CH 232.

“Who on earth are you talking about?”

“Ha. If I had a horse like that, I wouldn’t want anything else.”

Once Kim Seon-Hyeok heard that the convoy from Adenburg had arrived, he ran over, and he tilted his head at the unexpectedly loud uproar.

“What? Why are there so many people?”

“Are all these people part of the cavalry?”

“I guess so.”

When he looked around, he saw that all the men gathered together were dressed up as cavalrymen. Kim Seok-Hyeok couldn’t understand why they were there. 

“Ah! The Indomitable Duke!”

“It’s the Indomitable Duke!”

“It’s the Apostle!”

Belatedly seeing the two heroes of the base, the cavalry quickly saluted them in unison. 

“At ease.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok was now used to this situation and casually waved his hand as he spoke. The cavalry relaxed their stiff and hesitant posture and turned their heads to stare at something again.

“You’ve been staring at something for a while now. What is it?”

Kim Seok-Hyeok saw a white horse when he turned his head to look at what the cavalrymen were staring at.

Nothing could be more elegant than the light cream colored mane flying in the wind, and not a single blemish could be seen on the coat so white that it seemed as if it had been covered with freshly fallen snow. Its bones were wrapped with muscles that were exploding with strength that it looked like the horse was about to pound across the land immediately. Because of its strength, it looked even more beautiful.

“Look at its legs all extended. I’m not an expert, but most horses probably won’t be able to compare with it.”

“What about its shoulders? If I charged in riding it, then forget about the infantry or spears or anything else.”

With its neck held straight and nose high up into the air, the white horse seemed to be enjoying all the compliments. 

“Why are you here…”

The haughty white horse hadn’t paid attention to anyone, but it perked up its ears and turned its head at Kim Seon-Hyeok’s voice. 

Its eyes that were unusually dark on the white background without a single blemish quickly filled with joy.

“Stella?”

Surprisingly, the white horse that had caught the attention of the cavalry was Stella, the horse he had left behind on his estate.

Neigh.

When she heard her name, Stella approached him and licked his face. The arrogance she had shown before was overshadowed by her affectionate behavior.[1]

“Why are you here…”

Kim Seon-Hyeok was still feeling bewildered. He could only brush his hand across her mane over and over again.

“She’s a gift from Her Highness to you, the Indomitable Duke, sir.”

A brown-haired knight managed to extract himself from the rest of the convoy and answered Kim Seon-Hyeok’s question.

“Ah!”

Kim Seon-Hyeok exclaimed as he belatedly recalled the gift that Ophelia had been talking about. 

“Her Highness heard that you, the Indomitable Duke, weren’t riding your dragons, so had her brought over from Rheinperle.”

For a moment, he was speechless. Ophelia’s careful consideration caused his heart to throb painfully. 

“Originally, the plan was to send a young horse of good breeding from the palace, but once Her Highness learned that this horse didn’t have much longer to work as a war horse, she had sent it instead.”

After he had gotten his dragons, he had gone on to fight on the battlefields with them, and consequently spent less time with Stella. 

But that was why he was feeling even more apologetic. While Stella had spent the prime of her life stuck behind a fence, waiting for her master, he had completely forgotten about this pitiful horse’s existence as he went to war with his dragons. 

“How frustrating it must have been for you. You must have wanted to run, haven’t you?”

She was a horse that would never allow anyone besides her master to ride her. It was likely that she had never run properly once he left his estate.

“I’m sorry, Stella.”

Feeling sorry, he kept stroking her.

Neigh.

The innocent beast didn’t resent her cruel master. She just continuously licked the back of his hand with a welcoming expression. 

“And you are?”

Kim Seon-Hyeok belatedly addressed the knight. 

“I am Senior Knight Mitenmeier Vucocque of the Quintas Group with the Central Knights. It is an honor to meet the famous Indomitable Duke. Please, feel free to call me Vucocque.”

“Thank you, Sir Vucocque. You must’ve had a lot of trouble bringing this hot-tempered fella here with you.”

Vucocque waved his hand at the heartfelt thanks.

“She’s loyal and clever, sir. It wasn't troublesome at all.”

