“No, I have no desire to do such things.”

“Most do that sort of thing.”

“Since when have you worried about my well-being? You told me to protect myself, and I’m capable enough not to be taken advantage of if I act carefully. I don’t understand what you’re worried about. Am I not the woman you said could be bought for the price of one fairy tale? Even if I were to sleep with that man… it shouldn’t matter to you at all. If it helps your purpose.”

Achilleon frowned as he stuck his quill pen into the inkwell. His lips, which had been moving slightly, soon pressed firmly shut. He was momentarily at a loss for words.

The woman seemed determined not to back down until she received a proper answer. There was nothing incorrect in what she said. In the end, Achilleon could only give a flimsy response.

“I’ll think about it.”

Hari nodded and took a step closer. Her distinctive sweet scent rushed in with her. Achilleon unconsciously clenched his fist at the scent that stimulated his nose.

“And here’s this month’s lesson report.”

Achilleon, who had taken the bundle of parchment Hari handed him, suddenly looked up. The woman still maintained her cold attitude. She seemed thoroughly upset, avoiding eye contact and keeping her tone frosty. Would she know that her lower lip protrudes like a bud when she’s displeased? She probably doesn’t, which is why she dares to forget her place and pout her lips so carelessly in front of him.

He was about to say something but closed his mouth. Whether the woman was in a good mood or not shouldn’t matter—and shouldn’t be allowed to matter.

Achilleon rubbed his throbbing forehead and turned his attention back to the documents.

Horseback riding, physical training, music, liberal arts. The four categories of lessons showed an overall upward trend. As expected of a Lagonian, her lyre playing was notably outstanding.

Since she had overcome her fear of horses, her riding skills had also been slowly improving. However, the one area that hadn’t changed since the first lesson was physical training—specifically, sword handling classes. As the instructor had evaluated, “The lady has no talent for weaponry,” she was recording the most miserable scores in this area.

She’s hiding something.

Achilleon let out a laugh that sounded like a sigh and stopped Hari as she was about to leave his office.

“Class?”

“Yes.”

Another curt answer. Achilleon closed the report that he wasn’t really looking at. He quickly made a decision that overturned his scheduled plans.

“Today will be an observation day.”

* * *

Achilleon watched Hari as she slowly circled the large riding arena with her arms loosely folded. Her straight posture and the stable way she held the reins while coaxing the horse would not have been out of place for a noble. Hari, who had been driving her horse a bit faster, turned to look at him confidently. Her expression seemed to say, See, I’m doing well.

The woman smiled unconsciously, but when their eyes met, her expression hardened. Achilleon slightly furrowed his brows in response and nodded toward the regular hoof marks of cantering along the oval riding arena.

“Rainan, is this progress? I told you to educate her properly.”

“Compared to the first day when she couldn’t even mount a horse, I’d say it’s remarkable progress.”

It seemed the report should be thrown in the trash. Achilleon, who had been staring at Margharita gleefully bouncing on horseback with shining eyes like a magnificent rider, gave a short command.

“Prepare a horse.”

“Are you going out?”

“The weather is nice.”

Although the royal palace’s riding arena boasted the largest size in Hitais, it was still insufficient for a proper gallop.

It was time to teach the woman proper horseback riding.

“Your Highness, please slow down a little…!”

Frightened hands tightly gripped Achilleon’s clothes. Golden hair fluttering in the wind stuck to Achilleon’s cheek like rays of sunlight. He could feel a gaze full of resentment, but Achilleon never reduced his speed.

He hadn’t intended this from the beginning. It was because of Margharita, who, despite being brought out on horseback, was busy admiring the scenery outside the castle gate instead of focusing on riding practice.

‘Try it.’

‘I think today’s riding practice is sufficient. If we ride more, the horse will get tired too.’

The woman defended the white horse provided for training as if it were a precious friend. So Achilleon picked up Hari’s body and placed her on his warhorse. Before the woman, surprised by the high horse, could protest, he kicked the horse’s belly.

The wind strongly slapped against their ears. Now Hari desperately clutched his collar, huddled up without even being able to scream. The sharp boundaries surrounding the woman’s body collapsed so easily in an instant. Achilleon glanced down at the woman pressed tightly against him and increased his speed.

