Fake Concubine 62

A ​few ​days ​later.

Song ​Seol left for ​Hanseong. ​It ​was ​to ​pay his respects to ​the ​King for the ​New Year and ​to ​attend ​the ​ancestral ​rites.

Moon ​Hae-min, who had ​known ​this ​in advance, welcomed ​the break with joy. ​As expected, ​the private ​residence was ​as quiet ​as ​a ​snowy night without ​Song Seol. ​It had always been ​a quiet space, free ​of bustling noise, but ​now a ​heavy ​silence lingered.

‘I feel like I can ​finally breathe.’

Hae-min relaxed his ​shoulders. ​He ​must ​have ​been unconsciously tense ​for the ​past ​few days while ​keeping ​an eye on Song Seol’s ​movements. Only ​today ​could he finally ​stretch ​his ​legs ​and ​truly rest.

That ​didn’t ​mean he ​could just lounge around. Now that Song ​Seol was gone, ​there was something ​he absolutely had to ​do. Horseback ​riding practice.

If he ​wanted ​to flee far ​away someday, riding ​skills were ​essential. ​In the ​past, ​hadn’t he ​been ​forced [unauthorized copy]to ​move ​slowly ​because he couldn’t ​ride ​a stolen content[unauthorized copy]horse? ​The ​frustration ​of ​that time still stung in his heart.

Back then, it had been even harder to gallop because of Bok-deong-i, but this time, without Bok-deong-i, mastering riding would surely be useful.

Having made up his mind, Hae-min called a servant and commanded.

“Bring me a horse.”

“Which horse should I bring, Young Master?”

He hadn’t expected his plan to hit a snag right from the start. Hesitating for a moment at the question he hadn’t considered, he answered as if he were composed.

“Bring the one with a white coat mixed with grey fur. The one that’s on the smaller side, the one I rode when I went out with the Lord previously…”

“You mean Susu.”

The servant replied as if it were obvious. visit our siteIt was the first time Moon Hae-min had heard the [visit our site]name, but he [stolen content]nodded along. “Right, Susu.”

“Understood.”

A short while after the servant withdrew, he returned holding a bridle. It was indeed the horse Hae-min had ridden before.

“Good work.”

As Hae-min took the bridle and prepared to leave through the main gate, the servant asked.

“Are you heading out?”

“Yes.”

“Where to?”

It seemed like a meaningless question, but Moon Hae-min’s heart sank as if he had been caught stolen contentdoing something wrong. He feared stolen contentthe servant would suddenly stolen contentchange expression and demand, ‘Are you trying to ride a horse without the Grand Prince’s permission?’

“I just intend to look around the vicinity.”

“Is that so? In that case, over there, toward Mount Neopjeok, would be a good place to run freely. It isn’t crowded.”

However, the servant merely gave him helpful directions. He even recommended a place to ride.

In truth, Hae-min’s worries had been unfounded from the start. The servants of this residence did not treat him poorly. Whether that was Song Seol’s wish or because the servants were naturally good-natured, he didn’t know, but thanks to that, Moon Hae-min enjoyed a status somewhere between a legal wife and a concubine. No, perhaps he was closer to the position of a ‘guest who would stay for a while and then leave.’

“Thank you for letting me know.”

Hae-min left the servant behind and stepped out the gate.

Before mounting, he gently stroked the horse’s neck and spoke.

“Your name is Susu? I see, I can tell why you [unauthorized copy]were given that name. [stolen content]Your fur is just like a [Read on Read BL Novels]well-ripened sorghum grain.”

The horse accepted the touch obediently. He had felt it when he rode before, but the horse seemed to have a gentle disposition. It was perfect for someone like him, who was not skilled at riding. Looking into the horse’s gentle eyes, Hae-min whispered.

“I’m counting on you for the next fifteen days, Susu.”

Naturally, the horse did not answer. However, Hae-min felt as if he had received a positive response.

There was no evidence, but for some reason, he had a good feeling. Feeling a rare surge of confidence, Moon Hae-min climbed onto the horse’s back.

As he had sensed, Moon Hae-min’s riding practice went smoothly.

As a result of practicing diligently with Susu, Hae-min could now mount and dismount the horse naturally. In the past, he had been tense every time he rode, but now he had learned how to be relaxed.

“Good girl, Susu.”

Hae-min hopped down from the horse. He patted Susu’s neck, who had worked hard again today. Feeling that a pat wasn’t enough of a reward, he held Read on Read BL Novelsout a carrot, which stolen contentSusu munched on. The sound of the carrot being chewed was cheerful.

“All gone? Then I’ll give you one more.”

Susu snapped up another carrot. Stroking Susu’s neck, Hae-min said.

