บท 15: Aslan Likes White Flowers
"It's rare for Lily to like new people," the man said.
"Ahaha, no way. Lily is an old horse. It doesn't have much strength to resist people who approach it," Rosie replied.
"Oh, you know?" Aslan furrowed his brows at hearing that.
"Isn't Lily a gift from my brother?" Rosie shrugged.
Aslan straightened up his back and stared at Rosie in surprise. "You know that too?"
"Of course, I know. Howland is my brother. So, certainly, I do."
Aslan halted his steps, then sat beside Rosie, holding out his hand to touch Lily's face.
"Isn't this horse a boy? Why did you name it Lily?"
"I don't know, I prefer Lily. I like white."
Rosie watched Aslan's face. Aslan was an innocent child. How could he become a villain who killed the two main characters and massacred the entire royal family, including herself?
Rosie reached out and stroked the man's head, much to Aslan's surprise. The man looked up with knitted brows.
"Roses can be white too, you know. If you have a new horse later, you can name them after a white rose. Rose." Rosie smiled mischievously and added without a sound. 'Or Rosie.'
Aslan mumbled and looked back at Lily.
"Do you still want to go around the village? I can escort you so you don't have to run away like yesterday," the man offered suddenly.
***
Rosie studied Aslan's face. The Duke's offer surprised her. She pondered why Aslan suddenly turned so nice to her. Rosie thought she would spend all her time locked up in the castle until Howland returned before they came back to the palace.
"Duke Aslan?"
"Yes?'"
"Are you starting to like me?"
Aslan's serene face changed in a split second. His jaws hardened. The man turned his face away from the princess's gaze. Aslan's offer meant nothing. He just felt a little sorry for Rosie, who looked bored staying all day in the castle.
Aslan didn't know the exact reason Rosie came with Howland to his castle. Maybe because in a few days he would hold a party to celebrate the one-year anniversary of being appointed as a Duke. However, if that was the case, the princess could come on the specified date.
Aslan thought maybe it was because the princess felt constrained in the palace, so she wanted to use this opportunity to do something without the scrutiny of royal protocol.
Thus, yesterday, when her brother was away at the border, the princess had fun outside the castle unattended. Aslan thought about this an entire night. And this afternoon, he decided to escort Rosie without worrying about her being out of control.
There was no other reason, and there was no such a thing as he liked the girl. It seemed Rosie still had a strange impression on him.
However, he was too lazy to argue about it. Aslan stood up and left Rosie, who was crouching in front of Lily.
"Are you coming or not?" Aslan offered to her once more.
Rosie rushed over and hugged the Duke's arm. Aslan politely released the princess's hand from his arm, causing Rosie to giggle.
Aslan led Rosie to enter another cage. The girl thought she would ride the same horse as Aslan, like in romantic stories where the male lead hugged the female lead from behind.
However, when Aslan gave her a smaller brown horse, all her fantasies were shattered. She looked at him, dumbfounded.
"Um… I can't ride a horse," Rosie lied. She hoped Aslan would take her for a ride with him. At least that way, Rosie could try to get closer to the man.
(It will be very romantic!) She cried in her heart, hoping her fantasies didn't shatter this time.
One of Aslan's eyebrows arched up in disbelief. "Then, who rode Lily yesterday and abandoned it in the crowd until it got stressed?"
"Uh… that…" Rosie tried to come up with an excuse, but she couldn't find one. Her mind was blank.
Rosie reluctantly accepted the reins. They both took their horses out of the stable when a maid approached them with hesitant steps.
"Uh… I'm sorry, My Lord. Will you go with Princess Rosie?" Sarah asked Aslan politely.
"I'll take care of Princess Roseanne alone," the man replied, making Rosie smile.
The girl came forward and whispered to Sarah. Aslan didn't know what she said to her maid, but seeing how Sarah blush, it might be something Aslan didn't want to know.
"I'm going on a date with the Duke," she whispered confidently to Sarah.
Sarah cleared her throat in embarrassment, then she stepped back. Aslan could only stare at Rosie suspiciously, then walked away from the girl.
"Duke Aslan! Wait for me!" Rosie called while grabbing the man's hand to hold the reins of the horse for a while. She needed to change her clothes first.
Rosie called Sarah to come with her into the castle. She couldn't wear this dress for riding. Her wide skirt only prevented her from moving freely, and it was very uncomfortable.
The girl also asked Sarah to prepare the same clothes as yesterday. And again, Sarah was able to get menswear to her size quickly.
Rosie returned to the stable with wide strides to catch up with Aslan, who was faithfully waiting for her.
"Let's go, I'm ready!"
Aslan watched as Rosie climbed onto her horse without asking for his help. He subconsciously smirked while remembering how easy it was for the girl to lie. She said she couldn't ride a horse. Yet looked at her. She jumped to get on her horse like a professional.
"Hurry," said Rosie again, who was waiting for Aslan to get on his horse.
The man got on his horse and he turned his head to the princess, scanning her from head to toes. Aslan didn't know where Rosie got the white shirt, brown vest, and baggy trousers from.
Even women's riding outfits that he knew were different from hers. It looked like servants' clothes or the boy's clothes from the slum.
Rosie rode her horse closer to Aslan, trying to catch up with the man's horse.
"Are we leaving or not?" she asked, bringing her face closer, causing Aslan to look away quickly.
"Where did you get that clothes?"
Rosie shrugged. "It's a secret," she replied with a cheerful smile, then began to ride her horse forward.
Aslan followed her from behind, at a very close distance. He did not want to let the princess away from his grasp. So if the girl planned to run away, Aslan could catch her in the blink of an eye.
The two of them walked through the same forest where Aslan had found the princess last night. In the past, the Montgomery family was famous as the best magic user family in the entire kingdom. They became the pioneers that helped the king a lot in strengthening the kingdom.
With their magical powers, the Montgomery family also helped the citizens a lot. However, because their magic power was enormous, and sometimes there were one or two people who were vulnerable to magic, the trees in this forest helped neutralize the magic power from spreading and treat people who were vulnerable to magic.
"Duke Aslan, I saw a lake nearby yesterday. Can we visit there?" Rosie asked, looking back at him.
Aslan nodded. "If that's what the princess wants," he replied.
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