Chapter 59 - 20. She (1)

20. She

“Ah, you’re finally here! Lady Fanora!”

“Where is the horse you said you would bring?”

“Here! Would you like to come up and have a look?”

Today’s guest lecturer was none other than the third son of the Andras family. There was a great horse rider around her, so she didn’t have to find another teacher.

“Say hello, Cecil. He’s the young master of Andras’s family.”

“Greetings, Lord Carl Andras.”

Secret contact with Carl only raised suspicion, so today, she called a witness to prove that the two of them had only a normal relationship as a friend.

“At the animal club last time, it just happened that I don’t know how to ride a horse yet. But my friend, Carl, is willing to lend me a horse to learn horse riding this time!”

“…”

“It’s been my dream to ride a horse since long ago, and I’m really happy.”

Cecil nodded, not much concerned with Fanora’s remarks.

Then, after the explanation of the situation was over, Fanora then pointed to a tree in the distance. “Now then, I will be riding the horse from now on, so in the meantime, spread the cloth over there and enjoy the sun.”

“..Yes? How could I be so lazy over Lady?”

From Fanora’s point of view, it was annoying if the witness to avoid suspicion was closely attached. That was why she gave this order to Cecil. However, Cecil tried to refuse as if she had received an undeserved award.

“Cecil!”

Of course, Fanora won’t give up here. She began to tempt her maid with the sweet words prepared in advance.

“Lazy? You’re not like a carriage wheel, aren’t you? People are different from things, so it’s only natural to give you a break.”

“…”

“Besides, all you have to do here is watch me go round on horseback…”

Fanora approached Cecil, held her hand tightly, and smiled. Her eyes sank, giving way to a more detached smile.

“You can do that even while sitting down. Now, go ahead and stay in the shade.”

Cecil had no choice but to nod and walk to a distant tree when Fanora stubbornly commanded Cecil.

When Cecil had already left to some extent, Fanora kept her smile and moved her mouth only to tell Carl. “Carl, when are you going to stop calling me Lady Fanora in front of others? It’s strange.”

“Uh? Wasn’t it supposed to be called like that? In the meantime, I called all other nobles with the same honorific words.”

“If that’s the case… just forget what I said.”

Carl’s lack of language was revealed for a moment, but let’s move on.

Fanora returned with a comfortable expressionless face that she only made in front of her revenge helper and glanced at him. Next to Carl were two horses he had brought.

Wow. They were brown horses, with manes gliding softly in the wind and their bodies shining as if they had been oiled. Besides, look at those healthy-looking muscles and those black eyes that shone brightly. Even if someone unfamiliar with the horse saw it, they could tell it was a famous horse.

“They look pretty expensive. Can I ride them as practice?”

Fanora reached out and carefully swept the horse’s belly. Carl, who was looking at her, answered gladly. “Rather, riding a gentle and good horse for the first time is more comfortable.”

“Really?”

“Especially this one I trained myself, and it’s really smart!”

When Carl patted the large horse on the right as he spoke, Fanora looked in that direction for no reason.

“You brought your own horse.”

“And the horse Lady Fanora will ride today belongs to our family head.”

“Yes?!”

However, Fanora’s hand stopped at the words that followed. To think that the horse she was petting without thinking belonged to none other than the marquis.

“H-How could you bring something so precious?! If the marquis find out!”

Fanora raised her voice in a panic, but Carl calmly checked the saddle of his horse.

“It’s alright. Do you know how many horses Andras’s family has in the capital alone? Even if a few are slaughtered, it won’t even go into his ears.”

“…”

“Huh? I’m serious! The horse he rides is fixed, so this is really leftover.”

According to Carl, the marquis wouldn’t be angry if this horse died right now. Only then did Fanora, who was relieved a little, clear her throat and get to the point.

“Cough. Hmm… Then tell me how to ride a horse.”

In the meantime, Fanora didn’t forget to lower her voice in case Cecil could overhear the conversation.

“Because it will be good to plan the route later if I learn the means of transportation.”

“What route is it?”

“When I leave the murder scene.”

Carl still had a warm smile despite hearing her words.

“Then, let’s practice getting on the horse step by step.”

“Yes.”

That’s how Carl’s education began. Fanora learned to mount the horse in an unstable position as if she was learning to walk and then learned to sit upright in the saddle. But… I don’t know if I can say this. My crotch hurts so bad that I can’t ride anymore! It wasn’t until the color of the sky changed that she could ride a horse and drive it slowly.

Wouldn’t I be crawling up the stairs when I got home? In her mind, she wanted to drive coolly across this vast meadow. However, because she was obsessed with learning all day, she only got to ride a horse and drove it slowly. Her body became exhausted.

“This is great!”

“I want to learn a little faster. Can’t I make it run today?”

“What if you learn too much and then fall?”

Clack, clack, clack. The hooves of horses ring regularly. Unlike Fanora, who looked tired, Carl drove it at his pace with a normal face.

“You should be careful because you can get hurt badly if you fall down.”

And then. Fanora squeezed her remaining strength and straightened her back on the horse. Then the sweat on her forehead cooled by the breeze, and the scenery of the sky from over the hills beginning to turn vermillion, filled her vision.

