The horse with the black eyes blinked gently and nudged its large head towards her. Surprised, Jade reached out her hand and it stopped, leaning against it.

Just in case, she gently stroked between its eyes, and it let out a small neigh of satisfaction.

It was the same movement she always made in the Athanase Forest. Then this lively horse would stand still and become docile…

No, wait. An unfamiliar horse wouldn’t be this friendly. Then this horse must be Mimi, right?

The elegant mane, huge body, and muscular legs – it was perfectly Mimi.

“You’re Mimi, aren’t you…?”

The horse couldn’t answer, of course, but it stared at her intently with its pretty black eyes. As if answering yes.

Jade spoke to the horse, filled with emotion.

“Mimi, I missed you! Do you know how disappointed I was when you weren’t there the day I left? Have you been well? You like sugar too, right? Should I give you some? It’s for Dilly, but I can share with you.”

Mimi sniffed and chewed the sugar well. Watching that, Jade suddenly felt angry again. Even a mere animal remembered her and was happy to see her, but its owner just ignored her and walked past!

Jade began pouring out complaints about the owner into the horse’s perked-up ears.

Annoying, petty, and unpleasant. If he couldn’t pretend to know her, couldn’t he at least send a small note? Look at him coming out when he said he’d never leave the forest, even wearing splendid armor.

Fortunately, the horse listened kindly without showing signs of being put off.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. Isn’t it too much?”

“Atilla.”

Just then, someone’s low voice was heard. It sounded deeper, husky from the morning. When she and the horse turned their heads at the same time, Axel was standing there with his arms crossed.

No, Lord Leon.

His light attire without armor reminded her of a day in the forest. The way the fabric clung to him, clearly revealing the volume of his muscles, was like that.

The way distinct shadows fell on his face as he received sunlight from the left… he’s handsome.

Jade quickly grabbed the horse’s reins and glared at him.

“Mimi.”

The kind horse neighed softly at her call too. But Lord Leon pretended not to notice.

“I don’t know what that is. Why don’t you let go of my horse for now.”

“It’s a very pre−tty horse. The name Mimi suits it well.”

“I’m sorry, but that horse’s name is Atilla.”

Damn it, why did I call it by a name without asking! If I had only known its name was Atilla, this wouldn’t have happened.

But this horse was hard to meet because it wandered around the forest as it pleased. It came to me just fine when I called it Mimi!

Jade pouted her lips.

“It seems very friendly. Clinging to strangers like this.”

“That one tends to be like that. Unusually affectionate for a warhorse.”

But the horse that recognized both names Mimi and Atilla kicked at Rigel who was approaching Jade from behind. It even shook its head irritably, apparently disliking the approach from behind.

“What’s with this crazy horse!”

“……”

What’s so affectionate about it? Jade looked at the self-proclaimed Lord Leon with coldly narrowed eyes, but he remained nonchalant.

“It probably doesn’t like a stranger holding its reins. Why don’t you let go?”

“It nudged its head at me to be touched. Are you sure it doesn’t know me?”

“It doesn’t know you from the start, calling it Mimi.”

Jade let go of the reins. The horse cheerfully circled around her once and approached Leon. Lord Leon stroked from its cheek to its mane with precise hand movements.

Seeing that familiar movement made her feel unreasonably upset.

Every break time, whenever she had a chance, she had imagined circling the garden:

If she met Axel again. If he came looking for her at the castle.

She wouldn’t ask or question why he came out. She would just run up, grab his hand and shake it vigorously in joy. Then Axel would look down at her with a bewildered gaze, but eventually laugh with a deflating sound.

Then she would invite him to the castle right away, no, to the most beautiful garden, to share recent news. How beautiful the spring forest is, if Ollie’s chickens are still healthy. Afterwards, pretending to be pitiful, she should tell him:

‘Time didn’t pass well without you.’

This much should be okay. Jade clearly recognized that she liked Axel, but Axel only had a human-like fondness for her, so she couldn’t burden him.

Then what emotion would appear on Axel’s face? Would he be embarrassed since he’s more shy than expected? Or would he give her a look that said she was crazy? Either way, Jade felt like she would burst out laughing.

But it all remained a delusion. Because it was denied. All she realized was that she had a talent for delusions.

Jade brushed off the sparkling sugar crumbs on her palm. It was time to go find her horse Dilly. Although gentle, it could get sulky if not cared for, so she had to be careful.

As she was about to pass by ignoring Lord Leon and his horse, the man opened his mouth.

“Where is Lady Jade’s horse?”

