The Queen of Villains - Chapter 24

Duke Charles Sadie enjoyed horseback riding as a hobby, although he was not a horse-riding enthusiast.

As a result, his massive stable housed around ten horses, including military horses, racehorses, and horses for leisure riding.

Upon arriving at the stable, Lenav approached a tall and beautifully-maned black horse. It was a magnificent steed with a glossy coat that shimmered like dew.

“It’s better not to ride Larry recklessly.”

At Charles’ warning, Lenav stepped back awkwardly and asked.

“Is this a horse you cherish?”

The butler standing behind them pointed to another stable and explained, “Sapphire, the horse favored by the master, is kept separately and given special care.”

“Then why can’t I ride this horse?”

“Well… It’s a rather unruly horse, and riding it without caution can be dangerous.”

Larry was brought from the East Continent at a high price, but he was a difficult horse to handle because of his volatile temperament. Despite Charles’s efforts to train him, all attempts had failed.

Upon hearing the explanation, Lenav felt disappointed and began searching for another horse.

“If nobody rides it, I will ride this horse.”

Killian, who had already taken a lap inside the stable , stood in front of Larry. Even before someone approached, Larry, seemingly excited, raised his front leg and neighed.

“You don’t have to overdo it. If you fall off your horse, what kind of disgrace is that?”

As Lenav laughed, Enoch interjected.

“Then wouldn’t it disgrace you if Marquis Starr won first place with that horse?”

“Sigh, Count Blois, please….”

Just before the words “Please shut up” escaped his throat, Lenav realized it was better to divert the conversation elsewhere.

Lenav held back his anger and approached Enoch.

“By the way, did the count choose a horse?”

“Hmm, I thought about it before going to bed yesterday, and I felt sick riding someone else’s horse.”

In fact, horses are very sensitive, so giving up their backs means that they have strong faith in their rider.

In other words, no matter how well trained a horse is, it is dangerous to ride a horse without a trusting relationship.

“Then the count can watch with the ladies on the terrace.”

“Yes, I should. If I go now, will the seat next to Lady Huppert be empty?”

“Ha ha, I don’t know.”

“Then I’ll have to go quickly.”

Enoch hummed as he went back to the castle.

Lenav was already feeling drained. He trudged back to where the Duke and Killian were.

“So, Your Highness will ride Sapphire, and I’ll ride Bailey. Will the Marquis really ride Larry?”

Without retorting to Lenav’s words, Killian continued to lock eyes with Larry. Then, as if calming him down, he gently placed both hands on the horse.

It almost seemed like they were communicating with their eyes.

Just as Lenav was about to tell Killian to give up, to his surprise, Larry leaned against Killian’s hand, calming down his excitement.

“Fascinating.”

While feeling a tinge of envy toward Larry, who had allowed a person to approach him for the first time, Charles also acknowledged Killian’s skill.

Lenav knew it would be difficult to surpass Killian. If someone could handle horses so well, they were likely skilled, and Larry was an exceptional horse in himself.

With an angry expression, Lenav stared at Killian and brought the horse he had chosen.

Now, the three of them mounted their horses and stood at the starting line.

“Wow, the scale of the northern stables is truly impressive,” Lenav didn’t miss the opportunity to flatter.

“To have such diverse obstacles in such a spacious private equestrian facility!”

“Be careful not to get hurt. The jumps are much higher than they appear.”

“Yes, I may not be as skilled as Your Grace, but I do enjoy horseback riding, so you don’t have to worry,” Lenav exclaimed with confidence.

“Now, let’s begin the competition. Get ready, one, two, go!”

At the referee’s signal, the three of them started riding their horses. Initially, Charles took the lead.

Killian and Lenav, who were behind him, were neck and neck, but suddenly Larry snorted and posed a threat to the horse Lenav was riding, Bailey.

“Aah!”

Lenav couldn’t even ride for long before he momentarily lost the reins and fell off the horse.

“Uuugh.”

As Lenav was lifted by the staff, the three of them who had been watching their match hurriedly came down.

“Lord Touchet, what’s happening here?” Enoch’s fearful voice resurfaced.

“Falling off all alone like that! Even if you lose, why make it so disgraceful?” Enoch clicked his tongue.

As Lenav fell off the horse, he fell on the hurdles underneath it. He didn’t want to open his eyes because he was more ashamed than hurt.

“By the way, look over there!”

Marlene shook Emily’s shoulder, pointing somewhere.

“Your husband is almost catching up with the Duke!”

Following Marlene’s hand, Enoch clapped his hands enthusiastically.

“Truly remarkable! The Marquis is a skilled rider!”

Emily looked at Killian as if enchanted. She already knew he was handsome, but seeing him ride, cutting through the wind and sweating, made it hard to look away. He was incredibly attractive.

Unbeknownst to them, the three of them forgot about Lenav and focused on the race.

