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Chapter 20
Luciella and the horse stared at each other once again.
An intense tension hung between them.
Like two generals facing one another on a battlefield from which neither could retreat.
Tap.
The horse shifted its hoof, and the orange object lying near its feet rolled across the ground.
It was the carrot Luciella had given it that morning.
When Luciella glanced toward it, the horse snorted.
As if to say:
Trying to tempt me with that again?
The more she looked at it, the more obnoxious its personality seemed.
But Luciella smiled triumphantly.
Today would be different.
Without even glancing at the carrot, she picked up the feed trough beside her and brought it closer.
…Prrr?
The horse’s eyes widened.
Its nostrils flared, and its head automatically tilted toward the trough.
Prrrr! Prrrrr!
“What? You want some?”
Prrrr!
As though it had completely lost its senses before something it had never experienced in its life, its eyes were becoming increasingly desperate.
“Then shouldn’t you do something I want, too?”
The horse struck the ground sharply with its hoof.
It looked like it was trying to contain its excitement, but it wasn’t doing a very good job.
Luciella scooped up some roasted oats and held them out in her palm.
The horse hesitated briefly before extending its tongue and licking them.
“…!”
The moment it tasted them, its eyes changed.
Its ears shot upright.
Its tail began wagging furiously from side to side.
As though it had never experienced such stimulation before, it savored the food with wide eyes before painstakingly licking every last oat crumb from her palm.
Even that wasn’t enough.
It shoved its nose toward her wrist and only stopped after confirming there was truly nothing left.
It felt as though she could hear the sound of three years of noble pride collapsing.
The trough. Give me the entire trough!
Its black eyes seemed to be screaming exactly that.
“How about this?”
This time, she offered a dried apple slice.
The horse nearly had a seizure from excitement.
Its nostrils flared to their limits.
Its front hooves hammered against the ground.
Stretching out its neck, it practically charged toward Luciella’s hand.
Crunch.
The moment it finally got the apple slice into its mouth, it jumped in pure bliss.
While feeding it the apple, Luciella casually stroked its side.
There was no resistance.
Slowly, she moved her hand toward its back.
The horse remained completely distracted by the apple slices.
Carefully, Luciella swung one leg over its back.
“Listen.”
She spoke softly.
“If you let me ride you, I’ll give you everything over there.”
Prrrr.
As if it understood her intention, the horse accepted her approach.
It even lowered its body slightly to make mounting easier.
“…”
Two thoughts crossed Luciella’s mind at the same time.
The first was admiration.
Apparently, it really was true that sensitive creatures could read emotions and intentions.
The second was disbelief.
You really are a shameless horse, aren’t you?
Regardless, that day Luciella successfully climbed onto its back.
The horse even carried her on a full lap around the front courtyard.
Though she knew absolutely nothing about horseback riding, she was able to guide it through slight flows of mana.
That didn’t mean the horse had wholeheartedly accepted a new owner, however.
The entire time they circled the courtyard, its eyes never left the feed trough.
Its entire body radiated the desire to get this over with as quickly as possible.
When everything was finally finished and it buried its nose into the trough—
The horse writhed in happiness as though it had reached paradise itself.
* * *
Half a month passed.
Bael’s condition had changed dramatically.
He still couldn’t walk properly, but color had returned to his face, and his mana circulation had stabilized.
The amount of time he could stand also increased little by little.
Today’s the day.
That morning, Luciella entered Bael’s room together with Cain and Aila and immediately got to the point.
“We’re going outside.”
“…What?”
“You’ll ride on Cain’s back and get some sunlight. Just to the stable courtyard.”
Bael stared at her as if she’d gone insane.
“How old do you think I am? Getting carried around on someone’s back…”
“It’s a favor.”
Luciella interrupted quickly.
“I’ve cooked that much food for you. Can’t you grant me one little favor?”
Bael’s eyes wavered slightly.
