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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: A Heart-Stirring Moment
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A heart-stirring moment.
My eyes stung with tears.
As I stood there with my mouth agape, Chessier glanced at my expression and chuckled.
“Zephyr…”
After carefully checking the reins and even the stirrups on the saddle, Chessier slowly led Zephyr forward.
“Hold on tight. Slowly. Don’t slouch; sit up straight.”
“I-I won’t fall, will I?”
“It’s fine. I’ll be right beside you.”
“Okay.”
Despite my worries, the ride was smooth.
Proving he was a truly fine horse, Zephyr walked slowly and steadily, matching my breathing.
“*Sniffle*. I’m so moved.”
Overcome with emotion, I sniffled and stroked Zephyr’s soft mane.
“Z-Zephyr… *sniff*, thank you so, so much for letting me ride you…”
Seeing me on the verge of tears, Chessier, who was walking slowly beside me, laughed out loud.
“…Congratulations.”
“Yeah!”
* * *
That day, Zephyr carried Lilis around the riding grounds for about half the day.
Lilis’s skills were abysmal.
She was small and struggled to keep her balance if he tried to speed up even a little.
In the end, Zephyr couldn’t gallop freely, too worried that Lilis might fall.
[Finally swallowed your pride?]
Walter snarked from the side.
[You entering the competition tomorrow?]
[…….]
[For human’s sake—no, for horse’s sake, answer me, you punk!]
Zephyr ignored Walter, who snorted in anger.
A competition…
“Zephyr, could you maybe come with me tomorrow? It’s not about competing with other horses. We can… go see the flowers and take a walk. Okay?”
Lilis smiled shyly, lingering in the stable for a long while before she left.
Zephyr, pretending not to care, recalled Lilis’s excited face and smiled faintly.
[…What was that? What was that weird sound? Don’t tell me you just smiled?]
[Shut up.]
Night fell over the stables.
* * *
The next day, the day of the riding competition.
Zart Hill, on the outskirts of the capital where the event was held, was bustling with participants and spectators from early in the morning.
There were only seven participants, including me.
Since everyone was desperate to win a prize, participation was apparently low for events with an obvious winner.
‘What’s so scary about Damon Martini that so few kids showed up?’
I scanned the waiting area.
I saw little noble kids checking their horses with their riding instructors, and reporters huddled together with their notepads, eager for a story.
“I’m worried about my little girl…”
Dad knelt in front of me, placing the riding helmet on my head and firmly securing the strap under my chin, his face etched with worry.
Glancing around, I whispered.
“Dad, what is there to be worried about? The fall-prevention magic keeps my butt glued to the saddle. I’m not going to fall off.”
“Still…”
“You said anything that happens here ends up in the papers. With all these reporters, there’s going to be an article calling Duke Rubinstein an obsessive father. Go on, hurry.”
Can’t he feel all these intense stares?
The other kids’ parents were probably waiting at the awards ceremony area beyond the finish line, but my dad was here making a scene.
“You rode Zephyr for the first time yesterday.”
“Yep, and I practiced for about five hours.”
“Right. *Just* five hours. How can I not be worried?”
“Dad, sorry, but I have no intention of winning anyway. I didn’t even practice the obstacle course. I’m just going to take a slow stroll with Zephyr and enjoy the nice view from the hill.”
I hugged the proudly standing Zephyr, rubbing my cheek against his neck.
Zephyr was very gentle. I loved it so much that I even nuzzled him with my lips, as if giving him a kiss.
“You like him that much?”
“Yeah, so much. Have you ever seen a horse as pretty as my Zephyr, Dad?”
“Never, never.”
Dad laughed as if he couldn’t do anything with me.
Just then.
“Oh, Ches… Wow.”
Chessier, changed into his riding attire, was entering the waiting area.
“My, my. He’s a handsome one.”
“R-Right?”
Beneath his black riding helmet, his handsome face wore its usual indifferent expression, and black boots clung perfectly to his well-proportioned legs.
The striking beauty of the young rider, who appeared leading the majestic black horse Walter, captured everyone’s attention.
‘S-Stop. I get it, you’re the main character, so stop… Stop beating up on the extras!’
It felt like he was glowing, and I had to raise a hand to shield my eyes.
Both Dad and Chessier, whenever they made an entrance like this, seemed to be screaming at the top of their lungs, ‘Behold, you lowly extras! I am the protagonist!’
“…Are you sure you’ll be okay? I told you to at least practice the obstacle course.”
Chessier started worrying about me the moment he arrived.
“It’s fine. Just practicing fast-walking for five hours yesterday was exhausting. I promised Zephyr I wouldn’t enter the competition, so it’s amazing he even practiced this much with me. If we come to an obstacle, we’ll just go around it. You can take the win.”
I had succeeded in riding Zephyr, but my plan to sit back and enjoy the show remained unchanged.
Just then.
