Beatrice

Chapter 18 – Second Meeting (1)

Chloe rolled up her pant legs as high as she could, and through the opening in her untied waistband, filled her trousers with the harvested flowers. She began descending the mountain.

With the thighs of her trousers completely stuffed, she looked and walked like a clown. The leaves were itchy against her bare skin.

Ugh, I should hurry down and ask the groom if he has any bags. Despite the discomfort from having the trousers choke-full of anchor flowers, the thought of the black stallion—locked up in the cage and bleeding—kept her moving. Out on the horizon, she saw the groom resting under a tree. Chloe waddled toward him.

That little girl must be obsessed with the mountain. She’s always taking forever up there. The groom, who was enjoying the cool mountain breeze with his eyes closed, was startled by a sudden voice.

“Um, do you happen to have a bag to hold things in?”

Surprised that she had returned so early, the groom peered up at Chloe. The girl’s clothes and face were covered in leaves and dirt, and her trousers…

“Are you crazy?”

Her trousers, rolled up to above her knees, were stuffed fat in her hip and thigh areas, making her look like she was wearing diapers. Her exposed calves, although pale and shapely, were scratched up and dirty.

She really is an idiot, isn’t she? Scratching her head and looking helpless, Chloe was confirming his earlier suspicions about her.

The groom firmly replied, “No bags.” She despaired at the prospect of arriving at the stables in such a state. The groom, mounting the horse, warned her once again, “Sit as far from me as possible.”

“…”

All the way back to the stables, Chloe was tense with silent worries about the black stallion. What if he’s already dead? The groom, wanting to be rid of her as soon as possible, drove at full speed.

Arriving at the stables earlier than expected, Chloe encountered yet another problem.

“A slave can’t enter the stables without permission.” The guard at the entrance stopped her, seeing her unsightly appearance. His scrutinizing glance, appraising her from head to toe, made Chloe cringe. The groom, understanding the guard’s concerns, nodded and replied.

“You may not believe this, but this girl is carrying out the orders of Dr. Nanapa, the Deputy Head of the infirmary. I’m Trigger, the Grand Master’s horse groom. I’ve been temporarily assigned to the infirmary, but Lord Peter, the director of the stables, knows who I am.”

Chloe stared at Trigger as if he was her savior. His help in this urgent situation was in stark contrast with his poor treatment so far.

The guard peered at Chloe and Trigger with distrust and told them to wait at the gate while he confirmed the details. He returned a moment later, and warily led Chloe to Howl’s enclosure.

“Why are you going around looking like that?”

“It’s a long story…”

The guard scoffed dismissively. The slave girl’s exotic dark hair was short and disheveled, and she was dressed in men’s clothing. Her face was red from sunburn, and her grimy trousers were clownishly stuffed with something.

Chloe was dying for somewhere to hide.

“The horse can’t get up anymore, so he shouldn’t be dangerous.”

The stallion was, thankfully, still alive. His breathing was extremely labored. Chloe was proud of him—it was clear that, despite his spinning head and bleeding nose, he had refused to give up and continued trying to rise on his feet.

That’s right; it’s far better to live than to die. Just hang in there a little bit longer! Forgetting about the guard standing next to her, she began unpacking the flowers from her trousers.

“Huh?” The guard shook his head in disbelief. Unfazed, Chloe held the herbs up to the horse’s mouth.

“Wait, is it really true that Dr. Nanapa ordered you to do this?” The guard suddenly stopped her. Even though the animal was to be killed, he still belonged to the Deputy Grand Master. He was the Grand Master’s favorite to boot. As the man was fully responsible for looking after the horse, the guard couldn’t just allow a strange little slave girl to feed him some suspicious herbs transported in her pants.

“This is too weird. You wait here.” The guard dragged Chloe to an empty cage and locked her in, heading out to find Jorge. If this horse dies before they can execute him, they’ll kill me instead.

Chloe was at a loss. While she was angry with the guard for finding her so suspicious, when she realized that he was simply doing his job, her agitation slowly subsided. She even felt sorry for any trouble she might be getting him into.

I hope the horse is doing well enough. Imprisoned in a cage adjacent to Howl’s enclosure, Chloe closely inspected him. Struggling to keep his eyes open, the steed was clearly approaching its end.

She could not simply sit by and watch him die. Rolling up some anchor flower leaves into tiny bundles, she began throwing them towards his mouth. Howl did not react.

“Sweetie, please have a bite…”

Suddenly, the horse began to stir, panting loudly and attempting to move his legs.

What’s going on with him?

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She heard voices from outside. “This is the girl. I have locked her in here for a moment. She’s feeding some strange grass to Howl.” She peered in the direction of the noise. Out there, the guard and an aristocrat were observing Howl attentively.

No way…! It had already been a few months, and he was no longer in his battle armor, but she was sure. It’s him.

She at once recognized the Grand Master, the man who had ordered her death. Her heart sank into an abyss. She quickly and instinctively lowered her head. Her extremities began shaking.

Even though dressed differently from before, she could tell that it was the same man. He was extremely intimidating and full of authority, with a statuesque and firm body. Just as he had done on the day she of her captivity, he naturally created a hostile atmosphere around him even without the aid of weapons. The air seemed to freeze around him.

She hadn’t thought that she would cross paths with him again.