Chapter 29_Did She Want to Be Held Like This?

Sitting on the horse, it was higher than she expected. She felt a bit… dizzy. The horse was moving restlessly, making her head spin even more.

The Emperor was already seated on his horse, ready to ride, but he wondered what Bellita was doing. It was strange that the brown horse was acting nervously as if it was carrying a stranger.

Bellita, sitting on the horse, didn’t look well either.

The chamberlain quickly approached, calmed the horse, and helped the Empress dismount.

“Aren’t you going to ride?”

Even though she had just gotten on and off the horse, Bellita felt nauseous as if she had ridden far away.

“I want to… ride…”

I can’t ride a horse. Not alone.

She regretted not just walking on her two feet.

Clip-clop.

He approached her slowly on his black horse.

“Do you want to ride?”

Bellita, whose wish it was, nodded enthusiastically.

Swoosh.

Ah!

It happened in the blink of an eye.

She was on the horse. More precisely, she was sitting diagonally in front of Kalik on the horse. He had reached out and pulled her in front of him. He could have said something; she was so surprised.

“Oh my!”

Because the black horse suddenly started running, Bellita screamed and quickly wrapped her arms around his waist.

They were going so fast that she couldn’t see anything properly. Everything just whizzed by, and she couldn’t tell where they were going.

In fact, she was so scared of falling that she held onto his waist for dear life and buried her face in his chest, unable to see anything around her. She didn’t even have the luxury to look. But the sense of speed was amazing. It was so fast it made her dizzy. She could feel what it was like to cut through the air.

Once she got somewhat used to it, she lifted her face from his chest and enjoyed the wind rushing past like a storm. She was gradually moving away from him. It wasn’t as scary as it was at first. She thought of how much practice it would take to ride like this.

Ah.

His hand wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her back into his embrace. Bellita, who was once again nestled in his chest, pouted her lips slightly.

Why is he pulling me so tightly?

Whenever he could, he would pull her close and hug her… and the kisses were way too long.

At least this meant he didn’t intend to kill her. She knew he initially didn’t like her, but it seemed things had changed a bit now. That’s why he kept calling her every day, trying to touch her whenever they met, and even mentioned the first night.

Thinking about that again made her shiver involuntarily. Even now, whenever she moved away a bit, he would pull her back, making her face touch his chest again. She realized how firm and broad his chest was, something she hadn’t noticed before.

He pulled her even closer. She wasn’t even a little bit away now. Bellita was curious about the exact reason he kept doing this.

Emperor Kalik chuckled as if he found it amusing.

Pretending not to know how to ride a horse. She must have used her wits to sit on my horse with me. If that’s the case, I’ll play along.

She knows how to ride well, but the moment the black horse started running, she pretended to be scared and clung to his waist, burying her face in his chest. She had a knack for making a man’s heart flutter.

I’ll let this slide.

He had never ridden a horse with a woman like this before, so it felt unfamiliar. This path, which he had ridden hundreds or thousands of times, felt different. Especially since he was riding with Bellita, not any other woman. Bellita, who always made him experience new things, seemed admirable.

He was riding slower than usual, but Bellita’s body moved a bit, making it dangerous. He quickly wrapped one arm around her shoulder and slowed the horse down. The black horse wasn’t used to carrying two people either. If Bellita fell, she could get seriously hurt. He could ride fast when he was alone.

He found it cute that Bellita was burying her face in his chest. Holding her while riding felt good. Even though he had held her while kissing, this was the first time he had her fully in his arms. He could feel her soft hair against his chin. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

Did she want to be held like this? Did she come up with this plan because she liked it?

He couldn’t help but laugh.

Well, her effort is commendable. As a first step in building affection, it’s not bad.

He looked forward to what she would come up with next. To build affection, they would need to meet more often and for longer periods, which was likely her plan.

