The next day, Natsuki got up early in the morning, and while the owners of the castle were still resting, he went to the stables alone. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Hill family rose in the Victorian era, in Britain belongs to the emerging aristocracy, such a family often has a solid economic foundation, this clean and spacious stable raised a full thirty or forty fat and strong, bright coat horses, look at people feel comfortable. Because of the Marseille schedule in the morning, the grooms were busy early in the morning, pulling the horses out of the stables after eating, and combing and cleaning them with brushes.

Natsuki looked left and right, walked over to a thin-faced groom about seventeen or eighteen years old, took a half-pound gold coin out of his pocket, casually flipped it between his fingers, and casually accosted, "This is a good horse." ”

The visit of a German prince and princess to Hill Manor may not bring great glory to the family, but no one in the estate will mistake the honored guests. The young groom bowed very solemnly: "It is an honour to meet you, noble prince of Prussia. ”

Natsuki nodded kindly, "You must be familiar with the horses here, right?" ”

"yes, I've been working here for almost three years." The young groom replied quickly, and then, half-curiously, half-flatteringly, said, "Your Highness is fluent in English, and ......."

"And the accent is a little weird?" Natsuki smiled, it seemed that it was difficult for him to get rid of the flavor accent formed by the basic English education of the Celestial Empire.

The young groom smiled and rubbed his head: "Well, it sounds like some Irish accent, but it's not as jerky as they are. ”

The half-pound gold coin stopped on the cover of Natsuki's thumb, and he flicked it lightly, and the golden coin fell right into the arms of the young groom, and he was shocked, Natsuki said disapprerovingly: "Take the trouble to introduce me to some of these horses, and His Royal Highness the Duke asked me to choose the best one to see if I can beat his best knight." ”

The young groom did not dare to accept this "expensive" tip, and felt that it would be very rude to give it back, so he stood there with a look of embarrassment.

Natsuki had already strode to the stable, dropping a quiet remark: "Of course, you can also introduce me a horse that is not so good, so that your riders can win without suspense." ”

The young groom hesitated, but finally made up his mind to pocket the tip equivalent to a week's wages, and then put down the horsehair brush in his hand and quickly followed.

After a fragrant and delicious morning tea, the men of the Hill family appeared at the manor's racecourse in bright and gorgeous riding clothes. It's not like a formal racecourse, all the courses are fenced in wooden fences, except for a small area for warm-up practice that has been fenced and a large area of flat green grass that can be ridden in.

A family with a proud tradition of serving in the Royal Navy would not necessarily be obsessed with boating projects, and Mr. Hill's preference and devotion to horses was not only social, but also reflected in their preference for horses and racehorses, as Natsuki can conclude from looking at the stables.

Presumably, the navy uniform and the horseback were not well matched, and the burly Duke Hill wore a dark rider's outfit, which was the first time Natsuki had seen him wear clothes other than military uniforms. He rode straight to the side of Xia Shu, squinted at the horses under the crotch of the Prussian prince, and said in a tepid tone: "Your Highness has a very unique vision for choosing horses. ”

The stables at Hill Estate are filled with quality British thoroughbreds – known for their short- and medium-distance sprint speeds, setting and holding world records for speed at all distances up to 5,000 metres, and are considered one of the finest riding horse breeds, and Natsuki chose a twelve-year-old Arabian horse. This horse is docile, intelligent and enduring, and the sprint speed is not bad, but it is inferior to the British thoroughbred, not to mention that this age is a middle-aged horse, although it has the advantages of maturity and stability, but the explosiveness and physical strength have decreased significantly compared with young horses.

Natsuki also squinted at the Duke's horse, and sure enough, he chose the six-year-old chestnut thoroughbred named "Hurricane". Having received a half-pound tip, the young groom at the stable, though careful to avoid what he considered to be a family secret, told Natsuki all the things that were known, such as which master loved which horse, and which horse had a glorious record.

The Hurricane is the Duke of Hill's favorite horse now, it is strong and excited, and has repeatedly performed brilliantly in the social exchanges of the British princes and nobles, earning the Duke a lot of face. Natsuki's white Arabian horse, nicknamed "Gravel", was the Duke's favorite mount, and when he was less than half a year old, the Duke brought him back to England from the far Middle East. In the past, when he went out to hunt, Duke Hill always wore white clothes and white horses, showing his chic nature.

