Although the carriage was broken, their movement was hardly affected. With twenty knights having arrived on horseback, they now had a generous number of royal-bred steeds to utilize.

Naturally, as a warrior, our hero would have been trained in horseback riding. Natalie and Thomas, both from the frontier, also knew how to handle or ride horses. I, too, had learned horsemanship from Lydia and Dietmaier, as did Lydia herself, Rainy’s escort maid.

Of the group, only four couldn’t ride on their own, but these sturdy horses could easily carry two riders each.

“Hero, Lady Natalie, Mr. Thomas, and Lady Lydia, …