Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress-Chapter 70: A Little Mare Spooked By The Warhorses

Lyall had served his liege for nearly nine years and never had he seen Orpheus bend and break his regulations for anyone. And what no other man or woman on Ethuaria had ever been able to accomplish, this petite lady with fight in her had.

It was a shock and a wonder not only for Lyall but also for the Walcian generals who chose silence as well.

"Greetings, my lady," Lyall replied, hoping his voice did not convey his confusion to the lady.

Lady Karina smiled faintly, the dimple in her left cheek deep. But for lack of anything more to say to the man, she faced forward and gave a pat to her little mare, but the horse reared high suddenly, her front hooves pawing at the air.

The sweet mare had been startled by the snorting of the warhorses that were much larger and more intimidating than her.

Another one of the warhorses nickered loudly, startling the mare into a panic and rather than being thrown off, Lady Karina leapt off her mare and amazingly landed on her feet.

She could have simply tamed the creature through her magic, but she would not risk it, especially not with the Van Merikh knights surrounding her.

The startled mare bucked and bolted off the road, neighing in distress without looking back.

The escort party came to a halt as Lyall veered off course and went in pursuit of the palfrey, which made Orpheus thunder his way back along the column.

It was admirable how he handled his beastly-sized horse with surprising ease and the animal seemed rather loyal.

"What is the matter?" Orpheus demanded.

Lady Karina turned to him, dusting off the specks of dirt her mare left in its stead after charging off, but one of Orpheus' senior knights answered in her stead; when Van Merikh asked a question, it had better be answered quickly.

"The lady's palfrey was spooked, my lord," the man replied. "Lyall has gone to retrieve it."

Orpheus immediately snapped his head in Lady Karina's direction and he raised his visor to get a better assessment of her.

"Are you injured, my lady?" He asked, withholding any signs of true concern in his voice. His question seemed more of common courtesy than concern.

Lady Karina shook her head. "I was not thrown off so I am quite alright."

Orpheus nodded, his gaze lingering on her a moment before going in search of Lyall and the errant mare. But his second-in-command was already returning with the creature, who was frightened into madness by the presence of the warhorses.

Lady Karina had tried to comfort the animal, but the mare was too far gone with panic to recover.

"She will not ride calmly alongside these warhorses," Lady Karina said to Orpheus. "It is either I ride at the rear by myself or I ride at the front and away from the warhorses."

Orpheus thought on the situation a moment longer before extending his hand to the lady.

"Lyall," he commanded. "Lift the lady up to me."

Lyall released the mare to the nearest knight and dismounted his steed in the same motion. He was a silent, efficient knight that did as he was told without questions. But as he drew closer to his liege with Lady Karina gently in his grip, he lifted his visor to look up at the man.

"I believe it would be more convenient if the lady rode with me or someone else," Lyall suggested quietly. "You make for a very big target riding at the head of the column, my lord, and the lady is without the protection of armour."

Orpheus' first reaction was to freeze his second-in-command's head off for questioning his decision, especially since he hadn't yet dealt with the man the previous night.

Lyall had come to him, panting out of breath with news that was at the tip of his tongue, yet it was not fully spoken, and Orpheus did not have the chance to address it, but he was certain he would when they returned.

And as much as he wanted to smite Lyall where he stood, he stopped himself before his words left his lips, analysing that the man was correct.

Still, he kept his hand extended.

"Lift the lady to me," Orpheus repeated. "I will ride in the middle of the column and you will take point."

Lyall could feel his liege's fire where he stood; hence, he didn't argue further. He was careful about the way he handled Lady Karina, ensuring that his hands didn't touch any delicate spots that would have his head sundered off by his liege.

He lifted the lady up to Orpheus and returned to his horse without another word.

Lady Karina was placed in front of Orpheus; the man settled her across his thighs, which left her sitting sideways with her legs dangling off to one side.

And as Lyall galloped his way to the front, the column began to move again.

Orpheus established his position in the centre of the squad as they travelled down the road, one hand perched on Lady Karina's waist and the other holding the reins.

It was not the first time she was in such close proximity to the man, but his touches always held something in them that stirred unknown sensations within her.

It was enough to make her cheeks burn with shame.

Orpheus was content with where she was because that was where she belonged after all.

He'd be damned if he allowed her to ride with any of his other knights and sit so intimately close to them.

However, there was something else that didn't quite sit well with Orpheus.

As a man who had been hard trained since his youth, his hearing skills proved to be exceptional.

And that meant even when he was riding at the head point of the column, he would hear even a whisper that came from the back of the line.

"I was not aware that I shared titles with my knights," Orpheus stated, his hand on her waist tightening possessively. "Do you enjoy addressing Lyall as 'my lord'? Does that please you?"

There was bitterness in his voice and the lady didn't quite understand why.

Her brows furrowed, but she avoided turning her head to look at him.

"How...did you hear that?" Lady Karina's eyes widened with surprise.

"I am a man who has been trained to kill bears out in the bare cold with my eyes closed," Orpheus replied sharply. "I have been trained to hear the slightest disturbance in my surroundings and beyond them. I have heard every word you spoke."

"I do not understand what you are implying," she answered truthfully, wondering why the man seemed upset. "I have addressed him that way since the first day for I am showing respect."

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That answer didn't sit well with Orpheus. He was not a man who shared titles with his knights and he certainly didn't take well to his future wife addressing his second-in-command that way.

"Who is your lord, Karina?" Orpheus asked; his visor was still flipped so he moved his head closer to her ear. His warm breath ghosted over the sensitive skin. "Who is it that you make demands from?"

A/N: Hi all! Thank you for reading this far. I will be setting some milestones to achieve in exchange for bonus Chapters!

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