There seemed to be tenderness in Duke Hill's deep gaze towards his former golden partner, and he said to Natsuki: "'Gravel' is docile and understands people by nature, and can work well with the rider after a few laps. ”

Before Duke Hill came to the racecourse, Natsuki had been riding the white Arabian horse for more than half an hour. It is indeed very human, from its clear and simple eyes, Natsuki also saw an instinct to desire a challenge, but it is a pity that the years are ruthless, no matter how much it "talks about juvenile madness", it is difficult to beat the young thoroughbred horse in speed. Therefore, when the Duke made this reasonable suggestion, Natsuki still rode his horse and replied, "The rider and the horse need a tacit understanding to be able to exert 100% ability, and this tacit understanding must be formed in the long-term relationship." ”

This sentence was said in the front, which made Duke Hill feel that it was impossible to win if he won, and he really asked: "Then how does Your Highness think it can be considered a fair game?" ”

Natsuki looked not far away, there was a large flat natural meadow between the two hills, and a small red and white flag was planted on the north slope. According to the young groom, the Hill riders usually race their horses here, and a return contract is 1,500 meters, which is exactly the sprint distance that thoroughbreds excel at.

Although the conversation with the groom made Natsuki have a plan, he still pretended to think hard: "It's better to ...... Let's add a little more difficulty - during the race, you need to pick up the wreath on the ground with your sword, and the wreath will not fall and return to the finish line. What does His Royal Highness the Duke think? ”

Duke Cill thought for a while: "Okay, His Royal Highness the Prince is not familiar with our horses, and we are not familiar with His Highness's competition rules, so it is fair to offset the two." ”

Since the other party had promised, Natsuki didn't say much, he looked around and finally saw Charlotte and Louise. The Hill family's Rose wore a heroic red rider's outfit today, because of the ponytail, the face shape appeared more three-dimensional, and Louise also showed her youthful and energetic temperament with a slim peacock blue riding outfit. Natsuki left the Duke behind and rode up to them, and although he recognized that Charlotte was riding a maroon Trecana horse, which was known for its graceful appearance and light gait, he politely asked, "Miss Hill is going to participate in today's race?" ”

Charlotte, who appeared in light makeup, curled her mouth and made a regretful expression: "No, I'm here to cheer you on." ”

Natsuki laughed, "So, can you bother the ladies to do us a small favor?" ”

Charlotte blinked and waited with Louise for Natsuki's words.

"Today's fight needs some garlands, they don't have to be big, just go through the fists." Natsuki gestured with his hand.

In the spring season, the grass is full of colorful flowers. Charlotte replied easily, "There's no guarantee that they'll look good, but they should meet your requirements." Your Royal Highness Princess, let's pick flowers together? ”

Louise replied with a big smile.

The two young and beautiful ladies chose a place where wild flowers were lush to weave garlands, while Natsuki rode the "gravel" on the grass, and from time to time he leaned down and stroked the horse's neck with his hand while leaning close to the horse's ears to talk. Half an hour later, the ladies sent ten wreaths, and Natsuki brought them to Duke Hill. The Duke looked dismissive of these crude gadgets, and he nodded slightly in approval, while the Duke's attendants brought a bunch of swords. Natsuki picked one out at random, tested the weight and feel, put it on his belt, and then galloped to the hillside with the small flag, and spread the wreath more than thirty meters away from the small flag. By the time he returned to the starting point, nine riders, including the Duke of Hill and his two sons, were seated, and the sunny-looking men were lined up in swords and swords, looking quite imposing.

"Can you make one more small request?" Natsuki rode his horse and stopped in front of the duke.

Duke Hill released the reins with his right hand and made a "please" gesture.

Natsuki rode his horse to the squire in charge of the order, asked him for the command flag, and then came to Charlotte's side.

"If Miss Hill could raise the flag, my chances of winning this game would have increased dramatically."

"Is there any connection between that?" Although Charlotte had disdain on her lips, she did not hesitate at all to take the starting flag from Natsuki's hand.

Under the already impatient eyes of the riders, Natsuki unhurriedly came to the right side of the line, and Charlotte also rode her jujube red horse to take the place of the starter. The huge racecourse suddenly became unusually quiet, the sound of horses neighing and breaking hooves was heard, and the tense atmosphere quietly permeated. When Charlotte raised the starting flag, the riders of the Hill family leaned forward, but Natsuki straightened up, like a proud cavalryman under review.

(End of chapter)