Being lifted from the abyss and brought to a place like heaven, she couldn’t help but be happy.

‘At that time, I thought I would have to live like that for the rest of my life.’

A few months after her father passed away and she was kicked out of the mansion.

Brittany felt like she was in hell.

She had no money, and there was no one to lend her a hand.

Even if she wanted a sip of water, she had to go to the well and fetch it herself. Even if she scraped together some money, she had to go out to eat.
“That money wasn’t much, so Brittany and Dennis, who had never tried housework, couldn’t handle it properly. Former commoners who wouldn’t even make eye contact before, when they sighed about Brittany and Dennis not doing the job properly, they even spat out curses.”

‘I really wanted to die.’

She thought it might be better to die than live like this.

She didn’t want to live while receiving contempt and mockery from commoners.

Her delicate hands became calloused, and her skin became rough.

Looking at her messy hair, on the day she decided, ‘Okay, let’s just die today. How should I die?’

She met Dwayne as if it were fate.

Until recently, she didn’t even dream that he was the imperial prince when she saw the emblem of the Stymore Empire engraved on his shoulder.

She thought he was someone like a royal knight at best.

‘He was the imperial prince. I’m destined to become the empress.’

Thinking that news of the Duke of Weetle’s movements would have spread to the Stymore Empire, she concealed her status.

Dwayne still thought of Brittany as a commoner named ‘Bryn’ with no particular status.

Brittany, who had worked hard and lived boldly because of her sick mother, was just a commoner.

On the day she decided to leave with Dwayne, she told her mother Denise.

Dwayne already had a wife.

Everett Taylor, the beloved daughter of the Tailor Marquis family of the Stymore Empire.

‘That woman is no problem.’

Although they hadn’t formally met yet, Brittany had seen her from afar not long ago.

She seemed calm, but her face wasn’t pretty in any way.

She looked cute if you looked closely.

Brittany was confident she could capture Dwayne’s heart.

‘No, the crown prince is already deeply in love with me.’

Dwayne came to Brittany every night.

After Brittany entered the palace, he heard that he had never been to the East Palace, which was the residence of the crown princess.

Changing the empress was difficult, but changing the crown princess happened occasionally.

‘Luxurious rooms, dresses, jewelry… These are not enough.’

Brittany wanted to climb higher.

For example, a position that even the Green Count couldn’t dare to look over.

‘No, is he not a count anymore, but a duke now?’

A cold smile came to Brittany’s lips.

‘Iris, enjoy the present moment. You might have thought you could never escape from that cage, but no. I’ll crawl up from afar and tear your neck apart. No matter how much you think about it, you look better in maid clothes than that glamorous dress.’

+++

‘I’m a fool…’

It’s been two days since leaving the mansion.

Lishi regretted her arrogant decision.

Windy, with a good saddle, was running fast but safely to make the rider comfortable.

So at first, riding Windy quickly felt very pleasant.
The wind that brushed past the trees dressed in red and yellow was refreshing, and the speed, faster than riding a horse at the equestrian center, was unfamiliar yet exhilarating.

However, that good feeling only lasted until the first day.

When she slept and woke up in a small inn in the village she stopped by around dusk, she felt a change.

‘My buttocks hurt!’

It wasn’t just her buttocks.

Her thighs, waist, back, arms… there was no part of her body that wasn’t in pain.

Riding a horse for an hour or two a day at the equestrian center was no different from kids’ play.

Riding a horse all day long was completely different from leisurely horseback riding.

Especially her buttocks and thighs were so painful that even a slight touch would make her scream, making it difficult to walk.

“Lishi, can you ride a horse?”

This morning, Kei asked Lishi as if expecting her to be in pain.

“Yes.”

Lishi regretted coming all the way here, and now, less than an hour after leaving the village, she was locked in deep regret.

Glancing ahead, everyone was riding without any problems.

Even Erwel and Chrisina, who followed to protect Lishi, seemed perfectly fine.

Looking back for a moment, Eugene was even dozing off.

‘Kei and Eugene are used to riding horses, but… How can Erwel and Chrisina be so fine? Is it really just a matter of stamina?’

Neither Erwel nor Chrisina were ordinary people.

‘Even so… Is there such a big difference?’

Windy ran smoothly as if riding the wind, but Lishi’s buttocks, which had become sensitive due to muscle pain, still throbbed.

‘What should I do? Should I say it’s impossible even now? But… I really want to go to Kettle Town.’

The reason for wanting to go to Kael Town was not because of mountain cherries.

There was a person Lishi wanted to meet in this life, and it was rumored that the person was in Kael Town around this time.

There wasn’t much information about that person, so it wasn’t certain, but Lishi still wanted to go and confirm it herself.

At that moment, Windy suddenly stopped running.

From behind, Eugene muttered, “Huh! He fell asleep.”

‘He didn’t just fall asleep…’

Lishi thought so and stroked Windy’s neck.

“Windy, what’s wrong?”

“Heung!”

“Yeah?”

“Hee-hee! Poof.”

Windy whinnied and scratched the ground with its front hooves.

Kei and the maids who were riding ahead also turned their horses and came back.

Approaching after getting off the horse, Eugene asked, “What’s the matter, sister-in-law?”

“This guy suddenly stopped.”

“Hmm. What’s the problem?”

When Eugene stared intently at Windy’s face, Windy spat out saliva.

Eugene narrowed his eyes.

“May I give a slap to this ill-mannered horse, sister-in-law?”

“Poof!”

Windy spat out saliva again.

Lishi almost burst into laughter but managed to hold it in and scolded Windy.

“Windy, why are you doing this?”
“Captain, I want to give a good smack to this ill-mannered donkey.”

Although Eugene earnestly requested Kei, Kei ignored him and stroked Windy’s snout.

“Why are you like this, Windy? What’s bothering you?”

“Hee-ing. Poof.”

Windy glanced at Lishi and seemed to try to convey something to Kei.

Kei, who had been silently staring at Windy, turned his gaze to Lishi, who was still on Windy’s back.

Kei reached out towards Lishi.

“Come down, Lishi.”

“…I don’t want to.”

She didn’t want to come down. If she tried to get down from Windy now, her thighs, waist, back, and neck would ache horribly. And when she got on again, she would feel tremendous pain.

The current state wasn’t comfortable, but it was better than when she got off Windy.

“Why don’t you want to?”

“I usually prefer looking down on everyone from a high place.”

The muscles around Kei’s mouth twitched.

Kei was trying to suppress his laughter, and Lishi realized that he saw through her thoughts. Despite not wanting to admit it, she pursed her lips tightly and turned her gaze to the side. Kei then tapped Windy’s neck lightly.

Unlike when facing Eugene, Windy, this time, bent its front legs quietly and lowered its posture.

Now Lishi was in a state where she could easily get down, but still, moving her body was scary.

Then Chrisina approached, holding Lishi’s waist from both sides, and swiftly lifted her up.

In that moment.

“Aaah!”

In intense pain that felt like being struck by lightning, Lishi screamed.