It was an obvious lie. This bad tempered horse that didn’t acknowledge anyone but her owner probably gave him much difficulty as he brought her here. 

“I’ll definitely compensate you once we return to our country.”

“It was nothing sir. Everything was Her Highness’ will. There is nothing to thank me for, sir.”

As they were talking about this and that, Vucocque smirked and slightly nudged Kim Seon-Hyeok.

“If you’ll give me permission, sir, I’ll go ahead and deliver the supplies to Astoria. Will you allow me to do so?”

It seemed like Kim Seon-Hyeok had unintentionally revealed his longing to ride Stella across the grasslands. Vucocque’s words were full of laughter as he subtly nudged him.

“Yes, I’ll allow it.”

“Sir, why don’t you relax with this fella in the meantime? I think it’s going to take a while to finish up on this side.”

“I feel bad leaving you behind to do all this, but I won’t say no.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok felt happy talking with this tactful and considerate knight. Perhaps that was why his attitude towards Vucocque became more easygoing without him realizing it. 

“Once I return, I’ll treat you and your men.”

“I’ll look forward to it, sir.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok grinned at Vucocque before climbing onto Stella’s back.

Neeeeeigh.

Stella joyfully cried out, seemingly happy to have her owner on her back for the first time in a long while.

“Then, I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, sir.”

Having been saluted by Vucocque, Kim Seon-Hyeok turned to look at Park Joon-Min.

“Things have changed, so let’s spar later.”

“Well, it’s nothing urgent. So don’t worry about it and go.”

“Then, I’ll be back.”

Having said his farewells, Kim Seon-Hyeok led Stella out of the base.

“It’s been awhile, Stella. Let’s run.”

Stella neighed happily as she began to speed up.

Hiyah!”

The horse began pounding the earth harder at his command.

Kim Seok-Hyeok wandered all over the grasslands.

It felt completely different from when he borrowed a horse from Darun. 

He was able to turn his horse’s head with just a slight gesture and raise and lower the speed. He didn’t have to pay attention to keep the horse on track or signal it out loud to tell it anything. 

After spending a long time on the battlefield together, she hadn’t forgotten how to coordinate with her owner.

Kim Seon-Hyeok grinned at the pleasant sensation of the regular vibrations that he could feel on his rear end. 

It made him happy to feel the unique vibration and speed that he hadn’t felt while riding his dragons. But that smile didn’t last long. 

You’ve also gotten older. 

Stella was fast as ever, but it couldn’t be compared to when she was in her prime. When he realized that fact, he became very sad.

I’m sorry, Stella. 

Almost as if she had understood his innermost feelings, Stella gave a short cry before speeding up.

It was almost as if she was saying that she was still okay.

“You’re right. You’re still the best, Stella.”

He thought she had reached her limit, but she continued to speed up.

The fast-flowing landscape, the wind, and even the time was blurring. Kim Seon-Hyeok fell into a trance as he rode through the grasslands.

He was enjoying the pleasant run with Stella.

A cavalry came riding in from the east.

“Hey!”

It was Darun and the Northern Cavalry.

“I heard that an amazing fellow had come from Adenburg so I went to go see, but when I got there, it was already gone.”

Darun quickly caught up with Kim Seon-Hyeok and spoke as he glanced at Stella.

“She’s old, but she’s still pretty good. She’s different from the southern horses that just look good.”

It was quite a generous evaluation from Darun who was quite harsh with his evaluation of horses.

“Pretty good?”

But Kim Seon-Hyeok wasn’t happy with Darun’s compliment.

“Stella is better than just ‘pretty good.’”

Having said that, Kim Seon-Hyeok hunched over and shot forward like an arrow.

“Are you challenging the sons of the grasslands?!”

“You’re the challenger. Stella’s the champion.”

Stella’s speed increased even further and Darun and the Northern Cavalry followed right behind her.

“Hiyah! Hiyah!”

The sharp commands from the Northern cavalry and the pounding sounds of the horses’ feet mixed together. The men’s harsh breathing could be heard in between.

