I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 43
“Asil. Did you learn horseback riding well? Macey didn’t say anything, but you didn’t go somewhere else, did you?”
“……”
Going out? As if. Despite practicing for half a day, unlike my initial ambitious spirit, I was defeated by the horse.
“Why aren’t you answering? Did you really do something else?”
“How was His Majesty? What was the Empress’s reaction when you mentioned our honeymoon?”
“Don’t change the subject. I won’t answer either.”
“……Tch. I’m not changing the subject. I asked first because it’s an important matter….. I didn’t go anywhere. I spent all day just riding the horse.”
“Something seems suspicious.”
This is so unfair. Being suspected when I didn’t do anything. But my pride wouldn’t let me be honest.
To be honest, I was a prodigy who excelled at everything from birth.
Born with beauty, quick to learn with both mind and body, fearless of heights, bugs, or ghosts. For such an invincible person like me to be defeated by a mere horse. A horse!
“If you really learned, I should see for myself.”
“……Now? It’s almost dinner time.”
“There’s still plenty of time. We can quickly check and then go eat.”
“We need to wash our hands before eating….. And you must be tired.”
“……”
The longer I made excuses, the sharper Cassion’s gaze became. I guess there’s no choice.
“Fine. Let’s do it then.”
I trudged over to the horse I had spent the entire afternoon with. Trying to control my trembling hands, I gently stroked the horse’s face and whispered, “Help me. Save me.”
But from a few steps away, it must have looked quite friendly and familiar, as Cassion made a satisfied “Hmm” sound. Please let it stay this way.
“Wait, what’s that?”
“It’s a mounting block. And instead of standing there, come here and hold the reins.”
“A mounting block? What’s that for?”
“For mounting the horse.”
It took less than a few seconds for Cassion’s satisfied expression to turn into confusion. He looked at the mounting block I had placed beside the horse as if seeing something for the first time in his life. At times like this, I had to be brazen.
“……You need a mounting block to get on such a small horse?”
“Small? This one is quite big. And this is how I learned.”
Of course, the knight had intended to use the mounting block only for the first try and remove it afterward, but it just wasn’t possible. Only after I nearly fell over to the other side did he accept that the mounting block couldn’t be removed.
“You learned to mount a horse using steps and with someone holding the reins?”
“That’s right.”
“……Is that how they usually teach women?”
Fortunately, Cassion had only dealt with already skilled knights, so he had no reference point for beginners.
He approached with a dubious expression and held the reins.
Don’t hold them so loosely. You need to grip them tight.
“I’m going to mount now.”
“It’ll probably take half a day just to mount.”
Though Cassion was teasing, I couldn’t argue back this time. I needed to concentrate.
Putting one foot in the stirrup and swinging up to place the other foot on the opposite side required intense concentration and precise control of force. I took a deep breath and jumped up.
“……!”
Fortunately, no disaster like falling over the saddle happened in front of Cassion. Perhaps the half day of practice wasn’t entirely useless, as I managed to settle safely in the saddle.
“See? I told you I learned! I mounted well, didn’t I?!”
“……That’s it?”
“What are you doing? Don’t let go of the reins!”
“If you’re on the horse, shouldn’t you move? Wasn’t I just supposed to hold them while you mounted?”
“What are you talking about? You need to lead the entire time. How can I control the horse alone when I just learned today?”
“……Asil. Did you really learn that way?”
“Why do you keep making me out to be a liar? I’m telling you that’s how it was!”
It wasn’t a lie. The knight had intended to let go of the reins later too, but hearing my near-fainting screams, he ended up holding them throughout the entire lesson.
“Ha.”
Seeing me sitting bolt upright with trembling eyes, not knowing where to look, Cassion let out a short laugh as if he’d figured something out.
“I see. It seems you didn’t go anywhere else, Asil. And I understand why Macey couldn’t say anything.”
“……What do you mean?”