Since it wasn’t a long course, the winner of the race was quickly determined. Enoch and Marlene, who had been observing from a distance, offered words of consolation to Emily.

“Ah, Lady Star, it’s a pity for your husband.”

“But it was a great race, Emily.”

The winner of the race was Charles, but nobody believed that Killian’s skills fell short.

Just the fact that he almost caught up with Charles, who had never synced with anyone before, was proof of his abilities.

The only one who suffered from this match was Lenav. Enoch approached the fallen Lenav as if he was about to say something.

“Lord Touchet, from now on, you shouldn’t speak carelessly. Look at yourself. It’s not a pretty sight.”

“Count…”

Lenav approached Enoch and gestured for him to come closer.

“Do you have anything to say?”

Enoch hurriedly moved closer to Lenav and leaned in to listen.

“Please… just shut your mouth…”

With those words, Lenav lost consciousness.

***

Lenav rested in his room due to his injury, while the rest of the people decided to have dinner.

“Your Grace.”

The butler quietly informed Charles of the news.

As everyone looked at his face wondering what was going on, Charles’ mouth opened heavily.

“It seems we’ll have an additional guest for dinner.”

Although the Duke had not extended the invitation, the person who had free access to this place was none other than Charles’s mother, Lady Deborah Christine de Sadie, the godmother.[T/n: I don’t know if she is actually his godmother I think it’s more like a nickname they use for her]

Unlike Charles, she was extremely sociable and enjoyed engaging in conversation.

“After returning from my travels, what is happening? The sun must be rising from the west.”

Dressed in a gown, Lady Deborah greeted each person at the dining table. It was intriguing to see the reserved Charles inviting people over like this.

“Starr? I’ve never heard of that family before.”

Deborah looked at Killian and raised an eyebrow.

If Lenav were present, he would have seized the opportunity to denigrate Killian, but fortunately, he was still ill.

Killian calmly explained, “I received my title two years ago, so Lady Deborah may not be familiar with me.”

“Hmm, I see. Well, nice to meet you, regardless.”

In this world, it is common for ordinary people who became suddenly rich to buy a title with money. The godmother, who had not accepted such a thing at first, gradually accepted the change while traveling for a year.

“Then let’s all eat comfortably.”

It would have been nice to have a comfortable meal, but the combination of Lady Deborah and Enoch exceeded everyone’s imagination.

“By the way, Lady Starr , I feel like I’ve seen your face somewhere before.”

Lady Deborah tapped her chin and scrutinized Emily’s face.

“Perhaps we crossed paths at a gathering. My maiden name was ‘Sinope’ before I got married.”

“Oh, my God, you’re the girl my son almost got married to!”

Since they had already experienced a similar situation, fortunately, this time everyone was able to manage their expressions without difficulty.

“That’s why we found this combination quite amusing.”

However, Enoch was someone who couldn’t adapt no matter how many times he experienced such situations.

Charles swallowed a sigh in his mind. I thought Emily wouldn’t come, so I invited a few others, but I didn’t know there would be such an ambush.

From now on, he decided to remove Enoch Blois from all future guest lists.

After a particularly difficult meal time for Charles, Marilyn and Emily had to have an unwanted tea time with the godmother. This is because she strongly appealed that she needed someone to chat with.

The godmother seemed determined to share all her travel experiences within a single day and barely stopped talking.

“In that country, it was so cold that even chickens wore clothes.”

“Oh, really?”

“But when the chicken wore clothes, it was too small and started crying, ‘Help, I’m stuck!'”

“Hahaha…”

Unfortunately, she enjoyed talking but lacked the talent to make her stories amusing.

“Huppert seems a bit tired, but it must be my imagination, right?”

Marlene, who was caught stifling a yawn, jolted in surprise and reached out her hand.

“Tired? Not at all! Lady Deborah’s stories are so entertaining that time flies by.”

The godmother nodded satisfactorily and then turned to Emily.

“What about Lady Starr ?”

“I’m also thoroughly enjoying listening.”

Emily deliberately spilled tea on her own skirt as she spoke. Marlene, who understood what she was trying to do, moved her lips from across the table.

“What’s with the theatrics?”[T/n: this isn’t being said out loud, marlene is mouthing it to Emily so Lady Deborah can not hear it]

Without making eye contact with her until the end, Emily completely turned her body toward Lady Deborah.

“Lady Deborah, I’m truly sorry, but may I go change my clothes?”

“Oh dear, did you get hurt?”

“No, fortunately, the tea wasn’t hot, so I’m fine.”

“Well then, go change quickly. I’ll continue chatting with Lady Huppert.”

Emily rose from her seat with an apologetic expression.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

As Emily walked toward the corridor, she glanced back discreetly.

Marlene was vigorously mouthing curses.

***

Translator note: Enjoy the chapter! I’m reformatted all past chapters so there is less spacing between different sentences, hopefully it makes it easier to read and looks more ~Aesthetically pleasing~ lmk if yall don’t like it ~ <3 Mae

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