"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Anastasia asked, looking at Sylvia with her eyes full of disdain.
The slender woman had fresh and clear skin that was almost shimmering with elegance. Her long silver hair loosely danced in the wind and her blue eyes were mesmerizing.
The sight of such beauty and youth even made Anastasia clear her throat as she addressed her again. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"Your highness…" Sylvia acted like she was wincing in pain from Mikel's tight grip and then paused. "I only… I didn't…"
The Queen's frown deepened and she scoffed in annoyance. "Are you still trying to make excuses?"
"I think it's very clear what happened here today. You wanted to preserve your dignity and show off your skills even at the cost of an animal's health."
"Am I right or are you still trying to deny this? What explanation do you have for being so cruel to a helpless beast?"
"I do not permit you to leave until you can give me a proper explanation." Anastasia loudly harrumphed.
Sylvia nodded and bowed, quickly beginning to explain things. She was satisfied with just this much and she didn't want to let things get much further. Everything was only good in moderation.
"Your highness. Please forgive me. I didn't get a chance to explain my actions." She muttered, keeping her voice down.
Mikel tugged at her, but she continued nevertheless. "I did know that black arrow was feeling a bit down while I was riding him."
"What?!" The Queen clenched her fist tightly, breaking the tea cup in her hands. How dare a mere slave behave so boldly in front of her? If she was unhappy before, now she was livid with anger.
Everyone else as well gasped. What a fool! She should have never opened her mouth. She could have simply accepted whatever punishment. Now, she was surely going to be beheaded or imprisoned!
Priscella couldn't be happier. This was her intention all along. She never cared about the race in the first place.
Of course, if she had managed to beat Sylvia in the race as well, it would have been better, but ultimately, this was the end game and the thing that concerned her the most.
Just when it looked like the slut was going to get away with only a minor slap on her wrist, to Priscella's delight, for some reason she dug herself a deeper hole. She chuckled inwardly waiting for the good show.
In the midst of this commotion, the court physician finally arrived and he greeted the Queen. "Your highness, you called for me?"
"Declan! You have arrived. Please take a look at black arrow. He is bleeding. I am not sure what happened?" Anastasia sighed, her attention now back on the poor animal which everyone had conveniently ignored until now.
The physician squatted down and started checking the horse from top to bottom. He had a serious expression on his face as he observed everything.
He then silently took a step back and conjured drops of water that drizzled on the horse, drenching the beast completely. But surprisingly, he was not using the spell 'Healing Rain'.
"Is everything alright, Declan?" The Queen worriedly asked him.
"Your highness… this…" The physician stepped back, not sure how to explain his observation.
Behind him, the horse was standing, completely calm and healthy. All the blood and gunk had been washed away cleanly and in fact, its fur now looked very healthy and young.
Its eyes were also full of health and there was no discoloration or lethargy visible. No matter how anyone looked at it, the animal was not sick in the least.
"It's exactly as you see, your highness. There is nothing wrong with black arrow." Declan smiled and bowed, hearing which the Queen looked more confused than ever.
"Is this the young woman who rode the horse last?" Declan asked, turning towards Sylvia.
Sylvia calmly smiled and nodded at him, unlike the others who all had confused expressions on their faces.
Priscella in particular had a weird taste in her mouth as she gulped. How could the animal be completely healthy? Did the maid not do the job?
She cast a glance at the maid who had been silently standing on the side all this time, who met her gaze but quickly looked away in fear.
Biting her lips, Priscella as well turned to look at Sylvia and Declan to see what they were talking about.
"Miss Sylvia, did you perhaps feed some herbs to the animal? Could you please tell me everything that happened in detail?" Declan was an old man who had a lot of experience in treating humans and beasts alike.
More importantly, unlike others, he wasn't yet prejudiced as he had no idea who was who. He was merely attending to the sick beast and doing his job.
Sylvia nodded and first bowed to the Queen and then bowed to Declan. "Please forgive me, your highness and Lord Declan. I wasn't able to explain things before."
"When I first observed black arrow, I noticed that he was a bit tired and his eyes looked glassy."
"Since I am familiar with this sort of extreme fatigue, and most probably, indigestion from having consumed something questionable, I decided to give him some first aid treatment."
"I am sorry if I had overstepped my boundaries. His condition didn't look severe and hence, I didn't raise any red flags." Sylvia explained calmly.
She even detailed the mixture of herbs and flowers she had used to treat the beast.
"That's indeed an astute observation and an interesting treatment plan, Miss Sylvia." Lord Declan muttered, looking extremely pleased.
Even the Queen nodded in agreement, her expression had softened a bit, turning from anger to puzzlement.
Not only was Sylvia talented in riding, but she also seemed to be quite talented in herbology. No one had expected the first Prince's new mistress to be such an outstanding character.
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