“It was hard, wasn’t it? Carrying me around every single day.”

In reality, far from finding it hard, Susu had energetically roamed the mountains and fields. Over the past fifteen days, Hae-min had come to realize anew that a horse’s stamina was incredible.

Regardless, it was a fact that Susu had worked hard, and Moon Hae-min felt a sense of friendship toward the animal.

“It’s all thanks to you that I’ve become proficient at riding.”

He didn’t know what would happen if he encountered a wild horse instead of one as gentle as Susu, but this was a satisfactory result.

“I wish I could keep practicing, but…”

If he did, his riding skills would improve much more. However, once Song Seol returned, he didn’t think he could ride as consistently as he did now.

It wasn’t that Song Seol would say anything, but the reality was that when he was nearby, Hae-min felt self-conscious even about breathing.

For all he knew, Song Seol might offer to teach him how to ride, just as he had offered to teach him how to control his Chromatic Scent. No matter how much he needed the practice, it wasn’t worth enduring that kind of pressure. That was why he had ridden while Song Seol was away.

“Today is the last day for this, too.”

Hae-min muttered, patting Susu.

According to his memory, Song Seol was returning to Songdo today. And soon, his maternal relatives, including his aunt, would gather.

“Ugh.”

Hae-min frowned. Just thinking about sitting there like a misplaced sack of barley and listening visit our siteto nagging [stolen content]like, ‘The child doesn’t look like visit our sitehe’s fit to be a proper spouse,’ made his temples throb.

Not only that. He didn’t know what face to make when greeting Song Seol. He had always felt awkward around him, but now that he had shown such a pathetic side of himself…

“…”

Suddenly, the air felt cold. It was so freezing that his intake of breath felt chilling. Hae-min murmured gloomily.

“It can’t be helped.”

Let’s just endure until next winter, just until winter. After comforting himself with those words, he climbed onto the back of Susu, who had finished the carrots in the meantime. He intended to gallop to his heart’s content before returning to the residence. He felt that would make him feel better.

“Let’s go.”

As he pulled the reins, Susu began to run.

Since there were unusually few people on the road today, stolen contentSusu raced forward without hesitation. It felt as if there [visit our site]were [Read on Read BL Novels]no obstacles in the path ahead. Moon Hae-min tilted his head back slightly, savoring the sense of liberation.

The wind brushed sharply against his cheeks. The air hitting his entire body was even colder than before, but this time, it felt purely refreshing.

‘This is fun.’

To think a day would come when he actually enjoyed riding a horse. In the past, he had been terrified that his clumsy riding would reveal he wasn’t a nobleman; he could never have imagined this.

He had learned riding with a solemn heart for the purpose of escaping, yet he was finding joy in the process. Just as he was falling into thought about how contradictory and strange this was—

“…Uh…”

He felt an immense pressure from behind.

It wasn’t that he heard a sound or sensed a presence. Nevertheless, he had a distinct feeling that something was ‘there’ behind him.

Hae-min stiffened, gripping the reins. Instead of staying like this, he had to find Read on Read BL Novelsout exactly what [stolen content]the source of visit our sitethis pressure was. But his body simply wouldn’t move.

‘Why am I like this?’

To be terrified of something whose identity he didn’t even know was incredibly foolish. Hae-min scraped together his courage and slowly turned his head.

And there he saw it. A massive beast with glinting yellow eyes.

A tiger—the apex predator and spiritual beast also known as the Mountain Lord.

“…”

He was so shocked that not even a scream escaped. It was perhaps for the best. If he screamed, it would only provoke the tiger.

There was one more fortunate thing. The tiger did not pounce on Moon Hae-min. It merely stared at him intently, showing no immediate sign of attacking… or so he had to believe.

‘I have to run.’

Straightening his head, Hae-min urged Susu forward.

Susu was already galloping faster than ever before. It seemed Susu had also noticed the tiger’s presence. Perhaps the animal had sensed the danger before him through instinct.

At that moment, a dull thud sounded from behind. It sounded like the footfall of a tiger. He would know for sure if he looked back, but he didn’t dare. Hae-min grit his teeth.

‘What should I do…!’

There were only two ways to survive this situation. The first was to run for his life, and the second was to hope the tiger wouldn’t take an interest in him.

The latter was already unlikely. The former wasn’t much more promising. No matter how fast a horse ran, a tiger had the advantage in instantaneous speed. At this point, it would be impossible for even the most skilled rider to evade a tiger.

Still, he had to run as far as he could. The single thought of escaping this crisis dominated Hae-min’s mind. Forgetting his fear for a moment, Moon Hae-min spurred the horse. In doing so, he found himself heading deeper into the mountains, but there was no room to change direction.