“Pardon?”

Frowning with a scowl, thinking she had heard wrong, he calmly asked again.

“I asked where your horse is.”

“It’s mixed in somewhere over there.”

Her voice became grumpy on its own. She could be sent to a tougher place if she had a bad relationship with the commander-in-chief, but she decided to risk it.

Because she couldn’t hold back her irritation!

Though he must have noticed her sharp reaction, the man smiled faintly instead.

“Is that so? That’s a shame. I was curious.”

“What on earth are you so curious about? We’re not even acquainted.”

Though she sneered as best she could, the man’s eyes narrowed pleasantly instead.

“No, your horsemanship was quite good. So I thought you must have cherished your own horse very much and was curious about its appearance. Of course, its name would be the worst.”

Another one like Mimi, perhaps.

Her cheeks flushed hot at his low, soft voice. This, now…

“Are you making fun of me right now?”

Her eyes twitched with anger.

Lord Leon had no way of knowing Jade’s horsemanship. It’s natural since he said they hadn’t met.

But this man was now saying he knew her skills. In other words, yesterday he said they were strangers to shame her, and now he was talking to her as Axel.

“Making fun? Me? No way.”

“Then why are you saying such things now? Lord Leon, you don’t know me, right?”

When she shot back sharply, Axel slightly pulled up the corner of his mouth. He bent his waist sharply like yesterday to meet her eyes. Long eyelashes slightly lowered, beautiful ash-gray eyes visible between them.

“How could I not know?”

He recited as if singing.

Of course, regardless of the impressive resonance of his voice, the content made anger flare up.

Now? Without even an apology? He’s really making fun of me now!

Just as Jade was about to stomp her foot and shout, Leon withdrew with Atilla.

“It’s cold where we’re going, so wrap your cloak properly. Change to a warmer hat too.”

Whether Leon or Axel, the nagging was still the same.

Snorting, Jade slammed her hat on the ground instead. What did she care if her cheeks froze or her hair froze!

Seeing that, Axel chuckled and led the horse away.

And a few hours later, Jade immediately regretted not listening to his words. The northern knife wind was no joke even in spring, to say the least.

“Achoo!”

“Are you an idiot? You should have worn a thicker cloak! Don’t you know where we’re going? Do you think your body temperature is twice as high as others because you’re called the fire mage?”

A large black horse passed by swiftly. Her eyes met Axel’s who was riding on it, but she quickly turned her head away.

He must be thinking, ‘Serves you right for not listening.’

Embarrassed, Jade cleared her throat and pulled up the scarf around her neck to below her nose.

“Rigel, as I’ve always said, if you’re not going to take it off, mind your own business.”

“…Should I take it off for you?”

“Are you crazy? You catch colds more easily than me.”

“But Lord Rigel is right. Let’s take out a thicker one from the luggage even now.”

She could ignore Rigel, but couldn’t ignore the words of an unfamiliar knight. Jade spoke in a feigned kind voice.

“We have a long way to go. I have a magic stone, so it’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Jade untied the pouch at her waist and took out a magic stone. It was one of the three magic stones she made herself, enchanted with magic to provide warmth. It was finished just by infusing mana, without needing a spell.

Her chest felt hot as she put it in her bosom. When Rigel tried to nag, she pulled his reins instead and sent him away.

“Haha, I saw it before too, but you get along well. Are you feeling better?”

“It’s warm enough. I won’t catch a cold.”

The knight who was talking to her out of concern introduced himself as Emmett. He didn’t seem to be in the command, but under someone who belonged to the command.

“Should I call you Lord Emmett? You’re kind.”

At her polite words, Emmett smiled sheepishly.

“Ah, this is a bit embarrassing.”

“Why?”

The curly-haired knight scratched his head and confessed honestly.

“Actually, if you hadn’t chosen a knight for a temporary pair, I was wondering if I could. But that wasn’t the only reason I was worried about your health. I’m from the North, so I know how severe colds are here.”

His clear intention wasn’t unpleasant. Jade smirked.

“I’m not very talented in defense though. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course. Lord Ives said that knights who paired with Lady Jade always received titles from His Majesty. For killing so many monsters.”

Jade was considered to have the most aggressive tendencies among mages, so she often took the lead in battles. She not only cast magic on knights’ swords but also used magic directly to burn monsters.

Thanks to this, knights who formed temporary pairs with her achieved clear results and sometimes received knighthoods directly from the king.

Of course, they later said, ‘It was the first time I felt dizzy working with Lady Jade. You exploited me quite thoroughly.’