Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 902 - 902: Angelina's Promise

"Threaten me?"

While Shard was chatting with Angelina, a middle-aged noble wearing a cowboy hat, but actually an Earl, who had been leading the second group, suddenly slowed down. He and his female companion kissed on horseback, veering towards a roadside slope, with their hands starting to touch indescribable areas.

What they were going to do next, Shard didn't know, because he had already passed them, inexplicably moving up a place.

"I know, it must be that Sister has something on you, so she's blackmailing you, right? Like—"

The Little Princess sitting in front of Shard continued, then pinched her throat and said:

"Knight, you wouldn't want your cat to suddenly disappear, would you?"

She tried hard to imitate Lecia's voice, and Shard wasn't sure which thing shocked him more.

He only heard laughter and teasing from others behind him, then the Earl's cursing from the slope below, growing fainter with distance:

"Compared to this damn race, aren't the girls more interesting? Go ride your horses! Don't send anyone to find me later!"

Perhaps his opinion could gain the agreement of most people.

Seeing that Shard didn't speak, Angelina continued:

"How would a gentleman as upright, kind, honest, and brave as you suddenly fall for Sister Lecia? She doesn't have that kind of charm."

She probably underestimated Lecia's charm, and since she surely didn't know the secret between Lecia and Dorothy, she couldn't guess that the story between Shard and Lecia was much more than what she saw. Plus, every time she saw Shard with Lecia, Lecia always appeared "dominant", leading to this misconception.

Shard wanted to clear up this misunderstanding, but the dirt road ahead was quite difficult, with potholes unlike the smooth roads in front of Lakeside Manor, and he had to concentrate on riding:

"Angelina, actually I..."

"I know, you actually have feelings for Sister Lecia."

She finally got it right, saying that while looking up at Shard's face. Shard held the reins nervously, not daring to look around, afraid of a "traffic" accident.

"Mr. Hamilton, don't you think your situation is quite similar to mine? Sister is also using the pretext of fighting for my freedom to manipulate me, but she's genuinely good to me too, and I like her a lot. But I still desire real freedom without constraints."

The race had passed more than halfway, and on the bumpy horseback, Shard tightened his arms around Angelina to prevent her from falling. But clearly, Angelina's horsemanship was far better than Shard's, and this level of bumpiness was no issue for her.

"I know Sister Lecia's ambitions, she needs me, and I need her. But I really want to... Mr. Hamilton, we are actually on the same side."

The Little Princess was trying hard to articulate her point.

"Hmm... what do you want to do?"

Shard hesitated for a moment before asking, suspecting that the sixteen-year-old Princess might be having thoughts of "I could replace her."

Angelina Cavendish's face lit up with joy:

"Let's help each other in the future, without Sister Lecia knowing. If we have things we don't want her to find out, we can communicate behind her back."

She whispered, as if worried Lecia far back at the manor might hear. Shard breathed a slight sigh of relief, though the Cavendish Family offspring mostly had grand ambitions, at sixteen, one wouldn't think too much:

"No problem."

He nodded in agreement, and Angelina Cavendish just didn't want marriage to become a bargaining chip in the King's hand, helping her was a righteous act, and the Outlander was happy to lend a hand. As for private communication, Shard didn't believe Angelina could truly bypass Lecia; she probably had no idea how many tricks Lecia really had.

Seeing that Shard actually agreed, the Little Princess looked very happy, she reached out to grasp the reins held by Shard, turned her body slightly, and said:

"Knight, it seems you're really not lying when you say you're not good at riding horses."

There was a light tone in her words:

"Let go, let me take control. We've only run half a lap, there's still a chance."

With that, she slightly spread her arms, actually forcing Shard to let go of the reins.

Under the reflection of the sunset, the red hair of the Lady Knight appeared so lustrous. Originally, the position Shard and Angelina were in was already leading the second tier, but now Shard abruptly accelerated, quickly catching up to Baron Brady who was in first place.

The Baron's arcane technique was quite accomplished. His only weakness was that every time he reached out to take a slip of paper from the pole, he would subconsciously slow down. But for Angelina, this was no problem at all. She didn't even need Shard to reach out; she could deftly snatch the paper while speeding past the maid.

The latter half of the horse race ended with Baron Brady gradually slowing down, and Shard and Angelina inching closer and closer.

As they returned to the straight road in front of Lakeside Manor, with the people waiting at the finish line visible from afar, Angelina let go of the reins again, allowing Shard to regain control of the horse's pace.

