I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 26
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“Horse racing?”
“Yes. It’s the last big event before the rainy season, so I think we should participate.”
After the reception and the banquet, we didn’t need to go on dates in the city center like before to gain quite a bit of buzz.
People talked about us whenever they met, saying things like the new ducal couple’s relationship is so good, or that it’s just a marriage of convenience, while others disagreed, saying it doesn’t seem that way.
Moreover, rumors spread about how we spend money like water and about my beauty, causing such an increase in people curious about us that invitations to their tea times poured in almost daily.
“When I was a commoner, I wondered what nobles did all day, but it seems like parties and gambling never end.”
“That’s a kind of work, I suppose.”
But when interest is at its peak, it’s best to hide to make that interest grow even more. After the banquet, we declined invitations with all sorts of excuses and refrained from going out.
I sprawled lazily on the sofa in Cassion’s room, waving the horse racing invitation I had fished out from numerous letters.
“It’s another opportunity to show our wealth, and it’s like the last social gathering of spring. After this is over, we’ll stay cooped up in the mansion until the autumn hunting season.”
“Showing off spending money is good, but it would be better to win. Do you know anything about horse racing?”
“I thought you would know.”
“…I don’t gamble.”
“You really are different from how you appear, the more I get to know you.”
The horse racing is tomorrow, and neither of us knows anything about gambling. I thought we’d just dress up nicely, chat a bit, and cheer while watching the horses run, but upon looking into it, it seemed to be quite an intense form of gambling.
“To be honest, it’s impossible for us to analyze horse racing at this point. Let’s just test our luck. We can choose a horse that appeals to us or just pick one that others recommend.”
“Somehow, it hurts my pride.”
“Don’t let your pride be hurt by something like that. It’s not like you’re the one racing. It’s okay not to know everything. Just come and show everyone that you’re enjoying yourself with me.”
Although he says he doesn’t gamble, Cassion’s expression crumples with dissatisfaction, as if he doesn’t want to lose once he’s participating. He’s such a child despite his size. I couldn’t hide my laughter that escaped, and it was even funnier to see him look embarrassed.
“Just think of it as changing the location of our usual showy dates. I think we can go with a light heart.”
If we don’t know about horse racing, shouldn’t we just act like newlyweds who only have eyes for each other, to the point where we don’t even care about the races?
We’ve already done that kind of thing several times. I thought this invitation wouldn’t require much attention and we could just go and come back comfortably.
***
“…Huh?”
“Asil?”
At the racecourse, wearing a dress with blue accents and a wide-brimmed outdoor hat, we received pamphlets distributed by the staff before being guided to our seats.
It was an ordinary horse racing pamphlet with the profiles of horses and jockeys written on it.
“Duchess. If there’s an error in the printing of the pamphlet, we’ll replace it for you. Sometimes those slip in…”
I stopped abruptly after receiving it with a smile, causing Cassion and the racecourse owner who had come to greet us at the entrance to focus their attention on me. But I was too absorbed by the familiar name I discovered in the pamphlet to pay attention to anything else.
…Is this possible? No, it must be someone else, right?
“This person… Jockey number 7, is the name written correctly?”
“Jockey number 7? Ah, you’re surprised because it’s a woman! Yes, that’s correct. She’s a jockey participating for the first time this year.”
“So it’s not a printing error?”
“Yes, yes. Jockey number 7, Jenin Brown, riding Leonina. That’s correct. Since she’s a rookie jockey, there’s no track record, so she’s not really worth betting on. I heard she was quite good at handling horses in her village, but that’s just a rural village after all. Sometimes jockeys just participate to make up the numbers, so you can ignore her.”
A woman from a rural village who’s good with horses. Jenin Brown.
“…Ha.”
“Asil? What’s wrong? Is something amiss? If you’re uncomfortable, don’t hide it. We can go back even now…”
“…It’s nothing. Let’s go to our seats for now.”
“I’ll escort you! This way, please.”
Perhaps because the brim of my hat obscured my face, Cassion bent down considerably to check on me.
