/
I turned my head, looking outside so that I could pretend to not have seen how he was fighting desperately to lower his raised lip corners.
As soon as we arrived at the mansion, I got off the carriage quickly then I stared at the horses tied to the carriage.
The shiny mane and prominent muscles were impressive.
Probably because the coachman sensed that I had been staring at the horses, he smiled gently and boasted.
“You have good eyes. These horses don’t get tired easily even if they run for long and don’t fall quickly behind. These horses are a good breed of horses that are hard to find in this empire and their value is astronomical.”
“….”
Then why did you tie those good horses to this carriage?
Steam puffed out from the horses’ noses.
Maybe because they tied up the horses for a long distance to this carriage, the horses seemed like they were very frustrated.
“What a pity.”
“Sorry?”
“It’s nothing.” I couldn’t bring myself to criticize him for abusing the horses when just a moment ago I expressed my gratitude for his consideration.
The only thing I could do was stare in pity at the pitiful horses.
‘Really, I just know there are many various ways to abuse animals.’
Even if this was unexpected, I deeply sympathized with my close friend’s words that it was better not to be involved with nobles.
I wondered if some people became nobles because their way of thinking were different or because they were special people. Or was it because they were nobles that their way of thinking became extraordinary?
Whichever it was, I was certain about one thing.
“Then Lady, see you tomorrow.”
“Please just call me Marianne. And please talk more casually.”
He suddenly cleared his throat at my words.
After that he talked with a bit of a surprised expression.
“I think it is too fast for us to use nicknames.”
“Sorry?”
“You have a more affable personality than I had thought of, my lady. No, Marianne.”
“Sorry?”
When I asked back because I couldn’t believe what I had just heard—since I was about a hundred million light-years away from being affable, he had already stopped listening to me.
Looking at the fact that he continued his words with a hint of embarrassed expression, I clearly saw he had accepted what I had said before, far from what I had intended.
“Then, are we becoming a little closer, now?”
“Do you feel like that?”
‘But in my heart I feel we are only drifting apart for a hundred million light-years.’
Regardless of what I had thought inside my head, I stepped back unconsciously.
As if he didn’t even notice that, he politely said goodbye with a pleased expression then left.
I felt sorry looking at the horses that were tormented with frustration, but there was nothing I could do about that.
‘Of all people, they met the wrong owner.’
I couldn’t believe that those healthy horses that were supposed to run around the vast plains, were being used for a mere thing like strolling.
Because I felt sorry about that, my eyes kept straying over to them a few times more.
They were good horses.
They really were good horses.
***
A plain looking carriage was parked in front of a magnificent mansion.
When Orion Miller entered, Bayhan Rune— presiding over the knights in their training— raised a hand and greeted him.
The exotic-looking Bayhan, with his dark skin and grey hair, held the position of the vice-captain of the knight order led by Orion.
With his cold eyes, Orion scanned through all the knights who were in the middle of training before passing by Bayhan and going to the office.
Bayhan, his eyes trained on Orion’s usual cold expression, laughed.
“Do the afternoon training by yourselves, moderately, then you may rest.”
“…. by ourselves?”
The knights wore puzzled expressions.
“Because our Captain is feeling quite happy right now. You can take it easy.”
Even after listening to Bayhan’s explanation, the knights kept tilting their heads in wonder and confusion.
It was because there were no differences in Orion’s expression—it was as cold as usual.
Though they looked as though they were not all that convinced, they accepted what Bayhan had said.
The reason was that, as a very close friend to Orion, it was rare for Bayhan to fail in reading Orion’s mood.