A P H I A
I face the crown prince while munching my bread, and he instantly looks at me in disgust. "You have a big appetite, priestess." He commented while I was looking at him.
"Your minions…" I pointed to Howard and Elbrus. "They took me here without letting me finish my breakfast first. Is this how you treat the priestess?" I asked, raising my left brow upward.
"Well, I can't blame them for taking you by force if you resist." He said while smirking. The nerve of this guy! Gosh!
"In our world, this is called kidnapping. I can sue you as the mastermind for kidnapping me." I uttered.
"You cannot sue the crown prince, priestess." He said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "On the other hand, I can sue you of insubordination for not abiding by my order."
Jerk. He is the biggest jerk on earth.
"I am not under your authority, so I don't have to follow you. What has gotten into you for challenging me?! Are you drunk!?" I roared.
"D-Drunk?! Me?! Do I look like a drunk to you?!" He howled.
"No! You look like a frog!" I shouted before hiding myself behind Howard and Elbrus. I heard the people around us laugh in amusement. I cannot believe he would let these people watch our race! It's embarrassing!
"You dare to call me frog again, and then you would hide from me?!" He yelled.
"I-I am not hiding from you!" I said. "I just don't want near a frog like you!" I added, and they all laughed again.
"If I win the race, you will stop calling me frog or frog prince." Prince Kalmin declared. I showed myself and faced him once again.
So, this is his reason for challenging me. I was just calling him frog because he insulted me back then, and I guess it hurts his ego.
"If I win the race, you will call me Aphia," I announced, and they all cheered in excitement. Prince Kalmin looked surprised at first, and then he smirked.
"It's a deal—" I suddenly put the last portion of the bread in his mouth, making him stop from talking and…. breathing? I don't know why he suddenly freezes.
The commanders and knights around us seem surprised as well. What? Is it bad to feed him the bread I was eating? I suddenly felt full, so I decided to feed it to him instead of throwing it away.
"Deal," I said before turning my back on him. I felt awkward and embarrassed all of a sudden because of their reactions. In our world, it's just a normal gesture.
I walked over to the white horse waiting for me. Shit! Now that I realized it, I don't know how to ride a horse! It might kick me before I could even touch it. What should I do!? I cannot back down now! I cannot let the crown prince win!
"Will you be alright?" I was startled when someone spoke behind me.
Clovis?! He is talking to me?! I looked over my shoulder to check if he was talking to someone else. No one's behind my back except the horse.
"M-Me? Yeah?" Shit! What kind of response was that?!
His brows knit together. "You're not sure?" His beautiful eyes caught my attention, and I can't help but stare at them. "You can back down now." He said, and that made me look at him in disbelief. "I mean…" He cleared his throat. "If you don't want to do this, you may explain to the crown prince." He said, rephrasing his statement.
I diverted my gaze back to the horse. I tried to touch it, and luckily, it did not react. I sighed as a sign of relief. "The crown prince is childish enough to come up with this challenge, but I am taking the deal seriously. I know he is serious with his words too." I said.
I shut my eyes closed while caressing the body of the horse. Erskine told me that the magical symbol on my forehead represents past, present, and future. Maybe I could use it to replicate the past experiences and skills of the previous priestess in riding a horse.
I focus my magic on the magical symbol, and the memories of the previous priestess while riding a horse are instantly restored in my mind. I smiled from ear to ear as I opened my eyes to face Clovis.
"Your forehead just glowed." He commented while looking at my forehead in surprise. "Your magical symbol glowed." He rephrased.
I smiled at him. "I retrieved some of the former priestesses' memories. Now I know how to ride a horse." I stated. It's just like a computer database. "Let's keep it a secret," I said before winking at him, and he suddenly blushed.
Guys in this world are easy to tease.
I chuckled at his cute reaction.
G U N T H E R
"What happened?" I asked Clovis when he returned to our spot. I have been observing him since the moment he approached the priestess. "Are you alright? Your face is red." I commented innocently, but I know what exactly happened.
"I-It's just hot." He said, and I was having a hard time suppressing my laughter.
My man just took his first move! I am very proud of him.
