Chapter 21
Karsiel no longer smiled.
It was as if he could see through my words, through my true feelings, as he simply stared into my eyes with his deep, dark gaze.
“Princess.”
He spoke just as he seemed about to say something.
Hee-heeing—
“Screeeech!”
The sound of a horse neighing and the sharp, simultaneous screams of several people filled the air.
“Pegasus!”
There was no time to think. Gale dashed out of the forest and joined Karsiel, and before I could hear his response, I ran straight towards the courtyard where the people had gathered.
Hee-heeing—!
Weaving through the panicked crowd, I approached the fence and saw the Pegasus, its movements much more violent than before.
On top of its wings, I could see Anthony Morin’s upper body hanging from the saddle.
“Ugh! This bastard! Stay still!”
Anthony yelled as he struggled, but the Pegasus raised its front legs and fiercely resisted.
“What happened?”
I asked, finding David nearby.
“It wasn’t this bad until just now.”
“It seems the problem is that the horse didn’t lose strength even when it was Anthony’s turn to ride it.”
The noblewoman, who had been standing with the two others, responded. At first, I thought she was protecting them, but upon closer inspection, it looked like they were the ones blocking his way.
“When he swung the whip, the horse got excited, and as you can see, the device holding one of its wings has come loose.”
Looking back at the rampaging Pegasus, I saw that its right wing had unfolded and was moving aggressively. While it was impossible for it to fly in this state, it could certainly injure someone badly.
Crash!
“Ahhh!”
The fence on one side broke from its struggles, and in the chaos, Anthony, trapped between the broken parts, screamed. The onlookers began to flee in panic.
“Dammit!”
Hanging onto the saddle, Anthony reached for his waist. His hands flailed a few times in the air before finally grasping a bottle at his belt.
“Got it!”
With a rough shout, Anthony opened the bottle and poured its contents over himself and the horse.
Whooosh—
The Pegasus’s movements slowed for a moment, and Anthony’s face brightened.
However, it was short-lived.
“Calm down, damn you!”
Hee-heeing!
Just as Anthony shouted, the Pegasus began to thrash even harder than before.
Of course.
I sighed and watched the bottle of Mero-flower perfume fly off the horse’s back and land far away.
I knew it was a waste—such an expensive item.
“Your Highness! Please get away!”
From the left, several men’s voices cried out.
Turning my gaze toward the group of people gathered, I spotted Balthazar in the middle, observing the Pegasus.
“Hah, I came for a good show, and now look at this,” he said, his face relaxed, as though he were either far enough from the fence or thought someone would stop the accident if it happened.
“Anthony, that guy boasts about riding horses, but his skills are nothing to write home about.”
“Your Highness, please, now isn’t the time to joke. We all need to run!”
A familiar voice came from behind Balthazar.
It was Bartol.
Behind him, Damon Gideon also appeared, eyeing Balthazar warily.
“Is it that hard? I don’t know because I’ve never tried, but isn’t it just about holding on and hanging tight?”
Balthazar still seemed unwilling to move. A cruel smile played at the corner of his mouth.
“Bartol, Damon.”
“Y-Yes?” the two answered in surprise.
“One of you catch the reins and calm it down.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I want to see if it’s really that difficult. Wouldn’t it be funny if the thing that Anthony struggles with turns out to be easy?”
Balthazar laughed cruelly.
“If either of you succeeds, I’ll invite you to the next archery event. But the one who fails will never receive another invitation from the royal family.”
Damon and Bartol looked at each other simultaneously.
“I… I…”
“I’ll do it!”
To my surprise, it was Bartol who volunteered with a loud voice.
“I-I’ll calm the Pegasus down!” he shouted.
What on earth was he saying?
I could only wonder how much Julius and Lucilla had brainwashed him.
As I debated whether to stop him out of humanity or just let it happen, Bartol stepped past the broken fence and approached the Pegasus.
The Pegasus and Anthony were still tangled together, but it was no longer Anthony trying to tame the horse. He was now desperately holding onto the reins, struggling to avoid being thrown off.
“Whoa! Whoooa!”
Bartol grabbed one end of the reins and shouted.
The Pegasus, who had been shaking its head, briefly made eye contact with Bartol.
“Yes, now stop…”
Thud—
The Pegasus twisted its body and sent Bartol flying with a powerful kick from its hind legs. The impact sent Anthony tumbling beneath the horse.
“Ugh!”
Hee-heeing!
Having thrown off its rider, the Pegasus’s movements grew even more frantic as it broke through another section of the fence and turned its gaze in my direction.
“Screech! Not that way!”
A maid’s voice cried from behind me. It made sense, as the direction the Pegasus was heading towards was the mansion’s main building.
Looking back, I saw Count Morin and his wife standing by the garden table, where they had been watching over their eldest son just moments before.
“Nael! Come to your mother!”
The Countess, instead of fleeing, stood and extended her hand, calling desperately for someone.
“Mother!”
It was the youngest son of the Morin family, rushing towards her.
Thud-thud-thud—
As the sharp sound echoed, the Pegasus began charging toward them. The Countess’s face turned pale.
“Princess, get out of the way! What are you doing near the monster?”
Someone’s arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back, just as a wine bottle thrown by one of the fleeing people nearly hit me.
Turning, I saw Karsiel’s eyes.
“You should move. I just ordered the net to be brought.”
He said while adjusting the sword at his waist.
“Move as far as you can. If it doesn’t calm down, we’ll have to kill it.”
A strange aura, whether from the sword’s aura or killing intent, leaked from the scabbard.
In that tense moment, my eyes caught sight of something on the grass.
A broken bottle, with a faint trace of red liquid left inside.
It was the Mero-flower perfume bottle.
I knew exactly what I needed to do.
“Your Highness, please protect Countess Morin and Young Master Nael.”
“What? You—”
I didn’t wait to hear the rest of his words. I ran to grab the broken bottle.
Then, turning back, I sprinted toward the direction where the Countess was.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
I could hear the Pegasus’s hooves pounding behind me. Someone may have been thrown by its wings.
Please…
I kept running in the same direction.
As the Pegasus’s breath grazed my neck, several things happened at once.
Karsiel, having reached the table before me, wrapped himself around the Countess and Nael, pulling them as far away from the Pegasus as possible.
Meanwhile, I poured the liquid from the broken bottle onto the large white cloth covering the table, then swiftly ripped the cloth off.
“This way!”
Hee-heeing!
Spotting me, the Pegasus shrieked and turned its body. I didn’t miss the moment.
Flap—
The large tablecloth spread out like it might fly through the air and fell right above my head, just as the Pegasus charged toward me.
Whooosh—
At the last moment, I grasped the Pegasus’s neck, using the falling cloth to guide it away from the crowd and into an empty patch of grass.
“This is it.”