“Stay still. I’m going to mount, so don’t be startled.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Cassion swiftly swung himself up behind me onto the bare back of the horse. It happened in an instant.
“Oh, wow! Wow….. How did you do that?”
Though I exclaimed in surprise, Cassion didn’t answer and just laughed briefly again. Then, from behind, he positioned himself as if embracing me and moved the reins forward.
“Your whole body is too stiff. This is dangerous because if the horse gallops or the ground is uneven, the impact will go straight to your back. Think of leaning against me and try holding the reins.”
“You want me to hold the reins?”
“I’ll hold them with you, so it’s fine.”
When I unconsciously recoiled, Cassion directly moved my hands to the reins. Our hands overlapped as we held them together.
“Relax a bit more. Now, the horse is going to move forward.”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“Pff.”
Was he laughing at me just now? But there was nothing I could do except snort. I’ll get my revenge once we’re off the horse.
“See? It’s not that hard, right?”
It was definitely more comfortable having him hold the reins from behind and guide them together than when the knight had held them from the side while teaching. I could even understand the feeling now.
“Tch. I only learned with someone holding from the side. If I had learned like this from the start, I would have picked it up quickly.”
After completing one lap around the training ground with Cassion, I became slightly cocky. As expected of me. Maybe I actually have a tiny bit of talent.
“At this rate, I’ll learn quickly enough for our honeymoon- KYAAAAAAH!”
But my confidence didn’t last long. Cassion had subtly removed his overlapped hands and suddenly jumped off. I couldn’t stop the scream of horror that escaped.
“Don’t scream, try to stay calm, Asilia. It’s not much different alone. Slowly……”
“What are you doing! Aah, ah! What are you doing! What about me!”
“Asil. Asilia. Calm down.”
“Kyaaah, it’s shaking! hic sob”
“……Are you crying?”
“Hueeeng….. I’m scared……”
Despite spending half a day together, the horse didn’t understand my startled heart. The horse continued forward as we had been circling, and my body became stiff again without Cassion supporting me from behind, making everything shake.
I finally couldn’t hold back my tears, pride be damned. My vision was blurring, but I couldn’t wipe my eyes because I was gripping the reins so tightly. This made me even more scared.
“You jerk, uwaaaaah…… hic sob. Uwaah. I’m scared! I can’t see!”
“Ah, Asilia.”
Just as my vision was completely blurring, I felt another force on the reins I was holding onto like a lifeline. The horse came to a stop as Cassion grabbed the reins from the side.
“Don’t cry. I was wrong. You can come down now.”
“There’s no mounting block……. hic sob”
Though I wanted to collapse and cry on the horse, I couldn’t because the barely-stopped horse might move again. At that moment, I felt a warm, large hand on my waist, and my body was lifted up.
And soon my feet touched the ground.
Thud
“Asil!”
“You were mean, really mean! How could you do that without saying anything!”
When I collapsed onto the dirt ground as all strength left my body, a startled Cassion bent down with me. I sobbed loudly while hitting his chest and shoulders randomly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d be so scared.”
“I thought I was going to die of fear, sob. You really went too far. Hueeeng, hic hic”
The sudden burst of crying led to hiccups. I continued hitting Cassion with all my might even while hiccupping. I might have hit his chin since I was hitting blindly, but he just hugged me with a panicked voice.
“I won’t do it again. I’m really sorry, Asil. I shouldn’t have dismounted alone there, I was wrong. Shh….. It’s okay now. Please stop crying, Asil.”
His large hand gently stroked my back to comfort me. The warmth soothing my body calmed my startled heart, and gradually my punching stopped. I just hiccupped while resting my chin on his shoulder in his embrace.
“I’m not going to ride horses, hic, anymore…… sob”
“Okay. We can ride together, I was wrong to force this on you. It’s all my fault.”
As my rationality slowly returned, I buried my face in his chest, feeling it heat up from crying harder than I ever had even in childhood.
This is all Cassion’s fault.
