The 2nd Prince’s welcome party ended successfully, and we returned to our normal daily lives.
Although the princes were staying in the royal castle, they were each doing their own thing, so it seemed like they would be able to live a somewhat leisurely life for a while until the gold mine was discovered.
After finishing today’s work, I went back to my room. Velia was deep in thought.
‘No matter how much I think about it, it can’t go on like this.’
Something was lacking.
The plan to use Khalid to take down Raul was going well, but at this point, they ended up relying only on him.
“princess. “Do you have any concerns?”
Ben, the escort knight, quietly asked a question next to Velia.
And as Velia was about to respond with her gratitude to her concern, the large sword hanging on Ben’s waist caught her eye.
What would it be like to learn swordsmanship? It will definitely help.
Velia stopped her steps and quietly opened her mouth.
“… … “Sir Ben.”
“yes.”
“Can I try holding that sword?”
As soon as he heard Velia’s sudden request, Ben answered with a sharp refusal.
“It’s not possible.”
“it can not?”
Velia looked at him with bright eyes at the answer that came back in an instant, but Ben’s attitude did not change.
“yes. It’s not possible. “It’s dangerous.”
“I’ll just listen. All you have to do is have Kyung watching from the side. “I won’t swing it.”
“… … princess.”
Ben called out to Velia with a very troubled expression, but Velia’s eyes were already shining towards his sword.
There is no one who can stop Velia from falling for something in her. There was no way Ben, her guard knight, could stop his princess.
“… … ha. You just have to listen. “It’s really dangerous.”
In the end, Ben, unable to defeat her, took his sword from her belt and placed it in Velia’s hand.
I was reminded of Velia’s expression when she was able to raise her sword with Ben’s help.
However, when she tightly gripped the handle of her sword, her Velia froze for a moment at the feel of the cold metal and the strange, hard yet cool sensation. But she soon strengthened both her hands and lifted her sword.
“Is it heavier than you thought?”
Her arm holding her sword trembled.
If Ben hadn’t helped her, she would have missed it as soon as she picked it up.
At that fact, Velia’s cheeks blushed as she realized how stubborn she had been.
“sorry. “It would have been dangerous if you hadn’t helped me.”
Ben carefully put the retrieved sword into its sheath and said with an easy smile.
“no. Are your questions answered now?”
“Hmm, is there anything lighter than the sword that the Lord carries?”
“There is, but it would be heavy for the princess to carry.”
“is it so?”
Velia pouted her mouth as if she was disappointed.
She wondered if it would be of some help to her if she learned swordsmanship.
It seems that her swordsmanship was too much for her, as all her life she spent her entire life reading books in the library and the only exercise she did was walking in the garden.
“That’s too bad.”
Velia let out a heartfelt lament.
Seeing her like that, Ben smiled sweetly and asked.
“But why did you suddenly become interested in swords?”
“… … “I just thought I needed a way to protect myself.”
Ben thought deeply about her words and then opened his mouth.
“First of all, the princess moves very little, so swordsmanship will be physically difficult for her.”
Although she was telling the truth, she was about to become depressed by those words.
Ben asked with a grin.
“So, how about horseback riding? “I heard that a lot of women these days enjoy horseback riding as a hobby.”
“Horseback riding?”
“yes. If necessary, you can ride a horse and run away. “I think it would be more beneficial than learning swordsmanship now.”
Ben was also fully aware of the situation in which Velia received a marriage proposal from the princes of the empire.
If she were to marry the prince, she would have to leave for the empire alone. That must be a huge fear.
Therefore, Ben was able to fully understand where her desire to protect herself came from.
“Horseback riding…” … .”
At Ben’s suggestion, Velia quietly lost herself in her thoughts.
If you can ride her horse, she will definitely be of help to you at any time.
Horseback riding was a very useful skill for her, as was learning swordsmanship.
As she thought about that, Velia’s expression brightened.
“It’s good. Sir Ben. “Can you teach me how to ride a horse?”
“It would be better to learn from an expert rather than from me.”
“hmm. “I don’t want people to know that I’m learning something.”
When it comes to horseback riding, Ben has enough skills to teach me about it.
“Are you saying that you shouldn’t tell anyone about that?”
Ben asked cautiously, wondering if he meant to not tell the king or prince anything.
Then Velia smiled and answered.
“It’s not that much of a secret, but I don’t want to reveal it because I know you’ll be worried. Besides, I just thought it would be good to learn from someone as comfortable as Sir Ben.”
but. Velia was a stranger to her and did not like meeting this person very much. Ben, who knew her personality well, nodded her head.
“All right. “It’s not enough, but I’ll do my best.”
* * *
Velia felt a little awkward in her clothes that clearly revealed the lines of her body, so her gait kept becoming unsteady.
She was unfamiliar with the sight of herself, not in her usual dress, but in her riding clothes, complete with her hat. Somehow I feel a little embarrassed.
As she hesitantly entered her indoor riding arena set up in a corner of her castle, sir Ben greeted her with a bright smile.
“Are you here?”
He was standing there, holding the reins of one of her horses as her Velia practiced.
“Sir Ben. thank you.”
“no. “It would be my greatest pleasure to be of help to the princess.”
