episode_0078

Lilith, Ethan’s exclusive maid, was given a fairly long break time every day after lunch.

Usually, after cleaning Ethan’s room following breakfast, there was some vague leftover time, and after dinner, there was a strange tendency for time to float by as well.

However, the floating time after lunch was considered my personal free time unless there was something special going on.

Unlike regular maids, exclusive maids were exempt from other tasks in the mansion, so it was kind of a privilege.

Of course, the downside was that if the master called, I had to quickly respond, even if I was in the middle of something, but Ethan wasn’t the type to constantly call me without reason.

Since the incident three years ago, Ethan had rarely called me personally, except for a few occasions when discussing truly important matters, like whether Seraphine would attend the masquerade ball.

In other words, the time between lunch and dinner was entirely my personal time to use.

Usually, I would invest this time in efforts to survive in this world as Lilith.

Whether it was collecting independent funds through knitting or slowly accumulating knowledge of this world through books borrowed from Ethan’s room.

The skill I started learning today was closely related to survival as an adventurer.

It was none other than the horseback riding skill, a skill that would never be a disadvantage for an adventurer to possess.

Today, I was out in the stables with the head butler, Dietmayer, to learn horseback riding.

“Please be careful, Miss Lilith.”

“Oh, I know…”

Dietmayer, the instructor, looked at me with a slightly worried expression and warned me.

I, too, nervously met the gaze of the white horse in front of me without shaking off the tension.

…How do I get friendly with a horse? Should I pet it after making eye contact?

“Oh, I’ll rely on you today, Zeraon…”

“Hehehe.”

“Eek…?!”

Zeraon let out a loud cry in response to just making eye contact and greeting, though it didn’t seem like an aggressive posture, it was enough to surprise me.

Seeing that he didn’t snort or anything while looking at me, it was probably just a simple expression of affection.

“Are you okay, Miss Lilith?”

“Yes, yes… It’s fine…”

“I came to assist you in learning horseback riding, but if you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to force yourself to learn. Just because you’re Ethan’s exclusive maid doesn’t mean you have to learn horseback riding.”

“Oh, no. Please teach me properly, Butler.”

“…Understood. If that’s what you desire.”

Dietmayer, who didn’t listen to my words carefully, immediately approached Zeraon, grabbed the reins hanging on his back with one hand, and after patting Zeraon’s neck a few times, handed me the reins.

“Take it, Miss Lilith.”

“Um, are you not going to show me a demonstration?”

“It’s much easier to learn horseback riding by experiencing it firsthand. Also, horses can get tired if riders change frequently.”

“Is… that so…?”

“And haven’t you ridden in a carriage driven by me before?”

“Well, yes…”

“Basically, riding and driving are similar principles. Since you have a basic sense of movement, just watching me drive my carriage yesterday should be enough for preliminary learning.”

…Actually, I was so tired that I almost didn’t watch at all.

It’s impossible to see that when you’re barely awake due to using up all your magic power.

Well, I’ve seen characters riding horses before. It was the protagonist who rode a horse in their previous life.

If I try to mimic that kind of appearance vaguely, it should work somehow.

After receiving the reins handed over by Dietermayer, I gently stroked the neck of Zeraon in front of me.

With a brief greeting, I kicked the ground and climbed onto the horse’s back.

“I’ll take good care of you, Zeraon.”

“Oh, by the way, the name of this one is Lucina….”

-Clang!

“….”

Thanks to a fairly high jump, I was lucky enough not to show a clumsy appearance in front of Dietermayer.

I just imitated what I saw in the game, but it worked.

It must be possible because I’m currently at level 9 and my basic physical abilities are not that weak.

Or it could be the influence of the unique abilities that the character Lillis herself possesses.

Among the main heroines of “Luminor Academy,” Serafin, Natalie, and Lillis were the three characters who could ride alone.

By the way, characters like Agnes couldn’t even ride a horse alone, let alone ride it well.

“Your athletic sense is quite good, Miss Lillis.”

“T-Thank you.”

“Just hold the reins tightly like that and slowly….”

“Hold the reins tightly… Uh, ahh?!”

-Clang!

“Hehehehe!”

As soon as I hit my waist while holding the reins tightly with both hands, Zeraon suddenly burst out with a loud voice.

Thanks to that, I had to taste the unexpected speed while hanging on to Zeraon’s back.

“Ahh! Ah! Ahhh!”

“Miss Lillis! Please pull the reins! Pulling them will make him stop!”

“P-Pull them?! Like this?!”

-Clang!

“Hehehehe!!”

“That’s acceleration! Don’t pull too fast….”

He was desperately chasing after me to stop me, but in an instant, Dietermayer was getting farther away, and Zeraon suddenly started running through the mansion yard with me.

Feeling suddenly nauseous from the speed I was experiencing for the first time in this world, I couldn’t regain my senses for a few seconds.

In those few seconds of losing my mind, Zeraon was running towards the end of the wall of Blackwood Mansion with a force that would crash into it.

“Ahh! S-Stop!”

“Hehehe!”

“O-Or at least change direction!”

With the thought that I had to survive somehow, I turned the reins as far to the right as possible and leaned my body.

Fortunately, Zeraon’s body also leaned to the right, and with a 90-degree drift, we successfully managed to turn the corner somehow.

Wait, this is the training ground on the right side of the mansion. If there are people in the training ground right now, they will definitely….

