Chapter 16
“You’re going to leak me before you get on the horse.”
Thierry spat out coldly.
I grimaced inwardly and smiled weakly.
“Sorry.”
I apologized, scurrying after him as he spun on his heel and started walking again.
I half-heartedly tried to keep my legs moving, thinking, “I’ll just pretend it’s a health run,” but something was wrong. The distance between me and him wasn’t closing as mercilessly as it had earlier.
I glanced sideways. I could see the sculptural side of his head, roughly brushing his wind-disheveled hair.
The eyes, which were hidden and revealed by eyelids that closed and opened without thinking, looked like scarlet sunsets in the bright sunlight.
Maybe out of consideration for me, he slowly…?
“Get your eyes off me.”
But before I could finish my thought, he beat me to it.
‘… Yes.’
I turned my watery gaze straight ahead, hoping he was just annoyed that I was following behind him, but I almost misunderstood his whim.
***
Standing in front of the majestic black steed, I didn’t hide my embarrassment.
“Don’t you think he’s too big for me to ride?”
“It’s okay, it’s not a Princess horse.”
“It’s His Majesty’s black horse, Hence the name.”
Oscar, who had been silent the entire time they were standing next to each other, popped up and smirked.
“That’s what we call him, since the Emperor never gives him a name. Just like wolves don’t have names.”
“Oscar, get lost.”
Thierry said to Oscar as he approached the black horse with a scowl.
“Your Majesty, are you upset, and if so, why don’t you take it out on me?”
“I thought I said I’d do it anytime if it meant killing you.”
“That’s a no-no. There are too many interesting things in the world to die already.”
I guess the way Thierry was so fearlessly confronting me earned him the nickname Mad Dog.
I stared at Oscar’s big liver in wonder and studied Thierry’s expression. His eyes narrowed in annoyance.
“I’m sorry, I’ll fix it!”
As if I weren’t the only one who saw it, Oscar jerked back a little. It was a skillful maneuver, as if he hadn’t fallen once or twice before.
Thierry spoke coldly, as if he knew Oscar would.
“Go around until it’s over.”
“Yes!”
Oscar began to gallop around the outskirts of the large hunting grounds without his steed.
‘You’re teaching me to ride, and if I’m so bad, you want me to run here too?’
I stared at Oscar with a frown and shook my shoulders. The thought was so horrible I’d rather forget it already.
“Princess, come here.”
I quickly stood in front of the black horse.
“Get on.”
“It’s…?”
“You can’t ride?”
Of course I can’t. How am I supposed to get on a horse bigger than me?
As I stood still and stared at him, Thierry gave me a short tongue-lashing.
“Huh-!”
Thierry grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up in a flash.
‘What is this incredible strength?’
I stared down at him, dumbfounded, from my perch on the horse, and then braced myself for his swiftness as he swiftly mounted behind me.
I could feel his body heat radiating from the hard chest pecs against my back.
Was he going to ride with me? I thought he meant me to practice alone, but I fidgeted, not expecting Thierry to go to such trouble.
“Feet.”
“Yes?”
“Put your right foot this way. Are you going to sit on the horse in a sideways position?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Apparently, you better hope you don’t fall off and end up in the goal before the hunt.”
Haha, be very mean. I let out an awkward chuckle and released my grip on my mane to follow his words.
‘Come to think of it, when we were younger, we used to talk about riding off to faraway places on horseback together…’
I carefully stroked the black stallion’s mane, then crossed my right foot over to the other side, sat down, and gripped the reins tightly. I gave the reins a quick flick and the black horse slowly started to move forward.
I don’t know how far we’ll go, but we’ll ride together.
I felt a pang of pity for my shallow but steadfast affection for Thierry, for my fear of him and my occasional pity for him.
Part of me wanted to feel sorry for him because we’d been through so much together, but another part of me wondered what I was doing with myself when he still remembered me as a fugitive.
“Does he really think I ran away?” I asked myself.
I wanted to ask him directly and hear the answer; I had a hunch, but I wanted to find out for myself, just to be sure.