“…”

As she stared intently at the sky, her heart felt refreshed for some reason. As she honed the means for revenge, she couldn’t remember the nightmare she had today.

“Carl, let’s go back now.”

“Yes?”

“The sun has begun to set. I have to walk back, so even if I leave now, it will be the night when I get to the Celsius mansion.”

As she showed a refreshed look, the man with a good impression laughed loudly and said the end of the class as usual. “Okay. You worked hard today!”

* * *

It was two hours later. Fanora finished her horseback riding and started walking back to the Celsius mansion. Because the class took a long time, the family carriage she had been riding was sent back. She couldn’t go back on horseback because she was still not good at it.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. I’m okay.”

Fanora had been avoiding the eyes of others and loosening up her body in her spare time, but it didn’t help much this time. Her muscles used for horseback riding were different from those used for general exercise, so the pain remained the same.

“Ugh… I’m really okay…”

Perhaps because of the slow pace, the sun had already set even though the Celsius mansion wasn’t yet visible. She managed to take the next step in a limp.

“More than that, you must be having a hard time. I thought it would be easy to walk back on foot since we arrived quickly when we rode the carriage.”

“Don’t mind about me, Lady.”

Looking at Cecil by her side, she soon shifted her gaze to the sky. Where did the beautiful sunset go? It was full of the dark night sky, just like her hair.

It’s chilly. Let’s go quickly. When she thought about it, it had been a long time since she had walked such a dark street at night. Fanora thought briefly and continued her steps. As a result, they arrived at the shopping street of royal road before she knew it. 

Shall I have a cup of hot tea first when I arrive at the mansion?  The scenery was empty with no shops open.

There were no open shops, so the scenery was empty. The royal capital was densely populated, but it was also difficult to find passerby at times like this.

“Cecil. Today, I’ll have chrysanthemum tea…”

But at this time. Crunch, the moment Fanora stepped on the fallen tree branch on the ground.

“…?”

The two women stopped at the same time. It wasn’t just because of the tree branch.

What is this? There were no people on the street until a while ago, but when she suddenly looked up, a group of about four people blocked them. She couldn’t see their faces well because of the hood, but they were all well-built.

“…L-lady.”

Cecil stiffened at the appearance of the mysterious men who seemed to have business with them. Then one of them said, “Are you… the daughter of Count Celsius?”

When he suddenly asked for her identity in a strange way, Fanora came forward, putting Cecil in his back, and asked back. “Who are you?”

Even in this situation, the four people wearing hoods looked at each other as if the lady with a calm expression seemed strange. But it only lasted for a brief.

“It’s right.”

“She is the black-haired one, right?”

One of the men rushed in at the end of this brief conversation. He also took out a hideous-looking dagger from his arms.

“!”

Did it make sense to be robbed in the safe royal road no matter how late it was? Fanora moved her body without flinching at his action. It was ridiculous. How dare they come at her without knowing there was a ‘holy relic’ in her hand? If you touch me, I will kill you.

However, Fanora overlooked one fact because of the sudden situation. It wasn’t until a scream broke out from her back that she realized the situation and stopped all her actions.

“Kyaaak!”

“…!”

She couldn’t do it. Even though she had been building up her strength so hard. There is an eyewitness, so I can’t use Io! Cecil’s presence prevented her from showing any violence. It was all secret that she had learned martial arts and that she was the owner of Io.

“Urgh!”

Her perplexity didn’t last long. It was because the man stabbed her in the shoulder while she briefly glanced at Cecil in the back. As the unhesitant dagger pierced her body, Fanora naturally stepped back, pushing Cecil back to fall behind her.

“Ugh.”

At this moment, Fanora saw clearly with a frown. The figure of the man in a robe holding the dagger to stab her had no worries about stabbing her with that dagger. He was definitely a man who made killing people into a business. Not just a scaremongering little bandit.

What do we do? There’s Ceil here. Should I tell her later that I learned self-defense? No, my level right now is not enough to win four people without using a holy relic! Not without Io!

Some blood began to flow from the wound where the dagger had been picked. Do I have to be treated like this?

“L-l-lady.”

Cecil, who was usually rational, seemed to be unable to endure such an accident and held her breath. I’m afraid the one who will suffer here is me. Fanora, who was looking at Cecil, thought with a frightening eye for a moment. If I take care of the witness and Cecil as well. If everyone died, who would know if she had the holy relic? She could say that Cecil tried to defend her and died unfortunately at their hands…

“Lady, your arm is bleeding…”

“…!”

“Spare us! I’ll give you whatever you want. Please spare us!”

But at that moment, Cecil wrapped herself around the fallen Fanora and started to shout at the men. Fanora looked briefly at Cecil, who supported her with trembling hands.

“?!”

However, the proposal did not seem interesting to the men. Once again, the man swung the dagger again, and Fanora pushed Cecil away and barely avoided it.

Ah, no. There’s no need to hastily silence Cecil. It’s an open street, so there might be people hiding. At the same time, the choice to kill all the witnesses was all discarded. Fanora said whatever came to her mind. “Why are you like this! If you spare us, we’ll give you as much money as you want…!”

The answer that came back was the merciless attack from the man.