Chapter 355: Thea Silverhoof
Thea blinked. "I’m...what?"
Luca gestured at her lower half, his eyes tracing the powerful muscles of her horse body.
"I already knew Centaurs were big—I’ve seen you all from a distance at the meeting. But now that you’re standing right in front of me..."
He craned his neck further.
"You’re basically twice my size! I have to literally crane my neck just to look up at you."
He reached out instinctively, as if to touch her flank, then caught himself and pulled his hand back.
Sigrid let out an amused snort.
"Does that scare you, Hero?" She asked, her voice carrying a teasing edge. "The size of us, I mean."
"Normally whenever our Queen travels to other territories, the other races often look scared. They’re intimidated by our height, by our strength."
"Even the male members of our own race, the ones who are just about the same size as us often seem intimidated when they see us in full armor."
"They say we should be more delicate, more feminine. Like we should be dressing in frilly dresses instead of chainmail, or carrying fans instead of swords."
She rolled her eyes, a habit she’d developed from years of dealing with insecure men.
"So I have to ask..." She looked at Luca with a knowing gaze.
"Are you also the same? Are you intimidated by us?"
She expected him to stammer, to look away, to make some excuse about how he was just surprised.
That’s what all the others did. That’s what they always did.
But Luca just smiled l, his eyes blazing with an excitement that completely caught her off guard.
"Of course not." He said, his voice filled with genuine enthusiasm. "Why would I be intimidated by that?"
"Rather." He continued, his voice dropping to a low, appreciative growl. "...I’m excited."
Thea blinked. "...Excited?" She tilted her head. "You’re excited by how tall I am?"
Luca nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely!" He gestured toward her. "Look at you! The sheer power in your lower body. Your muscles, your build.."
He began describing her in detail—the powerful curve of her equine back, the strength in her legs, the way her entire body seemed to radiate vitality and power.
Thea felt herself growing more flustered with each word. It was as if he were scrutinizing every part of her, dissecting her form with an artist’s eye.
"...and the armor you’re wearing." Luca continued. "It gives you this intimidating, commanding presence."
"So you are intimidated." Thea said quickly, trying to regain control of the conversation.
Luca shook his head. "Yes, but that’s why it excites me so much!"
Thea stared, utterly baffled. "...What?"
"You see, I particularly like strong, powerful women." Luca explained, his enthusiasm genuine. "Women who could dominate me if they wanted to."
"And looking at you right now, at all of you centaurs, so tall and powerful, it’s really...exciting."
"So much so that I can’t keep my eyes off any of you ever since I arrived here."
Thea was completely speechless.
In all her years, through all her battles and encounters, she had never heard such words.
The males she met either cowered in fear or tried to assert their dominance in pathetic ways—puffing out their chests, making crude jokes, trying to put her in her place.
They were always either terrified or threatened.
But this strange human from another world was looking at her like she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
Like her strength and power were something to be celebrated rather than feared.
She wanted to say he was lying. She wanted to dismiss it as a joke or a tease.
But when she looked into his eyes, those blazing, passionate eyes, she knew he was telling the truth.
Her composure, carefully cultivated over decades of military service, completely crumbled.
"I..." She stammered, then stopped. "You’re..."
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain control.
"You’re quite the strange individual, Hero."
She finally said, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"But I suppose that makes sense, since you’re from a completely different world after all. I’ve never met anyone who reacted to me the way you just did."
Before Luca could respond, she quickly shook her head, regaining her composure.
"Anyway, the reason I came here is to clear up your doubts. But before that—"
She straightened up, adopting a formal posture.
"Let me properly introduce myself."
She placed a hand over her heart and bowed her head slightly.
"I am Thea Silverhoof, Deputy Commander of the Galloping Brigade and Sigrid’s right-hand woman."
"I have served the Royal House of Ivoryhorn for over two decades, protecting my Queen with my life and my honor."
She said it with the pride of someone who’d earned her position through merit and battle, not birthright.
"Deputy Commander?" Luca tilted his head. "No offense, but you look older and more experienced than Sigrid. Why aren’t you the commander?"
Thea’s lips curved into a knowing smile.
"You’re sharp. Yes, I have more years and more battlefield experience than Sigrid. But she is stronger than me."
She said it without a hint of jealousy, her tone filled with genuine pride.
"Even now, in my prime, I doubt I could defeat her with one hand behind her back. She has a natural talent for battle that I simply don’t possess, no matter how many years I train."
