The laughter of the nobles in the room could be heard through an open window.
“How can a person ride something like that?”
“Isn’t she going to be trampled to death?”
“It would be nice to see.”
Francesca still continued her performance. With a worried look on her face, she whispered into Ashmia’s ear.
“Will you be okay? You’ve never ridden a horse like that before; you’re so brave.”
Her brow furrowed in concern, but the mouth behind her hands must’ve been smiling.
Ashmia looked down at Francesca and smiled softly.
“How can I tame something like that… I’m already looking forward to it.”
Francesca seemed surprised at Ashmia’s reaction, which was different from what she had expected, but she soon shook her head.
“I can find out if there is a better horse on the riding grounds. If you ride a horse like that incorrectly―”
‘Don’t pretend it’s okay. This is not a place where you can come without knowing anything. So get lost while I’m still being nice. Otherwise…’
“―you can die.”
Francesca’s change in tone at the end of her sentence contained her true sincerity and nature.
“Thank you for the advice, but―”
Ashmia spoke so loudly that everyone watching in the room could hear her.
“―for a gangster like me, pride is more important than life.”
Ashmia stared at Francesca, who had a stiff expression on her face, and called for Vanessa.
“Vanessa!”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Come and help me.”
“Yes.”
Vanessa walked towards the white horse, embarrassing the five men surrounding it.
“It’s dangerous, so don’t come!”
One of the men shouted, but Vanessa looked indifferent.
“Let it go.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Let go of the horse. Can’t you hear me?”
Vanessa’s bloodlust made their hands loosen, and the white horse immediately began to run wild, moving away from the men.
Neighhh―!
The horse raised its hooves towards Vanessa, who stood in front of the animal. If her head were to be pierced by the horse’s hoof, her skull would be shattered beyond recognition.
When screams burst out of the room, Francesca was surprised and turned white with fear.
However, as she had been training for two weeks with Ashmia, Vanessa easily dodged the horse’s hooves, jumped up, grabbed the horse’s neck with both arms, and hardened her whole body.
Crack, crack―!
Her hardened body not only grew stiffer but also increased in weight. The white horse must have felt like there was suddenly a rock hanging from its neck.
Squeeze―!
Vanessa pressed the neck of the horse, which had fallen to the ground, to the extent that it couldn’t get back up.
“Because my lady has to ride it, I made it fall but did not get it injured. That’s what’s important.”
“So, I’ll just do this.”
The horse struggled, foaming at the mouth, but soon became quiet, gasping for breath, as if tired of Vanessa who hadn’t budged.
“Right, good.”
Vanessa stroked the white horse’s mane a few times, then looked at Ashmia.
“My lady, you can ride it now.”
Francesca and everyone else in the room watched the scene in silence.
As only Byren Bernando stared at Vanessa with sharp eyes, Ashmia nodded her head.
“Yeah, well done.”
Vanessa called back the men who had caught the leash and made the horse stand up. As soon as the white horse was up, the men freaked out when they saw it purr.
Tsk―
When Vanessa clicked her tongue, she moved her hands busily without a word to unbind the leash.
“Did you just see her? What was that?”
“Did she knock that horse down?! How could a person….?!”
“Talent? What other ability could you have to do that?”
Who is she? Is that how all members of the mafia are? And―
As expected, Kalanishiel is different.
The words that Francesca did not want to hear the most were constantly pouring out amongst the members of Fleur.
“…!!”
The whispers seemed to subside when Francesca glared at them, but their gazes were still on Ashmia and Vanessa.
“I brought a saddle!”
The saddle was so big that two men needed to carry it together.
Vanessa, who was watching to see if they put on the saddle well, knelt down on one knee and put her hands out as Ashmia approached.
Ashmia didn’t know how many times she had practiced this move, as well as the action of grabbing a horse and knocking it down.
‘No matter how old you are, this is the only thing you can do in the riding field.’
Ashmia, with Vanessa’s help, succeeded in climbing onto the white horse with grace and elegance.
Oh―!
After seeing the peoples’ admiration, Francesca bit her lower lip to the point where it bled.
“Treat it like a bull, let it starve, and get mad. Wouldn’t it be best if we make it seem like she got trampled to death by an angry horse?”
