CH 54

Author: rolypoly

“Aiden?”

I saw Aiden standing there with an anxious face and called him carefully.

“Lady!” 

When Aiden saw me, he smiled warmly and bowed his head to greet me politely.

“How have you been?”

“Ung? Uh-huh… I’ve been well.”

A lot of things happened, but I don’t need to talk about that. 

I ended my greetings by saying that I’ve been well.

“Then why are you standing here? Let’s go in.” 

I grabbed Aiden’s hand and led him to the drawing room.

“No, that’s…there is something I want you to look at first.”

Aiden followed me without resistance, and he slowly opened his mouth.

I turned my head to look at Aiden. 

“Is there something I should look at?”

“Yes, Hector…I mean.”

“Hector?”

Who is Hector?

As I listened to Aiden, I blinked a couple of times and fell into thought.

Was there someone I met named Hector? 

Then, Aiden nodded his head and spoke his words.

“Yes, the horse that you treated last time. His name is Hector.” 

“Ahh!” 

I looked up at Aiden, clasping hands together.

‘The horse’s name was Hector.’

A horse whose leg was severely broken when it collided with Glene the other day.

I said, looking at Aiden with a worried look.

“But what about Hector? Didn’t the treatment go well then?”

“No! The treatment went well. But… That punk is in a bit of a bad mood.”

Aiden sighed. 

“Really? Is he hurt somewhere?” 

I was worried that the horse I had treated was not in good condition. 

“I think you have to see it for yourself, rather than saying it.”

What’s going on?

“Is Hector here?”

“Yes, I brought it.”

“Okay then, let’s go see it!”

Aiden’s eyes widened in response to my answer.

“Is it in the stable?” 

“Yes, I put it in there. I can’t show it from the outside…It’s dangerous.”

“Okay, let’s go see it now.”

I strode ahead of Aiden.

We arrived at the stable shortly after.

But. 

“Oh, my! Hey, you punk! You’re going to break the stable!”

Gilbert’s shout came from inside the stable.

I rushed into the stable and called for Gilbert.

“Gilbert? What happened?” 

“Oh my, Lady…I don’t know, this punk is trying to destroy the stable.” 

Gilbert said, pointing his finger at a horse.

A horse was making a lot of noise and smashing its back legs against the stable wall.

I recognized the horse right away.

“Hector!”

Aiden quickly ran to Hector. He patted Hector gently on the back of his nose.

“Hector, stop the violence.”

“Hector?”

I followed Aiden and quickly approached Hector and stood in front of him.

Then, Gilbert stopped me in a flustered voice.

“Oh my, please don’t, Lady, just how fierce is that punk—huh?” 

Hector still sniffed as if he hadn’t calmed down and immediately put his head on me. 

I reached out and caressed Hector’s nose.

Hector exhaled heavily and rested his head in my hands.

“Hector, what’s going on? Ung? Aiden, what’s wrong with Hector?”

“That’s the problem, Lady…This brat is like that.”

Aiden sighed and put his hand on his forehead. 

“Well, I took it to our house and this guy didn’t even eat the vines and bit all the stable keepers. Even trying to run out of the stable, how much trouble—” 

“Did it try to run out of the stable?”

“Yes, on the very night the Lady treated Hector! At first, I thought there might be another problem, so I called a doctor—” 

Aiden sighed deeply.

“He kick the doctor too and doubled the cost of treatment—” 

“…You’re lying, right? When he’s this gentle?” 

I asked as I watched Hector rubbing its head in my little hands.

Hiing–! With a pleasant cry, Hector bowed its head and put its nose to me. 

Behind Hector, I saw the wall of the stable that Hector had cracked by kicking it.

“Uhm… That’s not a lie….” 

“Yes, it is. So I’ve been thinking about what’s wrong… How come he hasn’t listened to me since he met the Lady?”

Aiden sighed.

“Hector is a bit of an odd horse. He never puts someone on his back unless he’s the one who allowed it.”

“Ung, but?” 

“I think this punk liked Lady.”

“Me? What do you mean?” 

“It didn’t eat any food or get on anyone’s hands, and it seemed like it just wanted to die, so I took it to the Lady….” 

