One Day, I Picked Up a Mom - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One Day I Picked Up a Mother – Episode 26

“I’m sure the young lady will be pleased with it as well.”

The employee had stopped walking and turned to look at me.

“Then I hope you have a pleasant time.”

“Ah, wait, just a moment.”

I hurriedly stopped the employee who was smiling and about to leave after greeting me.

“You see, it’s been so long that I forgot.”

Even if I was going to fall anyway, I wanted to at least roughly hear how to ride.

“Yes. Please tell me if you need anything.”

“How do you ride a hor…”

Just then, Ludrio came into view leading two horses.

A black horse with glossy dark brown fur and a white horse with snow-white fur.

“Are you ready?”

“Ah, the young lady was…”

In the end, I let go of the employee’s arm that I had been holding.

“…what to do. Thank you for explaining about the villa and guiding me. Haha, I forgot to thank you.”

I glanced sideways at Ludrio who had come very close and hurriedly changed the subject.

Since I had already decided to fall from the horse anyway, I didn’t want to arouse unnecessary suspicion.

“…”

With the employee smiling brightly and walking away behind me, I looked at Ludrio again. More precisely, at the horses he had brought.

The black horse with fierce eyes that held its head high as if looking down on me, and the white horse that was a bit smaller with much gentler eyes.

Ludrio silently handed me the reins of the white horse. The relief I felt at that moment was indescribable.

“Thank you.”

Coming to my senses and offering my thanks, I took off my gloves.

Then I carefully reached out my hand toward the horse.

‘Please be gentle with me.’

The horse’s mane scattered softly in my palm.

As I stroked the horse a few more times while making this plea that wasn’t really a plea, Ludrio adjusted the leather strap over his shoulder and said,

“Get on now.”

As the leather strap was lifted, the long rifle hanging behind his back made a heavy rattling sound.

Ludrio gestured for me to mount first, and I looked up at the horse while adjusting the skirt layered over my pants.

‘So I step on the stirrup and get up, then swing my leg over…’

Unable to delay any longer under the pressure of those blue eyes quietly staring at me, I gripped the saddle tightly.

Then, the moment I stepped on the stirrup and climbed up, my view suddenly became much higher.

My head spun from the suddenly changed eye level, but I hurriedly swung my leg over before the horse could suddenly move.

Then I found the stirrup and slipped my foot into it.

“…”

It seemed I had mounted reasonably well, as Ludrio got on his own horse without saying anything particular to me.

I let out a sigh of relief and followed his actions with my eyes.

He maintained an upright posture while holding the reins in his hands.

To imitate that posture, I also grabbed the reins and straightened my back. Then my body naturally began to tense up.

“Ah…”

As Ludrio’s horse began to move, the white horse I was riding also slowly stepped forward.

“Shall we go around a few times to get used to it?”

I had been carefully watching Ludrio’s movements as he turned his horse’s head toward me from where he was walking ahead, and I hurriedly nodded.

‘I need to get used to it even a little before going into the forest.’

When I carefully pulled the reins as he had done, the horse that had been heading toward the forest stopped for a moment, then perked up its ears and changed direction.

‘Ah, thank goodness.’

Watching the horse move toward the villa, another sigh of relief escaped me.

As gentle in temperament as it looked, its movements were not rough but careful.

I tried to follow Ludrio’s posture while gripping the reins tightly. Keeping my back straight and my gaze forward.

The horse I was riding, as if this was already familiar work, circled around the riding arena along the fence even without me pulling the reins.

As my tensed shoulders gradually relaxed to the steady, rhythmic sound of hoofbeats,

“Let’s go around a bit faster.”

Ludrio, who had approached to my left, spoke as if it were the natural next step.

The moment I turned my head following his voice, the black horse snorted briefly, flattened its ears, and began to move ahead of me.

The sound of the black horse’s hooves became much more lively.

I looked down at the white horse with a troubled expression.

“What, you should run too…”

At first, the white horse had followed Ludrio’s horse without any special signal, but for some reason this time it only moved slowly even after seeing the horse ahead.

“Quickly, let’s follow your friend.”

I took one hand off the reins I had been gripping tightly and tried stroking the horse, but still nothing changed.

I was getting anxious watching Ludrio, who was now half a lap ahead of me.

‘Really, if I can’t even increase the speed, he’ll definitely think it’s strange.’

I went over Ludrio’s actions from earlier once more.

It seemed like he put strength in his legs too…

“Giddy up.”

Although Ludrio hadn’t made such a sound, I whispered softly into the horse’s ear and rose awkwardly. Then the white horse responded immediately.

The horse perked up its ears and lightly increased speed, stepping in alternating pairs. Thanks to that, my body bounced up and down and I momentarily lost my balance.

“Ugh.”

Afraid that the reins might slip out due to the sweat rising in my palms, I curled my fingers even tighter around them.

Did I unconsciously pull the reins while doing so? The white horse slowed down again.

I bent my waist once more as I had done before, whispered quietly, and slightly lifted my hips.

Then the horse increased speed once again.

This time, perhaps because I had mentally prepared myself, I didn’t shake as much as before. I put strength in my thighs and endured the up-and-down swaying rhythm.

‘I think I roughly… understand how to do this.’

My fingertips were still very cold, but as I slowly breathed in, a small sense of relief seeped in.

So I’d like to stop here for today.

“Now let’s head out to the hunting grounds.”

Ludrio, who had caught up to me again, lightly shook the reins of his black horse and turned his gaze toward the forest.

“…Yes.”

Looking at the densely grown trees in the distance made my heart burn with anxiety, but I had no choice but to nod.

I followed Ludrio who was leading the way and glanced down at the ground. A faint sigh escaped at the sight of the ground that seemed so far away.

‘But is it still now?’

Once we entered the forest, there would be lots of miscellaneous bushes and trees, and perhaps the ground might be covered with sharp, pointed stones.

So if I was going to fall, now when there was still only grass seemed better.

As I pictured the situation in my head, it seemed like if I fell like this, my head would hit the ground directly.

‘Not the head.’

As I steeled myself and rubbed my right arm bone, side, and ribs several times,

“Are you alright?”

At the low, composed voice heard from beside me, my head turned with a start.

The person who had come close to my side was a man I had encountered several times at the estate.

Judging by his well-pressed uniform and the long sword at his waist, he seemed to be a servant of House of Roderich.

‘…It wasn’t just the two of us going.’

Though it was natural when I thought about it, I was startled and gripped the horse’s reins tightly.

“Ah, my stomach feels a bit unwell.”

I put my leg back down from where I had awkwardly lifted it trying to remove it from the stirrup, and rubbed my side once more as if it were nothing.

“What is it?”

“Lady Luna says her stomach doesn’t feel well.”

I smiled awkwardly at Ludrio who turned to look at me.

“I’m not really used to things like hunting, so… I guess I was nervous.”

“Is that so?”

Ludrio’s gaze shifted back to my servant.

“Make sure to take good care of him so he doesn’t fall behind.”

“Yes, understood.”

My head dropped at the servant’s matter-of-fact response that followed.

‘What’s the point of taking care of me now?’

I had been thinking I should fall off once Ludrio looked away from me, but now even the servant would be coming along.

Getting off the horse would probably be just as clumsy as getting on.

‘He’ll definitely catch on that I fell off on purpose.’

As long as the servant was watching me like this, I couldn’t even attempt to fall off.

Had there never been any chance to escape from the beginning?

Because of the servant who stayed close beside me, matching the pace of my horse, I was dragged all the way deep into the forest without being able to resist even once.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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