Chapter 112
To Be Together
Early on a weekend morning.
I entered the duke’s house banquet hall while Caleb was on patrol.
It was because I wanted to practice in a setting similar to Imperial Hall.
‘Because, although not as large as the Imperial Hall, the banquet hall in the Duke’s residence is also quite large.’
For the time being, there were no plans for a banquet, so the entire furniture was covered in white cloth.
‘Shall we collect the cloth?’ asked the maid next to me, but I shook my head, saying it was fine.
‘I think I’ll be able to concentrate better this way.’
The banquet hall was so white that I could easily imagine there were people around me.
When all the maids were sent out, the banquet hall became empty in an instant.
I was satisfied.
“Ah ah.”
The voice I uttered from my mouth then echoed throughout the banquet hall.
Is it because there was only me in the large banquet hall, which had only a few pieces of furniture inside?
The sound was more audible than usual.
Despite the fact that it was just a sound I made to clear my throat.
‘It’s worthwhile to come here.’
Then, while holding the sheet music, I warmed my throat.
“My heart is dancing with you…… Ugh.”
But after a few lines, I had to stop singing.
‘Can I sing it this way?’
Obviously, I was confident that I would be fine after selecting the song and until I practiced it for the first time.
However, as the banquet day approached, the song began to feel strange.
‘But I can’t switch to another song.’
I also had to consider the time for the band accompaniment to practice.
It was possible to change some parts of the song, but it was not possible to change the entire song.
‘How do I fix it? Should I lower this section by one octave?’
I was getting anxious, so I scribbled and corrected the music score for no reason.
Okay, let’s try it again.
I tried to sing it as I worked on it, but I didn’t like how it sounded.
“Hmm.”
I don’t think this is it.
I think it sounded better before I lowered the tune.
‘Will it change if I sing it again?’
Let’s just sing it and think about it, shall we?
Because standing still and thinking will not solve anything.
I sang again after taking a deep breath.
‘As expected, it’s strange.’
A clicking sound penetrated my ears as I sang the final verse with a dissatisfied face and closed my mouth.
It was the sound of a door closing.
I quickly returned my attention to the unexpected noise.
My attention was drawn to her bright silver hair. At the same time, a familiar voice could be heard.
“I apologize.”
Caleb spoke with a puzzled expression, as if making an excuse.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your practice, but as I listened to it…… I didn’t even know the door was closing.”
“Don’t worry. I had just finished. But how long have you been there?”
Don’t tell me he heard everything from beginning to end.
It’s not because I was embarrassed that Caleb heard me sing the song.
I preferred it when someone listened to my song.
However, there was always an exception, and this time was the exception.
I was embarrassed that he had heard a song that even I didn’t like the way I sang it.
‘If I had sung it on the spot, I could have consoled myself that it happened because I sang it right away.’
But even after practicing the song a few times, I was still like this.
“It hasn’t been a long time.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Do you recall the first time you heard the lyrics?”
“It’s ‘I wondered if I was dreaming.’”
That’s the song’s first verse.
If the lyric was something repeated, then it meant Caleb must have heard it from the middle.
However, the lyrics, ‘I wondered if I was dreaming,’ was appeared only once at the beginning of the song.
“You heard it all from the start.”
You stated that it hasn’t been long.
As if reciting, I added.
Caleb smiled quietly, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Not only that, but
He is gradually averting his gaze from mine.
‘He lied.’
But I didn’t feel bad about it.
That clumsy lie, on the other hand, felt cute. Strangely.
When I looked at Caleb, I noticed he was still wearing his coat.
I inquired, lifting my frown for a brief moment.
“Did you have a good patrol? Nothing special happened, right?”
“There were a few minor things, but nothing noteworthy. How long do you intend to practice?”
“I’m going to stop right now.”
I was supposed to practice in the morning, eat lunch, and then continue in the afternoon.
However, given the circumstances, I figured I’d just keep wandering as I had before, so I decided to go up to my room and fix the music score.
