After many twists and turns, we finally arrived at the hunting competition venue. Though the physical distance was far, the journey felt like it took over ten days due to all the incidents along the way.
Yellian stretched their body, trying to soothe the fatigue from the long carriage ride.
No matter how large and luxurious the carriage from the duke’s estate was, sitting in it all day left their hips and waist in agony. Yet, Leonard, who had ridden the same carriage, seemed completely unaffected, which made Yellian feel unfairly treated.
“My lord, aren’t you tired?”
“I’m tired because of you.”
“…….”
Geez, he really knows how to leave someone speechless.
Stung by Leonard’s emotionally charged remark, Yellian tightly shut their mouth. They wanted to argue why he spoke like that, but there was no need to hasten their demise in front of the mad duke.
“Can you walk?”
“Ah, yes……, well. It’s not as bad as I thought. I think I can manage to walk.”
At Yellian’s response, Leonard, for some reason, looked them up and down. Feeling an ominous vibe from his gaze, Yellian eyed him warily.
After a long silence with only their gazes crossing, Leonard finally spoke.
“Good, then get on behind me.”
“Huh……?”
What does that mean?
Unable to quickly grasp Leonard’s intent, Yellian tilted their head in confusion.
Then, Leonard gestured with his chin toward a tall, handsome black horse. Only then did Yellian realize that Leonard meant for them to ride behind him on the horse.
“I don’t know how to ride a horse!”
“That’s why I said to get on behind me. I didn’t expect you to know how to ride.”
At Leonard’s cold retort, Yellian pouted in dissatisfaction. In response, Leonard raised his chin as if asking what was wrong, looking down at Yellian, who was already much shorter than him.
Did he really need to look down on someone so much smaller than him like this? Feeling a surge of resentment, Yellian glared at Leonard with a sulky expression. Of course, Leonard seemed completely unaffected.
“I’m actually scared of riding horses…….”
“Then I’ll tie a strap around your waist, and you can run alongside the horse.”
“That’s human abuse.”
With a sharp reply, Yellian pouted again and cautiously approached the horse.
They had never ridden a horse in their life. In fact, most people born and raised in South Korea probably hadn’t either. Because of that, Yellian carefully gauged the horse’s mood.
Meanwhile, Leonard mounted the horse in one swift motion. Yellian couldn’t believe how he managed to get on such a large horse so effortlessly, blinking in astonishment.
“Elton, help them up.”
“Yes.”
At Leonard’s command, Elton immediately responded and lifted Yellian’s body.
At a glance, it might look like Elton was embracing Yellian from behind, but unless someone deliberately misinterpreted it, that wouldn’t be the case. At least, that’s what Yellian thought. So, they focused solely on getting onto the horse without much thought.
Struggling, they managed to lift one leg over the saddle, shifting their weight to finally mount the horse.
Yellian, whose only experience with horses was riding a carousel as a child, widened their eyes at the unfamiliar sensation of riding a real horse.
“W-Wow……. It’s really high up.”
Now they understood why people in the past would be bedridden for days after falling off a horse. It was because of how high up they were. Feeling a wave of fear, Yellian instinctively clung tightly to Leonard’s waist.
“S-Sorry. Did I hold on too tight?”
“It’s fine, just hold on properly. It’s better than falling off.”
“Yep.”
Though not exactly kind, his words weren’t wrong, so Yellian tightened their grip around Leonard’s waist.
“Mikhail, let’s go.”
“The horse’s name is Mikhail?”
“Yeah. Why are you laughing?”
“No, it’s just such a handsome name…….”
It gave them a strange feeling, as if somewhere in this world there might be an overly handsome man named Mikhail with black hair and red eyes. Probably just their imagination, though.
Anyway, Mikhail moved forward with long, confident strides, and Yellian, feeling the horse’s movements with their whole body, clung even closer to Leonard.
“Where are we going?”
“The competition starting point.”
“Ah, that’s why everyone is heading in the same direction.”
People on horseback were all heading to the same place. They must be participants in the hunting competition, as they had quivers on their backs. Glancing back, Yellian saw Elton following Leonard on a brown horse.
“Welcome, everyone. We greet all of you who have come to participate in the hunting competition. Today’s event is hosted by the imperial family. As His Majesty the Emperor is also in attendance, please show proper respect.”
A man sitting on a high chair shouted in a booming voice that echoed around. He paused to catch his breath before continuing.
“As you can see, the hunting competition will take place only within the area marked by yellow flags. Medical staff and rescue teams are on standby up to the yellow flag areas in case of emergencies, but beyond those flags, there will be no one, so please take caution.”
At the announcer’s words, Yellian stretched their neck to look over Leonard’s shoulder for the yellow flags. A large yellow flag was prominently attached to a tall pole.
“Generally, points are awarded based on the number of animals hunted, but if, by any chance…… someone manages to hunt a dragon, that person will be declared the sole winner. Of course, that’s unlikely to happen.”
Dragon? Did he just say dragon?
Yellian doubted their ears. Could there really be a dragon in the forest they were about to enter? The kind of dragon they’d only seen in movies?
Shocked and scared, they sat there in a daze, while the announcer raised a large red flag high.
“Now, let the hunting competition begin!”
With a grand wave of the red flag, dozens of horses charged into the forest. Naturally, the horse carrying Leonard and Yellian was among them.
Overwhelmed by the sheer speed, so different from the leisurely pace earlier, Yellian shrank in fear and clung to Leonard’s back. This made them keep rubbing against Leonard, but they couldn’t help it. They were terrified of falling off the horse.
“Hwee.”
Once they had entered the forest a bit, Leonard slowed down. It seemed he was scanning for prey. Just then, a sound like a whistle came from behind. Yellian, still pressed against Leonard, barely turned their head.
“What’s this, a guest?”
The one who spoke was Abigail. Abigail was riding a handsome white horse. Beside him was Anderson, on a grayish horse.
Leonard turned the reins to face them. Thanks to that, Yellian no longer had to strain their neck to look.
“Who do you think it is?”
“Hmm……. The great Leonard giving someone a ride? Then it must be a lover, right?”
“Nonsense.”
“What, so it’s not a lover?”
At Leonard’s response, Abigail seemed genuinely surprised. He looked at Yellian with curious eyes, examining them closely. Feeling burdened by the gaze, Yellian instinctively shrank back, hiding behind Leonard.
“Could it be…… that cat?”
Anderson, who had been silent, narrowed his eyes in disbelief as he asked. He seemed unable to believe his own words.
“Yeah. That cat.”
“Wow, unbelievable!”
At Leonard’s short reply, Abigail clapped his hands in astonishment. Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Yellian rubbed the bridge of their nose with one hand.
“But why are you giving that cat a ride?”
Exactly! My thoughts exactly!
Yellian deeply agreed with Abigail’s question. They couldn’t understand why Leonard would bring someone who had never ridden a horse to a hunting competition.
“They injured their leg.”
“Ah, I see…… Wait, no, if they’re injured, shouldn’t they be resting? Why bring them on a horse?”
Abigail almost nodded in agreement to the natural-sounding reply before snapping out of it. Leonard responded as if wondering why he even had to explain.
“This cat tries to run away at every chance they get.”
“…….”
Unable to argue, Yellian gave an awkward smile toward Abigail, who still looked utterly confused.
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