Meeting those kind red eyes, I thought of the blue-eyed woman who would have perfectly matched him like water and fire.
Although I had never seen her actual appearance, not just described in the text, there were enough descriptions of her as the original female lead that I could easily imagine her appearance.
“This is your seat! It doesn’t get too much sunlight, and you can see the horses well. Cocktails are also prepared…”
“Give me one.”
Indeed, the seats prepared for the ducal family were prime spots. We could see the jockeys who had arrived early, warming up and grooming their horses.
Feeling anxious, I quickly took the glass the owner offered and downed it in one go, then held out the empty glass.
“Don’t you have something like opera glasses? I’d like to see the jockeys and horses in more detail.”
“I’m, I’m sorry, Duchess. Since this is a race where you typically watch the horses running quickly as a whole, we don’t have such things prepared. If you let us know in advance next time, we’ll be sure to prepare them!”
“…It’s fine. Ah, could I have another cocktail, please?”
“Asilia.”
The flustered owner hurried away with the empty glass, and Cassion, seemingly surprised by my downing the drink as soon as it arrived, pulled me down to a chair. I obediently followed his lead and sat in the assigned seat.
“Is something really wrong? …Even if you think I can’t help, you could at least tell me.”
“It’s not that. It’s just… suddenly…”
I trailed off, turning my head to look at the jockeys.
Among the male jockeys, I saw a woman tying up her long brown hair and putting on a riding cap. Determined blue eyes. A slender figure. Unlike the other jockeys wearing clothes adorned with various sponsoring family emblems, she wore a plain and shabby jockey uniform.
But she had a large, well-groomed brown horse with a good coat.
It was jockey number 7, Jenin Brown, and her horse.
“…I suddenly got a feeling. A feeling that horse number 7 will win.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Long brown hair and blue eyes. It’s not really a distinctive appearance. But as soon as I saw her, I could tell she was the original female lead.
The original female lead was good at riding horses Each morning, despite her father’s scoldings, she would ride her horse through their small rural village and into the forest beyond. It was during one of these rides that she stumbled upon the injured male lead, Cassion.
The horse Leonina, which is now participating with her, is her beloved horse that grew up with her since childhood and is like family. It dies in a landslide during a flood incident.
She was more consumed by the sorrow of losing her beloved horse than by her own near-death experience, and Cassion’s kindness in comforting her, saying he would become her family, was a charming point of the novel.
“Duchess, I’ve brought your cocktail.”
“Thank you. And I’ve decided on which jockey and horse to bet on.”
“Yes! Which one?”
“On jockey number 7. Bet it all.”
“Pardon?”
“Give her my seal.”
I opened my bag and handed over all the money I had brought. Both Cassion and the owner’s eyes widened at my action, but I ignored them and looked at Jenin Brown once more.
This is just a hunch. And even if the hunch was wrong, I wanted to do something for her, standing there shabby without any seals or cheers.
“What are you doing? Not giving her the seal?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Asilia…?”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t bet your money. This is a gamble made entirely with my own money, so you don’t have to look at me like that.”
“No, I’m not worried about the money. You’ve been acting strange since earlier. Do you perhaps know that jockey?”
Kind Cassion. The original male lead. Originally, around this time, he should have been recovering from his injuries in a rural village with her.
But because he met me, he’s been successful, and she, no longer needed to take care of Cassion, became a jockey participating in horse races with her beloved horse.
I had tried my best to survive in this world on my own, and I didn’t think I had taken anyone’s place, but seeing the changed results with my own eyes made me feel quite strange.
“…We’re strangers. I just suddenly felt like believing in that woman.”
In the distance, I could see the racecourse owner hurriedly running to deliver the ducal family’s seal to Jenin. He was gesticulating wildly, saying something, and soon after, she looked this way with her blue eyes wide open.
“….”
“….”
As our eyes met, an indescribable feeling flowed between us.
She attached the seal to her jockey uniform, bowing repeatedly with a face flushed with excitement. I waved at her, trying to organize my increasingly dizzy thoughts, but it was in vain.
Bang–
In the meantime, the horse race had begun.
