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Chapter 18
Theo grabbed the horse’s reins and held them out toward Luciella.
“Kill this horse right now.”
He gave the order with a gleam of amusement in his eyes.
“You’re a cook, aren’t you? I don’t think this thing is useful for anything except meat.”
A strange cruelty flickered through Theo’s gaze as he looked at her.
So two people can have the same bright blue eyes, yet one of them looks this vile.
“You’re a cook. Turning animals into meat should be easy for you, right?”
Theo continued, nudging the horse with the tip of his boot.
“My father won this horse in a bet with Count Dreken three years ago. It was supposedly imported from the Kingdom of Valmar. As you can see, it’s done nothing but eat for three years and ended up like this.”
The corner of his mouth twisted.
“The Count scammed the Bellaon family.”
Then he kicked the horse’s leg much harder.
The horse pinned its ears back but didn’t move away.
“If you’re a cook, you shouldn’t be picky about ingredients. Cut its artery with a knife. I’m planning to send its head to Count Dreken.”
Luciella frowned at the cruel words.
“Why? Did you come to the Bellaon estate thinking you’d only serve that bastard Bael?”
Theo tilted his head. Behind him, Ruben snickered.
“A servant should work hard when their master gives them an order, shouldn’t they? Bael can scold servants I brought in, but I can’t do anything to a cook working under him?”
Theo sneered.
He probably truly wanted the horse dead.
But the reason he was specifically ordering her to do it was obvious enough. The recent incident where she and Bael had humiliated Ruben must have wounded his pride badly.
Ordering her to kill the horse out of nowhere meant he was certain she couldn’t do it.
If I refuse, it becomes a weakness. If I actually do it, that’ll be entertaining for him too.
Luciella turned away from Theo and slowly approached the horse.
Horses on the continent were usually divided into twelve… no, thirteen breeds, weren’t they?
She desperately squeezed her memory, recalling knowledge she’d learned years ago.
Several years earlier—the year the Red Moon rose and her mother disappeared.
Her mother had left Luciella in the care of an elderly stablemaster who lived nearby for three months.
“Though he’s just an old man living in the countryside, in the game people called him the Sage of Silver Hooves. He was a very popular asset.”
“An asset…?”
“He was an expert on horse bloodlines. If you recruited that ite— I mean, grandfather, even abandoned horses could be reborn as warhorses and give you advantages in battle.”
“…Mom, you deliberately rented a house next to him, didn’t you? That’s why we came all the way to this village.”
“No. One of his hidden traits was being surprisingly good with children. Anyway, learn whatever you can. It might be useful someday.”
The old man had been gruff, but he often took her around and taught her various things.
After tasting a fish-shaped pastry Luciella had made one day, he seemed determined to repay her by passing on all his knowledge.
The problem was that she had found most of it boring and barely listened.
Those lessons were actually valuable…
Regret lasted only a moment.
Luciella focused and carefully examined the horse.
Judging by its frame, it likely carried mostly the blood of the Graven breed, the giant horses commonly found in northern Valmar.
The skeletal structure matched a Graven.
However, its legs were longer, and its pitch-black coat was a color impossible for a pure Graven.
So it wasn’t purebred.
Its age was probably four or five.
Still young enough to be growing.
Luciella’s gaze slowly traveled over its body.
“…!”
Its right front leg joint had stiffened.
That was why its balance seemed slightly off.
The muscles were knotted and rigid, to the point where she doubted it had ever left the stable.
“What kind of look is that? Are you suspecting me?”
As though he had read her thoughts, Theo gave a crooked smile.
“Has it been locked up the whole time?”
“What else am I supposed to do? Let a horse that can’t carry a rider run free? Look.”
Theo jerked on the reins irritably.
The horse violently shook off his hand.
“Damned beast!”
Theo’s foot started flying toward the horse’s leg again.
But this time, perhaps because the horse glared fiercely at him, he stopped midway.
“…”
Luciella frowned.