“Does it have anything to do with me?”
“What?”
“If it’s because I came in the middle of your practice and interrupted it, then……”
“No no. It’s not your fault, Caleb.”
I hastily added.
“It’s just that I don’t like the way the song sounds right now. This is the first time something like this has happened to me, and I’m embarrassed…… I’ll go up and revise the score.”
To be honest, I’m not sure I could fix it to my liking.
But it’s better than nothing.
Whatever it may be.
“Did you suddenly not like the song? Did you feel fine up until yesterday?”
“Yes.”
I gave an obedient response.
I’m sure everything was fine up until yesterday.
“Do you have any plans to fix it?”
“No, I was just going to fix the tune and stuff.”
But why is he questioning me?
It was when I was looking at Caleb with a puzzled expression.
“If you don’t mind, would you mind going out with me after lunch?”
“Do you have a specific destination in mind?”
“It’s not quite like that. I just asked because I thought it would be fun to ride a horse with you around here.”
“……a horse?”
“Are you afraid of horseback riding?”
“It’s not that I’m afraid. I’ve ridden one before.”
Though it was a pony that the zoo kept for visitors, the pony is a kind of horse, so I’ve ridden a horse before.
And there were also memories of Elena riding a horse.
The problem is that it was already several years ago when Elena rode a horse.
The horse in her memories was also not a large horse. “But that was a long time ago. Riding a horse on my own is a bit……”
“You don’t have to worry because you can ride it with me.”
If that’s the case…
I nodded my head, indicating that I would.
⇺⇺⇺⇼⇻⇻⇻
Neigh—-
A huge horse was guided.
I blinked as I looked at the horse being dragged by the stable man.
‘Wasn’t his name Black?’
I remembered it even though I had only seen it once before because he was so handsome and impressive.
‘More than that…… Will I be able to ride it?’
I think I was told that if someone he doesn’t know approaches him, then he will kick them with his front foot.
When I remembered what Caleb had said to me earlier, I became terrified.
‘Is he going to kick me?’
I will ride it with Caleb…… but just thinking it frightens me.
It happened just as I was about to grab Caleb’s jacket.
“Will you give me your hand, Elena?”
“Ah, yes.”
I immediately extended my hand to Caleb.
Then he said, ‘This way,’ and led me to where the horse was.
My heart pounded as I got closer to the horse.
Such as, ‘there’s no way he’d kick me when I’m with Caleb, right?‘ and ‘but what should I do if he really kicks me?’ raced through my mind.
In the meantime, the gap between us and the horses has narrowed.
Is it appropriate to say that I’m relieved?
Until we got close, the horse didn’t react much.
The horse was purring and blowing his mouth, just like when I first approached him.
However, because he was so massive, my body shrank on its own.
Caleb murmured as if he sensed my reaction.
“You don’t have to be nervous.”
Caleb took my hands and placed them on the horse’s nose at the same time.
His snort touched my fingertips every time the horse exhaled.
‘Please don’t kick. Please don’t kick.’
It happened while I was staring at the horse with trembling eyes. The horse, which had been staring at me for quite some time, lowered its head.
As if he expected me to pet him.
‘Huh?’
While I was taken aback by the unexpected reaction, Caleb dragged my hand and rubbed the horse’s nose.
Our touch was accepted by the horse.
For some reason, the horse’s occasional blinking eyes seemed to be soaked in comfort.
Caleb let go of my hand after several repetitions of the act and said.
“Everything is fine right now.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t believe what had just happened, so I stared at my hand blankly for a moment.
Caleb approached me and offered to assist me in riding the horse, which I gladly accepted.
It was because the horse was too large for me to ride alone.
I got on the horse and breathed in without even realizing it.
‘I-it’s high.’
I thought the horse’s size and appearance were no joke when I first saw it.
However, the height was too high when I rode it.
It wasn’t like this when I was riding a pony.