Velia smiled as if she felt a little relieved by Ben’s kind words. Then she asked Ben as if it were obvious.
“You know all the theory, right?”
“Sure.”
After Velia decided to learn how to ride, she went straight to the library and read all the books she could find on horseback riding.
She’s already mastered the basic theory.
Seeing Velia lifting her chin in triumph, Ben smiled and nodded at her.
“Then let’s start with the ride right away. “I will help you, so you can do it slowly and step by step.”
Ben let go of her stand for Velia to stand on to her feet.
“Climb above this. Put her left foot here.”
Velia carefully stepped to her feet and placed her left foot in the stirrup as her Ben instructed. Then she remembered what she had seen in the book, and she climbed into the saddle, being as careful as possible to keep her shoes from touching her horse’s belly.
“Well done. “You’re as good at it as you’ve done it many times.”
“After reading the book, I visualized her movements several times. I guess that helped.”
Velia placed her right foot in the opposite stirrup and answered with a proud expression.
“Being able to perform the movements you imagine means that the princess has a talent for horseback riding.”
When she praised her for successfully riding a horse, Velia became embarrassed and scratched her cheek.
Ben was a really kind teacher.
Not only was he full of love for Velia, but he was also surprisingly talented at teaching. He explained things in a very calm voice in a way that was easy to understand, and thanks to him, Velia was quickly getting used to horseback riding.
“It seems like the princess is really talented. “You seem to get used to horses quickly.”
“It’s really fun.”
Velia got off her horse smiling brightly.
Even when she got off her horse, Ben held her down one by one, but it seemed like Velia’s motor skills were not bad and her series of steps were not that difficult.
“I always lived in the library, so if I had picked up a sword since I was young, I might have had a talent for swordsmanship.”
It was clearly a joke, but Ben nodded, examining it seriously.
“Maybe so. “The prince is also very good at swordsmanship.”
“… … “If I were younger, I would have learned swordsmanship.”
Velia expressed regret.
Ben could have simply taken this as a statement that it was too late to learn swordsmanship now, but in fact, it was an expression of regret at the point in time he had returned.
If he had returned when he was much younger, he would have been able to learn swordsmanship and develop a more thorough means of protecting himself.
Then, instead of worrying about rejecting Raul’s marriage proposal in the first place, he would have only had to think about protecting the Kingdom of Ronica and taking him down.
“Sir Ben. “Is it really difficult for me to learn swordsmanship now?”
“ha ha ha. princess. It’s not possible.”
“Sir Ben can teach you well.”
Riding a horse wasn’t as difficult as I thought. Although he was proud to receive praise from Ben, he also felt that it was very easy to move his body on his own.
As a result, Velia became secretly confident and even became greedy for swordsmanship.
“It’s not a question of teaching. Holding a sword and swinging it is also to protect oneself… … .”
Ben paused for a moment.
Then he continued speaking with a serious expression.
“Sometimes they wield it to harm someone.”
Just by listening to that point, Velia understood the hidden meaning of his words. What she meant was that you shouldn’t learn the sword lightly without realizing that you might harm someone.
“… … “I’m sorry for being stubborn.”
“no. “It’s something the princess is motivated to do, but I feel dishonored for not being able to provide any help.”
Velia grinned at Ben’s somber expression and made eye contact with him.
“What are you talking about? “Is it because you have become such a great riding teacher?”
“ha ha ha. Do you know what? “Not only do I always say nice things to the princess, but she always praises me like this.”
“is that so?”
As expected, Ben is a very good person.
Velia felt very happy that Ben was the escort knight who was always by her side.
“I feel so lucky to have you as my knight.”
The moment when the first horseback riding session was over and I turned toward the exit to go back.
“… … majesty?”
Khalid, who had been there for some time, was standing crookedly, looking at Velia with sunken eyes.
“What’s going on here?”
Velia approached Khalid, wondering what was going on at the horseback riding range.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Seeing as you came all the way here, I guess it’s urgent?”
But she didn’t get an answer back.
He looked like he was thinking deeply about something.
“majesty?”
When Velia called out to him once again, only then did Khalid open her mouth.
“Her Majesty’s reply has arrived. “I went to see you and you said you were at the riding range.”
“iced coffee. okay. Should we talk about the rest in our room? “I don’t think it’s a story to share here.”
Khalid nodded his head.
But his gaze subtly passed over Velia’s shoulder.
She gave him a puzzled look, and as Velia looked behind her, she realized that she had not properly introduced Ben to Khalid yet.
“This is my knight, Sir Ben Horilt. “He has always been by my side, protecting me since I was young.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness, Second Prince.”
Ben politely greeted him.
However, Khalid glared at Ben with a disapproving expression and burst into laughter.
“Nice to meet you.”
It was a tone that did not seem welcoming at all.
However, Khalid did not usually have a very kind personality, so Velia and Ben did not pay much attention to him.
“Then Sir Ben. “I will be returning with Your Majesty, so please clean up after yourself.”
Velia hurriedly said hello to Ben and headed outside with Khalid.
Just as they were about to leave the riding range, Khalid slowly turned his head and looked back.
“… … .”
His strange gaze lingered on Ben for a moment and then disappeared in an instant.
Thank you for the chapter !❤️🔥