IRTP 9

Chapter 9

The Bet (1)**

“Now, please stand at the starting line!”

At the steward’s call, everyone participating in the race lined up in two rows at the starting line.

Blair also stroked Fitz’s mane once and took her place in the back row. Scanning the backs of the riders lined up in the front, she realized that Prince Kalinz was not among them.

She had naturally assumed he would be at the front, so she had intended to follow behind him when the opportunity arose. She looked around, turning her head.

“Looks like you’re looking for someone.”

A low, mid-toned voice suddenly came from beside her. She didn’t even need to turn her head to know that the owner of the voice was the person she was searching for.

“…Yes. Fitz seems to be anxiously looking for Knox too.”

Blair calmly returned the very words he had written on the invitation.

“Haha. As expected, you’re amusing, Miss Blair.”

At the prince’s laughter, she could feel the other princes glaring and glancing over at them. With attention focused on her, Blair said nothing and stared straight ahead, gripping the reins tightly.

“By the way, you don’t seem to have much interest in jewels.”

“…I don’t know much about jewels.”

Kalintz, undeterred by Blair’s attitude of answering while still looking straight ahead, actually drew closer. Close enough that their feet in the stirrups almost touched, he murmured lowly.

“Then, how about making a bet with me?”

“A bet… you say?”

Only then did she turn her head to look at him, and she flinched, startled by how close he was, holding her breath. His golden eyes, filled with intense sunlight, seemed as though they would pull her right in. Blair involuntarily shrank back, pulling her body away.

“Whoever arrives at the finish line faster between the two of us gets their wish granted.”

“No, that’s advantageous for you, Your Highness.”

In horseback riding, swordsmanship, academics, and countless other fields, he as a prince would far surpass her. Furthermore, his horse, Knox, was the finest steed in the kingdom.

“If I wait here at the starting line until you round that corner up ahead, wouldn’t that be enough of a handicap?”

Blair looked at where he was pointing. It was quite a distance. Moreover, considering the route to Lake Reden, there weren’t any particularly difficult obstacles, so if that much distance opened up, it seemed she had a sufficient chance of winning.

“…You’ll grant any wish?”

“Well, within the limits of what each of our abilities allows. How about it, Miss Blair?”

He replied in that tone that was neither formal nor casual.

Blair quietly gazed at his face. She had no idea what scheme was behind him proposing such a bet to her, but it wasn’t a bad proposition for her either. If she won the bet, she would be able to hear the answer to why on earth he was interested in her.

‘No, wait. If I’m going to make a wish anyway, I could also get him to promise he will absolutely never choose me as his princess consort.’

Once her thoughts reached that point, her eyes flashed open.

“Alright. I accept that bet.”

Whatever the reason he had been acting strangely toward her all this time, did it really matter? As long as she could gain the certainty of being able to go to the Dry Garden, she didn’t care about such reasons.

“Then, it’s settled. I wish you good luck.”

Kalintz wore a peculiar smile and put distance between them again, which had been too close. And at the same time, the steward’s booming voice rang out.

“Now, please begin as soon as I lower the flag. One, two—”

Blair focused her eyes and looked ahead. A suitable tension seeped into the hands gripping the reins.

“Three—! Start!”

The red flag came down, and all the riders spurred their horses simultaneously. All except for one person—Prince Kalintz. He remained standing at the starting line, wearing an inscrutable smile.

His guard knight, Ernst, looked back at the prince, shook his head, and slowed his pace. He seemed unfazed, as if accustomed to such sudden developments.

Meanwhile, Blair, who had started relatively late from the back, was watching those ahead and looking for an opportunity to charge forward.

At the very front was, as expected, Olivia. As she had said before the race, the adopted son of the Barel family and Viscount Theodore seemed to have poor horsemanship, as they were lagging far behind from the lead.

Selina’s horse could hardly pick up speed due to her heavy dress, and Tilda, who was poor at riding, was much the same. Tilda, in particular, couldn’t even maintain proper posture and was practically clinging to her horse.

‘Tilda would be better off withdrawing.’