I felt dizzy as if the world was spinning, and my entire body turned white.
It was when I wanted to hold onto something but couldn’t figure out what to hold onto, so I just tightened my body.
Then I felt a weight behind me and a solid body behind my back.
Both arms reached out from behind me and grabbed the horse’s reins.
‘It feels like I’m locked up.’
That, however, is more reassuring.
Should I say that Caleb’s arm feels like a safety bar for the ride?
But I’m afraid of holding onto nothing.
“Can I hold your hand, Caleb?”
“You can hold my hand without asking.”
Oh, is that so?
‘Well, we got engaged.’
I smiled and placed my hand on the back of Caleb’s hand, feeling awkward.
With leather gloves on, it was a little slick, but it was still preferable to holding nothing.
The horse then moved slowly.
At first, I can hear the horseshoe and the ground rubbing against each other.
‘It’s unexpectedly worthwhile to ride.’
To be honest, the ride was really bad.
However, it was fine because the wind seemed to blow slowly every time the horse moved, or the view from a much higher vantage point was enjoyable.
I was scared at first, but it’s okay because Caleb is taking care of me.
It remained the same even when Caleb increased the horse’s speed.
Although, it’s possible that the horse didn’t run as fast because Caleb was considerate of me.
It was winter, and when we got to the end of the trees and dead grass, there was nothing but empty branches.
I made a noise without realizing it at the same time.
The field was covered in reeds with pink tufts that looked like hair.
‘I thought there would be nothing because it is winter.’
Caleb, who was the first to get off the horse, dropped me off one by one.
It was even more incredible up close.
Furthermore, seeing the field full of plants and open without a building made my heart open.
“I had no idea such a place existed.”
“Most of people are probably unaware. Because of the distance from the entrance.”
“How come you know about this place?”
“It’s a place I happened found by chance. Since then, it has become a place I frequently visit when I am feeling stuffy.”
I suppose so.
I nodded casually, and an idea flashed through my mind.
‘Oh, wait a minute.’
Chapter 112
To Be Together
Early on a weekend morning.
I entered the duke’s house banquet hall while Caleb was on patrol.
It was because I wanted to practice in a setting similar to Imperial Hall.
‘Because, although not as large as the Imperial Hall, the banquet hall in the Duke’s residence is also quite large.’
For the time being, there were no plans for a banquet, so the entire furniture was covered in white cloth.
‘Shall we collect the cloth?’ asked the maid next to me, but I shook my head, saying it was fine.
‘I think I’ll be able to concentrate better this way.’
The banquet hall was so white that I could easily imagine there were people around me.
When all the maids were sent out, the banquet hall became empty in an instant.
I was satisfied.
“Ah ah.”
The voice I uttered from my mouth then echoed throughout the banquet hall.
Is it because there was only me in the large banquet hall, which had only a few pieces of furniture inside?
The sound was more audible than usual.
Despite the fact that it was just a sound I made to clear my throat.
‘It’s worthwhile to come here.’
Then, while holding the sheet music, I warmed my throat.
“My heart is dancing with you…… Ugh.”
But after a few lines, I had to stop singing.
‘Can I sing it this way?’
Obviously, I was confident that I would be fine after selecting the song and until I practiced it for the first time.
However, as the banquet day approached, the song began to feel strange.
‘But I can’t switch to another song.’
I also had to consider the time for the band accompaniment to practice.
It was possible to change some parts of the song, but it was not possible to change the entire song.
‘How do I fix it? Should I lower this section by one octave?’
I was getting anxious, so I scribbled and corrected the music score for no reason.
Okay, let’s try it again.
I tried to sing it as I worked on it, but I didn’t like how it sounded.
“Hmm.”
I don’t think this is it.
I think it sounded better before I lowered the tune.
‘Will it change if I sing it again?’
Let’s just sing it and think about it, shall we?
Because standing still and thinking will not solve anything.
I sang again after taking a deep breath.
‘As expected, it’s strange.’