“Oh, he’s here.”
“The top contender has finally arrived.”
The reporters murmured, their eyes gleaming.
It was Damon Martini.
He was dressed in the finest riding clothes, leading a well-groomed brown horse.
Damon, who had entered with an arrogant expression, flinched when he saw me.
More precisely, when he saw Zephyr standing next to me.
“Z-Z-Zephyr?”
His face then turned various shades of red and pale as he noticed Chessier and Walter, who were exuding an overwhelming presence.
‘Yeah, the spotlight isn’t for you.’
How dare a villainous extra try to steal the show in front of the protagonist who gets attention just for breathing.
I grinned.
“Good day, Your Grace, Duke Rubinstein. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Damon Martini, the third son of the Martini count family.”
Despite struggling to control his expression, Damon first approached my dad to greet him.
“A pleasure, Young Master Martini. I expect a good race.”
“Y-Yes…”
Swallowing hard, Damon then glanced at me and Zephyr.
“I was surprised to see the young lady on the list of participants… Y-You’ve brought a pretty horse?”
“Hello, Young Master Martini. This one’s name is Zephyr.”
I said it deliberately loud.
At the same time, the reporters all raised their notepads.
‘I’ve been waiting for this moment, you rotten piece of work.’
When I first entered the waiting area, the reporters who recognized Zephyr were all puzzled.
They must have been wondering why the top contender Damon’s horse was in the hands of the Rubinstein’s young lady.
“Zephyr was an injured horse, and his story was so pitiful I just had to bring him home. Can you believe his former owner sold him back to the stable just because he got hurt?”
“Gasp!”
“Wow, so that’s what…”
“Oh my.”
The reporters, sensing a scoop, began scribbling furiously.
I raised my voice as if I were in a speech contest and continued.
“I don’t know who the former owner was, but aren’t they a terrible person? I heard horses with leg injuries are sent to the slaughterhouse. They must have known that and abandoned him anyway. How could someone do that to their friend…”
I pouted as if I were about to cry and hugged Zephyr tightly.
The reporters covered their mouths, their pens flying across their notepads.
“Wh-Wh-What are they writing?”
Seeing this, Damon’s face went pale.
‘*Sigh*.’
It started half as an act, but holding Zephyr now, I felt a pang in my heart.
Zephyr seemed to recognize his former owner, as he was staring intently at Damon.
“W-Well, then, l-let’s have a good race!”
Damon then fled from our presence.
* * *
“My little girl, you have to be really careful, okay? Zephyr, don’t let our princess get hurt. You understand? Be very, very careful.”
Despite my pleas for him to stop, Dad worried until 30 minutes before the race started, finally heading to the awards ceremony area.
I was sure that after the competition, there would be a flood of articles with headlines like,
“Zephyr, let’s just take a slow walk. We can look at the scenery… Oh! I heard there’s a lake on Course C. If you get thirsty, should we go get some water?”
I gave the map of Courses A through E a final glance before climbing onto Zephyr’s back.
Of course, having only practiced light cantering in our home riding grounds, I had no need to memorize the course.
I had spread the word far and wide about Damon’s rotten character, and Chessier would win anyway, so my job was already done.
“All participants, please line up at the starting line. There are judges stationed at the beginning of each course, so please ask for assistance if you need to withdraw or have other issues. You may start when the signal gun fires.”
Seven horses stood in a line at the start.
I peeked at Chessier and Damon’s faces. Unlike Damon’s venomous expression, Chessier just looked indifferent.
‘*Hehe*, this will be fun to watch.’
I’d soon get to hear the classic line from the villainous extra: ‘Ugh, how frustrating!’
Bang—!
The signal gun marking the start of the race fired,
“……?”
And I.
“K-Kyaaaaaaah!”
Was so startled by Zephyr shooting off like a bullet, as if he’d been waiting for this moment, that I couldn’t help but scream.
“Whoa! Waaaaah!”
I was so shocked that I let go of the reins.
If it hadn’t been for the saddle’s fall-prevention magic, I would have tumbled right off at that speed.
“Wah, ahh, uwaaaaah!”
The wind made it hard to even open my eyes, and my head was spinning.
I summoned every ounce of strength I had, fumbling until I managed to grab the reins I’d dropped.
‘Wh-What is this! What’s going on! What’s happening!’
Did I enter the wrong competition?
Wasn’t this supposed to be a riding competition where you communicate with your horse and tackle the course step by step?
Is this a racetrack?
Did someone bet money on Zephyr and the Rubinstein girl?
‘What in the world is going on? Didn’t we agree to take a walk, Zephyr?’
Apparently, that was just my idea.
Regardless of my will, Zephyr was running at an incredible speed.
Whoosh, whoosh. The scenery flew past my vision.
Trying to ignore my churning stomach, I glanced back.
It felt like not even three minutes had passed since we started.
The other horses were nowhere in sight…
