As Retina sensed something was wrong with Rodrigo and tried to calm him down, Rodrigo raised his front leg and let out a cry.
Retina gripped the reins and tightened her thighs, struggling to stay on as Rodrigo stomped around, not recognizing her presence.
“Retina, get off the horse immediately!”
The sudden incident caused a stir among the onlookers. After overcoming one crisis, Retina clung tightly to Rodrigo’s back as he kicked with his hind legs this time.
If she fell from the rampaging horse, she could break her neck and die on the spot, so she used all her strength.
‘It’s better to run.’
Feeling her grip weakening, Retina clenched her teeth. It seemed safer to run until the horse tired rather than just holding on to the rampaging horse.
‘Just like a race. Stay calm.’
She swallowed hard and made up her mind. When she was in the estate, she often ran across the plains at high speed with Rodrigo, so as long as she held the reins tightly, it should be fine.
“Haint, brother! Follow me!”
Wrapping the reins around her wrist to secure them, Retina kicked Rodrigo’s belly. Rodrigo, who had been stomping in place and making a fuss, kicked off the ground and shot forward.
“Ahhh! Get out of the way!”
The people standing at the entrance to the forest path were thrown into disarray by the fast-approaching horse, diving to the side to avoid Rodrigo. Kicking up dust, Retina quickly disappeared into the forest.
“Move aside!”
Haint hurriedly mounted Theo and immediately took off after Retina, leaving the clearing. The previously cheerful atmosphere of the clearing turned chaotic due to the sudden incident. The sight of the young lady’s horse running wild elicited worried murmurs from all around.
Though Haint had followed her, no one believed Retina would return unscathed.
In the midst of the commotion, Sat calmly regained his composure and looked for the disappeared coachman with his red eyes. Though it was an unexpected accident, he had a nagging feeling of unease.
In his line of sight, he saw Herald, who had leapt to his feet in shock and was now frozen. It was clear, even from a distance, that Herald was struggling to suppress his anger.
“Crown Prince! Where are you going?”
The Empress shouted at his retreating figure as he jumped down from the platform. However, Herald didn’t even pretend to listen; he seized the reins from the rider holding the horse and leaped onto the saddle as if flying.
“Find the person who tampered with the horse. They haven’t left yet.”
Just like Sat, Herald seemed to think someone had meddled with Retina’s horse. Before heading into the forest, he instructed Sat and then turned his horse towards the direction where Retina and Haint had disappeared.
‘Who dares to harm Retina?’
Usually, animals react immediately to hallucinogens or stimulants. But when Rodrigo started acting up, only he and Haint were near Retina.
This implied that a rare and powerful drug, not commonly available, was likely used.
Anyone associated with the capital, who had access to Rodrigo when he was in the enclosure, could easily have tampered with him.
‘I’ve been too complacent.’
Since this involved Retina, he needed to be more meticulous in his investigation. Sat, following Herald’s orders to find the coachman, picked up a jewel lying at his feet.
“A jewel?”
The jewel was small, likely an ornament for a ring or earring. He examined the silver-framed, blackened, rusted jewel carefully.
‘The blackened part below is suspicious.’
As he rolled the jewel in his hand, Sat glanced toward the tent where the noblewomen were gathered.
‘Those who behave as if they’d die if exposed to sunlight wouldn’t have come out this far.’
“Exactly, what kind of noble lady wears such unseemly riding trousers? This sort of accident has never happened before.”
The onlookers, who had witnessed the near-disastrous scene, each threw in their own comments, creating a buzz. Half were genuinely worried about Retina, while the other half pretended to be concerned, hiding their smirks behind their fans.
Sat clenched his fist around the jewel, disgusted by their hypocrisy.
‘One of them must have orchestrated this.’
His gaze, cold and steely, settled on the group.
* * *
Lowering her upper body to maintain balance, Retina raced through the dense forest on Rodrigo. She had no time to look around; green leaves blurred past her as she focused solely on what lay ahead. Having faced several near-falls on the way here, Retina didn’t dare let her attention waver. She kept her body pressed against Rodrigo’s back, looking only forward to prevent the wind from shifting her center of gravity backward.
Guiding Rodrigo, whose eyes were wild and legs moved on instinct, required an extraordinary level of concentration. Fortunately, the path, groomed for riding, was wide and flat with no protruding stones, reducing the risk of stumbling.
Her palms were raw from gripping the reins too tightly, but Retina couldn’t let go.
“Retina! Turn left!”
Haint, who had quickly caught up, shouted at the top of his lungs. Following his instructions, Retina tightened her left arm to change Rodrigo’s direction. Rodrigo, who wasn’t particularly strong, had been running at full speed, so he wouldn’t be able to keep it up for much longer.
‘I need to come up with a plan before then.’
If Rodrigo stumbled or collapsed from exhaustion, Retina would also be thrown to the ground. Falling from a horse could result in fractures if she was lucky; in the worst case, she might have to face the prospect of death.
As Retina saw the white foam around Rodrigo’s mouth, she imagined the worst-case scenario, thinking that if Rodrigo collapsed from exhaustion, she would at least suffer fractures.
“A lake will come into view soon. Just focus on what’s ahead!!”
Retina, whose mind was starting to wander, gripped the reins tightly. She understood where Haint was leading her. He didn’t harbor any hope that Rodrigo would stop gradually. It was better to fall into the lake than onto the hard ground.
“Rodrigo, just a little more.”
The end of the forest path began to appear. Rodrigo, like her, was gasping for breath and seemed to be struggling to continue running.
‘Who would do such a thing to Rodrigo, who loves to run?’
Even though this was targeted at her, Rodrigo had done nothing wrong. Suppressing her rising anger, Retina bit her lip hard.
Right now, she had to focus only on the safety of herself and Rodrigo. Even if she didn’t act rashly, Sat would be searching for the culprit by now.
“Retina!”
At the sound of her name, Retina looked ahead. The forest path ended, revealing a wide lake stretching out before her. Under different circumstances, she might have been captivated by the sunlight sparkling on the water’s surface, but now she was entirely focused on the necessity of entering it.
‘I can’t swim.’
The lake, deep enough that she couldn’t see the bottom, filled her with fear. She had to choose between falling off the horse or plunging into the lake, but she disliked both options. However, if she had to choose the option with a higher chance of survival…
Retina continued straight towards the lake without changing direction. As Rodrigo’s legs buckled upon splashing into the water, Retina’s body was thrown forward. She let go of the reins and slid off Rodrigo’s back, flailing her legs in search of solid ground.
‘Can’t touch the bottom.’
She thought she would be able to stand since they were relatively close to the lake’s edge, but it was deep from the very start. Despite her efforts to kick and stay afloat, her body began to sink.
Unlike Retina, who couldn’t swim, Rodrigo swam gracefully out of the lake and shook off the water.
‘At least you know how to swim, thank goodness.’
Retina, holding her breath as water entered her nose, closed her eyes. Just before they shut, she saw Haint riding Theo towards her, and then she sank to the bottom of the lake.
The tension drained from her body, which had been overly strained from clinging to Rodrigo, and she felt as if something was pulling her legs downward. Despite her fear of water, once she was submerged, a sense of calm seemed to wash over her.
Retina exhaled all her breath, and no more bubbles rose from her nose. At that moment, Haint plunged into the lake, causing bubbles to rise on the surface. Looking around, he spotted Retina, who had lost consciousness and was sinking to the bottom. He swam down to her.
Grabbing her easily, Haint wrapped his arms around Retina and ascended to the surface. He could only hope that she hadn’t ingested too much water.