A clicking sound penetrated my ears as I sang the final verse with a dissatisfied face and closed my mouth.
It was the sound of a door closing.
I quickly returned my attention to the unexpected noise.
My attention was drawn to her bright silver hair. At the same time, a familiar voice could be heard.
“I apologize.”
Caleb spoke with a puzzled expression, as if making an excuse.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your practice, but as I listened to it…… I didn’t even know the door was closing.”
“Don’t worry. I had just finished. But how long have you been there?”
Don’t tell me he heard everything from beginning to end.
It’s not because I was embarrassed that Caleb heard me sing the song.
I preferred it when someone listened to my song.
However, there was always an exception, and this time was the exception.
I was embarrassed that he had heard a song that even I didn’t like the way I sang it.
‘If I had sung it on the spot, I could have consoled myself that it happened because I sang it right away.’
But even after practicing the song a few times, I was still like this.
“It hasn’t been a long time.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Do you recall the first time you heard the lyrics?”
“It’s ‘I wondered if I was dreaming.’”
That’s the song’s first verse.
If the lyric was something repeated, then it meant Caleb must have heard it from the middle.
However, the lyrics, ‘I wondered if I was dreaming,’ was appeared only once at the beginning of the song.
“You heard it all from the start.”
You stated that it hasn’t been long.
As if reciting, I added.
Caleb smiled quietly, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Not only that, but
He is gradually averting his gaze from mine.
‘He lied.’
But I didn’t feel bad about it.
That clumsy lie, on the other hand, felt cute. Strangely.
When I looked at Caleb, I noticed he was still wearing his coat.
I inquired, lifting my frown for a brief moment.
“Did you have a good patrol? Nothing special happened, right?”
“There were a few minor things, but nothing noteworthy. How long do you intend to practice?”
“I’m going to stop right now.”
I was supposed to practice in the morning, eat lunch, and then continue in the afternoon.
However, given the circumstances, I figured I’d just keep wandering as I had before, so I decided to go up to my room and fix the music score.
“Does it have anything to do with me?”
“What?”
“If it’s because I came in the middle of your practice and interrupted it, then……”
“No no. It’s not your fault, Caleb.”
I hastily added.
“It’s just that I don’t like the way the song sounds right now. This is the first time something like this has happened to me, and I’m embarrassed…… I’ll go up and revise the score.”
To be honest, I’m not sure I could fix it to my liking.
But it’s better than nothing.
Whatever it may be.
“Did you suddenly not like the song? Did you feel fine up until yesterday?”
“Yes.”
I gave an obedient response.
I’m sure everything was fine up until yesterday.
“Do you have any plans to fix it?”
“No, I was just going to fix the tune and stuff.”
But why is he questioning me?
It was when I was looking at Caleb with a puzzled expression.
“If you don’t mind, would you mind going out with me after lunch?”
“Do you have a specific destination in mind?”
“It’s not quite like that. I just asked because I thought it would be fun to ride a horse with you around here.”
“……a horse?”
“Are you afraid of horseback riding?”
“It’s not that I’m afraid. I’ve ridden one before.”
Though it was a pony that the zoo kept for visitors, the pony is a kind of horse, so I’ve ridden a horse before.
And there were also memories of Elena riding a horse.
The problem is that it was already several years ago when Elena rode a horse.
The horse in her memories was also not a large horse. “But that was a long time ago. Riding a horse on my own is a bit……”
“You don’t have to worry because you can ride it with me.”
If that’s the case…
I nodded my head, indicating that I would.
⇺⇺⇺⇼⇻⇻⇻
Neigh—-
A huge horse was guided.
I blinked as I looked at the horse being dragged by the stable man.
‘Wasn’t his name Black?’
I remembered it even though I had only seen it once before because he was so handsome and impressive.
‘More than that…… Will I be able to ride it?’
I think I was told that if someone he doesn’t know approaches him, then he will kick them with his front foot.
