“Evil uncle!”

It was Eve who woke him from his thoughts.

Eve, who had been sitting in the armchair chattering away, had somehow come down and was now tugging at his clothes.

“I’ve endured a lot now, right?”

Eve held out the small wound on her fingertip to Sched.

It seemed she had grown bored of boasting about her father.

“Yes. You endured well.”

“Then~ Grant my wish now!”

A wide smile bloomed on Eve’s lips.

She was saying that she would now use the wish voucher Sched had previously promised her.

Sched was quite impressed with how well Eve had done so far.

He had no intention of making false promises to the child, so Sched nodded.

“What’s your wish?”

What grand wish could this little one have prepared?

“Uncle’s horse!”

“Horse?”

“I want to ride uncle’s horse!”

Eve jumped up and down, shaking the hem of his pants.

“If it’s my horse…”

“The big black horse!”

Eve raised her hand high and spread it out.

“You don’t mean Guardwell, do you?”

The black stallion Guardwell that Sched rode was one of the most famous horses in history.

With a sheen to its coat like fine velvet and a mane that fluttered beautifully like silk strands.

When it ran across the plains with powerful hoof beats, the densely woven muscles moved dynamically, enough to move those who saw it.

It seemed that even young Eve’s eyes found Guardwell impressive.

However, Sched rubbed his temples in embarrassment.

“You’re still too young to ride a horse.”

What is a child who has barely turned three years old doing riding a horse?

Moreover, Guardwell was among the most violent of horses.

It was originally a rough wild horse that Sched had tamed, but it did not take well to the hands of others, and even the groom and farrier had a hard time with it.

Because of that, Sched was the only one Guardwell had ever allowed to mount it.

“I’ll let you ride when you’re a bit older.”

“You said you’d grant my wish!”

Eve glared, getting angry.

“So I said I’d grant it later.”

“Uncle, you lied! Liar! I’m going to tell mom!”

“Kid…”

At the child’s tantrums pounding in his ears, Sched made a dry wash of his face as if tired.

At this rate, it was clear she would nag until he let her ride the horse.

After spending a few days together, he knew that children’s determination was quite strong, and even after sleeping through several nights, they clearly remembered the promises they had obtained.

“You can’t ride alone. It’s dangerous.”

“It’s okay. I’ll ride with mom!”

“Your mom can’t ride a horse either.”

Not only Guardwell, but he had never seen Louise riding a horse.

Felix Ideana had not taught his sickly daughter horseback riding.

When Louise had to go somewhere nearby due to her illness, she took a carriage.

Even after leaving Ideana, her status was low, so there would have been no occasion for her to personally drive an expensive horse.

“Mom can learn too!”

“Haa… I’ll just let you ride with me.”

“I don’t want to ride with uncle!”

“What?”

“I’m going to ride with mom! That’s my wish!”

“I told you, your mom can’t ride…”

“Wahhh! You said you’d grant my wish!”

Eve lay down on the carpeted floor, raising her injured hand for him to see.

Sched’s eyebrows twisted at the sound of her wailing as if his eardrums would fall out.

However, seeing Eve throwing a tantrum with a face that looked just like Louise made him chuckle.

Because he had never even imagined Louise acting like that.

“Okay. I’ll take you for now.”

In the end, Sched succumbed to the child’s tantrum.

Louise looked back and forth between Sched and Eve with puzzled eyes.

Not only was she surprised by his sudden visit, but Eve had somehow become close with him and was holding his finger tightly, smiling brightly.

Moreover.

“You want me to learn horseback riding…?”

The suggestion he threw out was also unexpected.

“Not learn, just ride once. With this kid.”

“Why…?”

Suspicion was heavy in Louise’s eyes.

Just as he was pondering where to start explaining, Eve opened her mouth first.

“The evil uncle said he’d grant my wish!”

“Wish?”

“Yeah! You know, if I endured well…”

“Kid.”

Sched tugged once at Eve’s hand that was tightly grasping his finger.

“Ah!”

Eve covered her mouth, remembering the promise she had made with uncle to keep it a secret.

“The kid did something well, so I said I’d grant her a wish, and she said she wants to ride a horse.”

After disciplining Eve’s mouth, Sched explained the situation on her behalf.

Louise touched her lips with a somewhat troubled expression.

She recalled that her daughter had wanted to ride a horse for a long time.

“But isn’t Eve too young to ride a horse?”

Louise turned down the offer with a troubling excuse.

Not only was Eve young, but what Louise was most worried about was the eyes around them.

To the outside world, ‘Egon’ and ‘Leah’ were commoners, and ‘Riana’ was from a maid background.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the servants of Lecheerdam treated Louise and Eve with appropriate professionalism.

Louise was grateful that they did not look displeased with the extra mouths to feed.

But if they rode a horse with the duke, they might receive sharp gazes from the servants of Lecheerdam again.