It was a monstrous horse that Francesca had secretly raised by adding to its suffering.
But to tame that in such a ridiculous way, and even ride it?!
“Wow… Look at that.”
The appearance of a petite and slender girl with beautiful silver hair and mysterious golden eyes riding on a large white horse was like a painting depicting a legend in itself.
Clip― Clop―
Ashmia approached Francesca with a relaxed look.
“Thank you so much for saving me such a nice horse.”
Francesca’s lower lip now seemed to bleed as if she had bitten it a little harder.
“Give me the reins. I’ll run.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
After taking the reins from Vanessa and stroking the mane of the white horse once, Ashmia spurred it on.
“Hyah!”
Clip―! Clop―!
The sound of heavy and rhythmical hooves echoed.
As the white horse accelerated, a silvery white trace was drawn on the track of the Randolph Riding Grounds.
It was comparable to a still work of art when Ashmia was just riding it. But in motion, it resembled a painting brought to life.
When the beautiful ride that the people could not take their eyes off ended, they felt a sense of regret and continued to look at Ashmia and the white horse, as if chasing the afterglow.
Clip― Clop―
Ashmia returned to Francesca after going around the track.
“Let’s go together, Princess.”
“…?!”
Francesca doubted her ears.
‘What did this disgusting woman just say to me? How dare you ask to ride a horse with me when you’re from the mafia?’
“Talking in front of them is not a bad idea either. The choice is yours, Princess.”
“…”
Francesca stared at Ashmia with her sky-blue eyes wide open and spoke to Byren Bernando.
“Bring me my horse.”
Byren, who brought a black horse of a good breed from the stable, helped Francesca mount the horse in the same way as Vanessa.
Francesca didn’t say a word to Ashmia and started riding ahead.
Ashmia laughed silently but decided not to touch Francesca’s shallow pride, which seemed to be saying, ‘I can’t yield this much.’
The white horse followed half a step behind the black horse, and the two animals slowly began to circle the track.
“Where did you find such a nice horse?”
At Ashmia’s teasing, Francesca smiled with her teeth tightly clenched.
“I don’t know what you mean. I’ve never seen such a wild boar-like horse before.”
“Oh, I see. But just because you don’t know what you did doesn’t mean that you didn’t do it, and the sin you committed won’t disappear.”
At the indifferent mutter, Francesca jerked her head and stared at Ashmia.
“Are you threatening me right now?!”
“I won’t deny it, but I think the real threats are the things the Princess told me a while ago.”
“I don’t think it’s a big sin to give Ivern some advice on what horse to get you, and I didn’t recommend riding it because I was worried about your safety.”
“Well, even if the latter is true, Ivern wouldn’t listen to you. That man is a person who would never do anything that harms him. But it seems you’ve misunderstood. I’m not talking about ‘horses’.”
“Then what……?!”
“I’m talking about ‘Fleur’, which the Princess cherishes dearly.”
Francesca turned her head for a moment, trying to hide her bewilderment.
“What’s wrong with Fleur?” We are the model of a very civil and sound social club…”
“Even before entering the building, there was a smell that was paralyzing my nose. Do you think that smoking marijuana is essential for a civil and sound club? I had to spray a little perfume but stopped because I was getting nauseous from all the mixed smells.”
“Well, that’s just the personal atrocities of some senseless people! It has nothing to do with Fleur.”
“So you knew. Whether it’s personal or collective, the police will still investigate.”
At Ashmia’s words, Francesca burst into laughter.
“Is there anything the police in this country can do? They’re people who don’t have enough time to look at ‘us’. Call them. I’m also curious about how much they can investigate.”
“I don’t know. If you have someone investigating you, isn’t it just a matter of time before you’ll change your attitude?”
“That’s a funny joke. It’s never going to happen…”
“It could happen. I just won’t say the family or organization. Isn’t the power of Pendragon the only thing pressuring the imperial family right now?”
“Does Kalanishiel have ten lives? I answered your question quietly, but there’s nothing I can’t say!”
Ashmia smiled, not paying attention to Francesca’s words.
“Shall we make a bet?”