“I’m not a skilled rider like Your Highness! If you suddenly gallop like this…!”

“You won’t fall.”

“That’s not the issue!”

“Then what is?”

“I’m scared! It’s too fast…!”

Judging by her trembling, it wasn’t a lie. The woman who was clinging to the man she so disliked resembled a lifeline, making him chuckle. Her voice was completely muffled, her eyes were drowsy from the wind beating against them, and her lips were crumpled. Shouldn’t she look a bit unsightly like that?

“You lack humanity, Hari.”

“What? Wait… where, where are we going?”

Even in the midst of confusion, she seemed to have realized that they had passed through the castle gate and ridden quite far. Each time they passed unfamiliar scenery of various colors, Hari strained her eyes that were barely open. Her eyes grew larger and filled with diverse emotions as she looked at the plains full of knee-high grass, the bumpy unpaved road, and the mountain range where the sunset hung like a target.

Achilleon, who had been watching the woman wrestling with her disheveled hair, finally burst into laughter.

“What? I can’t hear you because of the wind.”

At his refreshing laughter, Hari unconsciously looked up. The dimple on one cheek and the gently curved corner of his mouth softened his sharp features. Perhaps that’s why, in the moment of laughter, he looked like a mischievous boy. The beautiful youngest prince of Hitais whom everyone loved. It was a fresh realization she felt at that moment. The bright sunlight illuminated the face of the man laughing refreshingly. Hari, who had been quietly observing this energetic appearance she had never seen before, raised her voice.

“You find this amusing?”

“We’re here.”

Achilleon slowly pulled the reins. The warhorse, slowing down, blew out a strong snort. Hari, coming to her senses, rustled as she poked her face out from his embrace. It didn’t seem like they had started in this position. The frightened woman had clung to his embrace like a hermit crab on her own.

“This is… outside the castle walls.”

The woman’s voice filled with surprise pushed away the slow throbbing sound stimulating his chest area. Achilleon, who had tied the horse’s reins to a wooden post, approached Hari. She was standing at the edge of a cliff. At the point where the plain ended, at the boundary of Hitais.

Hari, who was taking in the world dyed in a deep crimson outside the castle walls for the first time, blankly opened her mouth. The shadow of a wanderer, dotted like a speck below the cliff, moved along the endlessly stretching horizon. The mountain range rising prominently to the east, the winding path, the wasteland, and the vast sea faintly visible in the distance.

It seemed like the sound of waves could be heard from afar.

It was a natural landscape that felt more overwhelming in contrast to the prosperous and bustling inside of the castle walls. Hari, looking at it, seemed excited like a child. Even on her face, which turned to Achilleon seemingly asking why he had brought her here, undisguisable joy seeped through. There was no special reason. Because she was a woman who had lived confined in a narrow tower for over a decade. She had said she felt stifled, so he just wanted to show her. The vast scenery outside the castle that she couldn’t see in her narrow world.

Achilleon pointed to a spot with his finger.

“The golden plains extending to the south.”

Hari exclaimed in admiration.

“There, to the east is Galate. And in between…”

However, the excitement that made her heart race didn’t last long.

“There lies the Lagonian desert.”

The moment she took in the beautiful golden sea with her eyes, the expression slowly disappeared from Hari’s face. After being frozen seemingly stopped in time, she took a careful step forward. The woman standing at the edge of the cliff gazed endlessly at the sand dunes marked by the wind. Hari flinched when she saw a streak of smoke rising from the desert.

“…What has become of Lagonia now?”

“It seems you’re not the only descendant remaining.”

“There are survivors?”

The woman’s trembling voice scattered in the wind.

“Ah.”

Hari slowly covered her face with her hands. It was instantaneous that tears burst from her heated eyes. Her staggering steps drew closer to the cliff, one by one.

They’re alive. She had thought they were all buried in the sand dunes, but they were alive.

Achilleon reflexively reached out and grabbed Hari’s wrist as she precariously placed her foot on the edge of the cliff.

“You have nowhere to return to.”

Hari slowly turned around. Achilleon’s brow contorted when he saw her face wet with tears that had fallen in a rush.