"Hurry up and fill the next feed box. How long are you going to do this small task? Don't you know that we don't have much time left on our hands?"
The stable worker dragged Sui to the stable, and she considered it easy work.
Little did she know that the man was not looking for a helper but someone with whom he could control his frustration.
The stable looked dirty, and she could tell it had not been looked after for a few days.
All the animals in the stable were explicitly bred and looked after since birth. They were all 'nobles' in value and could not seem to accept the dirty stable.
That was why they were making a fuss around the dirty stable.
"So, how much feed do we need to give these animals? Do you have a dietary chart that we need to follow? Which ones are on special needs?"
Sui asked as soon as she reached the feeding station.
It needed to be sorted out or cleaned, much less filled up.
"Do we have a what? Just give that feed to everyone, and we will be done now."
Sui looked at the regular feed lying adjacent to the wall with a suspicious expression.
Since Sui had to work from jobs in the palace, she frequently visited Concubine Alex's stables.
The foreign princess was a collector of rare breeds of animals, and her stable had the largest variety after the emperor's stable.
As for the princess's stable? She could not bother to check up on it, nor did she seem to remember she had one.
That was why the stable should have been addressed and noticed.
"Oi! What are you doing? Hurry up and give these animals their feed."
Sui knew that she did not have a choice in this matter.
If she argues with this man, then she will be the one to get into trouble.
Even the other people around her were doing what they were told.
In retrospect, Sui should not have questioned the stable person in charge, whom everyone else was avoiding.
He looked irritated now, and Sui was sure she would be targeted for her words.
It did not even take fifteen minutes before the angry noble targeted Sui.
"Stop! It looks like feeding these horses is too easy for you. I have something even better for you to do with your talent. Go and clean these horse pens from the inside."
Everyone gasped as the stable in charge gave Sui this order.
They looked at Sui and then at the enclosure behind her in shock.
'You cannot be serious! Do you want me to go inside that pen and clean it when the horse is there? You are asking for me to get injured!'
Sui's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as she tried to regain her composure and avoid attacking the snobbish man in front of her.
That offending grin aimed her way, making Sui's temper rise.
"What's wrong? Go on and do as you are told. Or would you prefer to be punished? I am sure you master would not mind if I tell them what happened."
The stable in charge's smile was large and sadistic when he spoke.
'Oh, I do not doubt that my 'master' will agree with you. It's not like you will tell him what happened anyway. It will be better to take my chances with the horse.'
Sui walked toward the pen and opened the gate with the calmest horse inside.
But the stable head decided that it was not what he wanted.
"Tsk, this is the wrong stable. I want you to clean stable no 7."
Sui looked at the horse inside the stable.
It looked calm, but the untapped tension she could feel from the stable told Sui that it was unsafe to open the pen.
Before she could make her way in, her arm was grabbed, and she was thrown inside the pen.
The house in front of her instantly looked at her in the eye with interest before it neighed.
'Oh shit! This horse is unstable. What should I do now? How long can I stay alive for?'
Sui's body unconsciously dodged to the side when the horse attacked her.
Lean muscles shifted underneath Sui's arm as she suppressed her instincts and desired to finish the horse.
'Fuck! I was trained to kill fast and accurately, so my opponent had no time to run away. I never thought that I would have to pretend to be helpless and dodge around a mad horse.'
The small enclosure of the pen gave Sui no space to move around in.
No matter how well she could dodge or how accurate her instincts were, Sui could only keep up this behavior for a short while.
Ultimately, her tired and injured body limits her stamina, and Sui has no time to prepare before the horse's hooves rose inches above her face.
'Am I going to die? No, I don't want that. I should-'
Something was building inside Sui, and the pressure threatened to choke her.
She felt everything and nothing at once, and her eyes burned.
The world was fading away from her eyes, and the burning sensation slowly spread across her body.
'If I am going to die, then I should end everything with me.'
"Come with me to the other side-"
Blood splattered across Sui's face as an arrow flew past her and killed the horse attacking her.
The dead body landed seconds away from Sui's, and the wet blood slowly brought Sui back to consciousness.
"Who dares to…what are you doing? Do you know who I am and who oversees this stable? You will all get into trouble-"
Sui zoned out as the stable head yelled behind her.
Her eyes could only focus on the huge horse, which was lying dead in front of her.
A hand closed Sui's eyes and prevented her from being able to see the dead body in front of her.
The owner of that hand also tugged Sui backward until her back hit a hard chest plate.
"So, this is where my bunny ran off to? How appropriate for you to run to a stable? Do you like this place? Should I pen for you in my office?"
It was the princess! The one who has saved Sui was Princess Yunjin.