Thanks to Goldie, I had been tossed around and worn out in every possible way.
As I lay there completely exhausted, a shadow suddenly fell over me.
“Is something the matter?”
“Y-Your Grace?”
I looked up and found Edwin’s face.
Unlike the previous night, he looked neat, composed, and refined.
An awkward smile spread across my face.
“G-Good afternoon. Haha… haha…”
This is embarrassing… lying here like this.
As I tried to sit up, he shook his head.
“Please, stay where you are. I heard from the head maid that you’re learning horseback riding. However…”
His gaze moved back and forth between me and Goldie.
I nervously wondered if he was about to ask where the horse had come from.
Thankfully, he simply walked closer without questioning it.
“It seems you’re having some difficulties.”
“Ah…”
His words were polite, but what he really meant was, “You look like you’ve been through a disaster.”
Dusting myself off, I stood up with a helpless laugh.
“W-Well… haha… somehow I ended up bringing home a lovely companion horse… but I think he’s going through a rebellious phase, because he just won’t listen….”
“May I have a look?”
“You? But… his personality is really awful….”
Just imagining Edwin getting kicked by Goldie’s powerful hind legs made me quickly shake my head.
“NEEEEIGH!”
Of course, Goldie loudly objected as if he completely disagreed.
“He seems to understand what we’re saying.”
“He… understands a little.”
“He’s quite an intelligent fellow.”
Ignoring Goldie’s intimidating roar without the slightest hesitation, Edwin calmly approached him.
The truly unbelievable part, however, was Goldie’s reaction.
“Neigh~♥”
…
Am I hallucinating?
The horse that went absolutely berserk whenever I so much as reached toward him suddenly became perfectly gentle the moment Edwin came near.
He even lowered his head.
N-No…
He actually walked over first and rubbed his face against Edwin!
“…What’s with him?”
Meanwhile, Edwin casually stroked Goldie’s head before asking in a pleasant voice,
“Would you mind if I rode you?”
“Neigh!”
The sound was practically saying, “Of course!”
Edwin lightly mounted him.
“Kyah~♥”
Goldie even made some bizarre noise that sounded like he was absolutely thrilled.
At that point, I genuinely questioned my own eyes.
Wait.
I’m lighter than Edwin.
So why does he kick me…?
While Edwin calmly rode Goldie around nearby, I hurriedly searched the cash shop and bought something.
Pegasus Care Guide — 100 Diamonds
A guide to building a partnership with your new companion.
…And it didn’t take long to discover the real problem.
“The noble divine beast known as the pegasus is instinctively drawn to heroes. Because this species chooses its own master, it will never acknowledge someone whose abilities it does not recognize.”
…
So…
He looked down on me because I was too weak.
As I silently trembled with an overwhelming sense of defeat, Edwin returned with Goldie.
The two of them even exchanged what looked like a heartfelt farewell.
Come to think of it…
Goldie didn’t even have reins on.
Yet Edwin handled him effortlessly.
“He’s an exceptionally intelligent horse.”
Yes, I know.
He’s smart enough to choose his owner, damn it.
“I can teach you how to handle horses. Though before that, I think we should have lunch first.”
“…Okay.”
In the end, I could only nod with slumped shoulders.
Yeah…
Maybe eating would help me recover.
I’d spent over an hour wrestling with Goldie.
It felt like I’d used every last bit of strength I had.
Then…
As I quietly followed behind Edwin, something suddenly occurred to me.
…Wouldn’t feeding him help us become friends?
Since I couldn’t return him…
And I couldn’t sell him…
That meant I’d be stuck with him forever.
Someone who wasn’t a hero had basically no chance of earning a pegasus’s approval.
Still…
I had to try something.
Thinking of a quick Plan B, I stopped walking.
“Your Grace.”
“Hm?”
“I just remembered something I need to do. Please go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”
Thankfully, Edwin simply nodded without asking any questions.
After watching him leave, I headed back toward the stable.
This time…
With an entirely different goal.
“Um… could I possibly have some of the feed you gave the horses earlier?”
The stable master readily agreed.
He even gave me a special horse meal.
Apparently it was a premium feed.
Visually…
It looked absolutely terrible.
Mashed oats soaked in water, mixed together with carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables.
But according to him, it was a horse’s favorite meal.
“Hey, Goldie!”
“Hmph!”
His only response was a dismissive snort.
I silently repeated the word patience to myself about thirty-five times before forcing a smile.
“I brought you something to eat. You must be hungry, right? Thinking about it… I guess I wasn’t very considerate before.”
“Hm?”
“This special meal is my apology.”
I held the bowl out in front of him.
His bright eyes briefly glanced toward it.
…
His reaction wasn’t encouraging.
“Hmph!!”
“Why?
Just try one bite.
It’s really good.
I heard it’s delicious.”
I even picked out a piece of carrot from the mashed oats and personally held it up to his mouth.
Goldie refused to so much as look in my direction.
“Please!
I’m begging you!”
As my last resort, I chose the classic strategy of feeding him by hand.
Naturally…
That meant moving even closer.
Then—
THUD!
The next thing I saw was horse feed flying everywhere…
And a horse’s…
hoof?
“H-Huh?”
A sharp impact.
My body suddenly flew into the air.
Then the final system message appeared.
[Pegasus (Name: Goldie / Male) strongly conveys his feelings to you.
“I mean, I wasn’t trying to do that, but how the hell do you expect me to eat that garbage dog-food slop? Damn it!”]
“Y-You…”
You ungrateful, rotten little horse…
That was the last thing I saw.
The girl had collapsed.
That was what Edwin had been told.
She’d gone to feed the horse…
…and had been kicked.
Having already arrived at the dining room first, he quietly waited until the emergency treatment was finished before making his way toward Nadia’s bedroom.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
The head maid stood outside the bedroom door.
For some reason, she looked unusually anxious.
“How is Miss Windsor?”
“She’s resting.”
“And her condition?”
“She doesn’t appear to have suffered any serious injuries. However, I was told that if she has trouble walking tomorrow, it will most likely be from the shock.”
A moment later, a relieved sigh escaped the opening in the head maid’s mask.
Edwin found himself feeling strangely unsettled.
Even as he dismissed it as an unnecessary emotion, one question kept surfacing in his mind.
…Was I worried about her?
The moment the head maid heard about Nadia’s accident while she had been with Edwin, she’d rushed off in a panic.
Almost…
As though she were the very same head maid he had once known long ago.
So long ago that he could barely even remember it.
It was strange.
Then again…
Ever since Nadia Windsor arrived, nothing had not been strange.
For someone like Edwin, who had spent countless years in an unchanging world where time itself seemed frozen…
Everything felt unfamiliar.
“…Then that is a relief.”
He had come all the way here intending to check on Nadia.
Yet after seeing the head maid’s reaction…
For some reason, he no longer felt like seeing her.
“You’re leaving already?”
“She needs her rest.”
“…I understand. Please take care, Master.”
There seemed to be a hint of bitterness in the head maid’s voice.
But without looking back at her again…
Edwin quietly turned and walked away.
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