Theo wasn’t entirely wrong.
The horse really did have a difficult temperament.
It flinched and reacted nervously not only to Theo but even to Luciella’s approach.
Theo had probably tried to ride it and failed.
Afterward, he must have neglected it completely, which explained its faded coat.
Gravens are famous for being gentle. Then why…?
Her hand moved through the hair behind its ear and suddenly stopped.
There was a small star-shaped mark there.
A vivid star-shaped spot, slightly darker than the surrounding coat.
Luciella’s eyes widened.
The old stablemaster’s voice echoed in her ears.
“They call it a Star-Soul Horse because it’s said to be born from the spirit of a star!”
“Ah, yes. A Star-Horn Horse.”
“You little brat! Listen properly even when it isn’t cooking knowledge! They’re the most beautiful wild horses in existence!”
That’s right.
A Star-Soul Horse.
A species of wild horse that had become nearly impossible to find over the past hundred years.
They were said to be twice as fast as the finest warhorses and possessed hearts that could run for five days and nights without tiring.
They survive brutal winters and aren’t afraid of crossing water…
And they reacted to the mana of nearby living beings.
Without thinking, Luciella placed her hand near the horse’s muzzle and released a faint trace of mana.
It carried no hostility.
Barely more than a playful touch.
Prrr!
The horse reacted before her hand even touched it.
It snorted loudly and tilted its head toward her hand.
It wasn’t wary.
It was interested.
Almost pleased.
Luciella’s eyes widened.
This is it!
This horse was a hybrid of a Star-Soul Horse and a Graven.
Because it carried wild-horse blood, it wasn’t easily domesticated.
And because it inherited the Star-Soul Horse’s traits, it responded strongly to mana.
Mana naturally carried a person’s emotions.
That was why mana could be used both for attacks and healing.
Even when not intentionally expressed, sensitive creatures could read emotions and intentions through mana.
The reason Theo couldn’t ride this horse wasn’t because there was anything wrong with the horse.
It was because the horse could clearly sense what kind of person Theo was.
In simple terms, Theo was completely unlikeable from the horse’s perspective.
“What? Can’t even kill one broken horse?”
Theo mocked her.
Apparently, he hadn’t noticed the horse’s reaction.
Luciella slowly withdrew her hand.
“This horse isn’t broken.”
“You’re talking nonsense about something you know nothing about.”
“…You’re throwing it away anyway, aren’t you?”
She turned toward Theo.
“If it was won through a bet, then make another bet with me.”
“A servant dares challenge me to a wager?”
“I, a mere servant, intend to tame this horse within a month.”
“…”
Theo stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“A horse I couldn’t tame for two years? A horse even Bellaon’s knights couldn’t ride? Someone like you?”
“If I succeed, give the horse to me. Don’t order it slaughtered—just let it live. You said yourself it’s worthless anyway.”
Theo raised an eyebrow.
His eyes sparkled with amusement.
“And if you fail?”
“I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Because she wasn’t going to fail.
Theo’s blue eyes slowly swept over her as though she were an interesting toy.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t really have anything else to give, do you?”
His smile deepened.
“Then you’ll become my maid.”
A chill suddenly crawled down Luciella’s spine.
Perhaps it was because his eyes didn’t look at her like a person.
They looked at her like a collectible.
“…Fine.”
The moment Luciella answered, footsteps sounded from behind them.
“I told you to dispose of the horse, yet you’re standing here making deals with servants.”
The voice was low and dry.
Luciella turned her head.
Two people stood at the entrance to the rear courtyard.
One was a man approaching middle age.
His hair wasn’t the pure silver of Cain or Bael but a pale platinum blond.
And he possessed the unmistakable bright blue eyes of the Bellaon family.
His thin, pale face could perhaps be considered handsome.
But it wasn’t likable.
It was the face of a man who had spent years learning how to conceal his viciousness.
That must be him…
Osborne Bellaon—the Duke’s second son and the man currently responsible for the affairs of the ducal estate.
