CH 166

Still, they couldn’t just stay here and laugh. The seldom raindrops soon turned into a soft drizzle, and the clouds in the downcast sky kept coming in.

“Firstly, we both need to return to the palace. There’s no place here where we can take shelter from the rain.”

Helios helped Sera get on the horse once again. He also mounted the horse immediately after, but in the meantime, the rain started to intensify.

Sera and Helios’ clothes and hair had already become wet.

They hurried their movements in an attempt not to look like two wet mice by the end of their trip back to the palace.

However, Sera couldn’t get into a comfortable position on the horse. It was impossible to do anything as she was practically paralyzed with fear.

Helios also knew this, so he tried to be as considerate as he could towards Sera.

“I’d like to go slowly if I could, but if we do that, we’d probably arrive at the palace by the end of the torrent. If it’s because you’re afraid of falling, would it be alright if I hold you for a while?”

He asked for Sera’s consent carefully, and Sera knew that it was a logical decision.

She didn’t expect how rough the ride would be.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Is that alright?”

Sera replied as she wiped off the cold rainwater that had fallen over her cheek.

“Then, excuse me, Miss Popo.”

As soon as her permission was given, Helios drew in closer to Sera’s back.

With their bodies in close contact, Sera felt embarrassed for no reason. She clenched her hands into tighter fists.

Helios held the reins tightly with one hand, then with the other, he embraced Sera around her waist.

Unfortunately, even at a time like this, Sera’s heart skipped a beat.

“Miss Popo, if you still feel scared, please close your eyes.”

“Yes, I’m ready, Your Majesty.”

There was no time to waste, so Helios immediately urged the horse forward.  It galloped vigorously through the freezing rain. The pace that they took on now was so much faster compared to the speed with which they came here.

Sera was terrified, but each time, she tried to center herself by focusing on the sound of Helios’ heartbeat, which she could feel through her back.

Strangely, his heart seemed to be beating as fast as hers was beating right now. And unlike the icy rain, which soaked his shoulders and face, his breath in her ears was so very warm.

“Are you alright?”

Helios’ tone was full of concern for Sera’s condition. She tried to rationalize that it’s only natural because they were riding on horseback right now, but Helios’ hot breath kept making her heart skip a beat.

“It’s more bearable than I had expected.”

Her voice shook oddly.

“That’s good.”

“Since it’s raining so much, Their Highnesses must have already gone back into the palace, right?”

“Perhaps. Rosé and Ferre should already be in the Star Palace. Let’s head there right away.”

The scenery flashing by so quickly around them was unfamiliar to Sera. As Helios mentioned, there’s nothing like your first ride on a horse.

As they headed straight towards the Star Palace without slowing their pace, the rain did not let up either.

And while they neared their destination, Jean and Raphael, along with the maids, could be seen standing by with umbrellas in hand. They were there at the Star Palace, as if they knew that the two would come here.

Helios got off the horse first, and Jean immediately shielded him with an umbrella.

“Not me. Miss Popo first.”

Helios, in turn, brought the umbrella to Sera. Because she had already tried it once, Sera managed to dismount from the horse by herself this time.

A maid rushed towards Helios as well, covering his soaked body with a blanket.

They brought one for Sera as well, but Helios did not see it, and so he took the blanket off his back and wrapped Sera with it.

“Your… Majesty?”

Sera’s first instinct was to be worried about the eyes around them, and so she looked troubled.

However, he pulled the blanket tighter over her frame. As it seemingly flowed down, it’s as if there’s nothing else but her in his eyes.

“You’re thoroughly soaked, Miss Popo. You shouldn’t catch a cold, so let’s hurry up and go in.”

Yet again, Sera almost got excited for a moment, but she soon calmed her heart. There’s no way that Helios sees her as a woman.

If anything, he’s treating her the same way he would treat his younger siblings.

That’s right. It’s all just a misunderstanding.

With a helpless smile on her lips, she followed behind him as they entered the Star Palace.

* * *

Right now, Rosé and Ferre were sitting across from Sera and Helios, who had already bathed and changed their clothes.

Sera and Helios’ hair were still damp at the tips, indicative of how they had only just washed up.

Oh, she didn’t expect it to be this successful. Rosé couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she imagined Sera and her Oppa having a horseback riding date, and they dashed through the rain, too!

“Rosé, did you do that on purpose?”

Helios asked with a perplexed expression. Evidently, he had caught on to her ruse.

Uh-oh. The straightforward question made Rosé quite nervous. She clenched her little fists under the table.

But it’s not as if she didn’t anticipate that Sera and Helios would ask her about this. Beforehand, Rosé had practiced her answer with Ferre, so she was prepared for this moment.

Rosé answered slyly, puffing her cheeks just as she had practiced.

“Oppa, what do you mean on purpose! That’s impossible.”

“Hmm, really?”

“Really, Your Highness?”

“Yeah! I realized that I put the hairpin in Ferre’s pocket. I thought it would fall off while we were riding the horsies a while ago. Right, Ferre?”

“Y… Yeah.”

Helios and Sera both cast a suspicious glance at Rosé, and then Ferre.

However, it seemed like they couldn’t decipher whether it was a lie or not. The twins’ acting was quite believable.

“So, what did Oppa and Sera do?”

Rosé went back at them with an equally straightforward question. She stared pointedly at Helios and Sera as they exchanged a glance.

“Nothing much.”

“We just rode a horse. What would have happened?”

Helios and Sera answered one after another, turning their heads away from each other.

It was a disappointing answer, if Rosé was honest.

Nevertheless, she felt extremely proud inside because both of them suddenly blushed.
RECENTLY UPDATES