Chapter 886

Large manors like Lake View Manor located outside Tobesk City all have stables, but Lei Qianya did not choose a horse from the manor's stables; instead, she specially sent someone to choose a black horse from the Lemaire horse farm on the other side of Schluch Lake.

When Xia De passed through the lively courtyard and arrived at the horse race starting point at the manor entrance, many gentlemen had already gathered here leading their horses. Everyone had their own female companion and had prepared their own racehorse in advance. Participants like Xia De who decided to join at the last minute were actually in the minority.

Among the participating contestants was Xia De's acquaintance, Baron Cobol. At the banquet where Xia De was knighted, this gentleman had once wanted to use a Luo De card game to win Xia De's 【Northern City · Cold Water Port City】, but instead let Xia De win five commemorative coins from him, among which was 【Pirate's Blood Money】.

Xia De greeted the Baron. The latter was wearing hunting clothes suitable for horse riding, looking quite professional:

"Knight, who is your female companion?"

The Baron asked curiously. Xia De pointed at Princess Lei Qianya, who was excitedly holding the black horse and waiting for Xia De.

Baron Cobol first showed an expression of awe. When Xia De indicated that Miss Jia Lin Na had asked him to take Princess Lei Qianya for a ride, he showed a look of sudden realization.

At this time, Lei Qianya had already changed out of that cumbersome dress and was now wearing winter clothing convenient for horse riding. The princess's appearance naturally attracted people's attention. Upon learning that she was going to participate in this race with Xia De, they all showed expressions of understanding.

The rules of this race were simple: start from the entrance of Lake View Manor, circle along the country road, and return to the starting point. Of course, because the manor was adjacent to Schluch Lake, it was circling in front of the manor.

At this time, although the last ray of sunset was still there, the manor servants were already holding kerosene lamps at the crossroads of the country road to indicate the direction. At the same time, the servants would also hold up a long pole, on which colorful strip-shaped cardboard pieces were posted, each with a uniform number. When the riders passed by on horseback, the rider or the female companion needed to reach out and take the paper piece.

This was on one hand to make this horse race more interesting and test the riders' skills, and on the other hand to prevent people from taking shortcuts and cheating to win the race.

Xia De was the last contestant to arrive. After he put on simple protective gear, the race was ready to begin.

Although the race did not set restrictions on seating, the other gentlemen tacitly let their female companions sit sideways in front of them, so Lei Qianya also sat in front of Xia De.

When getting on the horse, Xia De said in a low voice, not without worry:

"Your Highness, I am actually not good at horse riding."

Riding back and forth in Huntington City made him familiar with this sport, but compared to those gentlemen around who looked like they were proficient in this skill, Xia De did not have much confidence. Last time at the Lemaire horse farm, it was just luck, but this time it was not gambling, just an ordinary banquet game, so Xia De still needed to remind the little princess not to hold too high expectations.

"It doesn't matter, Mr. Hamilton. What I enjoy is just the process of the race."

Lei Qianya's face flushed with excitement. Xia De got on the horse first, and then helped the little princess sit sideways on the saddle in front of him. Her movements were agile, but when she sat down in front of Xia De, her whole body was trembling. Xia De originally thought she was a little nervous, but later thought it might be excitement.

Miss Jia Lin Na had said that the riding skills of the royal descendants of Lei Qianya's generation were quite good, and Lei Qianya must also be good at horse riding.

"Gentlemen, ladies, please listen to me!"

The person responsible for organizing this race was a middle-aged butler in Lake View Manor. He was wearing a somewhat thick brown coat, his hair was meticulously groomed, and he was the kind of gentleman who looked like he did things very seriously:

"Safety first. Please do not perform any dangerous actions during the ride, as this will delay you from enjoying the banquet at Lake View Manor!"

His voice was very loud, but it still couldn't drown out the music coming from the courtyard.

Although it was very lively inside the courtyard, there were also many onlookers at the manor entrance and the horse racing scene where the starting line was drawn. Xia De even heard someone betting on the outcome of this horse race:

"The entire course normally takes ten to fifteen minutes. As long as you complete one lap of the course, you can get a small gift provided by Mr. Ai Si Bo Ge. Yes, everyone has one. If you encounter trouble on the way, please ask the nearby servants for help. You will leave in the sunset and return here draped in starlight!"

He tried his best to raise his voice, while Lei Qianya's maid was standing in front of the horse holding the reins, whispering to her master about safety issues. This young maid seemed very worried about Lei Qianya rashly participating in such an activity, but she never stopped her from doing so:

"Mr. Hamilton, please be sure to ensure the safety of Your Highness."

She finally said to Xia De in a low voice, then took Xia De's cat and carefully stepped aside. Little Mia didn't like being held by others, but it also knew that it was inconvenient for Xia De to carry it while riding a horse, so it let out a few "woo" sounds and settled down.

The middle-aged butler was showing the prize for the race champion. The winning gentleman could receive a gold-plated brooch, while the lady could get a silver hand mirror with the scenery of Lake View Manor on the back.