Kim Seon-Hyeok was able to recall the vague feeling that he had forgotten in the corner of his brain as he raced against the Northern Cavalry, sometimes ahead of them, and sometimes behind them. 

Redvyern was faster than anyone else, and Goldrake was more aggressive than anyone else. No one could block his way when he went out onto the battlefield with his dragons. 

But sometimes, riding his dragons felt empty.

No one could follow behind him, and no one could ride shoulder-to-shoulder with him. No matter how much he rode, it was a loneliness that could never be satisfied. It was probably because the dragons were too fast and aggressive to run together with anyone.

But right now, Kim Seon-Hyeok was filled with emotion as he rode Stella and ran with Darun.

It was as if he had gone back to the days when he was riding with the Central cavalry without knowing anything.

His heart was filled with the same emotion he felt when he had recklessly charge against numerous enemies shoulder-to-shoulder with his fellow comrades.

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

Now, it didn’t matter who won or lost the race. They were just galloping. Darun spoke as he looked at him. 

“I don’t want to ruin the mood, but it’s time to go back. We’re going to have to continuously gallop if we want to get back to the base before sunset.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok woke up from his dream and returned to cold reality at Darun’s words.

“It’s cold. Our horses are used to the cold, so it’ll be alright for them to run in the cold, but your horse is too run in this cold.”

No matter whose horse it was, even if it was the enemy’s horse, Darun valued all horses. Kim Seon-Hyeok looked at Stella at his words. 

Almost as if she was trying to make up for the time she spent in captivity, Stella showed no signs of stopping.

But now, it was time to stop.

As Darun said, the wind in the grasslands was too cold for Stella to endure in her old age. If they overdid it, Stella would be ruined. 

“Let’s go back.”

With those regretful words, the cavalry turned their horses around.

It was almost sunset by the time they arrived at the base. 

“Good work, Stella.”

Almost as if she didn’t want to separate from her owner, Stella bit onto the edges of his clothing. She was so prideful that this was very unlike her.

“Good girl. Come on, it’s time to rest now. We’ll go out again tomorrow.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok had finally managed to separate from Stella after comforting her for a long time, but he also had a hard time walking away from her.

“Let’s ride again tomorrow.”

The innocent beast collapsed onto the ground and stared in the direction her master disappeared to for a long time.

***

“Have you caught up with your old friend?”

Vucocque must have finished with his business because he walked over to Kim Seon-Hyeok.

“I wouldn’t finish catching up with her even if we ran from one end of the continent to the other end. It’s enough for today.”

“Your love for your horse is extraordinary.”

“That’s because, in the past, I’ve been terrible to her. At the very least, I should be a good owner for the rest of her time.”

Vucocque exclaimed in admiration at his honest answer. 

“I understand that Her Highness also loves horses. Most of the famous knights in the Central Knights had been given a horse or hadn’t been given a name for their horse by Her Highness. 

As much as she cared about his dragons, she loved horses just as much. No, she loved and cared about all animals.

That was she thoughtfully made it so that Stella could spend her last days with her owner. 

“What about the soldiers?”

“I told them to unpack first before gathering again. I apologize if I was presumptuous.”

“No, you did good. Soldiers suffer the most when traveling long distances. You shouldn’t take away their break time.”

He quite liked Vucocque’s dealing with the matter that he ordered the soldiers to continue to rest the rest of the day while they were at it.

“We’ll have the welcome reception tomorrow.”

“The soldiers will be rather disappointed, sir. On our way here, they seemed very excited to meet the first ranking knight of the kingdom.”

Vucocque was very good with his words. Everything he said made the other person happy, so of course Kim Seon-Hyeok would be smiling.

“The first knight, Marquis Reinhardt will kill me if he hears that.”

“I’m not kidding, sir. Gradus’s ranking within the kingdom has completely changed now.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok looked interested when he remembered about the Gradus ranking. He had completely forgotten about it while he was out of the country.

“Really? What place am I in now?”

“Currently, you, the Indomitable Duke, are called the Storm Knight Draheen in the kingdom. As for the Gradus ranking.”

Vucocque raised his thumb.

“You’re number one on the list, sir.”

1. 애교 - being cute, affectionate, charming, coquettish