Because Shard and Angelina had been in second place all along, no one noticed that the rider had changed midway. And on the final acceleration of the straight path, the horse, surprisingly selected from Lemer Stable, showcased outstanding straight-line acceleration skills.

At the start of the straight-line acceleration, it was still a horse's length behind Baron Brady in front. But when it finally crossed the finish line, it somehow managed to overtake the Baron by the length of a horse's head.

As Shard pulled on the reins to slow down, cheers were already coming from behind. And compared to Shard's frantic attempts to stop his exuberant horse, Baron Brady easily came to a stop right behind Shard:

"Knight, I didn't expect that you're not only good with the Roder Card but also have such exquisite horsemanship skills."

Even though the Baron lost the race, he still spoke with great composure. Of course, receiving a kiss while helping his wife dismount might have contributed to this middle-aged noble's good mood:

"That last stretch of acceleration was impressive."

He took off his gloves, reached out, and shook Shard's hand, while Shard looked a bit embarrassed.

"Yes, Rejed's Hamilton has quite remarkable horsemanship,"

Angelina, who had already dismounted from her horse, said with a smile. Once she steadied herself on the ground, mimicking the actions of other riders' female companions arriving one after another, she stood on tiptoe and kissed Shard on the cheek.

Even though Shard was rumored to be Miss Galina's lover, giving the winning knight a kiss after the horseback competition at the wedding banquet was quite normal. So, although Shard felt even more embarrassed, everyone else thought it was entirely appropriate.

Those returning one after another began to congratulate Shard, with the onlookers praising Shard's professional straight-line acceleration. The experience during horse racing at Lemer Stable in the fall had apparently been mentioned by Queen Diana. Therefore, people assumed Shard was genuinely skilled at riding, and no one was surprised by the result.

Only Shard himself knew that winning had little to do with him; it was mostly because the horse's pedigree was so exceptional.

But no matter what, amidst the voices of praise, he indeed won the first large game at tonight's banquet.

The middle-aged butler of the manor courteously brought the prize, and under everyone's watchful eyes, Shard pocketed the gilded silver brooch and handed the small mirror to Angelina.

Shard took back his cat, and the Little Princess, holding the mirror, didn't entrust it to her maid for safekeeping. Just as the butler had said when they set off, at this moment, the sunset had completely disappeared, and the starry sky shimmered overhead. Princess Angelina, her cheeks slightly flushed, waved goodbye to Shard with her empty hand:

"Knight, enjoy the banquet tonight; I need to change back into a dress. While this outfit is convenient for riding, it's far too unsightly... I had a lot of fun."

As if a bit shy, she said the latter part and then walked back to the manor with her maid, soon disappearing among the bright courtyard crowd.

Shard looked at the silver brooch in his hand, receiving people's congratulations while pinning it to his chest:

"Does this count as proving power?"

[What proof of power is horseback riding? No, this is far from enough.]

Shard looked at the bustling and vibrant courtyard ahead, listening to the music and laughter, smiling:

"No, that doesn't count. Next, I want to win a round myself!"

There was still a long night ahead, and Shard had many more things to do.

After the horse race ended, news of Shard's victory quickly spread far and wide. As Shard continued to stroll through the banquet, people would occasionally ask about his detailed experience during the race, laughing and marveling at the extravagance of the event.

Of course, no one thought of it as a waste. In the eyes of the nobility, this was rather an excellent opportunity to showcase the family's prestige. Moreover, judging by the royal family's attitude, after this wedding, Duke Esberg would likely further control the Northern Legion's strength and gain more favor from the King.

Shard was curious, however, why Larus III, who notoriously distrusted others' accumulation of power and could even mercilessly execute his own son, had no precautions against Duke Esberg.

Shard didn't wander around for long. Less than ten minutes after the horse race ended, he encountered his neighbor, Mr. Elder Smith, by the long table in the courtyard.

Mr. Smith was dressed in an old-fashioned black suit with a bow tie. Before retirement, he had been the chief secretary of the Kingdom Treasury Department. After retiring, he not only received the Kingdom Contribution Medal but also the title of Baron of Honor.

Although just a non-heritable title, thanks to his contributions and networks before retirement, this elderly gentleman, who would go for a walk with his wife and their dog every day and warmly greet Shard when they met, was actually more renowned than those fallen hereditary nobles.