The sunlight that shined vertically felt warm. Patrizia smiled after having not done it for a long time and enjoyed the comfort. When was the last time she had felt this feeling? After being reborn, she had always felt uncomfortable like with a prickly path, but whether it was because her sister was next to her, or she was just feeling good about the situation now, after a long absence, Patrizia’s heart felt like spring.
“I think you can use this horse, Your Majesty.”
Rafaella brought over a white horse from somewhere with a content look. The pure white mane felt beautiful. She smiled with her mouth and asked Rafaella, “I don’t know much about horses, but it seems like a great horse. What’s the name?”
“The chief worker said it was ‘Sally’. The lineage is also very good.”
“Is that so?”
Patrizia carefully climbed onto the horse’s back, with an excited expression. Patrizia, who was unstable with her body for a short moment, quickly grasped the reins.
Was it because it hadn’t been long before the last time she had ridden with this body? It was surprisingly not awkward. Patrizia told everyone with a slightly excited look.
“I will go alone.”
“Alone? Your Majesty, it is dangerous.”
Of course, Rafaella was worried. However, Patrizia smiled as if to show she was okay and placated the worries.
“I want to ride alone as it’s been a long time. I am not such a novice that I will fall off the horse, so you don’t have to worry.
“… ”
Rafaella made a helpless look. It was not that she did not understand Patrizia’s heart. She was always lived surrounded by servants and maids, so she may need her own time. But she was still worried. Eventually, Rafaella asked for a promise with a voice of defeat.
“Instead, you can’t go too far. Also, you must come back in 30 minutes. Do you understand? If you are even a little late, I will go right away.”
“I understand. Do not worry.”
She replied brightly, and carefully started her horse and began to set out. Rafaella murmured quietly, staring at the back of Patrizia as she moved away.
“Will it be okay?”
“Ella also knows, but Lizzy isn’t a novice. She probably needs some time alone.”
In response to Petronilla, Rafaella nodded her head as if she was also like that, and replied, “Yes, well. Nothing should go wrong.”
“I hope that she will come back having released some stress on this occasion. I feel like she has been having a hard time lately, so I don’t feel good about it.”
At Mirya’s words, everyone that was gathered there nodded, as if accepting those words. She needed her own break.
“Whoa, whoa.”
Patrizia, who had been galloping through the quiet forest for a long time, spoke slowly. The horse stopped calmly. She carefully got off the horse.
“…Good.”
It was moist in the middle of the forest and far from warm, but she liked the lightness and the freshness felt at the tip of her nose. She thought it would not be so bad to walk a bit, and Patrizia slowly moved her feet in riding boots forward.
“There was a place like this.”
These were words she muttered to herself after she had been walking for a while.
There was a place like this. About 3 months as the Empress, and 3 years as the Empress’ younger sister. Even once during that time, she hadn’t even known there was a place like this.
She smiled for some reason and inadvertently stroked the horse’s mane. At Patrizia’s touch the horse made a neighing sound, and at one point bit her hand.
“Ack!”
She screamed loudly without her knowledge and pulled her hand out of the horse’s mouth. It wasn’t seriously painful, but the wound seemed to be quite deep because the blood flowed out as she was bleeding.
“D*ng it!”
Curses flowed from her mouth. Her voice was upset and spoke as if to argue with the horse.
“Are you less trained yet? Ugh … No matter, how do you bite someone like this…?”
-SHUFFLE.
Then a familiar sound caught her ear. She hardened her body without realizing. There was someone else in this space. But who in the world?
Patrizia looked around her surroundings with a tense look. Who was it? The only person who could enter this space, besides her…
“Surely…”
The hypothesis that came to her mind, and this hypothesis that was near certain, dominated her mind. She bit her lips without her knowledge and looked up at a man who appeared in front of her. The man in the horseback riding clothes was also looking down at her with a dry expression. Naturally, his title flowed out of her mouth.
“Your Majesty… ”
“Why is the Empress all the way out here?”
It was him, Lucio.