Vrrrrr—

As the vibration became stronger, the intensity of the emitted light also increased.

“Hey, what’s going on?! Are you sure you’re doing it right?!”

At Vanessa’s shout, the employee’s bewildered voice came through the speakers.

— Miss, could you take your hand off the Mana Stone?!

Ashmia pulled her hand away from the Mana Stone, but the light and vibration continued to grow stronger either way. And in the dazzling light, Ashmia saw a silhouette. A man with tall and bushy hair.

It was none other than the appearance of Michael Rose.

“…!!”

And that wasn’t the end.

‘What?!’

Michael’s silhouette faded and another silhouette appeared behind him. The appearance of their wavy long hair fluttering was telling Ashmia that the silhouette belonged to a woman, but the light was so strong that Ashmia found it hard to open her eyes, so she couldn’t see the woman’s face.

“…?!”

Then…

Whoosh—!!

The explosion of light was so strong that everyone who was watching turned their heads.

Vrrrvrrrrr…

As if nothing had happened, the mana stone quickly lost its light and stopped vibrating.

Bump—!

Vanessa opened the door and ran in shouting while grabbing Ashmia’s shoulders.

“Lady! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I think I’m fine. But Vanessa, just now, you also…”

“Hey, you crazy bastards! Are you doing your job right?! Call the bastard who manages this place! If you don’t explain clearly what just happened to my lady, you’re dead!”

“Calm down, Vanessa! I’m fine!”

While comforting Vanessa, a frightened employee approached them and guided them to the counseling room. Soon, the first employee they met when they arrived walked in with a pale face, holding a document that looked like Ashmia’s test results.

“T-The conclusion is that Ashmia Kalanishiel is a talented person.”

Slam—!

Vanessa slammed her hands on top of the desk.

“Who doesn’t know that?! Quickly explain what just happened!”

“This is… It’s the first time we’ve seen such a rare case… It’s hard to say, so please understand…”

“Please understand?!”

The employee avoided Vanessa’s gaze by continuously pushing up his glasses that slipped down because of sweat.

“So you don’t know either, do you?”

As Vanessa’s voice turned cold, the staff spoke urgently.

“We… We’ll do a more in-depth analysis and contact you as soon as possible! O-Our facility also has a curriculum to help you with safety awareness and the use of abilities! If you have any thoughts…!”

Ashmia raised her hand to stop the employee.

“No, wait a minute. Before that, in that light, both of them…”

Ashmia was about to ask, ‘Didn’t you see the silhouettes of a man and a woman standing there?’ but closed her mouth when she noticed Vanessa’s and the employee’s expressions.

“Yes, my lady. Tell me, did you see something in the light?”

“…Did you not see anything?”

“Other than it being incredibly dazzling… Did you see anything else yourself?”

As Vanessa and the staff looked at Ashmia in anticipation, she thought for a second and shook her head.

“No, I didn’t see anything either.”

“Hey! Why does my lady have to worry about this?! Aren’t you supposed to know everything?!”

Ashmia stood up so that Vanessa wouldn’t annoy the workers any further.

“All right. There is no need for a detailed analysis and no need to contact me. About the curriculum, too.”

All information, except for Ashmia’s name, written on the document was false anyway.

“I wasn’t here today, got it?”

“What? Oh, yes! Of course!”

“Please destroy the documents too.”

Ashmia left first, and Vanessa looked back at the employees.

“Do it properly.”

Bang—!

Vanessa slammed the desk once again before following Ashmia.

“…”

The employees looked at Vanessa’s fist marks left on the iron desk and took out a handkerchief to wipe their sweaty faces.

***

“Vanessa, can we make a promise?”

“Yes. What are you talking about?”

“From now on, analyse the situation before trying to be ‘mafia-like’.”

Vanessa understood what Ashmia was saying, but she looked troubled.

“My Lady, I apologise, but wouldn’t there be more people who would look down on us and won’t listen to us?”

Ashmia also partially agreed with this typical mafia idea. In fact, it wasn’t much of a difference compared to when the police dealt with a suspect.

“I know. I’ll send you a signal when I need it.”

“All right! So, what kind of signal should we use?”