When I remembered what Caleb had said to me earlier, I became terrified.
‘Is he going to kick me?’
I will ride it with Caleb…… but just thinking it frightens me.
It happened just as I was about to grab Caleb’s jacket.
“Will you give me your hand, Elena?”
“Ah, yes.”
I immediately extended my hand to Caleb.
Then he said, ‘This way,’ and led me to where the horse was.
My heart pounded as I got closer to the horse.
Such as, ‘there’s no way he’d kick me when I’m with Caleb, right?‘ and ‘but what should I do if he really kicks me?’ raced through my mind.
In the meantime, the gap between us and the horses has narrowed.
Is it appropriate to say that I’m relieved?
Until we got close, the horse didn’t react much.
The horse was purring and blowing his mouth, just like when I first approached him.
However, because he was so massive, my body shrank on its own.
Caleb murmured as if he sensed my reaction.
“You don’t have to be nervous.”
Caleb took my hands and placed them on the horse’s nose at the same time.
His snort touched my fingertips every time the horse exhaled.
‘Please don’t kick. Please don’t kick.’
It happened while I was staring at the horse with trembling eyes. The horse, which had been staring at me for quite some time, lowered its head.
As if he expected me to pet him.
‘Huh?’
While I was taken aback by the unexpected reaction, Caleb dragged my hand and rubbed the horse’s nose.
Our touch was accepted by the horse.
For some reason, the horse’s occasional blinking eyes seemed to be soaked in comfort.
Caleb let go of my hand after several repetitions of the act and said.
“Everything is fine right now.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t believe what had just happened, so I stared at my hand blankly for a moment.
Caleb approached me and offered to assist me in riding the horse, which I gladly accepted.
It was because the horse was too large for me to ride alone.
I got on the horse and breathed in without even realizing it.
‘I-it’s high.’
I thought the horse’s size and appearance were no joke when I first saw it.
However, the height was too high when I rode it.
It wasn’t like this when I was riding a pony.
I felt dizzy as if the world was spinning, and my entire body turned white.
It was when I wanted to hold onto something but couldn’t figure out what to hold onto, so I just tightened my body.
Then I felt a weight behind me and a solid body behind my back.
Both arms reached out from behind me and grabbed the horse’s reins.
‘It feels like I’m locked up.’
That, however, is more reassuring.
Should I say that Caleb’s arm feels like a safety bar for the ride?
But I’m afraid of holding onto nothing.
“Can I hold your hand, Caleb?”
“You can hold my hand without asking.”
Oh, is that so?
‘Well, we got engaged.’
I smiled and placed my hand on the back of Caleb’s hand, feeling awkward.
With leather gloves on, it was a little slick, but it was still preferable to holding nothing.
The horse then moved slowly.
At first, I can hear the horseshoe and the ground rubbing against each other.
‘It’s unexpectedly worthwhile to ride.’
To be honest, the ride was really bad.
However, it was fine because the wind seemed to blow slowly every time the horse moved, or the view from a much higher vantage point was enjoyable.
I was scared at first, but it’s okay because Caleb is taking care of me.
It remained the same even when Caleb increased the horse’s speed.
Although, it’s possible that the horse didn’t run as fast because Caleb was considerate of me.
It was winter, and when we got to the end of the trees and dead grass, there was nothing but empty branches.
I made a noise without realizing it at the same time.
The field was covered in reeds with pink tufts that looked like hair.
‘I thought there would be nothing because it is winter.’
Caleb, who was the first to get off the horse, dropped me off one by one.
It was even more incredible up close.
Furthermore, seeing the field full of plants and open without a building made my heart open.
“I had no idea such a place existed.”
“Most of people are probably unaware. Because of the distance from the entrance.”
“How come you know about this place?”
“It’s a place I happened found by chance. Since then, it has become a place I frequently visit when I am feeling stuffy.”
I suppose so.
I nodded casually, and an idea flashed through my mind.
‘Oh, wait a minute.’
