Conquering the Emperor

Chapter 136: Learning How to Ride

I looked in front of me at the four horses. One was white, one was brown, one was black and the other one was white with brown markings on its body. Apart from that, nothing else caught my attention.

“Come, Rin. Let’s get closer so that you can engage with them,” Ren suggested as he pulled on my arm, urging me to follow him.

The horses were bigger up close although smaller than Ren’s horse. I began to panic a little now that I was so close. Needless to say, I wasn’t used to horses.

“Try petting them...” Ren said gently.

“Umm...” I hesitated.

“There’s no need to be scared. I’m here,” Ren said as he took my hand and slowly guided it towards the horse.

Slowly, Ren placed my hand on the horse’s neck. The horse looked quite calm, and I could feel it’s fur and the warmth of its neck beneath my palm. Ren helped me do the same with all the horses, but I still couldn’t get a sense of which one was compatible with me.

“Let them smell you,” Ren said.

I stood in front of each horse as it smelled me. I guess the black one that started to nuzzle its nose against my hand might have developed a liking for me?

“Does this mean that she likes me?” I asked, hopefully.

“He, My Lady. This one is a male, and yes, he seems to have taken a liking to you,” Hans replied proudly.

OK, great. I just jumped to assume that she’s a girl since she seemed very friendly. I guess, Hans was right, the gender of the horse doesn’t matter as much as other traits. I smiled at the black horse as I patted its head softly and fondly.

“Try walking with him,” Han said as he gestured for the man holding the reins of the horse to escort me.

I glanced at Ren, unsure of how to proceed. Ren nodded at me knowingly.

“Come. You just have to talk next to the horse. Don’t worry, the helper will still hold its rein,” Ren said as he let go of my hand.

“You’re not coming with me?” I asked. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

“You’re going to be the horse’s master, not me. You can do it, Rin,” Ren said encouragingly.

I guess, I had to live up to his expectations...

I walked up and stood next to the horse’s neck as the helper began walking the horse. Just as Ren had instructed, I walked along and started patting the horse’s neck as instructed by the helper. After a while, I felt quite comfortable with this horse. It never occurred to me that I could feel such a natural connection to a horse like this. His eyes are so big, and his eyelashes are so long too, he’s so cute and very beautiful.

“Have you decided?” Ren asked after I returned to his side.

“Yes!” I replied confidently as I nodded at him.

“Have you got a name in mind?” Ren asked.

Oh, right. I need to give my horse a name. To be honest, I didn’t have anything in mind at all. I was pretty bad at naming, and I’ve never really had a pet before either.

“I’ve got absolutely no idea, to be honest,” I admitted, a little sadly.

“Maybe we skip to the riding part first for today. I doubt you’ll be able to ride him today anyways,” Ren said as he looked skeptically at me.

“You can come pick him up another day,” Hans said with a smile.

“We’ll do that. For today, I want to take Rin riding with me first so that she can get used to being on a horse,” Ren said.

Oh, that makes sense. I haven’t gotten used to sitting on a horse, so it was probably difficult for me to manage one on my own.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Somewhere fun and relaxing,” Ren said as he patted my head.

I had no idea what he had in mind at all, and it looked like Ren wasn’t willing to share.

We thanked Hans and got on Ren’s horse again.

...

“We’re going outside?” I asked, surprised.

“The forest is officially part of the royal palace, although it’s on the outskirts of it. So, we’re not really going outside...” Ren clarified.

“I see...” I whispered as I sat in front of him on his horse.

“Hold the reins,” Ren said.

“What?” I exclaimed in shock.

“Don’t be so loud. You’ll alert the horse,” Ren hissed softly into my ear.

Without waiting for me to respond, Ren took my hands and placed the reins in them.

“Umm...I don’t think that I should,” I protested softly.

“The horse is just walking so it should be ok,” Ren explained.

True, the horse was just walking right now. I wondered where we were going exactly. The forest surrounding the palace was supposed to be very large or so I had heard.

The horse followed the path deeper and deeper into the forest. Ren’s horse seemed super obedient and easy to manage. I mean, he’s just walking along, and I didn’t have to do anything.

“Your horse seems very well-behaved,” I complimented.

“He wasn’t like this when he started. Those were some fun days,” Ren said with a laugh as if recalling some fond memories.

“I hope my horse would be this obedient too...” I said hopefully.

“You’ll both get there soon enough,” Ren said without any worries.

“Umm...where are we going, Ren?” I asked again.

“You’ll see when we get there,” Ren replied.

I knew that he wouldn’t just come out and tell me.

The path started to get narrower and more winding. Although the horse was still walking slowly, it felt more difficult for me to balance myself on the horse. I gripped the reins tighter in my hand. It was then that I realized that Ren no longer had his arm around me.

“Is this part of the exercise?” I asked, suspiciously.

“Correct. This path will only get more difficult for the horse to walk on and less smooth for its rider. Good luck, Rin,” Ren said before winking at me.

“What if I fall off...” I muttered, a little scared and unsatisfied.

“I’ll catch you...hopefully,” Ren replied with a chuckle, and I knew that he was having so much fun.

--To be continued...