Vanessa asked, her eyes shining with excitement like a child.

“Well, if I touch my earlobe.”

“Yes! But can I scare them and beat them up?”

Ashmia thought briefly before answering.

“If you look at my expressions, you’ll know what to do.”

After taming Vanessa, Ashmia fell into deep thought. What was the silhouette that she saw in the light?

‘…I hope there will be no troublesome situations.’

Ashmia had not yet awakened, but she knew that her ability was growing. However, it only felt like she had been given pointless homework. Thinking about it, there was nothing strange if she had a hidden ability, and they wouldn’t find out that the current Ashmia was not the real Ashmia.

Upon realizing that, she was glad to know that the silhouette she had seen in the light was invisible to others.

‘I will never come here again.’

With that in mind, Ashmia started the engine of their car.

***

The contact from the riding field finally came two weeks later.

It was later than expected, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. In the meantime, Ashmia’s stamina improved a little, and the results of training with Vanessa took shape.

“What do you think?”

A black top, white pants, and dark brown leather boots. Ashmia, dressed in neat and luxurious riding clothes, asked while standing in front of the mirror.

“You are so beautiful, my lady!”

Vanessa’s fussy reaction made Ashmia feel good, but it didn’t really help much. So, she looked in Claudia’s direction and only let go of her worries after seeing her nod her head.

“Then, shall we depart?”

Ashmia headed to the garage with Vanessa and Claudia. Eight people were already waiting in the garage to protect her.

“Lady Ashmia.”

Claudia spoke softly to Ashmia who got in the car.

“I hope you have a safe trip.”

Ashmia smiled and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll be back.”

***

If it was just to ride a horse in the first place, Ashmia didn’t need to choose ‘Randolph’s Riding Field’.

tl/n: this can also be ‘randolph’s horse riding course’ but it’s too long so i adapted. also “course” means something like “path” so field works as a translation for it too.

If she went out a little further in the suburbs, there would be plenty of horseback riding grounds where she could rent a whole day using Ashmia’s personal assets.

Ashmia had another plan.

However, it took two weeks to bring a horse, same goes for her ‘opponent’.

‘How lavishly are you going to welcome me?’

While thinking about this and that, Ashmia began to see a large building and a fence over the hill. When she opened the car window, a fresh smell of horse poop came with the wind.

‘It’s been a while since I smelled this scent.’

Michael once rode a horse. Of course, it was not a sport that a policeman with no money could enjoy freely, so he enjoyed it at a small horseback riding field.

Ashmia let out a small sigh as she recalled the terrible memories of her running all night long to catch a criminal with the horse riding skills she had.

“Don’t worry, lady. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you!”

Ashmia smiled lightly as she noticed that Vanessa might’ve misunderstood her sigh.

The three cars entered the parking lot one after the other.

As expected of Randolph’s Riding Field. Even on weekdays, the parking lot was almost full of luxurious cars.

When Ashmia got out of the car after finding an empty spot and parked properly, Vanessa called Ashmia in a low voice.

“Lady.”

Turning her head, she saw a group of people standing in line in front of a luxurious resort-like building.

At first, Ashmia thought it was really welcoming, and it would’ve been if not for the ten people holding shotguns in their hands.

Escorted by eight bodyguards and Vanessa, Ashmia walked towards them. At first glance, people would think they’re going to a duel.

“Don’t be hasty, all of you. You must not speak first and, especially, never pull out a gun until I give you instructions. Got it?”

“All right!”

Upon arriving at the entrance of the building, Ashmia was greeted by a greasy-looking man with a moustache, which she had seen only in pictures, standing in the middle of the horseback riding ground.

“Welcome to Randolph’s Riding Field. I’m Ivern Randolph, the manager.”

[2. The White Horse and the Princess]

Ashmia also slightly bowed and said.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Ashmia Kalanishiel. May I call you Mister Randolph?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s an overkill for me. Just call me Ivern.”

“Yes, but can I ask you why the people behind you came along?”

Ivern Randolph was quite astonished at the sight of the seventeen-year-old girl speaking clearly without a change in her expression although there were more than twenty armed men in front of her.