Blair adjusted her grip on the reins, looking at Tilda’s precarious back.

“Fitz, let’s move to the outside and then charge forward. Can you do it?”

Fitz let out a powerful snort and began to pick up speed, matching her breathing and touch. As the speed increased to the point where she felt like she was cutting through the wind, Blair overtook the others one by one and advanced.

“Oh my! What a surprise! Wait, she could ride that well?”

Selina, who hadn’t even known Blair could ride, cried out in a sharp tone as Blair lightly overtook her. Then, consumed by jealousy, she began spurring her horse recklessly. As a result, Selina’s horse—already irritated by the heavy, cumbersome dress—began running off in a completely random direction.

“Hey!! What on earth is wrong with you! Won’t you listen to me!?”

Blair clicked her tongue at Selina’s voice, which was nothing but hysterical, and kept galloping. Before long, Olivia’s figure, which had seemed like a tiny dot, grew considerably closer.

Olivia, who had glanced back to see who was following her, looked quite surprised to realize it was Blair.

‘Sorry it’s not the prince, Olivia.’

Olivia briefly wore a cold expression and, with a powerful shout, increased her speed even more. As the first corner Kalintz had mentioned drew nearer, Blair also heightened her focus.

It was exactly when she was adjusting the reins to round the corner without losing as much speed as possible.

“Kyaaaa—aak!!!”

A piercing scream came from behind. It was Tilda’s voice. Blair pulled hard on the reins to slow down and looked back.

Tilda’s horse had lost control and was thrashing about. It seemed Selina’s horse, running wild, had excited Tilda’s horse as well.

“Help me!! I’m scared!!!”

As Tilda flailed her whole body and screamed, her horse became even more agitated. If she were to fall off at this rate, her life could be in danger.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Blair looked ahead again. Olivia, who had been ahead, was also looking back at Tilda’s screams. But soon she whipped her head around and ran forward as if she hadn’t seen anything.

“Wow. What kind of person even is that? Scary.”

Blair spat out the words as if cursing, then turned Fitz’s head and began riding back the way she came. Far in the distance, she could see Kalintz beginning to spur his horse from the starting line.

“Tilda!! Don’t scream, don’t flail! It makes the horse more agitated!”

Blair shouted until her throat was raw. But Tilda, already in a panic, couldn’t hear her cries.

Blair drove Fitz at full speed, and having finally reached Tilda, she began calmly coaxing her.

“Tilda, trust me! You need to relax your body. The horse is too agitated right now!”

“Blair? H-help me! I think I’m going to die!”

Tilda screamed, her face covered in tears.

“If you keep doing that, you really will die! Close your mouth first, and lower your body! Don’t pull the reins like that!”

Tilda desperately suppressed her bursting screams and listened to Blair. Then the horse, which had been rearing and thrashing, gradually calmed down and soon became docile.

“There! Tilda, it’s alright now!”

But Tilda, having exhausted all her strength, couldn’t hear Blair and slumped halfway unconscious over the saddle. It looked extremely precarious, but fortunately, the prince’s guard Ernst, who had belatedly arrived, quickly pulled Tilda down from the horse and supported her.

“Sir Werner!”

Blair also dismounted and ran to Tilda.

“She seems to have exhausted herself, but there don’t appear to be any serious injuries.”

Ernst, examining Tilda’s complexion this way and that, let out a short breath of relief. Just then, another sound of hoofbeats rapidly approached.

“Ern, take her to Mediang quickly. She might have broken ribs or something.”

Kalintz, having leaped down from the back of his jet-black stallion, said as he swept back his dark ebony hair.

“Yes, Your Highness. For now, I will escort Miss Tilda to the castle immediately.”

Ernst gestured urgently to the knights of the prince’s palace, who were approaching with a cart for carrying the injured.

“Go and tell Mediang right away—”

“Oww!”

A shrill voice cut into Kalintz’s words, which he had been issuing with a frighteningly expressionless face. It was Selina, who had been standing at a distance making a fuss.

“Your Highness, I think I’ve sprained my foot a little too…”