Cherryl blinked her eyelashes without saying a word.
Compared to Cade, she was idle most of the time so why was he asking for her permission when she should be the one asking him?
“Yes. How can I refuse?”
Flashing her a satisfied smile, he held Cherryl’s hands.
“That’s a relief but we have to go outside. Will it be alright?”
She nodded in response and the two walked side by side toward the exit.
When he opened the main gate, she saw a massive dark horse standing resolutely in the front yard.
The horse with silky smooth black fur was wearing equipment that could be mounted immediately, such as reins and a saddle.
Cherryl looked up at Cade as if asking for an explanation.
“We’re going out of the castle.”
With that simple answer, he pulled Cherryl close to the horse.
“Out of the castle?”
Before she could say anything more, Cade picked up Cherryl and sat her on the saddle.
There was no time to be surprised by Cade’s ability to lift an adult woman without changing his expression.
With no place to hold or lean unto, Cherryl let out a loud gasp as she sat alone on top of the moving creature.
“Uh!”
She could feel Cade climbing behind her.
Even without looking directly at him, she could tell that his movements were cool unlike her, swaying in all directions.
Cherryl slightly put her hands on the horse’s neck and it shook its dark mane once that she almost lost her balance, crying as she reeled.
“Miss Cherryl.”
Suddenly, a large hand came from behind and grabbed the side of Cherryl’s waist.
“Have you ever ridden a horse?”
“No.”
“I knew it.”
Sensing sarcasm in his assertion, she added apologetically.
“When I was young, a colt——”
Suddenly the horse broke into a loud neigh.
As she became aware of the fact that she was sitting on a rough warhorse’s back, she tensed up and blurted out.
She didn’t want her speech to sound gibberish, so enunciated every word. “I rode a colt when I was young.”
After spitting it out, she must have made ‘riding on a dainty colt’ sound unsightly that the corners of Cherryl’s mouth drooped.
The gap between them neared as Cade reached out for the reins and whispered in a tender voice. “It must have been lovely.”
“The colt?”
“No. You riding in a colt.”
As the horse moved lightly in place, Cherryl couldn’t hold back and released a scream.
Cade burst into laughter as he watched her shake like a roly-poly to keep her balance.
Even his good-natured laugh could make a clown feel good that Cherryl couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Then, she quickly grew serious.
She was scared to death of falling from the horse, but the man behind her seemed to enjoy her reactions.
“Wow. What’s wrong with you today, Your Grace? You just put a beginner on a horse and now you dare to laugh at her?”
“Don’t be angry. I just find you adorable.”
Both of them were too close to each other as his front supported her upper back while one of his hands rested on her stomach.
Cade was hugging her with one arm.
Was he doing it to secure her in place or did he just want to hug her?
Cherryl elbowed Cade and fired back. “Don’t hug me.”
The muscled forearm settled just below her chest made her feel strange as if she was defenseless.
Chuckling, Cade obediently lifted his upper body and shook the reins without warning.
The horse trudged at his starting signal, and Cherryl’s body also moved up and down.
Unconsciously, she reached back and tried to touch Cade’s thigh.
For a moment, she thought it was a mistake.
No!
Not the right side!
At that place——
A pale-faced Cherryl lifted her hand out of desperation as if a dog wanted to bite it.
Her right hand, which had nowhere to go, wandered in the air around her in dismayed panic.
Her five fingers, which were widely spread out, showed her intention to point somewhere a while ago.
The five widely spread fingers clearly showed her intention to point somewhere just a moment ago.
She could feel Cade breathing heavily over her shoulder and keeping silent but Cherryl couldn’t afford to care about the odd tension in the atmosphere.
Both her vision and breathing fluctuated unsteadily along with her struggling body.
Out of her mind, she stiffened her shoulders.
Her trembling body might soon drop to the ground if she relaxed even a little.
Only then did a worried voice flow through Cherryl’s earlobes.
“If you strain your shoulders like that instead of focusing on your weight, you’ll get muscle pains later. Relax and lean on me.”
“…”
“Cherryl.”
“What? What did you say? I didn’t hear you. I’m too nervous…”
“Relax your shoulders and tilt them back.”
“Like this?”
Cherryl maintained an uncomfortable posture by slightly tilting her neck.
Immediately, a firm order was issued.
“Come closer.”
“…….”
“Just a little more.”
Thinking it would all work out, Cherryl, who had been moving passively, leaned her upper body completely and allowed him to embrace her in his arms.
The heavy body of a man who didn’t even budge even when she put her weight on him was very stable.
“Like this?”
“Well done.”
She just leaned her back against him calmly, but Cade praised her as if he was proud of her accomplishment.
He dropped a light kiss on her cheek as if it was a prize for a child.
It was embarrassing that she had told Cade not to hug her earlier but she ended up in his embrace, anyway.
She grunted for no reason.
“I think it would have been better to ride a carriage, not a horse.”
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“No. It’s not uncomfortable.”
