Chapter 35【VIP】

After signing the contract with Ludovico, Opesa closed the shop.

The door to the workshop was still open, and inside were several finished clothes and props. When she returned, she didn't see Sinderel, and she was the only one left in the shop.

She stroked Cui Liu, wondering if Xindrell would come to the store to help tomorrow, after all, she had said that.

But she would not give in on matters concerning the hunting party.

If Sinderel didn't want to teach her how to ride, she would learn it herself. It was just riding, she didn't believe she couldn't do it.

In order to get real-time news about the royal family, Opesa did not go home to rest, but slept on a wooden bed in the workshop.

There was no fireplace or quilt in the store. In the middle of the night, she was woken up by the sub-zero temperature. She could only grab a few more pieces of cloth to cover herself and wrap herself tightly.

She recalled the time when Sinderel was working on Whisper. In order to meet the customers' scheduled dates, he did not go home and rested on a wooden bed in the workshop.

She couldn't imagine how Sinderel could finish hundreds of orders in one night, nor could she imagine how he could rest in this small room with leaks everywhere.

Opesa lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and hugged herself tightly.

Maybe he was already used to it, or maybe she never asked.

It doesn't matter.

He better listen to her harsh words.

Opesa got up at daybreak, untied the reins from the stall, and led Ace to the outskirts of the city—where there was a sparsely populated forest that was perfect for a horse training ground.

She patted the horse's neck gently, and once Ace was still and steady, she began to try to climb onto its back. She gripped the saddle with both hands, one foot laboriously pressing into the stirrup, hoping to use the momentum to pull herself aboard. But she lacked the strength, and after several attempts, she failed.

She wiped her face, but her eyes became brighter under her messy hair.

The second time, the third time... Even Ace shook his mane impatiently, but she still bit her lip and repeated the jumping action.

She used all her strength to climb up and finally got one leg over the horse. Before she could sit firmly, Ace began to walk slowly. Opesa panicked and held the reins tightly with both hands, her body swaying from side to side with the horse's movement.

"Ace! Stop!" She shouted loudly, wanting Ace to stop, but Ace did not listen to her command at all and continued to speed up. Opesa lost her balance and fell off the horse.

"Hiss..." Opesa fell heavily to the ground, and the pain was so severe that tears were about to burst out.

It hurts so much! She rubbed her butt and climbed up unwillingly. Ace was still wagging his tail beside her. Opesa covered her butt and pointed at Ace with red eyes: "I'm going to fight you today!"

She walked towards Ace again. This time, she had mastered the technique of getting on the horse a little more smoothly, but there were still some bumps. After sitting firmly, she pulled the reins, trying to make Ace move forward.

Ace seemed to sense her intention and slowly walked forward.

Opesa tried hard to keep her balance, her eyes fixed on the front, but she didn't go far before she lost her balance due to a small bump and fell off the horse again.

Opesa rolled over on the grass, her elbow slamming into a tree trunk and scraping a gash. She didn't feel the pain, but stubbornly got up again and climbed back onto the horse.

"Come again!" She gritted her teeth and pulled the reins, "Go!"

She didn't care about the bruises on her body, she would just keep getting up after falling down. She has always been a person who never gives up, even if she can't do it perfectly, she will try her best to do the best within her ability.

As time passed, Ace seemed to be softened by her persistence and stopped moving and kicking. Opesha also slowly figured out the art of riding and was able to direct the horse to turn and move forward.

As the sun set, Opesa dismounted.

Her steps were heavy, but she gripped the reins tightly. She touched Ace's forehead and said, "We'll continue tomorrow." Ace hissed softly, which was considered an agreement.

She walked back in the orange afterglow, her steps filled with the lightness after practice.

After several days of intensive training, Opesa finally learned some basic riding skills, at least she could control the horse to move forward and turn normally.

The day before the hunt, Opesa took Ace to the woods for training again.

The early morning was still shrouded in morning mist, and everything was gray. Opesa rode Ace slowly towards the direction of the rising sun, familiarizing herself with the experience of the previous few days.

She had to open the shop later and discuss the art collection with Ludovico, so she didn't have time to eat breakfast. She simply brought some hard bread to eat while practicing.

Although my riding skills are better than before, they are still not enough in the complex forest.

