“Can Orbis ride a horse?”

Didn’t he always use magic to move around in a flash? He doesn’t even ride carriages, so why would he need to learn horseback riding?

“I have learned everything necessary.”

“Everything necessary?”

“This time, I wanted to teach you.”

Orbis uncrossed his legs and sat up straight as he continued.

“Whether it’s horseback riding or swimming, I can teach you anything you desire. I’ve always wanted to do so.”

“You’ve always wanted to?”

“Yes.”

Orbis’s gaze deepened. With a slightly choked expression, as if reminiscing about a distant past, he continued.

“Ever since the day you set foot in this dragon castle. Continuously.”

It meant it hadn’t even been half a year, but I couldn’t understand why he had such an expression as if recalling something from long ago.

‘After getting married and arriving at the dragon castle, was he occasionally absent not only to drive out demons but also to practice horseback riding or swimming to teach me?’

Litania was a bit puzzled but nodded, thinking it might be possible.

‘But have I ever told Orbis that I can’t ride a horse?’

It wasn’t difficult to guess that she lacked skill in horseback riding after seeing her appearance during the hunting festival. Maybe he heard it from Snow.

“Alright. Then Orbis, will you teach me horseback riding?”

“Gladly.”

As Litania smiled and extended her hand, Orbis gently enveloped it and kissed the back of her hand.

To teach Litania horseback riding, Orbis decided to first build a large riding ground across the lake. Usually, when creating something in the dragon castle, he would order his servants, but this time, it was the knights who moved according to his instructions.

“You want us to… build a riding ground?”

“Yes.”

The gloomy faces of the knights immediately brightened.

“We’ll do it!”

While building the riding ground, they didn’t have to receive training!

The knights, who had found it insulting even to repair the separate palace where they stayed when they first arrived at this dragon castle, didn’t mind at all being mobilized to build a riding ground for Litania.

‘If we can escape this hellish training even for a moment…!’

It was because Orbis’s training was too harsh.

The knights moved quickly, cheering at the fact that they wouldn’t have to straddle the line between life and death for a while.

They quickly leveled the ground, installed fences, and prepared training obstacles.

The process wasn’t that difficult since the castle’s servants did the delicate work of estimating the scale and taking measurements, and they just followed instructions.

“Ah. I wish every day could be like this.”

One of the knights sighed, expressing his true feelings.

This time, even Bain, the captain, didn’t rebuke the knights.

“We haven’t been mobilized for duties outside of training. Our job is to be loyal to the two of the dragon castle, and building a riding ground for them to use is naturally the duty of the knights under their command.”

Of course, he had never heard of knights building a riding ground for their lords, but Bain rationalized the situation.

“Think of it as an extension of setting up tents for the lords to stay in and organizing supplies at the garrison. The dragon castle is a special place.”

Just 5 months since coming to the dragon castle. Bain, who had always been rigid, decided to close his eyes instead of bending his pride.

“A knight’s duty is to be loyal to his lord and devoted to women.”

“Our captain has changed a lot.”

The knights discussed how far harsh environments could change a person’s way of thinking while carrying materials.

“By the way, the servants of the dragon castle are peculiar. There are all sorts of people.”

“I don’t know if they became peculiar from living in the dragon castle or if only peculiar ones gather here.”

“That’s lumping us in too, you know.”

It’s not strange to have someone well-versed in architecture to run a castle of this size, but it’s surprising to have someone skilled enough to carefully consider the location of a riding ground to minimize the effects of sunlight and wind, not just repairing the castle.

Even in the imperial palace, they usually call in outside experts to give instructions for such construction.

“At first, there were only bizarre ones…”

“But they’re not such bad guys when you get to know them.”

“Right?”

The knights, who had grown closer to the servants of the dragon castle, were no longer as wary of them as before.

The servants of the dragon castle still acted somewhat beyond ordinary humans, but it was clear that they were devoted to their master and mistress. Once they understood their true intentions, their existence wasn’t as unpleasant as before.

