Chapter 50: My Beloved Horse!
“I’m telling you this, but don’t go telling anyone else.”
Armand leaned tiredly against a big tree. It was clear that Evelia’s rejection had hit him hard.
“I got rejected.”
He rubbed his temples, looking very troubled.
“I was planning to apologize, and then she turned me down. Ugh—so annoying. Why did she reject me? Tell me, wasn’t I sincere enough? I—I only knew she liked ketchup, so I bought some for her. I’m pretty sure she likes it!”
Armand vented about what had happened yesterday. He got more and more worked up as he spoke, and in the end, he even stood up and hugged the neck of the one in front of him.
“Just tell me what I did wrong, please—!”
Of course, no matter how loud Armand shouted, no one was going to answer.
Because he wasn’t talking to a person.
He was talking to a white warhorse.
“Luna, why? Just why—”
The white horse’s name was Luna. She was Armand’s most beloved horse, who had gone through countless battles by his side. Her body was covered in scars of all sizes. But now, she was too old to go to the battlefield with Armand.
So, he had specially built a large stable and pasture for her, so that even if she couldn’t fight anymore, she could still run freely whenever she wanted.
Most of the time, though, this old friend of his acted as a “listener.” Armand wasn’t some perfect, gentle saint. Of course he got upset about certain things. But when he didn’t know who to talk to, like in this case, getting rejected for giving ketchup, he had no one else to talk to. So he came to the stable to talk to Luna about his feelings.
“Sigh… Come on, you’re a female too. Can’t you give me some advice or something?”
Armand gently stroked Luna’s forehead. He knew, of course, that a horse couldn’t answer him, but still, he let out a long sigh and kept talking. Honestly, most of it was just for himself to hear.
“Luna, later this year, you’ll be 20. And in a few more years, I’ll be 30. Time really flies when you think about it.”
Yes, already 26 years old. Armand felt that time sometimes passed too fast, like how Luna, once a proud warhorse, was now retired and just living quietly in the stable.
He had bought her long ago, spending a huge sum to get her from a merchant. The moment Armand laid eyes on her, he knew she was a rare and amazing horse. The merchant could tell too. And he also noticed how much Armand wanted her, so he raised the price sky-high to make things difficult.
Back then, Armand was just a low-ranking knight and couldn’t afford it. Luckily, he had been teamed up with Carle at the time. Carle’s family business wasn’t as big as it is now, but they were still rich enough to buy a horse without a problem.
Thanks to Carle’s natural haggling skills, something he inherited from being the son of a businessman, they managed to lower the price to something fair. Most of the money was paid by Carle, and that’s how the two of them became friends. To this day, they were still best friends.
Sometimes, Carle would joke about it and say, ‘That was the best investment I ever made.’
“Ah… Luna, I really wish you could talk… If you turned into a horse-girl and helped me come up with ideas, that’d be amazing. In this whole estate, besides the old butler, you probably know more of my secrets than anyone else.”
Armand gently hugged Luna. This old friend, who always made him feel safe, stood quietly by his side no matter what.
“Mr. Armand?”
Just as he was still stroking Luna’s fur, Evelia’s voice reached his ears. Armand turned to look, and even Luna glanced over. The man and the horse watched as Evelia walked over from not far away. From the basket in her hands, it looked like she was bringing lunch.
Since what happened yesterday, Armand had felt awkward around Evelia. But Evelia still acted the same as always. She treated Armand just like before, which made him unsure of what she was thinking.
“I brought you lunch. Are you going to eat here?”
Normally, most girls wouldn’t dare to get too close to a horse. They’d be afraid this big animal might get angry and hurt them. But Evelia wasn’t scared. She actually knew a little about horseback riding. Just one look, and she could tell that even though this horse was old, it was a truly excellent horse.
“Ah, Eve, let me introduce you, this is Luna.”
Seeing Evelia staring at the white horse, Armand proudly introduced his old friend. After all, having a brave warhorse who had now retired and could enjoy her peaceful old age was something to be proud of.
Whenever someone came by, Armand couldn’t help but talk about her, and if possible, he’d love to share all their adventures together so others could admire them.
To Armand, Luna’s life now was the kind of life he truly wanted. In youth, she had traveled far and fought hard. In old age, she lived in peace and comfort. Armand hoped that once everything was over, he could also live quietly like that. Even if it wasn’t long, he just wanted peace.
“Luna, this is Eve... Evelia. She’s the one I told you about before.”
While introducing Evelia to Luna, Armand even nudged the white horse gently with his elbow. The scene looked a bit like a parent whispering, “This is the girl I told you about.”
“Hello, my name is Evelia Croyelle.”
Even though Evelia knew Luna was just a horse and couldn’t speak, she still politely bent down and gave a respectful bow. Luna wasn’t shy either, she lowered her head slightly, as if bowing back.
“She really is a wonderful horse, Mr. Armand.”
“Right? Right?” Armand lit up like a kid who just found someone to talk about his favorite thing with. “Luna is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of horse. She’s been with me for so many years and never lost a single battle.”
“Can I touch her?”
Evelia looked at Luna’s shiny white coat, glowing under the sunlight, and for some reason felt drawn to it.
After being around darkness for so long, sometimes she just wanted to reach out and touch something so pure and bright.
“Is it okay, Luna?”
The relationship between Armand and Luna clearly wasn’t like master and servant. It was more like close friends who respected each other. Even though Luna was “just a horse,” Armand still let her decide for herself.
Luna didn’t say yes, but she didn’t say no either. She simply stood there, watching Evelia’s raised hand. She didn’t lean forward, but she gave Evelia the chance to gently pet her.
Then, Evelia carefully hugged the white horse, just like Armand had done earlier. Maybe because the memory of that "princess carry" from before was still too fresh in Armand’s mind, when he saw Evelia hugging Luna, he couldn’t help but imagine her suddenly flipping Luna over her shoulder.
“I’m going to get Luna something to eat. You two stay here for a bit.”
Seeing that Luna didn’t resist Evelia, Armand felt at ease. He turned and walked off toward the stable to get water and feed. Evelia quietly leaned on Luna, gently patting her side.
She thought about the way Armand and Luna had looked so close, like best friends who could tell each other everything. She sighed in her heart.
“If only I could turn into a horse too…”
Hearing this, Luna swished her tail.
If she could talk, she’d probably be muttering to herself.
‘One of them wants a horse to turn into a horse-girl, and the other wants to become a horse. What is wrong with these two?’