By the time the meal was over, Jamie had returned.
“It’s ready, Captain.”
“Rishi, let’s go. There’s something amazing I want to show you.”
I had been so preoccupied with the Sleeve Stone that I’d completely forgotten Kay mentioning he’d show me something incredible.
Rishi took his hand and stood up.
They headed toward the stables at the far end of the estate. In the wide, open space in front of the building, sturdy-looking horses were either resting or frolicking about.
It seemed they had cleared the stables, as the inside was completely empty. As they walked down the central aisle, they came to a closed door.
Jamie opened it.
The first person I saw was Eugene.
Usually, Eugene had a cold, expressionless face, but he was currently looking down with a gentle smile. When he noticed the door open, he immediately smoothed his expression back into his typical mask.
“Captain. Madam.”
“It’s been a while, Eugene. Have you been well?”
As I spoke brightly, Kay gently grabbed my chin and turned my head.
“Rishi, you shouldn’t be looking that way—look over here.”
Rishi, who had turned her head away inadvertently, let out a gasp of surprise.
“Oh my!”
A small white horse stood next to an equally white mother, clinging to her side. But what caught her off guard was…
“Its horn……”
The foal had a horn. A long, golden-hued horn.
Rishi covered her mouth with both hands. She knew of the legends of white horses with long horns, but she’d always believed they were just stories.
“A unicorn……”
I never dreamed I would see a real-life unicorn.
“That’s right. It’s a unicorn.”
“But… the mother doesn’t have a horn.”
The mother appeared to be an ordinary white horse.
“These creatures can retract their horns once they reach adulthood. It’s an evolutionary survival trait.”
Kay pulled Rishi’s hand toward the mother horse’s head. Rishi worried the horse might bite, but it stood perfectly still. Even though she couldn’t see the horn, she could feel something hard beneath the skin.
“There really is… something there.”
“Indeed. Her name is White.”
It seemed White was the name of the unicorn. As Kay called out to her, the horn—previously invisible—slowly revealed itself. It was a golden spike, shining even more brilliantly than the foal’s.
Rishi held her breath, taking in the miracle of a legend coming to life.
“Unicorns are intelligent and strong. They understand human speech, and once they choose a master, they are fiercely loyal. When they reach adulthood, they can even fly.”
“It’s exactly like the legends……”
“It’s not a legend, Rishi. Humans just invented fancy stories for the creatures they hunted to extinction.”
White’s horn disappeared again. Kay looked down at the baby unicorn.
“This little one doesn’t have a name yet.”
“I see. I don’t think you should be the one to name it.”
“Hm? Why?”
“Your naming sense is a bit… well. Calling her ‘White’ just because she’s white……”
Eugene, standing quietly to the side, nodded. Even the unicorn seemed to bob its head.
“It’s not like you’d call something white ‘Black’.”
“Anyway, I think someone else should name this little one.”
“You name it.”
“Pardon?”
“From now on, this little one is yours.”
Rishi’s eyes widened as she looked at Kay. Was he serious? It was hard enough to believe unicorns existed, but to receive one as a wedding gift? And if they could fly, shouldn’t one belong to Kay’s shadows?
Rishi turned to Eugene, who wore an unreadable expression. She turned to Jamie, who only offered a thin smile.
“Please take it, Iris. We don’t really have a knack for childcare……”
“Childcare?”
“Well, how should I put this? We were actually against giving her to you as a gift, Iris.”
Of course they were. Something this precious.
“This isn’t a gift, Madam. It’s a curse,” Eugene added, no longer able to stay silent.
“Pardon?”
“Unicorns are cute. They’re beautiful and elegant. But……”
Eugene reached his right hand toward the baby unicorn.
*Chomp!*
He was bitten instantly.
“See?” Eugene said, not pulling his hand away. “Unicorns are fierce without a master. They’re stubborn. It took the Captain a very long time to tame White.”
Eugene tried to pull his hand away, but the baby unicorn wouldn’t let go.
“Think of it as raising a toddler who has never been disciplined, Madam. Do you know what that’s like?”
*Whoosh—*
A sound echoed, and the baby unicorn began to pee while still clamped onto Eugene’s hand. Eugene pointed at the creature with his free hand, as if to say, *‘Look at this.’*
“You have to teach them, tame them, and earn their recognition. It’s not something a human should have to deal with. The Captain is clearly trying to offload his own ‘childcare’ onto you.”
Rishi turned back to Kay, who was wearing an amused smile.
“Is what Eugene says true?”
“What do you think?”
“A little bit true. And a little bit……” Rishi looked into Kay’s eyes and saw his true intent. “You’re looking forward to it. You want to see if I can tame this little one.”
“I think it’s more than just anticipation. I believe you’ll be able to do it.”
“Well… I’ve never done any childcare before.”
In her past life, dealing with children had been difficult; she had never been treated as a child herself, so she didn’t know how to handle them.