And.

“People’s thoughts are all the same.”

The servants and knights agreed on one thing: clicking their tongues at Orbis’s ferocity. Once common ground was established, other things became trivial.

“They seem to want to impress the lady too.”

People with different natures cooperated with the same goal. The construction of the riding ground, which would normally have had at least minor troubles, proceeded peacefully without a single argument.

“I hear the riding ground is complete.”

“Wow, already?”

Surprised by the unexpectedly fast progress, Litania blinked her round eyes.

“They say an army can move a mountain in one night, and it’s true.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means nothing is impossible when people work together.”

Usually, such fast progress would raise concerns about shoddy construction, but since it’s a riding ground, that shouldn’t be an issue. Litania stood up with a pleased smile.

“Orbis, then what should I do?”

“Shall we go see the horses first, my friend?”

At being called ‘my friend,’ Litania looked up at Orbis with a slightly pouty face. He smiled gently and bent down to bring his face closer to hers.

“My Litania.”

Her cheeks reddened at the ticklish way he addressed her. When he called her name up close like this, she would always smile bashfully with a mix of shyness and joy.

“Let’s go, Orbis.”

Litania and Orbis headed to the stable together to choose a horse. There was a newly built stable on the opposite side of the knights’ training ground.

“Wow, there are so many horses!”

“Horseback training is one of the knights’ training regimens.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

The stable built by the knights was larger and more grand than expected. It was noticeable that it was sturdily constructed with wood and stone, perhaps because there were over thirty horses.

‘I thought it would smell strongly of horse manure, but it doesn’t.’

While there was a mix of smells from several large feed bins filled with fodder, hay piles, and the heavy scent of horse hair, it wasn’t musty or strange.

‘Even the stable has windows.’

Although the stable was single-story, it had high ceilings allowing good air circulation, and warm sunlight was streaming in through large windows. There were several small windows above, creating air passages.

As fresh air passed through the stable, there was less horse manure smell than expected, and the atmosphere was bright. Litania was impressed to see that even the stable floor was kept dry and clean.

‘Amazing. Everyone’s working hard.’

Litania chuckled, imagining the knights taking care of the horses every day. Orbis gently grabbed her shoulder and led her.

“Litania, you need to choose a horse.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps because the stable was spacious, horses of various personalities and colors were freely lounging around in each section.

Black horses with glossy coats, elegant white horses, and lively tawny horses were freely eating fodder or walking around various parts of the stable.

Perhaps because the knights brushed the horses’ coats every morning, they all had a lustrous sheen. The feed must be good quality too, as there were no malnourished horses, and they all looked healthy.

“But I don’t know much about horses. Orbis, what kind of horse is good for a beginner to ride?”

“Generally, older horses tend to be more docile.”

“But all the horses here look young…”

“Even young ones can have gentle dispositions. This way, please.”

Orbis introduced Litania to horses of various breeds. Each section had a nameplate attached to the post, making it easy to see the horses’ names at a glance.

“Richi, Luke… Haha! This one’s a black horse, so why is its name Gold?”

Litania laughed softly as she checked the names the knights had given the horses. There were simple names, cute names, and even long, elaborate names like those of nobles.

She stopped in front of a white horse with the nameplate ‘Sonipes’.

‘Is this what a white horse looks like?’

She hadn’t seen many horses in her life, but the white horses she knew didn’t look like this.

‘Sonipes…’

It means ‘horse’.

How lazy to name a horse just ‘Horse’!

‘Why bother naming it at all then.’

As Litania stood still in front of the white horse, Orbis gently asked.

“It may not have wings, but it will suit you.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve chosen a good horse, Litania.”

Does he mean it’s a docile horse that even she can ride? Litania tilted her head slightly, then looked back at the white horse.

The white horse was staring at her with black eyes. That harmless gaze reminded her of a white horse she had encountered in the past.

The white horse she met then had a much more beautiful and mysterious glow, but…