could conquer the world.

No—she felt as if the nine diamonds were glittering just within reach.

A map filled with codes, a continent filled with enemies—none of it seemed like a problem anymore.

Getting easily excited and overconfident was her chronic flaw.

“Let’s go to the library!”

Angelina Agert shouted, waving the reins.

The Royal Library of Is.

Inside stood rows upon rows of towering bookshelves beneath impossibly high ceilings, lined up like endless pine trees.

So this is what a library looks like.

It was a place she rarely had any connection to. She hated text with a passion.

Her philosophy was simple: a person only needed textbooks in life.

One reason she’d been satisfied with her current life was because it freed her from text.

A life where only etiquette and dance mattered.

That was also why she’d never understood Aleksei Werner, who buried himself in archives and books.

“You’re telling me we’re going to search through all these books for ancient language references?”

It wasn’t like there was a computer where you could type in keywords and get a location.

Angelina was overwhelmed by the majesty of the books stacked like towers.

“I’ll check the history section.”

“I’ll look through the language section.”

The two men headed toward their chosen areas. Having no idea where to start, Angelina simply wandered wherever her feet carried her.

She freely roamed between the shelves and even climbed to the second floor by the stairs.

How did people read these thick books without falling asleep?

After thoroughly exploring the interior, Angelina’s expression darkened.

There had to be over a thousand books in just the history section alone, and another thousand in the language section.

They were seriously planning to search through them one by one?

Wasn’t there another way?

Angelina descended back to the first floor.

If there wasn’t a computer… maybe there was another way to ask.

Like a librarian.

But the counter was empty.

Angelina decided to look for the librarian.

A librarian would probably be organizing books somewhere. Maybe wearing thick glasses too.

“What are you looking for?”