Even if Louise herself could endure those glares, she did not want to let Eve be hated by people.

Moreover, there were people like Carlyle and Hedrick who looked down on her…

“The grassland people of western Blankas learn to ride horses from the age of three… Safety will be the top priority. I’ll accompany you.”

At Sched’s words, Eve, who was next to him, nodded her head, her eyes sparkling.

“Hurry, hurry, let’s go mom!”

Eve, who had been fidgeting her feet, grabbed Louise’s hand tightly with the opposite hand holding Sched and pulled.

“Eve, when you’re a little older, you can ride…”

“Now! It’s my wish!”

When Louise looked at Sched with a reluctant expression, Sched also shook his head with an indifferent look as if he had no choice either.

The outskirts of Lecheerdam, consisting of gentle ridges and plains, were also a good place for horseback riding.

There were many pastures where cows, sheep, and goats grazed.

Past the road lined with cypresses like soldiers, there was a pasture owned by the duke.

A stable built on the ridge.

Louise looked down at the vast landscape of Lecheerdam.

In the distance, the white Lecheerdam castle from which they had departed could be seen, and in the fields, the wheat fields awaiting harvest soon were forming golden waves.

In some places where the harvest was finished, there were stacks of cozy-looking hay, and birds that pecked at the fallen grains would land and then fly up again.

Far away, a dog herding a flock of sheep was running around, and on one side, cows were grazing on grass and hay.

Louise was momentarily at a loss for words at the vast pastoral scenery.

The wind was gentle and the surrounding air was peaceful.

At the tranquility she thought she might never have again in Ideana, her heart swayed gently like the waves of wheat ears blowing in the wind.

Even on dry land, sprouts grow again.

“Mom, it’s so amazing!”

Eve also exclaimed upon witnessing the vast land.

It was an endless continental landscape that could not be seen in Jarna Island and Sizzlon.

“The land looks like a golden sea!”

To Eve’s eyes, familiar with the sea, even the land looked like a sea.

After staring at the wheat field for a while, Eve looked up at Louise.

“Mom, is all that bread?”

Louise burst out laughing at the words of the knowledgeable Eve, who knew that bread was made from wheat.

At that moment, a short laugh also burst out from behind.

When Louise turned around with wide eyes, Sched coughed and cleared his throat, stroking his black war horse.

Could he laugh like this too?

Louise thought, looking at the traces of laughter he couldn’t completely erase from the corners of his mouth.

Sched seemed a little embarrassed, so Louise turned her eyes back to Eve and answered.

“Yes, they will make bread with those wheats.”

“Wow, there must be so much bread! No one will be hungry here!”

At Eve’s words, Louise stroked the child’s hair instead of answering.

It reminded her of the hungry children she had seen on the way out to the outskirts.

“Kid. Stop admiring and get ready now.”

At that moment, Sched called out to the two who had been looking at the wheat field.

Eve remembered the purpose of coming here and hurriedly headed towards Sched.

Sched was standing, holding the reins of Guardwell.

Guardwell’s coat, as pitch-black as Sched’s hair, had a sheen that followed the grain of its muscles.

Despite Sched being quite tall, Guardwell’s height looked to be over a head taller than Sched.

The sight of Sched standing with the black war horse was more imposing than usual.

The feet that stood firmly on the ground with Guardwell looked unshakable.

At that moment, Louise recalled the newspaper articles she had read not long ago.

And she looked at his face again, thinner than before.

Louise knew the scars engraved in that sturdy body.

It had always been like that.

Even when he went out to fight as a mercenary slave and returned, he never once complained of being in pain.

He was a person who never showed any signs of hardship.

Knowing that, did I not even guess at his wounds…?

Meanwhile, Eve clasped her hands to her chest and looked up at the huge horse.

“Whoaaa!”

To Eve, whose size didn’t even reach Sched’s knees, Guardwell was literally a being she had to look up to.

“Don’t make such a fuss. Guardwell doesn’t like noisy things.”

“Oh…! Yes…!”

At Sched’s words, Eve immediately lowered her voice and whispered.

“Evil uncle. When will Eve ride Guardwell?”

“The horse you will ride is over there.”

Sched pointed to the opposite side.

He had thought a lot, but in the end, he judged that it was too much to put Eve on Guardwell.

Eve followed Sched’s finger and saw the pony the groom was holding.

It was a pony with a shaggy mane and tail and a white and brown spotted pattern.

Its compact and cute physique and gentle temperament were perfect for carrying Eve.

Then Eve’s face wrinkled like an overcooked ravioli.

“No! Eve likes Guardwell!”

The fearless Eve tried to grab Guardwell’s leg as if she were going to grab a person’s leg.

Sched grabbed Eve and barely lifted her into his arms.

“Kid…! You really rush in without thinking. Do you want to get hit by a hoof and die?”