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AFTER spending some time with the other horses at the outdoor riding grounds, the group headed to the stables. Foals were raised separate from the adult horses there.
Marvin turned to Amy with a twinkle in his eye.
“The new foal is a little antsy. He’s not quite used to us yet. Actually, I was hoping he’d get better after you touched him, Lady Amy.”
“My hands can’t work that kind of magic, Marvin,” Amy responded light-heartedly.
Healing magic could heal injuries and relieve pain, but there was no magic that could alter something’s personality or disposition. Amy knew Marvin was well aware of this, and they both laughed.
“It might help!” Alyssa chimed in. “When Amy used her healing magic on me, it made my mood way better!”
“Alyssa…”
“It’s true! It was like a warmth spread throughout my chest, and I felt totally at ease.”
“Surely that’s just because I have warm hands! Look,” Amy protested, moving over to Alyssa’s side and grabbing her hand as they walked. Amy’s hands were small and chubby, like the hands of someone much younger than she really was.
“It does feel pretty nice…” Alyssa admitted.
“Because it’s so squishy?” Amy asked, giggling.
“I suppose so!”
Behind the two girls, laughing together now, the deeply serious expression on the guard knight’s face softened.
Scott finally began to understand why all the other knights had been telling him that they were jealous he was put in charge of security today. The guard duties he was performing were exactly the same as on other occasions, but there was a huge difference between Amy and the other aristocrats, who were arrogant and ungrateful for the protection.
Scott also remembered being told to be careful, because it was easy to be lulled into a false sense of security when guarding the ever-cheerful Amy, so he had rearranged his composure when they arrived at the peaceful stables.
“My mom and my friends always grab hold of my hands because they’re so warm.”
“Yes, I certainly understand the feeling!”
Amy’s well-cared-for hands were certainly flawlessly white, smooth, and very soft. The real reason for that desire, however, was the special healing power inside of Amy, of which she was still unaware.
Although Amy had heard stories of people called “Protectors” who had such abilities, she simply mused to herself, There are some really amazing people out there!
Amy had been reincarnated as an aristocrat and had become the Third Prince’s fiancée candidate, but in her previous lifetime, she had always felt like a side character in her own life, and that mentality remained in full force. Amy pictured herself as so thoroughly ordinary and unremarkable, she fought with all she had to try to escape the role of the villainess.
So naturally, it never dawned on her that she might be one of those important people—those “Protectors.”
But in reality, every time Amy visited the riding grounds, even the animals she had simply touched—without any healing magic—would be in a better mood. Marvin had picked up on that early on, when she’d started to visit the riding grounds regularly.
Marvin had seen many caretakers in his time who were loved by the animals, but there was just something different about how they acted with Amy… The phrase “blessed with protection from the spirits” crossed Marvin’s mind briefly, but he just shook his head.
For generations, Protectors had all been either descendants of the royal family or devout priests.
Moreover, many of them only came to the realization that they were Protectors in the sunset years of their lives. No one in their right mind would think that this bubbly, exuberant young girl could really be a Protector.
Besides, people officially recognized as a Protector were placed in a unique position in society and separated from their families.
It would be one thing if they were in a time of war or if she were a destitute orphan, but such a fate would be very hard on an ordinary girl in this day and age.
Just in case, Marvin had only made vague allusions to these worries of his to Edward. Edward had listened in silence but then drew a look of comprehension. When Marvin had seen that, he put a stop to his inquiries into the matter.
Amy, totally unaware of all of this, continued to march forward. An exercise field roughly the size of a school gymnasium came into view. Half of it was outdoors, and several foals were gathered beyond the low fence.
Slightly separated from the group of foals was a single gray foal with slightly black feet, standing alone.
Physically, the foal was very well-balanced. Compared with the other foals, the gray one alone held itself in a way that made her think it would grow into a magnificent horse one day.
“That must be the new foal!” quietly exclaimed Amy, showing great restraint in walking forward without breaking into an excited run.
“Yes, his name is Lenis,” Marvin told Amy in a whisper to avoid spooking him.
“He’s beautiful! He’s got a smart look about him, too.”
“He is quite sharp. It’s probably why he’s so alert.”
The new foal had only just been weaned and separated from his mother.
His eyes blinked anxiously, darting this way and that worriedly. He would start walking and abruptly stop in a restless manner, but he quickly darted away when the other foals tried approaching him.
“Wild horses originally lived in herds. Some horses need some time adjusting to a new environment, but… I had hoped he would adjust quickly,” Marvin admitted, scratching his temple with a finger awkwardly.
Marvin had been involved with horses for a long time, ever since he was a young man in the army. He’d mentioned before that, because he hadn’t ever married, he felt like his subordinates and the horses were his children.
He was naturally protective—when Edward would secretly come to the stables as a young child, Marvin would keep a watchful, silent eye over him. So it was natural for Marvin to worry about Lenis as he wandered around the field, flicking his ears restlessly.
As Marvin looked on silently, Lenis noticed and timidly approached him. Just a few days before, Lenis had finally started to come up to Marvin—and only Marvin—on his own.
Lenis leaned his head out to Marvin, but he averted his gaze from the new visitors out of fear and stomped his front feet on the ground. Amy knew stomping was one behavior horses did to show they were unhappy.
Lenis was breathing heavily. Marvin smiled apologetically as he gently patted his back soothingly.
“This is what I was talking about. It wasn’t so bad at the beginning, but he’s getting harder and harder to handle by the day.”
“He hasn’t been sick before, has he?”
“No. I’ve checked his pedigree for illnesses in his family and his own medical history. There’s nothing.”