Opesa finally submitted to reality - she was a piece of useless stuff, and being able to learn to this point on her own was already an extraordinary achievement, and she couldn't ask for anything more.

Her only requirement for herself was not to fall off the horse again. After all, there would be many people at the hunting party. If she fell off the horse, and there were wild beasts or crowded people, she would definitely be trampled into a pulp.

As they were walking, Ace suddenly stopped, his ears stood up straight and moved from time to time.

Opesa tried to move it forward, but Ace remained motionless, his eyes wide.

Opesa followed its gaze and saw that the bush shook slightly. A few lifeless leaves were shaken off and landed lightly on the ground.

When they were out in the suburbs, Opesa immediately became alert and turned her horse around, ready to ride away at any time.

Just as the horse turned around, there was a movement in the bushes. A brown figure came out of the bushes and ran towards her.

, and crashed directly into Ace.

Ace was so excited that he raised his front hooves suddenly. Opesa quickly grabbed the reins to prevent herself from falling off the horse, her heart pounding.

"Ace!" Opesa pulled the reins, a thin layer of sweat oozing from her forehead. "It's okay, don't be afraid!"

Despite the ineffectiveness of his attempts to appease her, Ace was still incredibly agitated and began to run on his own. Opessa was jolted so hard that she was nearly knocked off her feet by Ace.

"Don't pull on the reins!" a voice suddenly said. "Relax and pet it!"

Opesa didn't have time to look back at the visitor. She relaxed a little, imitating what he said, and reached out to stroke Ace's horse mane: "Ace, be quiet, it's okay."

The reins around him loosened, and Ace calmed down a bit. Seeing this, Opesa continued to comfort Ace: "Good boy, that's it. Slow down, no one will hurt you."

Ace's horse's hooves gradually slowed down. Opesa breathed a sigh of relief, patted its head, and pulled the reins to control Ace to stop: "Okay, Ace, you're great. Just stop here."

The sound of approaching horse hooves could be heard from behind. Opesa quickly put on her hat and veil, turned back to look at the kind-hearted man, and was the first to bow her head and say thank you: "Thank you so much."

The other person's voice was very young. "No thanks. Horses are easily frightened. Even an experienced person would find it difficult to restrain a frightened horse. The more frightened a horse is, the more likely it is to mistakenly restrain it, which will cause it to riot."

Opesa had heard earlier that there was a family of horse hunters living in this woods. She said, "You seem quite familiar with the temperament of horses. Have you been raising horses in this woods for years? I've often heard that there are hunters in this woods who are skilled in horse handling and can easily tame even the most violent horses."

"I didn't release the horse, but——is there such a master in Furlan?"

Hmm? Opesa felt something was wrong.

If it’s not a hunter, then who could it be?

When the figure on the black horse came into view, she almost shuddered and fell off the horse: "Prince Henry?"

How could that be a hunter? The royal emblem gleamed on the perfectly tailored uniform, making her eyes hurt.

But she actually lumped the noble prince in with the hunter? And she didn't even dismount and salute?

Henry was obviously a little surprised, his eyes lit up under his slightly curly brown hair: "It's you?"

Opesa felt her temples throbbing.

Her fingers gripped the reins tightly, her throat tightened, and even the horse sensed its owner's panic and turned in a small circle.

"Prince, please forgive me!" Opesa quickly dismounted and saluted, almost kneeling. "I really don't mean to look down on the royal family! I... I thought you were a hunter! I thought hunters shouldn't be bound by such formalities..."

It's over.

It's completely over.

This was her second time, a serious crime punishable by beheading. Moreover, she was not good at horse riding, so she would be easily caught up even if she ran away.

The other side was in disarray, but Henry pursed his lips and smiled secretly, pretending to be serious and lowering his voice: "You seem to have been rude to me twice, Miss. Do you know that this is a crime of blasphemy against the imperial power?"

His pure black horse was taller than Ace, and the shadow it cast was like a gray curtain covering Opesha's figure.

Looking up from below, Opesa looked more like a fawn that had fled in panic, a trapped beast in a woven web.

Opesa felt so disheartened that she didn't even dare to raise her head. She felt like half of her body was buried in the ground.

How could she have imagined that the prince would not go to the royal gardens but would ride horses in the small woods on the outskirts of the city.

“I, I…”

"Your name is Sinderel, right?"