“Ahhhh?!”

“M-Maid?!”

“What are you doing right now…?”

“Excuse me, please move aside! Master! Young master!”

The Blackwood rich man, who was clashing swords, confirmed my approach and dodged with a surprised and agile movement.

Fortunately, it was a scene of him avoiding the horse with the sword master and his son-like nimble movements.

There was no incident of me causing trouble by stealing the mansion owner or his son on the first day of horse riding.

“Maid?! What are you doing?!”

“I-It’s okay! It’s nothing much….!”

“What are you suddenly doing….”

Oh no, I shouldn’t have said I’m okay right now.

Seeing the debt maid suddenly riding a horse and running, Harold or Ethan might misunderstand, so I desperately appealed my innocence to the two of them before turning the next corner with Zeraon.

“I-I’m not trying to run away~!!”

I realized only after I stopped talking that bringing up unnecessary words could have led to misunderstandings.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Ttokgak. Ttokgak.”

“….”

“Ttokgak, ttokgak, ttokgak.”

“Stop.”

“Hehehe!”

With a slight pull on the reins and a word, Jeraon quietly stopped in place along with a cry.

Watching him obediently stop in his tracks after the previous gallop, I quietly sighed in relief.

“You’re quite skilled, Miss Relise.”

“W-was it okay…?”

“Being able to control the horse on your first day is a remarkable talent. At this rate, you’ll be able to handle even the gallop within a few days.”

“….”

Thank goodness. I was worried about what would happen if I couldn’t ride even after possessing Relise.

Perhaps due to his skill that led him to become the head groom at a young age, Dittmayer’s teaching methods were easy to understand from the start.

From the posture to maintain while riding, to how to signal the horse and how it would respond, the way he explained things made even a beginner like me understand.

It was also thanks to the head groom that the incident with Jeraon’s gallop earlier was resolved.

After circling the Blackwood Manor yard, Dittmayer, who had mounted behind me, took the reins from me and stopped Jeraon.

I’ve seen scenes of mounting a horse while it’s running in games before, but I never expected Dittmayer to be able to do it.

With the image of a young head groom in mind, I thought he was more of a knowledgeable character, but it turns out he’s also good at physical tasks.

Well, in this era, it’s probably difficult to succeed quickly with just intelligence and knowledge.

Seeing him drive a carriage for hours from Blackwood Estate to the imperial capital without getting tired, it was clear he wasn’t lacking in stamina or strength.

Anyway, after achieving a safe state, I practiced the stable trot for about 30 minutes following Dittmayer’s instructions.

Feeling a bit tired physically, I dismounted from the horse and collapsed on the ground to rest.

“Haah….”

“Are you tired, Miss Relise?”

“A little. I didn’t expect it to be this hard.”

“Many people think that at first. It may seem like the rider is just sitting comfortably while the horse does all the work, but that’s not the case.”

“I see. I truly understand it now.”

I never thought I would have to do squats to the rhythm of the horse’s movement.

Thanks to Dittmayer’s detailed corrections, I managed to hold on until the middle part.

Of course, I’m still not used to it, and I feel like running would be easier.

“That’s it for today’s lesson, but would you like to continue learning next week, Miss Relise?”

“Why do you ask? Are you worried that teaching me equestrian skills might be burdensome for the head groom?”

“Not at all. I just wanted to make sure you haven’t lost interest in horseback riding. Riding requires a lot of physical strength and it takes time to learn it properly.”

“I see.”

So he was just asking out of courtesy, in case I got tired after a day of experience.

Indeed, I felt tired in many ways after just one day. Perhaps practicing running would be a faster way to travel at this rate.

But that’s only applicable when I’m alone as Relise.

When thinking about the future life as an adventurer, it was clear that horses were essential for long-term activities.

Whether it was moving luggage when changing residences, carrying someone behind you during escort or rescue missions, or even when you eventually learned to drive a carriage.

The difficulty of learning something meant that it required a lot of time and money to learn properly.

In other words, it wasn’t like you could just go out later and learn whatever you wanted.

So, it was definitely a wise decision to learn at least a little now so that you could ride a horse later on.

Taking classes at the Blackwood Manor with Dietermayer was practically free anyway.

Of course, you had to express these thoughts in a way that didn’t offend him, as he might not teach you again if you did.

“Since I’ve started learning, I might as well learn until the end. After all, as a full-time maid, it wouldn’t hurt to have this skill.”

“Of course, Miss Lillis.”

“If I can drive a carriage, it will make things easier for Master Dietermayer too. After all, he can’t accompany us everywhere Ethan and I go.”

“That’s a great attitude, Miss Lillis.”

“And we’ve finally become friends with Zeraon, it would be a shame to part ways after just one day, right Zeraon?”

“Hehehe!”

“So, that child is not Zeraon, but Lucina…”

Ignoring Dietermayer’s blocked conversation, she finished the conversation by stroking Zeraon’s mane.

As the afternoon free time was almost over and it was time to change clothes and prepare for dinner, even for a full-time maid with flexible time management, it was a rule to participate in the three meals a day.

With these thoughts in mind, she took Zeraon’s reins and headed towards the stables to prepare for the evening meal.

Suddenly, a familiar shadow appeared from the training ground to the east of the mansion and rushed towards her, calling out urgently.

“M-Maid! Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“Young Master?”

…If I were to say this, it might be a bit funny, but he really came to worry quickly.