Please Die, Your Highness - Chapter 73

The brown horse snorted as if it could not contain its anger even after throwing Prince Declan off. The spotted donkey was already standing a distance away from the commotion, spectating the situation.

Maeve stood motionless, still holding Prince Declan in her arms, and looked at the brown horse. Soon, the brown horse seemed to calm down and stood back on all four legs. However, it glared at Prince Declan as if he had dealt it a great humiliation.

“……What a crazy horse.”

Prince Declan, for his part, repeated the words “crazy horse” three times, attaching the most insulting modifier he could bestow upon a horse. When the horse snorted and glared at him out of the corner of its eye, he unconsciously wrapped his thick arms around Maeve’s slender neck.

“……T-that, Maeve. I’m grateful, but.”

“…….”

Belatedly realizing that he was being held like a baby, Prince Declan whispered for her to set him down, his face turning red. This was despite the fact that the only things listening nearby, besides themselves, were a horse and a donkey.

Only after hearing his words did Maeve relax the strength in the arms holding him up and set him on the ground. Prince Declan clutched his chest, as his heart was beating so fast it felt as if it might burst.

Maeve looked alternately at the horse and Prince Declan, who were glaring at each other as if a grudge remained.

“The horse dislikes you, Prince Declan.”

Maeve spoke as if to say, See? Prince Declan widened his eyes as if she had pointed out a fact he truly hadn’t considered.

“……Oh. It seems so. You are very sharp.”

“To be precise, it is looking down on you. It doesn’t want to carry someone it considers an easy mark.”

“……That is truly…… something I hadn’t thought of.”

Prince Declan spoke through gritted teeth.

“It must be because I was loaded onto its back like a piece of luggage.”

“And you struggled. You even fell and rolled around.”

“…….”

“Honestly, at that time, I really thought you were dead.”

Prince Declan deliberately avoided making eye contact with Maeve and only glared at the innocent horse. Perhaps because of the circumstances, Prince Declan felt that this horse was not only ignoring him but laughing at him.

With a face that was deeply offended, Prince Declan glared at the horse—though he stood safely near Maeve, just in case—and said:

“Anyway, I understand. You lead the horse from now on, Maeve.”

Even after the Prince’s permission, which wasn’t quite permission, was given, Maeve did not move and looked back and forth between the horse and Prince Declan. She walked over to the horse, stroked the bridge of the brown horse’s nose once, and then walked toward Prince Declan holding the reins. Looking at Prince Declan and the horse alternately, she said with a serious face:

“Reconcile with it.”

Prince Declan doubted his own ears.

“Are you telling me to reconcile with a horse right now?”

Maeve nodded with a face that wasn’t even smiling.

“We are going to be together for a long time, so it will be difficult if a hierarchy is established like this already.”

“……Hierarchy.”

Prince Declan just wanted to faint right then and there.

Regardless of whether he did or not, Maeve stared at him as if she were frustrated by his inability to understand.

“Prince Declan, you must know a lot about horses too. Horses are smarter than you think. It is right to resolve this tense relationship here and now.”

She spoke so softly and seriously that he couldn’t even make a sound of exasperation as he had before.

Prince Declan glared at the horse again. Although the brown horse was compliant under Maeve’s touch, it looked as if it would rather die than reconcile with someone like Prince Declan.

The donkey, seemingly judging that it was now safe, sauntered over and actively spectated from a closer distance than before.

“Fine.”

Prince Declan finally took a step forward with the face of an older brother giving in to a younger sibling.

“But this fellow must apologize to me first. He is the one who unilaterally looked down on me, ignored me, and, as if that weren’t enough, threw me off.”

“You also acted hastily and roughly earlier, Prince Declan. Even though the horse said it didn’t want to, you forced yourself on.”

The horse rubbed its lips over her head as if in active agreement.

Prince Declan watched this with an expression of disbelief.

“If we weigh the severity of the faults, it is that fellow. I wasn’t trying to kill him.”