~Chapter 43~
But instead of getting on the horse, Riden half-climbed up, accidentally kicked the horse’s side, and fell off.
“Aack!”
“Pffrrh?”
The gentle horse snorted in surprise and looked back at the spot where it was kicked.
Riden staggered and made a pained face.
“I’m sorry! Did that hurt?!”
Ethan, who knew horses well, knew that weak kick didn’t hurt.
The horse’s snort wasn’t pain—it was more like, “What are you doing?”
Ethan couldn’t help but laugh. Riden quickly ran over after offering the horse a carrot.
“Let me try again!”
Meanwhile…
Henji stood by the window, scratching the glass with her nail.
She always did that when nervous.
Henji had been slapped by the duchess at the villa, and her dress project was canceled.
The duchess accused her and her father, the Baron, of hiding a valuable item and threatened to strip their noble title.
‘I finally became a noble, and now I’m supposed to go back to being a commoner? Is that even possible?! Who does she think she is?! That title was given by the Duke!’
But since the title wasn’t granted by the emperor directly—just by the Duke using his granted authority—it could be revoked with the emperor’s permission.
That’s why Henji and her father were brought to the duchy in the capital.
She could no longer debut secretly—her only option now was to marry a noble before losing her title.
‘If I can’t debut, I need to seduce a nobleman while I still have my status.’
If she married someone before being stripped of her rank, she could persuade her husband to stay with her.
Anxious, Henji stepped outside.
It was late, and most servants were resting. She heard voices from the stables.
She imagined a scene she didn’t want to—because she instantly recognized the voices.
Drawn like a moth to flame, she walked toward the stable.
Ethan stood close to a horse that Riden was riding.
Henji hid behind a garden statue and watched them.
“Leaning forward tells the horse to go faster. Leaning back slows it down. Now lean back—”
“Aaaah!”
“…Didn’t I just say lean back?”
‘Idiot.’
Because the girl was so clueless, Ethan had to suffer.
Riden flailed on the horse so wildly that Ethan’s gaze never left her.
‘Still, lucky for me she’s dumb.’
If she wanted to win a man over, she should’ve asked for a ride, not lessons.
With how slow she learned and how clumsy she was, there was no way she’d impress him…
Then Ethan sighed deeply and muttered:
“You’ll never have a moment where you impress anyone with your riding.”
Riden’s previously calm face cracked.
“Did you just curse me?! I’ll remember this!”
Ethan looked exasperated.
“Me? Curse you? You’re already cursed. That body’s already a mess. You call a body that moves against your will normal?”
‘See? He’s clearly fed up.’
Henji felt oddly reassured watching Ethan so irritated.
Ethan lifted Riden off the horse effortlessly.
“I want to keep learning!”
“No.”
“But we agreed on ‘somewhere between trotting and galloping!’”
“Do you want to crawl around all day tomorrow?”
The two bickered as they walked off toward the stables.
Even after Riden got off the horse, Ethan’s gaze stayed on her.
He seemed annoyed, but there was something strangely warm in his eyes.
And there was undeniable joy in his usually blank face.
“…”
Henji swallowed hard.
She knew Ethan better than anyone—she’d watched him since childhood.
He was the type who gave everything to those he considered “his.”
He fulfilled his duties as the future duke.
‘He’s a man with strong responsibility…’
She watched the two leave the stable.
Left alone, Henji bit her lip.
‘If that girl had never appeared, no one would’ve discovered the treasure vault.’
Her eyes gleamed yellow as she thought of Riden.
“Here.”
Ethan carried over a wooden training structure from the stable and placed a saddle on it.
“Sit here.”
He patted the shiny leather saddle.
“I don’t know why you’re in such a rush, but if you want to learn fast, this is the way.”
“Just sitting in a saddle? Will that even—”
Before she could finish, her body lifted into the air.
Ethan had moved behind her, lightly grabbed her waist, and effortlessly placed her on the saddle.
‘Why is he lifting people like furniture?’
She felt like a decoration being moved around at his whim.
Ethan dropped into a nearby hay pile and looked over.
“It helps. That’s why I told you to do it.”
“…”
“Like anything, learning is about getting used to it.”
The wooden setup was pretty tall.
Riden looked down at her feet, which didn’t touch the ground.
“How long do I sit like this?”
“How long?”
He rubbed his chin, then grinned.
“The longer, the better. If you get sleepy, just nap there. If you fall off, I’ll carry you to your room.”
He was clearly amused by his own words.
‘His sense of humor doesn’t match mine.’
She squinted suspiciously at him.
“What? Don’t like it?”
“You just want me to stay close, don’t you? Because… it’s good for your condition.”
“A man with insomnia needs sleeping pills. What’s wrong with that?”
He looked completely serious. In fact, he seemed confused by her weird reaction.
That shut Riden up.
They sat in silence for a while. She had nothing else to say and casually swung her legs.
Peeking over, she saw him fiddling with dry straw.
Their eyes met.
Startled, Riden blurted out:
“The duchy’s garden is really beautiful!”
“Yeah.”
“It’s huge and full of blooming spring flowers.”
“Yeah.”
“Lots of gardeners too.”
“True.”
“…”
Then she realized—Ethan’s tone had changed recently.
He spoke shorter sentences… almost like when they first met, noble and commoner.
“Um, by the way.”
“Yeah?”
“Didn’t you used to speak more formally?”
Ethan froze mid-straw-play.
Riden waved her hands.
“I’m not complaining or anything! Just something I noticed. You should talk however you like.”
He looked up at her, relaxed against the wall.
“You’re not going to be my wife. You even ran away from me. Why should I keep treating you the same?”
Ah. That’s why his tone changed. Got it. Makes sense.
‘Better to treat your wife well than strangers.’
“Not happy about it?”
Riden scrunched her nose and shook her head.
“Nope. Keep talking like that. I’m sure your future wife will like it.”
Ethan was the “regret male lead” type.
Rough to everyone else, soft only to the heroine in the end.
She was thinking about how well he’d treat Marie later when—thud—her boot slipped off.
“Oops, the mother-in-law came off.”
“…”
“Wait, no—the almost mother-in-law came off.”
Remembering her past outburst, Riden blushed.
She pulled up her messy hair into a loose bun with one hand.
Then Ethan said something completely unexpected.
“By the way… why the rush to learn riding? You walked the forest path alone, after all—”
“…??”
‘Huh? Forest? F-forest??’
Riden stared at him like she’d broken.
Ethan hesitated, then tossed aside the straw in his hands.
He looked like he’d been waiting to bring this up.
“How’s your husband doing? Still cheating?”