As the horse picked up speed, the wind was stinging my eyes. I blinked a couple times before my eyes settled on Thierry’s hands, each gripping the reins right next to mine.
His bony, calloused fingers and veined knuckles were large enough to cover mine. I sucked in a deep breath to hide my sigh as he stared at me, a man of formidable strength.
“Princess.”
His gravelly voice slowed the pace of his words.
“Did I mention you have a dog?”
My eyes widened at the sudden topic.
“What? Yes…”
“How did you get him?”
“What do you mean… I guess I just raised him when he was younger…”
I stare straight ahead, unable to look back, and before I can answer, I’ve stopped dead in my tracks.
A chill breeze brushed the nape of my neck as the warmth of his body moved away from my back.
Thierry dismounted and stuck close to my leg, not wanting to let me down.
“I did some research and found out that the Ashtad palace never kept dogs.”
I could feel his gaze piercing the side of my face, but I stubbornly kept my eyes straight ahead.
“He’s… I used to take care of the dog that used to sneak in and out of the palace, yeah, that’s the one!”
“Aha. You took care of it secretly?”
“Yes…”
“Do you usually have good luck with animals?”
I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, but the bland voice made me shiver strangely.
My chest tingles, as if the lies were piling up like karma, but it was important to get this out of the way, so I gave a small nod.
A few seconds of silence stretched out between us. I carefully shifted my eyes, trembling with anxiety.
‘What is wrong with you, Anxious?’
He was laughing, making a windy sound like he was having fun. The tip of my chin twitched slightly at the oddly sinister sound of his laugh.
“That’s why.”
“…”
“Because there’s only one person the wolf follows besides me.”
I was puzzled, wondering why he was suddenly talking about this.
It was a topic that sent shivers down my spine, having heard rumors of the deaths of several people who had tried to win his heart in hopes of becoming the next Lari.
I dropped my eyes in anxiety and fiddled with the reins.
“Lari.”
But as soon as I try to avert my gaze, I find myself staring back at Thierry.
Thierry’s eyes were sharp and intense, as if he were observing my reaction. I felt like I was being held captive by his unblinking eyes, as if he was watching my every move.
My mind went blank and I didn’t know how to react, so I just stared at him in astonishment, my lips twitching reflexively, and the corners of his mouth turned up languidly.
“Why are you so surprised? Her name is Lari.”
He smiled, but it didn’t look like a smile.
Thierry’s eyes, unlike his mouth, were cold and devoid of laughter, and I took a slow breath and finally spoke.
“That’s… So, I heard a rumor.”
“What rumors?”
“That it’s better not to mention the name… Ugh.”
I stammered, running out of excuses to add, and suddenly his hand grabbed my waist. I jumped and grabbed his arm.
He lightly lifted me up and set me down on the ground, just as he had done with his horse. Then he closed the distance and leaned his upper body toward me.
He leaned his upper body against me, closing the distance.
“Is that all?”
I could detect a hint of impatience in his voice, as if something was missing.
I felt strangely unsteady on my feet, even though I had gotten off the horse steadily, and I unconsciously tightened my grip. Then I realized I was still holding onto his arm.
I angrily withdrew my hand and tried to back away, but he would have none of it, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer to the road.
‘Why are you doing this?’
What does he want an answer to, or worse, what does he suspect?
My mind spun furiously.
Is he suspecting me of impure motives, perhaps looking for some kind of weakness in the fact that I’ve been dragged here by force?
‘If that’s the case, it’s a bit unfair…’
I can barely breathe and they think I’m crazy for doing that. Ha, that’s ridiculous. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was being unfair.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I was just asking if there was anything I should be careful about in front of His Majesty, I really don’t know anything!”
The light went out of his eyes at the growing strength in my voice. My face was reflected in those dark, sunken eyes that sent chills down my spine.
“… You look like that. You look resentful.”
His eyes scanned my face, and then slowly drifted away.
It was Thierry who had been holding me, but he let go of my hand as if to shake it off, stepping back and covering his face.
“Asshole.”
The words were spat out in a harsh tone, tinged with self-pity.
I wrap my throbbing arm in a hug and stare at him for a moment.
