Chapter 26: Don’t Look at Me

“Daisy!”

“Lady Cecilia! Hello.”

The two clasped hands and exchanged greetings.

Cecilia chattered about how she had bought cake in the capital and suggested we eat it later.

Daisy smiled brightly.

Exchanging glances with her, I simply walked quietly, listening to their voices.

My dazed mind seemed to awaken as we approached the riding arena.

The urge I’d felt last week—Let’s go to the stables!—was stirring inside me once again.

I have to go there!

It was more than just an interest in horseback riding; it was a powerful pull.

“Liana?”

“This way.”

I paused for a moment, then started walking again.

For some reason, my fingertips tingled.

The Academy’s riding arena was located on the lower left side of the main building.

If you followed the path, which resembled a wooded trail, you’d reach a vast riding ground surrounded by trees.

The arena, covered in soft earth, was so wide it was hard to take it all in at a glance.

On the left side of the entrance stood several large stables, and next to them was a modest wooden hut.

A man, who had been brushing a horse’s mane in the stable, came hurrying over.

“Hello! Are you here to watch the lesson?”

“Yes, hello. My name is Cecilia.”

The group moving to the riding ground for the lesson gathered around Cecilia as if to protect her.

When Cecilia responded, the man’s gaze naturally settled on her, even though he’d been surveying over twenty people.

A faint blush rose on the man’s cheeks.

“Ah, yes, I—my name is Paul, the stable keeper.”

“Yes, Paul. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Y-Yes, Lady Cecilia.”

Paul’s dazed eyes remained fixed on Cecilia’s face.

People seeing Cecilia for the first time usually looked like that.

“Excuse me, when is the professor arriving?”

“Oh! The professor will be a bit late today… Please feel free to look around. All the horses here are well-trained, gentle, and calm, but horses are sensitive creatures, so please don’t touch them.”

Paul raised his voice to convey this.

“There’s no fence?”

“You’re right, there isn’t.”

A dissatisfied voice chimed in.

The girls who’d been eyeing Cecilia were frowning as they looked around at the fenceless arena.

A horse that had been trotting in the distance started running a little, then alternated between walking and running.

When the horse moved unpredictably, their gazes became even more distrustful.

“Ah! We set up the fences only during competitions.”

“Isn’t that too dangerous?”

A female student with bright yellow hair raised her voice.

“No matter how gentle they are, what if one charges? A single hit would easily break a bone.”

“Um, miss, please don’t worry. The horses never charge at people!”

Paul hurriedly defended himself.

Well, as far as I knew, there had never been any accidents at the riding arena.

I nodded to myself at Paul’s words.

“How can we trust that?”

But the student was unfazed.

She crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and glared at Paul.

Although Paul was much taller than her, he seemed nervous, shifting his eyes around restlessly.

Her face seemed familiar, yet I couldn’t quite remember.

Hmm. Who was that…?

It’s on the tip of my tongue… I feel like I know her!

After thinking for a while, I decided to give up.

There was no point in recalling it.

After all, besides Cecilia and those two or three others, my relationships with classmates were abysmal.

“What if one charges and someone gets hurt?!”

She shouted, and Paul clammed up.

He mouthed words, but couldn’t seem to say anything.

He looked around desperately, but he seemed too timid to explain to the interrogating student.

“Um, that is…”

“Is there anyone else we can ask? You can’t even speak properly!”

“Natalie! That’s enough, he said it’s fine. Do you really think an accident will happen while he’s here?”

“You fool! Accidents always happen when you least expect them!”

Ah, so her name is Natalie.

It was a quiet-looking boy who grabbed her sleeve.

Hmm? Not just similar… they look identical?!

His eyes looked a bit gentler, but he was the spitting image of Natalie.

“They must be twins.”

Daisy whispered to Cecilia.

“Um, Miss Natalie?”

“What?”

Natalie looked Cecilia up and down, then scrutinized Daisy and me as well.

“Natalie! It’s rude to stare at people like that.”

The boy who looked just like her tugged on her sleeve.

“Hmph! Why? Am I wrong? Accidents can happen in the blink of an eye!”

“I actually agree. But if Paul says it’s safe, there must be a reason, right? So let’s hear him out. Paul, could you tell us why it’s safe?”

Cecilia nodded calmly in agreement with Natalie, then passed the floor to Paul.

Natalie frowned but nodded as well.

“Let’s hear it, then!”

That was the exact expression on her face, and then she said it out loud.

She’s not shy about speaking her mind!

I blinked.

Ah, Ollie. God must not have let me off easily.

I’m sure he took part of my memory.

Otherwise, how could I forget twins with such fiery personalities?