The priestess refused Clovis's help, but she still managed to ride the horse herself. One of the knights explains the course of the race while she's listening carefully. "Are you alright with your dress, Lady Aphia?" Aloisia asked worriedly. "It might blow by the wind while you're racing. You cannot let the other people see your legs." She explained.
The priestess looked at her awkwardly. "You have a point." She answered. It's our tradition among women not to expose their bare legs.
"Why did you take her wearing this dress?!" Aloisia yelled at Howard and Elbrus. "You should have let her change first!" She complained.
"Is there a problem?" Prince Kalmin asked.
"You are the problem." The priestess said as she rolled her eyes at him.
"What?!" He exclaimed.
"Your highness, Lady Aphia cannot participate wearing her dress. The wind might blow it away and might expose her legs." Aloisia explained, and the crown prince blushed as his eyes widened.
I shake my head in disbelief. The crown prince knows how to blush, and that is because of the priestess.
"All men shall turn their back on us while we are racing, and Aloisia will witness the competition to prove the winner." Prince Kalmin announced.
"What!? No way!" Howard and Elbrus complained in unison, followed by all the knights.
"We want to watch how the priestess will beat you, your highness," Howard said while smiling, teasing him.
"You wanna die, Howard?!" The crown prince threatened him.
"Huh! It's true! I will beat you!" The priestess said while smirking.
"Shut up!" Prince Kalmin shouted at her, and she chuckled.
"We were excited to watch your race, but now you just killed us, your highness. You killed our happiness." Elbrus said dramatically. I walked over to him, and then I smacked his head lightly. It's their fault anyway.
"Forgive him, your highness. He is not in his right mind. We will do as you said." I said to him, and he nodded while glaring at Elbrus.
"Wait, how about you, your highness, you will see her legs," Howard said, and the crown prince's eyes widened in surprise.
"I don't have any slightest desire to look at her legs!" He shouted.
"What?! I don't have any slightest desire to look at your face too!" The priestess shouted back, and I couldn't help but shake my head. There is no ending in this fight.
"Turn you back now, gentlemen!" Aloisia shouted, and our knights complained while following the crown prince's order. "They are now in the starting line," Aloisia said while we could hear the crown prince and the priestess arguing.
"Are you read, Lady Aphia?" Aloisia asked.
"I am ready!" The priestess shouted. Aloisia counted, and I heard the two starts the race after the signal.
"Prince Kalmin is leading the race!" Aloisia announced. "Lady Aphia is trying to catch up to him!"
"Oh no, there is a sheep on Lady Aphia's way! Jump! Jump over it!" She shouted at the priestess. "Yes! You are good, Lady Aphia! Go and catch up to him!"
I look at Clovis, whom I found staring at his feet, while Howard and Elbrus look like having constipation. They are itching to turn around and watch the race.
"Lady Aphia just caught up to him! She is now leading the race!" Aloisia said while clapping her hands. "Keep it up, Lady Aphia!"
Aloisia kept us informed of the happenings on the race until it ended with her scream. Her reaction tells us all who the winner is.
"OMG! I can't believe I won!" The priestess said when we turned around to see them. "I beat the crown prince!" She shouted while looking at Prince Kalmin, teasing him.
"It's just your luck." The crown prince commented while glaring at the priestess, annoyed and mad.
"It is what the loser always says." She said while smirking.
"I am not a loser!" He roared.
"Congratulations, Lady Aphia!" Howard and Elbrus greeted her.
"Thank you! I told you I would beat him!" She answered before laughing. Some of the knights walked over to her to greet and praise her.
"How did she beat you, your highness?" I asked.
The crown prince is one of the best jockeys in the kingdom, and a newbie wouldn't beat him so easily.
The crown prince avoided my gaze. "She is good enough to beat me, that's all." He said, but I sense something is off. Did he let the priestess win? "Are you done taking all the praises?" He asked the priestess.
"Good enough to boost my morale." The priestess answered.
"You have no shame at all." Prince Kalmin countered.
"And you do?! I need all the compliments that I could get after you insulted me the first time we met! You crushed my ego!" She rants.
"So, it's the reason why you are so angry with me, huh." Prince Kalmin said while smirking. "Join me for lunch." He ordered, and the priestess looked at him in confusion.
"What?"