Luca whistled appreciatively. "That’s high praise."
"It’s the truth." Thea’s gaze softened as she looked at Sigrid, who was now patiently enduring Poppy’s attempts to pull out her heavy sword.
"Besides, I would never want that position. Too much stress, too many headaches. I prefer to guide from the shadows, to support where needed."
She paused, a flicker of something melancholic crossing her face.
"It’s what her mother would have wanted as well."
Luca’s interest was piqued. The way Thea spoke about Sigrid’s mother suggested that they had some sort of relationship.
And the way Thea looked at Sigrid with the care and affection of an older sister watching over her younger sibling made him curious.
But Luca filed that information away for later.
There was clearly a story there, but now wasn’t the time to dig.
Nonetheless, the impression Thea gave off was that of a cool, composed older sister who handled everything in a easygoing manner.
Compared to the other centaurs, who eyed him with wary rigidity, Thea seemed more relaxed, which in turn made him feel more at ease.
"Anyway." Thea said, her expression growing serious again. "The reason I came here is to ask you—please don’t mention what happened in those dreams to Lady Poppy."
"Why not?" Luca asked, voicing the question that had been burning in his mind.
Thea’s expression became awkward, cornered.
"Because...unlike the others who experienced those..." She paused, searching for the right word. "...lewd dreams..."
Luca felt a flush of embarrassment creep up his neck. Even though he wasn’t responsible, the guilt still lingered.
"Lady Poppy..." Thea continued. "She did not have any such dreams at all."
Luca’s jaw dropped. "What, really? How? I thought the Goddess’s mental broadcast hit every female on the map."
’And thank the gods the males had abandoned the goddesses.’ He thought privately.
The thought of males experiencing those same dreams made him want to vomit.
"It did." Thea explained. "But Lady Poppy is the Queen of Purity. Her innate divine blessing acts like a literal, automatic spiritual firewall."
"The moment the Goddess’s corrupted, impure dream-energy tried to enter her mind, Poppy’s passive magic instantly vaporized it."
"She slept like a baby through the whole thing."
"No wonder you didn’t want me saying anything in front of her..."
Luca said, glancing at Poppy, who was now trying to braid Sigrid’s ponytail with playful concentration.
"She probably has no idea what happened. If I told her...her innocent mind would be tainted. She doesn’t strike me as someone who could handle that information."
Thea smiled with relief. "I’m glad you understand, Hero."
"Is that also why she’s so...naive." Luca hummed thoughtfully. "That purity thing also makes her simple-minded, doesn’t it?"
Thea winced. "I wouldn’t phrase it that way, but...yes."
"She is unable to hold negative thoughts or schemes in her mind. Everything is filtered through that purity of hers."
"To us, she is a living saint. We protect her innocence with our lives."
Luca nodded slowly.
Everything about Poppy, from her childish behavior to her obliviousness to the darker aspects of the world, was a result of her unique nature.
"Can I ask you something?" He kept his voice low, mindful of the nearby centaurs.
Sigrid’s ears flicked warily. "What is it?"
"About the dreams." Luca hesitated. "Even if Poppy didn’t see them...you did, didn’t you?"
Sigrid’s face immediately flushed.
Her composure, so carefully maintained, cracked slightly as she remembered the vivid, humiliating dreams.
The way Luca had taken her, dominated her, made her feel things she had never felt before.
The way she had been powerless, completely at his mercy, her honor and dignity stripped away in the most intimate way possible.
"I’m not bringing this up to mock you or cause trouble." Luca added quickly. "I genuinely want to know. Are you...offended by what happened?"
Sigrid was silent for a long moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and strained.
"Of course I was." She still wouldn’t meet his eyes. "At first. I felt violated. Humiliated. I felt like my dignity had been thrown into the gutter and trampled on."
Her hands clenched at her sides.
"We centaurs value our honor above almost everything else, Hero. So, to have some human appear in my mind and do...those things...to be completely powerless to resist..."
She shook her head. "It was the worst experience of my life."
Luca’s stomach dropped. He had expected as much, but hearing it confirmed still made him feel like garbage.
"I’m sorry." He said quietly. "Truly."
Sigrid let out a long breath.
"But...after I returned home and had time to think, I realized something."
She finally turned to face him, her expression conflicted but not hostile.
"It probably wasn’t your fault at all."
"."
".."
"..."
"...What?"
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