The morning mist had yet to fully clear from a winding country lane.
Cui Ciyou and Roxy shared a horse as they rode along the lane toward the outskirts of Roa City.
In truth, given the Boreas Greyrat Family's wealth, the estate's stables held dozens of magnificent horses.
Never mind providing one horse per person; they had more than enough to form a small cavalry unit.
Cui Ciyou silently quipped to himself,
They are a great noble family with a thousand-year history, after all. Just like modern tycoons owning several different models of luxury cars, this is perfectly normal.
But Roxy had insisted that Cui Ciyou's horse alone would be enough.
Her reason was simple:
After using tracking magic during the kidnapping incident, she had been treated as an honored guest by House Boreas and invited to stay at their estate.
Roxy felt she had already spent a long time living and eating here for free, accepting far too many favors.
She did not want to trouble anyone over something so minor.
And so they had ended up in their current arrangement, which might have seemed a little too intimate to an onlooker.
Cui Ciyou sat behind Roxy, his arms reaching around her petite frame to hold the reins in front of her.
From where he sat, the broad Mage Hat almost completely blocked his view.
Roxy's tiny body was all but enveloped in his embrace.
The two shared a horse, pressed close together.
The outsides of Roxy's arms rested against the insides of Cui Ciyou's, even through their clothes.
The white horse's hooves struck the gravel-covered road with crisp, rhythmic clops.
As the horse walked, Roxy's petite body occasionally brushed against Cui Ciyou's chest.
A faint fragrance, like some unfamiliar flowering plant mingled with the distinctive scent of ink