Opesa's eyes flickered from side to side and she replied, "Yes."

Henry dismounted and walked to the right on the grass, saying, "Come here, please, Miss Sinderell."

Opesha did not dare to delay, and hurriedly stood up and followed Henry.

Henry pushed aside a bush, turned around and gestured to Opesha to keep quiet: "Shh, walk lightly, don't scare it."

Opesa was confused and could only nod, deliberately slowing down her pace as she followed Henry forward.

After walking a little further, Opesa saw the "culprit" who frightened Ace.

The little deer curled up on a piece of soft grass, licking the hemp rope tied tightly around its legs with its pink tongue.

Hearing someone approaching, the deer immediately pricked up its ears and became alert, its watery eyes wide open.

Henry squatted down, kept his eyes level with the fawn, and slowly approached the fawn, making soft whimpering sounds as if to show goodwill.

When the deer heard the friendly signal from Henry, its body visibly relaxed and its ears twitched twice in response.

Opesa raised her eyebrows in surprise - except for Sinderel, she had never seen anyone who could communicate with animals, not to mention that this person was a high and mighty prince.

"Okay, we can go now." Henry squatted beside the fawn and began to untie the rope around its hind legs. "Come and help me, you untie that side." He didn't even look up. "My fawn must have been trapped by a hunter. I chased it all the way, but it got scared and I couldn't catch up."

As Opesa untied the rope, she stared at his deft hands and asked curiously, "Why did you save it?"

Henry's movements paused imperceptibly, but he quickly recovered and whispered, "I don't want to be too miserable in hell, so trying to do something to cover it up makes it even more obvious."

"You're a prince, how could you possibly go to hell?" Opesa thought he was joking and slowly shook her head. "You will be carried to the throne by the people, blessed by God, and then taken to heaven by angels."

Henry avoided Opesha's gaze and smiled miserably: "It would be great if that were the case."

"I definitely will," Opesha said. "I... I have a friend who also thinks she's going to hell, but I believe that as long as you're not a coward who runs away, you can control your own destiny."

She finally untied the knot, swung the rope, and smiled at Henry: "Just like this little deer, it should have suffered the death of slaughter hell, but because it fought hard to live, it met a pure and kind-hearted person like you who rescued it. To it, you are the god of salvation."

Henry was stunned and couldn't help but turn his head to look at her.

As she said this, it was dawn.

The sun broke free from the hands of the morning mist and hung in the clear blue sky.

The morning light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, turning into spots of light that sprinkled around her body, making the black veil she used for camouflage appear colorful, like eternal stars in the dark night.

She still wrapped herself tightly, even hiding her eyes under the brim of her hat, so it was impossible to see the color in her eyes.

She is like a treasure left by God in the world, covered with dust, but it cannot hide her beautiful essence.

We don’t even know what he looks like, and even the name might be fake.

But Henry still couldn't help but want to get closer.

In his distracted state, he accidentally touched the other person's fingertips.

An electric current quickly penetrated his body and paralyzed his entire body.

"sorry!"

He could hear Opesha's hurried apology, but he couldn't hear it clearly. He just felt that the fingertips that touched him were extremely hot.

It was like the corrosive burning pain a demon feels after being splashed with holy water.

"fine."

Henry cruelly looked away.

The more this happened, the more he couldn't get close.

He doesn't deserve to be contaminated by such beauty.

He is the blasphemer.

A hollow puppet that surrenders to darkness and pain and is a walking corpse is not qualified to touch the treasures of God.

His right hand was clenched into a fist.

Interlocking fingers with her remaining warmth.

In the shadow of the trees nearby, someone was standing silently in that familiar old place.

No one noticed his arrival.

He also won't let anyone know of his existence.

Sinderel stood for a long time with his back against the tree.

The rough bark rubbed his back sore, but he was too lazy to move. The morning light passed over his shoulders, dragging his shadow into a thin line on the ground, entangled with the shadow of the tree.

The bark didn't seem so rough yesterday.

He lowered his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously scratching the bark - his fingers were already covered in blood, and the wood chips were deeply embedded in his flesh, but he had no reaction.

He just stood there, not knowing how long he stood there.

Only when the sound of horse hooves faded did he lower his head, kick away the stones at his feet, and walk in the opposite direction.