LUCIA

Chapter 24 The Ducal Couple

Hugo gently and softly kissed every corner of her face while his hand slowly moved up and down, from her back to her waist.

While he was languidly engrossed in afterplay, a thought came to Lucia's mind and she abruptly burst into laughter.

"Hugh, you know, Lady Milton said something funny when she came this afternoon."

"Lady Milton... Ah, you mean the daughter of Baron Milton."

The Baron of Milton was a vassal of the Duke, an upright and rigid man. It was well-known that the Baron educated his children to emulate his righteous character so Hugo allowed the daughter of Baron Milton and his wife to interact more often. He wanted his wife to enjoy her stay in the north.

"Yes. She asked if you possibly weren't allowing me to go outside."

Hugo's hand which was caressing Lucia's back paused for a moment. Lucia chuckled, not noticing anything and continued to speak.

"I told her that wasn't the case, so she asked me to go horse riding with her."

Far away.

"Horse riding?" (Hugo)

"Lady Milton says it's a sport and it's fun. May I learn it?" (Lucia)

"...It sounds dangerous."

"It's not that dangerous. She said a lot of women do it."

"Do you really want to learn horseriding?"

Hugo didn't like it. In the past, he had seen how women looked when they went horseriding, the image of them panting afterwards captured the eyes of men. In addition, it was quite the sight to see a woman in riding clothes these days.

There was nothing more indecent than the way it clung tightly to the body, revealing every curve.

In the past, he was no different from other men; in that he thought that it was nice to look at, plus he was never one to care for a woman or distinguish whom he spent time with but that was already a thing of the past.

He never clung to trivial things of the past.

"I can't?"

Lucia placed her cheek on his chest and pitifully blinked her eyes. In that moment, he barely managed to stop himself from saying that she could do whatever she wanted.

He didn't want her to go horse riding. He could not bear to see foolish men leering at her but this was her first request since they had gotten married. He didn't want to see her look disappointed if he refused.

'A riding place that is only for women... I don't think there is any place like that in Roam... Well then, I'll just make one.'

There was no such place. Not only in Roam, but in the entire Xenon. This was the moment when the one and only women-exclusive horseriding practice field was formed.

This place, which would serve as an important venue for the social activities of women in the northern high society in the distant future, began with a man's unwillingness for his wife to be seen by other men.

"Alright. But only if you promise to learn within the castle until you can ride safely to some extent." (Hugo)

Hugo planned to make a practice field while she was learning how to ride a horse and he expected it to take about a week or so. If there wasn't enough time, he would ask her riding teacher to hold her back for a few more days. Or course, he also had get her a horse-riding teacher. A female horse-riding teacher.

"Okay. So you are giving permission, right?" (Lucia)

"Be careful so you don't get hurt." (Hugo)

"I'll be careful! Thank you!"