Hector chewed the fodder as if it understood Aiden’s words.

“…L, look at that. He’s pretending to be in front of Lady.”

“Hector, you are good. Why didn’t you eat the fodder?”

Hector looked down at me, blinking its gentle eyes. A warm snort exhaled against my neck.

“I think he wants to see the Lady. This odd punk…I think he was grateful for the treatment.”

Aiden pretended to hit Hector on the forehead.

Hector shook his head and immediately looked at me with a clear gaze.

“I wanted to bring him earlier, but I couldn’t because of the banquet.”

“Then…what should I do now? Do I have to feed Hector at every meal?”

Aiden waved his hand at my question.

“No, what are you saying? It’s just…do you want to raise Hector?”

“…Huh?” 

Aiden put his hand on Hector’s nose.

Hector shook its head and shook Aiden’s hand, and glared at him.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Aiden continued.

“Hector chooses its own rider to ride on its back. So when we first met, it was a very difficult situation. It was raised as a war horse, but no one wants to ride it on its back…Then it meets me. That punk give me its back. I didn’t choose this punk, it chose me.”

Haha, at the sound of Aiden’s laughter, Hector’s tail fluttered.

“But…Apparently, this guy has decided to choose the Lady now. If the Lady becomes its owner, I think this guy will eat too.”

Aiden once again tried to scratch Hector’s chin, but Hector stubbornly refused Aiden’s touch. 

“This naughty punk. Anyway, that’s why I came to Lady, please forgive my rudeness.” 

“Huh? I don’t know how to raise a horse…Besides, I don’t know if Kendrick-nim will allow it….” 

I continued stroking Hector’s nose.

“Don’t worry about that, miss. Until the Lord returns, this Gilbert will… will….” 

Gilbert glanced at Hector and sighed.

“I will take good care of it….” 

“But Hector is Aiden’s horse, if you give Hector to me, what about Aiden—?”

“I have another horse. Hector isn’t the only one to ride. Of course, it is true that Hector is the best horse I have ever ridden.”

Hector raised its head toward Aiden this time as if it was going to bite Aiden.

“Ah, it’s true that it’s a famous horse, but how are you going to ride it when you keep doing this? This guy doesn’t like me—” 

“I—it doesn’t matter. Why does it like me?”

All I did for Hector was fix a broken leg.

I was even busy that day, so I fixed my leg and came out right away.

Hector’s big eyes were directed at me.

“How can I know his heart?”

Phew, Aiden sighed.

I reached high and gently patted Hector’s head.

“Kendrick-nim is away today, so I’ll ask him when he gets back.”

“Then I’ll leave it at the stable until then. If I leave it at my house, many people will die.”

“Ung, I will do that then. Gilbert, are you okay?”

“Yes… As long as it remains as gentle as it is now, I can manage it.” 

“Yes, Hector. I’ll ask Kendrick-nim when he comes, so will you be obedient?” 

Hiiing–! Hector cried for a long time. 

Hehe, I smiled and stroked Hector’s forehead.

* * *

“…He’s  disappeared.” 

Kendrick burst out laughing.

“Is this possible, Degon? Both Ester and the girl disappear overnight.”

Kendrick narrowed his brows.

Last night,

“Behind Ester-nim…something like a dark red air flowed over. It saw me and just came to me.”

Linsy told him that, and she also said Ester used a “prohibition.”

So he thought it might be necessary to investigate, so he ordered him to bring Ester.

However, those who visited his house returned empty-handed.

Kendrick, who had an ominous feeling, came directly to Ester’s mansion.

“It was empty.”

Kendrick said, looking quietly at Ester’s empty room.

Since Ester had no family, he couldn’t ask anyone about his whereabouts.

No, to be precise.

‘There was one, and he died.’

After Ester’s son died in an accident, he went away more often.

“Ha…” 

Kendrick sighed. 

The people who lived there just said that Ester had ‘an appointment’ and hadn’t come back yet. 

That’s already the third day.

“First, investigate Ester’s whereabouts. I will go to Fernando.”

Hearing Kendrick’s command, Degon nodded and bowed his head.