“Unicorns are faster than any horse,” Kay said, taking her hand. “I want to ride them and race with you.”
Rishi tried to imagine riding a dazzling unicorn alongside Kay, but she couldn’t picture it—she had never even ridden a horse before. Still… there might be times in the future when she’d need to travel alone. A unicorn would certainly be useful.
“Alright,” Rishi said. “I will become this little one’s master.”
+++
Rishi returned to her room with a stack of books: *Fun! Dictionary of Fantastic Animals*, *Legends of the World*, *Legendary Creatures*, *Actually Existing Fantastic Animals*, and *Legendary Creature Dictionary for Beginner Hunters*.
Most were low-grade, magazine-style books meant for amusement. While every book featured unicorns, they mostly just listed their appearance; it was nearly impossible to find information on their actual habits.
However, one piece of information horrified her:
*[A unicorn’s staple diet is live mice.]*
*Surely… they don’t actually eat mice, do they?* She didn’t want to imagine that small, cute creature crunching on rodents.
“Iris, what are you reading so intently?” Erwel asked, fidgeting while Krisina was away for a moment.
“Do you know anything about legendary creatures?”
“I took it as an elective at the Academy, but……”
“What about unicorns? Did you learn what they like to eat?”
“Unicorns? Ugh, the foals aren’t very nice. They say they enjoy eating big caterpillars.”
“Ah……”
This time, it was caterpillars. Rishi didn’t want to see a unicorn eating those, either.
“They say unicorns actually existed, but their temperaments were bad. Plus, unicorn meat and horns were considered medicinal—people believed even the dead could be revived by eating them—so they were hunted into extinction.”
“I see.”
“Why are you asking about unicorns?”
Rishi hesitated. It seemed only Kay and his shadows knew about the foal.
“The Count gave me a foal as a gift. Looking at her made me interested in the legend.”
Erwel nodded, suspecting nothing. “A foal. They’re gentle. You just scratch their necks, look them in the eyes, groom them, and feed them carrots, and they’ll follow you in no time.”
*The problem is, I don’t think that’s going to happen,* Rishi thought.
“Have you named her yet?”
“Not yet.”
“You should. You have to give it a name for it to get close to you.”
Rishi had never named a living creature. She couldn’t think of anything suitable for the small, beautiful animal.
“She’s a white horse. What kind of name would be good?”
“A white horse? How about ‘Whitey’?”
“……Ah. I see.”
Erwel’s naming sense was no better than Kay’s.
Rishi closed the book and left the room; reading wasn’t helping. As she headed down the stairs, she bumped into Nathan, who was rushing up.
“Oh, sister-in-law! Good morning.” He stopped abruptly and bowed.
“Good morning, Nathan. Where are you off to?”
“The Captain called for me. Oh, right—I heard you received a unicorn?”
“Yes, that’s how it turned out. Do you have any advice?”
Nathan crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, his face scrunched up in deep thought.
“Be careful not to get bitten,” he said seriously. “Once she gets bigger, she’ll start kicking with her hind legs, so don’t stand behind her. And don’t stand in front of her either—she might ram you with her horn. It’s better to stay far away, toss her a carrot, and watch from a distance.”
“That is… very useful advice.”
Nathan smiled brightly. “Be careful, sister-in-law. If you get hurt, Jen will kick the Captain.”
“Why would she kick Kay just because I got hurt?”
“Because the Captain gave you such a dangerous and terrifying gift.”
A dangerous and terrifying gift. Her confidence was rapidly slipping away. Would she really be able to tame that creature?
Lost in thought, Rishi exited the main building and walked through the garden, but stopped at the sound of hushed voices. Through the trees, she saw the elderly Count and Countess walking. She had forgotten they were staying at the mansion.
*Oh no,* she thought. *I should have paid my respects.*
In her past life, Alford’s parents would have been furious if she hadn’t been waiting at their door for morning greetings. *‘Because she hasn’t learned anything, because she doesn’t know anything, because she has no social graces, how on earth did a thing like that end up in our family……’*
Rishi hurried toward them.
“Oh, Rishi. Did you sleep well?”
Fortunately, Heraina didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.
“Yes, Mother. I’m sorry, I should have come to pay my respects.”
“Hm? Pay my respects? Ah, the morning greetings……. Dear, she says she’s paying respects.”
“Ho ho…….”
Wyvern laughed, clearly fascinated. Rishi was confused—they weren’t angry, but they weren’t mocking her, either.
“You are so polite, Rishi. We’ve never received such things from our own children…… so, such things actually exist.”
Heraina seemed genuinely surprised.
Rishi felt her tension melt away. She had decided to live a life different from her past, but she hadn’t yet fully escaped the trauma of the Witlow Duchy and the Huchis family. House Green was clearly different.
“Anyway, it’s a good thing we ran into you. There was something I wanted to ask.”
Heraina gazed steadily at Rishi with her amber eyes.
“How do you think we should treat the Duke and Duchess of Witlow?”