“Well, maybe it means the food wasn’t that good.”
Luciella muttered gloomily to herself.
“That would be understandable.”
“…I never said it wasn’t good.”
Bael looked at her, clearly flustered.
Now’s my chance.
Luciella immediately employed the conversational technique her mother had taught her.
What had she called it again?
Gaslighting?
“Well, maybe my sincerity just wasn’t enough. It’s all my fault, then.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“We’re only going to the stable courtyard. If you don’t like it, we’ll come right back. But if you still refuse, then I guess I’m only worth that much to you.”
“I said that’s not it!”
Bael protested, his face turning red.
“So you’ll come?”
“…Getting carried around for a stroll looks ridiculous.”
Bael frowned.
Luciella smiled slightly.
At this point, he was already halfway convinced.
“Are you worried Theo or one of the other cousins might see you and start trouble?”
Cain finally spoke up.
Bael’s eyes shifted ever so slightly.
Apparently, that was at least partially true.
“That problem isn’t difficult to solve.”
Cain spoke elegantly.
“I’ll create an opening. You can just punch them yourself.”
“…?”
“That’s actually a pretty good idea.”
Before Luciella could even question her ears, Aila casually joined in.
“If all of us pretend not to see it, then anything that happened effectively never happened.”
“…That’s true. Good point.”
Bael nodded thoughtfully after a moment.
“…”
Luciella was suddenly overcome with complicated emotions.
The Bellaon family is far more underhanded than they look.
Still, the morality of the Bellaon family wasn’t important right now.
The moment Cain carried Bael outside into the courtyard—
A pitch-black horse stood waiting there.
Its appearance was completely different from fifteen days ago.
Its unusually long mane gleamed beautifully.
Strength had returned to its long legs.
Its enormous body had filled out just enough, and its muscles looked ready to explode with energy.
At last, Luciella had to accept the truth.
She had failed to turn it into a honey-fed pig.
Because beneath the sunlight, the horse was breathtakingly beautiful.
“What is this…?”
Bael murmured while staring at the horse.
“You’re going to ride it.”
“What?”
“I heard you were originally a genius rider. Jerome said Theo only started acting arrogant after you got sick.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Bael glanced down at his legs.
“To ride a horse, you need strength in your legs.”
Cain carefully interjected while looking at Luciella.
“Perhaps after more time has passed. But in his current condition…”
“I had a special saddle made so he won’t fall.”
She looked toward the horse and pulled a dried apple slice from her pocket.
She tossed it into the air and caught it again.
Prrrrr—
The horse reacted instantly.
“And steering?”
She grinned.
“As long as you send intentions through mana, it’ll respond immediately.”
The horse practically sprinted over, snatched the apple slice from her hand, and devoured it while spraying saliva everywhere.
“…It seems rather undignified. You’re telling me I can really ride this thing?”
Bael tilted his head.
“Only its personality is undignified.”
Luciella objected immediately.
“Its movements are calm and elegant.”
* * *
“If you behave nicely, tonight I’ll roast an entire batch of black barley for you and serve it with water infused with perilla grass. For dessert, you’ll get stewed apples with twice the usual amount of honey.”
Luciella spoke while looking back at the horse.
Prrrr!
Of course, there was no way the horse actually understood the menu she was describing.
Nor could it understand every word humans said.
Yet perhaps because of the bond they had formed over the past fifteen days, it seemed to grasp Luciella’s intentions perfectly.
Carry that human.
Go where the human wants.
Put the human down safely at the end.
Then your mouth will experience happiness.
The endless bliss of experiencing heaven itself for the very first time.
As though reaching a decision, the horse lowered its back invitingly.
“…”
Bael stared at the horse for a moment before turning toward Luciella again.
“You prepared all of this?”
“Of course. It was incredibly difficult. Ridiculously difficult.”
“…For me?”
“Obviously.”
Luciella answered without hesitation.
“You said you wanted to move.”