Unless… has something changed?

Suddenly, a chill ran through me and I clenched my fist.

Beep—beep—, a sound seemed to echo around me.

A bird call? Or… a warning?

“Y-Yes, um, there’s never been a single accident in the riding arena, and, um…”

Natalie’s eyebrows shot up.

That can’t be all the reason, right?

Her face said it all.

Paul, flustered, stammered on.

“The horses are also well-trained…”

Cecilia, as if encouraging him, looked at Paul and nodded.

Paul’s eyes grew moist, as if moved.

Gosh, is he touched? Paul… you really are timid.

“The horses have never once left the track! That’s true of all the Academy’s horses. That’s why, except during rough competitions, fences aren’t needed! They’d only spoil the scenery! And besides, we can’t just keep the horses penned up here all the time!”

“So you’re saying you don’t care about safety as long as the horses don’t have to be fenced in?!”

Natalie, who had been quietly listening, stomped her foot in frustration.

“Paul, you really do care for the horses.”

Cecilia said with a serious face, and Paul, deeply moved, nodded fervently.

Then he started glaring at Natalie, as if her words had wounded his sensitive heart.

When you go somewhere unfamiliar, something always happens…

I hadn’t come to the riding arena before, so nothing like this had happened.

But somehow, it all felt familiar, as if I’d experienced something similar before.

Well, for Cecilia, incidents like these were an everyday occurrence…

“Miss Natalie, how about leaving it at that? Please don’t frighten Paul too much.”

Cecilia stepped forward as if to shield Paul.

“What? Are you saying I scared him? Ha!”

Natalie’s face turned fierce.

Seeing her expression, I understood.

She had really just been speaking her mind to Paul; she wasn’t actually angry.

She’d already looked pretty fierce before, but with her eyes flashing, she looked truly scary.

“Haa. Natalie…”

The boy who looked just like her let go of her sleeve with a sigh and stepped back.

He seemed used to this sort of thing, as if he’d seen it many times before.

Natalie brushed off her skirt and stepped forward.

Yeah. I used to clean up incidents like this all the time…

Cecilia’s eyes landed on me.

She looked flustered, her eyes trembling.

“What’s this? Are they fighting?”

“Who’s that? Oh my.”

“That’s Cecilia, who entered as the top student, isn’t it?”

“Who’s the short girl?”

“Shh! She’s the one with the terrible temper who freaks out if you mention her height. Be careful!”

“What’s her problem, getting so worked up?”

“She’s the daughter of a great tycoon. There’s talk she’ll be the next heir. So there’s no need to get on her bad side.”

“If you have something to say, say it to my face!”

Natalie glanced back at the muttering crowd and snapped coldly.

Her words silenced the whispers.

Now, only the rustling leaves in the wind could be heard.

Paul’s tears seemed to vanish at her shout.

Cecilia looked at Natalie as if she was seeing something curious.

“Why aren’t you answering? I asked if I scared him.”

Natalie showed no sign of backing down.

She seemed truly upset at Cecilia’s words.

Standing askew, she looked up at the taller Cecilia with an arrogant air, as if looking down on her instead.

Suddenly, Cecilia’s cheeks flushed.

She lowered her gaze, then stared quietly at me.

What? Why? Why are you looking at me?!

No! Stop! Don’t look at me!

Despite my silent plea, Natalie followed Cecilia’s gaze and made direct eye contact with me.

Her eyes looked similar to Margareta’s, but different.

The sharp lift of her eyes was similar, but Natalie’s eyes were surprisingly round.

“Are you her spokesperson?”

Natalie tilted her head high, glaring at me as if daring me to speak.

The boy who looked just like Natalie also looked at me.

His eyes seemed to say, ‘You have a troublesome friend too, don’t you?’

I almost nodded in agreement.

“Sa—.”

“Natalie.”

I hesitated, and as she started to speak again, I quickly called her name.

Natalie pursed her lips and nodded.

Phew. Even though I hadn’t heard them, I could almost hear her grumbling: ‘Are you ignoring me?’

“Liana, right? I can’t stand using honorifics like ‘Miss’ between classmates. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to use them either.”

“Alright, Natalie.”

My breezy answer softened her gaze for a moment, but then it returned to normal.

“So, are you the spokesperson?”

She looked pretty intimidating.

“…….”

No! Say no!

But with so many eyes on me, and seeing Cecilia’s watery gaze, I lost my nerve.

“No.”

“What? No? But you’re looking at her, aren’t you?”

Natalie tilted her head, as if not understanding, then made a baffled face.

“No? Cecilia, she says she’s not. Why are you looking at someone else for no reason?”