These prizes were not particularly valuable, but they could be considered nice gifts. Xia De's opponents were very enthusiastic about this. That Baron Brady, who looked the most professional, even jokingly boasted to his female companion that he would definitely be able to win that small mirror for her.

Although Lei Qianya, sitting in front of Xia De, didn't say anything, Xia De noticed that Her Highness the Princess also seemed very moved.

"The key to the problem is that although I have learned to ride a horse, there are still some problems with horse racing."

This time, Xia De did not have the elf rider amulet he made himself in his hand.

"Gentlemen, please pay attention!"

The butler shouted, putting a copper whistle into his mouth. The people watching on both sides of the riders all started discussing loudly. Even the carriages coming from the country road directly facing the manor gate stopped one after another to wait for this group of people to set off. The gentlemen and ladies on the carriages poked their heads out of the windows, smiling and watching the riders who had already mounted their horses, and would wave and cheer when they saw familiar friends.

"Three, two, one!"

The whistle blew, and Baron Brady's date-red horse rushed out first, with others following closely behind. Xia De did not rush too fast, being in the second position of the second echelon.

His hands passed through both sides of Lei Qianya's body, gripping the reins tightly, while the little princess leaning on him seemed to be laughing at this moment.

He couldn't be sure if he had misheard, because once the horses were galloping, the sound of the wind was simply too loud.

"Mr. Hamilton, this feeling is simply amazing!"

This time he didn't mishear; the little princess was indeed speaking, and that cheerful tone was something he had never heard before.

"Yes, but this wind seems a bit cold. Can you still stand it?"

Xia De asked on the bumpy horse back. This black horse's speed was extremely fast, and Xia De, the rider, didn't play much of a role. Now Baron Brady, who was at the very front, was already approaching the corner ahead of the path. Xia De was at least four or five horse lengths away from him; the other party was indeed professional.

"Of course, compared to this temperature, what I yearn for more is the freedom of this moment!"

The princess said. Amidst the rhythmic sound of horse hooves, only Xia De could hear her words.

"Freedom, is it?"

Xia De then understood that the little princess inviting him to participate in the horse race was probably not just because she wanted to enjoy this banquet.

"Knight, has sister Lei Qianya told you about me?"

She suddenly asked. Xia De tightened the reins to turn ahead, and the servant holding the kerosene lamp was holding the long pole high. Before Xia De could reach out, Lei Qianya nimbly took the paper piece from it.

"Lei Qianya has mentioned it to me."

Xia De said. He couldn't see Lei Qianya's expression at this time, but he knew she must have been stimulated by today's wedding.

"Sister promised to help me, as long as I am also willing to help her. Sister Lei Qianya is indeed the one who treats me the best among all my sisters, but I also know that she is also using me."

The little princess's voice was very soft.

At this time, there was a curved road ahead, but there were no crossroads. However, the second horse in the first echelon following Baron Brady somehow failed to run along the path and instead rushed headlong into the wheat field on the side that had already been harvested.

"Oh, damn it!"

The rider who rushed too far ahead was cursing loudly, trying to make the horse that ran the wrong way stop. Every rider passing by there was laughing.

"Your Highness, do you want me to help you?"

Xia De asked, trying hard to control the horse's route. If he just didn't win first place, that wouldn't be shameful, but if he also ran into the farmland because he rushed out of the correct track, then his action tonight to prove his strength, wisdom, and charm would have failed at the first step.

"Of course not. How could you think so? I wouldn't involve you in such things. I am different from sister."

Lei Qianya asked. Xia De felt her leaning sideways in his direction, putting her center of gravity on him:

"Knight, I mean, even so, I want to help you."

"You help me?"

Xia De was a little puzzled. He didn't think he needed any help:

"Could it be that she wants to give me gold pounds? But why would she do that?"

Xia De thought to himself, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer. Both of them were silent, and only the sound of horse hooves was still so clear. When the next fork in the road appeared again, there were three country children curiously watching the people riding horses beside the servant holding the gas lamp.

Lei Qianya seemed to have gathered her courage and finally said the words in her heart. The wind was very strong, and Xia De was even somewhat muscle-stiff due to excessive tension on the horse's back.

"Yes, Knight. I want to help you, to let you break free from sister Lei Qianya's constraints and threats."

"Help me break free... from Lei Qianya's hands?"

Xia De never expected this answer. Due to excessive shock, he actually forgot to reach out to take the paper strip on the long pole in the servant's hand. Fortunately, Lei Qianya reached out again and very accurately got the paper strip.

"Yes."

Her side face leaned against Xia De's clothes:

"Sister Lei Qianya, hasn't she been threatening you all along? Otherwise, why would you... do that kind of thing with her?"

---Author's Note---

ps: Looking for people to mutually promote books, "Slaying the Dao Fruit", a new book by a lv5 author, Cthulhu-style cultivation.

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