Chapter 57
5. How to Hide Your Heart
For days, there was an awkward atmosphere in the castle.
And everyone who worked in the castle knew why. Ever since the incident in the banquet hall, Riga and Rigaina had been avoiding each other for some reason. They were rarely seen talking, let alone sharing a room.
Then someone started whispering that something must have happened between them.
An urgent meeting was called in the stables. Benny was the organizer, Sika was the facilitator, and Mark was the venue provider.
Benny crossed her arms and said with a serious expression,[This is a big deal, and we need to do something about it.]
[What’s it going to solve if we do something about it?]
Benny glared at Mark’s nonchalant demeanor. [That’s why you haven’t gotten married yet!]
[Hahaha!] Sika grabbed his stomach and laughed.
At that, Mark took out his anger on him. [Hey, don’t laugh!]
Benny watched them bicker and clapped her hands twice. [Listen, listen, I have an idea.]
As they stopped arguing and focused, Benny whispered, [I’m going to feed them ‘that’.]
[What’s that?]
[What’s that?]
[That… kind of thing that improves a couple’s relationship– Ouch!]
Mark hit Benny in the head. [What is this girl talking about? What? What are you gonna feed them?]
Benny shouted in frustration, rubbing her head. [You said it last time. That ‘thing’ is all that matters between a man and a woman, and if it works out, everything else will work out too!]
Then Sika laughed. [Hey, no matter how you slice it, it doesn’t make sense that you’d feed them such a weird thing, that doesn’t even make sense…]
Benny tilted her head. [Really? Is that too far out? But that’s what my married sisters say, that eating a bear’s penis is most effective in a situation like this…]
[Embarrassing! Never mind, I’ll just deal with this.]
The two looked at the overconfident Sika.
[What are you going to do?] Mark asked.
Sika lifted his chin. [They’ve been avoiding each other, and it would be nice to know what’s causing that, but we don’t.]
Sika was right, the others were clueless as to why they were acting this way, for since the day of the banquet, the two had remained tight-lipped about what had happened in the room after Rigaina’s collapse.
[The solution, then, is to put them together, but not in a familiar place; it has to be a new place.]
[Why?]
At Benny’s question, Shika gave her a stern look. [Think about it. You have to be in a new place to feel something different. That’s how complicated and subtle feelings between men and women are.]
Benny tilted his head, while Mark nodded. [Sounds like bullshit, but Sika’s right, they two have been in the castle too much.]
The three of them put their heads together and started thinking, and it was the next day that they put their plan into action.
Rosetta was brushing Masha’s mane after riding practice. She’d volunteered to groom Masha to get to know her better, and now she’d gotten the hang of it.
In the meantime, her horsemanship had improved considerably, and she was now able to ride and walk lightly.
“Masha, are you feeling good?”
Masha rubbed her face against Rosetta’s in a show of affection. Masha had become more affectionate lately, which pleased Rosetta.
As Masha’s brown mane grew shiny, Rosetta’s mood grew happier. Just then, Akal, who was in the distance, purred and then tapped his nose against the door.
“Akal, wait a minute. When Masha is done, I’ll brush you too.”
Akal was too jealous to watch Rosetta give Masha so much attention. Whenever she made Masha look pretty, Akal would insist that she make him look pretty too. So Rosetta had to take care of both horses, Masha and Akal. That’s why she’d given them ribbons the last time.
When Akal was quiet for a while, Rosetta got a little anxious. Akal was always up to something when he was that quiet.
“…Akal, what are you doing? You’re not opening the door again, are you?”
A moment later, however, there was a click, followed by the sound of hooves, and Akal trotted toward the door, shaking his head excitedly. The clever horse had managed to open the door and escape again today. No matter how many times she changed the latch, he was always able to use his long tongue to unlock it.
“Akal, you!”
Akal threw his heavy, long neck around Rosetta and she couldn’t help but gasp. If Masha’s expression of affection was cute and sweet, Akal’s was powerful. Rosetta could barely pull away from Akal, who kept clinging to her.
“If you keep this up, the other horses will run amok.”
Akal’s escape did not end with him alone. When the other horses saw Akal wandering out of the stall, they began to clamor for their own release.
Rosetta decided to get Akal into the stall before the horses started to protest. As she was tugging at Akal, someone entered the stable.
“Rigaina!”
Sika saw Rosetta and waved his hands in excitement, but Rosetta’s gaze was fixed not on Sika but on the person behind her.
‘Rashid.’
Rosetta stiffened as she watched them approach. Ever since the night of the banquet, Rosetta had avoided Rashid as best she could, for she had committed the atrocity of forcibly kissing him.
She should have apologized for what had happened, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. They hadn’t run into each other since then, as they’d started sleeping in separate rooms, but here they are, face to face.
Rashid deliberately avoided eye contact with Rosetta as soon as he saw her, and while Rosetta was glad he hadn’t mentioned the day’s events, it was still embarrassing to see him so openly turn away.
It was obvious that he had been upset that day because he had left the horseback riding lessons to Mark, claiming he was too busy.
“Why is he here again?” said Sika when she saw Akal outside his stall.
The atmosphere was already awkward, so Rosetta thought it was better to speak to Sika in a friendly manner.
“Sika, what are you doing here? Are you going out on horseback?”
“Yes, Riga and I are going on an inspection.”
“Inspection?”
“It’s literally just a ride around town to make sure everything’s okay, we do that every once in a while.”
Rosetta thought back to the sights she’d seen on her way here. It was lively and full of people. It was the first time she’d seen the streets in an open space, not through the narrow windows of a carriage, and that made it particularly memorable.
“I see…”
Rosetta stroked Masha’s mane, feeling a little melancholy.
I’m learning to ride hard, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to ride as freely as Rosie.
If I were to ride a horse around like a man in Lysa, everyone would think I was a freak. My family would certainly not approve of me riding alone. They would say it’s too dangerous.
I don’t think Iselle would be any different. He probably wouldn’t get too involved with my riding, but he would definitely insist that I should ride with him when I’m out. Then he’d make a beautiful garden in the mansion and ask me to ride there. Iselle has more worries than my family, not less.
“Why don’t you come along, Rigaina, so you can get some practice? You’ve never ridden a horse outside before.”
But then something unexpected rang out.
Rosetta’s eyes widened. “Me? Can I come with you?”
“Of course. I’m sure Riga would allow it. Wouldn’t you, Riga?” Sika smirked at Rashid.
Rashid stared at Sika with a piercing gaze.
At that, Rosetta muttered in a low voice, “No, it’s okay, I’ll just stay here…”
“Come with us.” Rashid eventually said with a small sigh, “Like Sika said, you need some hands-on experience.”
Sika covered his mouth to hide his grin, looking up at Rosetta. His eyes said, “See, I told you so, didn’t I?”
“Then I’ll come with you!”
Rosetta beamed, and quickly gathered what she needed. When Akal realized she was going out, he hurried back to his stall. His saddle, bridle, and all were there.
Sika took a step back as he watched. “Ah, well, since you two are going together, I guess I’ll skip today’s–”
“Sika.”
“What do you mean? We’re going together, Sika!”
Rashid and Rosetta simultaneously grabbed Sika. Sika squirmed under their grip on each of his arms.
“No, I don’t really want to come between you two…”
But against his will, Sika’s body was being dragged away by the two of them.
I’m in trouble.
Sika screamed inwardly. Yesterday, when they were planning the operation, Benny had told him to stay out of their way once he had convinced them to go out, but this was going wrong from the start.