Bellita enjoyed the wind brushing against her face. She understood why people enjoyed speed. How thrilling and exhilarating it would be to ride alone, she thought, feeling her heart race just thinking about it. The sensation of slicing through the wind while riding a horse.

I want to try it.

As she dismounted from the horse, Bellita’s mind was filled with that thought.

“Kalik.”

The Emperor, who was about to ask if she had fun, stayed silent as Bellita spoke first. It was the first time she had called his name so tenderly.

“I want to learn how to ride a horse.”

Don’t you already know how?

Still, he didn’t ask that and remained silent. He wanted to know what she was planning.

“Very well.”

Then she would need someone to teach her. Someone trustworthy.

Kalik looked around and made eye contact with Anton, who was standing a bit away. Anton slightly shook his head. The Emperor chuckled.

Anton had never done that before. Anton, who knew only loyalty. How much must he dislike Bellita to dare shake his head at the Emperor? He would let this slide just this once because it was Anton. Anton’s loyalty alone was enough to overlook this.

When he turned his gaze back to Bellita, she seemed to be thinking about something. She pursed her lips and moved her eyes back and forth, pondering something. The Emperor waited patiently to see what she would come up with.

Bellita assumed that Kalik meant he would personally teach her. So, she wanted to start right away, but she thought it might be too much for today, considering how busy the Emperor was.

“Kalik. Can you start teaching me from tomorrow? Or are you busy tomorrow?”

Hahaha.

Bellita widened her eyes in curiosity at his laughter. She didn’t seem to know why he laughed.

Bellita.

The reason I laughed.

It’s because you did exactly what I thought.

You acted as I predicted, and now I can read your thoughts as easily as the palm of my hand. It was frustrating not being able to read your mind before, but now it’s back to normal.

That’s right. You can’t escape from my grasp.

“Even though I promised to meet every day, learning to ride from you would be more fun.”

She was meeting him every day because of her promise, but it had become monotonous. Learning something new would make their time together more meaningful.

Kalik looked at the excited Bellita.

She mentioned a promise. She must be talking about the promise not to be alone with another man.

Bellita didn’t seem to think of learning from anyone else, especially another man. To her, he was the only man.

“So you want to learn from me?”

To keep that promise?

Well, since she’s focused on me now, she might keep it.

He hadn’t known before, but now he saw that Bellita seemed to focus on one person when she had a target of interest. Although it might not last long. He had heard she got bored quickly.

Bellita preferred new and unfamiliar men, often changing partners and lowering her status as Empress.

But now, she was determined to impress him. Everyone knew the Emperor valued those who kept their word. Besides, he never said he would personally teach her, and he didn’t have the time, but Bellita’s insistence was transparent.

“Then who will teach me?”

Bellita was flustered by his question. She thought he would teach her directly, wondering if she had misunderstood, her eyes blinking.

Does this mean I can’t start practicing tomorrow?

That was her main concern.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. I’ll teach you after lunch.”

There she goes again. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and sparkled with joy. She was happy because he was doing what she wanted, not because she wanted to learn to ride. She had lied about not being able to ride just to spend more time with him.

Kalik smiled, seeing through her intentions.

***

Kalik was relaxing his stiff body in the Imperial hot spring.

He had hugged Bellita the most in the past few days while teaching her how to ride. More precisely, she had clung to him. Knowing this would happen, he had willingly agreed.

Anyone would think she was riding for the first time; her acting was top-notch. Starting with walking practice, he held the reins on the ground while she sat on the horse.

But she lost her balance and almost fell every few steps, so he had to quickly catch her. All she had to do was sit still, but she couldn’t even do that. Moreover, she had ridden elegantly into the Imperial Palace on horseback during their wedding with the Pellon Kingdom people. If she wanted to be held like this, he could accommodate her. Her efforts were commendable.

Now she could finally ride a lap at a slow trot without the risk of falling. He had never seen anyone learn so slowly. Of course, he knew she was doing it on purpose. If she learned quickly, their meetings would end soon, so she was prolonging it.