Chapter 573

The Empire’s Horse Maniac Speaks Nonstop!

‘Hmm... I think this might have turned into something a little bad.’

Mia felt slightly uneasy after thoroughly angering Xiaolei.

‘Since Xiaolei is so angry, she might demand Tofu as revenge. Ugh, I ended up making a big mistake. I shouldn’t have voiced something unnecessary like, “Victory was certain.” In any case, it was too late to regret it now. ’

Knowing that she had to plan for the worst case scenario, Mia headed to see Gorka, the man in charge of caring for the horses of the Princess Royal Guard.

Mia called out nervously to Gorka, who was in the stables next to the building where the Forest Clan was staying.

“Gorka-san, do you have a moment?”

“Ah, Your Highness Princess Mia... what can I do for you?”

Gorka greeted her with a smile but tilted his head slightly when he saw Mia’s demeanour.

‘Ah, it’s hard to say this, it’s really hard to say this,’ thought Mia, but she finally made up her mind and decided to speak up.

“The truth is, I decided to participate in a horse riding contest against a rider from the Equestrian Kingdom.”

Mia then proceeded to carefully explain the matter discussed at the Chiefs’ Meeting. Afterward, she clenched her hand into a fist and emphasised passionately that it was an unavoidable and precious sacrifice.

“However, due to my mistake, Tofu might be taken away. I am very sorry for exposing a horse that you have been taking care of so diligently to such a risk.”

After looking down despondently, Mia snuck a glance at Gorka to see his reaction. Just as she had expected, he had a bitter expression on his face.

‘Oh, of course he’d be angry. It was natural.’ Mia reflected.

The person in front of her was an important member of the Princess Royal Guard, someone she relied on. Moreover, he was responsible for taking care of the horses. If he were to get angry, it could be troublesome during her time of need.

‘Perhaps I ought to apologise once more.’ Mia thought.

However, just at that moment, Gorka spoke,

“It is Your Highness Princess Mia’s decision. I have no complaints.”

And Tofu was a typical Terre Tortue horse, without doubt. It would not be an exaggeration to call it an average Terre Tortue breed.

It never wavered, no matter what the circumstances, and simply got on with the job in silence—a sturdy knight-horse, with the only flaw of being a little too bold sometimes.

Mia had a really bad feeling after being made to listen to the passionate discourse on the subject in such minute detail.

‘Come to think of it, even earlier...’

It brought to mind the words of the guard who had been standing next to Ludwig during their earlier meeting.

The tone indicated that there was not even a shred of doubt that Mia could lose.

“No, but...” was how Ludwig had decided to end his sentence.

The idea that the war-horse they took pride in and the Great Wisdom of the Empire, whom they were incredibly proud of, could lose was not a possibility that they could entertain. It was inconceivable to them.

No, it was not just that.

Mia suddenly glanced at the guards escorting her. The two soldiers were having an excited conversation. From what she could hear, they seemed to be talking about horses!

‘This passion and excitement...’

At this point, Mia realised her grand mistake.

It seemed like all the guards loved horse races, and there was definitely something about competitions that got their blood pumping with excitement.

In spite of that, if she lost miserably in front of the very Royal Guards who had sworn their unwavering loyalty to her, what would it mean?

It would totally destroy their morale, and in the unlikely event that they were to end up in combat with the wolf masters, it could lead to an overwhelming crisis...

‘Ugh... This is beyond my calculations! This is completely beyond any of my calculations.’

While Mia began to think in circles, the horse maniac Gorka continued his lecture on horses.

Tofu watched the scene unfold before it with its usual blank stare.

It was indeed a peaceful scene.