Villainess Loves

Part 49

"Grab it!" "On your left!" "No, your other left!" "Hey, watch it!" "Move over!" "AH!" "Woah!"

A flurry of shouting and frustration quickly ensues. Since the pairings of the couples' race were random for the most part, the synergy wasn't very high. Also, we didn't account for the fact that everyone would want to go at high speed, and thus because of the small space for flag collection, there were many crashes.

"Ow!" "Hey!" "Wait!" Cries of chaos littered the area.

I sighed. We also didn't account for the fact that since everyone started at the same place, it would be crazily crowded and thus the race felt more like a sumo wrestle than a race.

Even though the people that were assigned to collect the flags were lesser in horse riding skills, that didn't mean that they were lesser in competitive spirit. Anyone can reach over and grab a flag, so there were hands grabbing things left and right as quickly as they can.

"Measure out double the space of every horse and account for the reach of the flag collector. If we need to double the size of the race course we can. Also, let's stagger the starting positions, people should still be able to track who is collecting the most the fastest just by seeing how many of a certain color are left." I direct a few servants who were in charge of the couple's race.

"Yes!" They quickly headed to measure out the correct length.

"Ah, wait, you there." I gestured to a blond-haired servant boy.

"Yes, my lady?"

"You go and get five more stands. I want to create fake stands to help slow down racers. These stands will carry similar looking flags but at closer inspection, is different than what each pair is assigned." I ordered. The staggering of starting positions and fake flag stands will hopefully slow down the racers and prevent crowding.

"Oh, good idea." Henry marvels.

"Hee, hee. Isn't it? Having fake flags will make even the fastest rider have to stop and double-check, slowing them down immensely. This will also help in balancing if certain pairs are just naturally more skilled than others." I said proudly.

The couple's race went on longer than expected due to the crowding and confusion. Luckily no one got seriously hurt and everyone seemed to enjoy it despite the initial scuffle.

"Ah, darn it. I thought we would win." Prince Orion sighs. He and Bella came in third place. An actual couple won first. I guess their synergy overpowered even the main characters. The pair that came in second was one of the more skilled servants so it was really close.

"Good job nonetheless," I said. A servant comes over and hands Prince Orion a towel. He takes it.

"Thanks. I can't wait for tomorrow!" He says excitingly, wiping his sweat away from his face. The simple action was breathtaking. If Henry wasn't next to me then I might have swooned at the sight. Bella and a couple of glancing female servants were already starstruck over his handsome display.

"I've already ordered some servants to change and fix the couple's race to prevent the clumping and crashing," I told them. Bella nods.

"That's good. Although no one got hurt this time, those that are lesser in skill may get hurt tomorrow because the horses may freak out." Bella says.

"Yes, I'll ask for more support and I'm adding fake flags to slow down the overall speed of the riders," I said.

"Oh, that's a good idea. This way it will make it more balance and be easier to replay the race in the future. We can just change the race slightly and randomize the fake flags." Bella suggests.

Hmm, I didn't think about that. Yeah, if this horse riding competition event thing is successful, we can hold more of these in the future. It would be good luck that our overall format has replayability.

"Hmm, so what are you guys planning to do for the rest of the day? Practice?" I asked Prince Orion and Bella. Since the races have all been done, we don't have much to do till the actual competition tomorrow. I've already informed the servants of the new changes and I'll probably ask Mary to inform the Queen as well.

"Of course practice! I need to beat Bella! That's the whole point of this!" Prince Orion flexes his muscles. Oh yeah. He needs to win this in order to gain King Drayden's favor.

"You're going to have to work hard. I won't be easy on you!" Bella says proudly.

"Of course! I wouldn't expect anything less!" Prince Orion laughs.

"What are your plans, Annelise?" Prince Orion turns to me. Hmm. What should I do in the meantime?

"Ah! I haven't seen the Vendia princes yet! Let's go see them!" Mary interjects.

"Hmmm, I dunno. You ain't missing much!" I grumbled, recollecting the bad experience I had.

"You said they were good-looking! It's not every day I get to see beautiful people!" Mary says.

"Ahh, then just go see them yourself!" I huffed.

"But how could I? I'm just a maid! You got to come with me and use your noble status to get a meeting with them! Use your nobility for what it's worth!" Mary pleads, clasping her hands together. She looks at me with her signature droopy eyes.

"Is my title as a duke's daughter only so little? Just to let my personal maid get a glimpse of Vendia royalty?!" I felt offended.

"What! You use your authority all the time to see handsome men! You should use it this time to help a friend out!" Mary calls me out.

"Ho, so I'm your friend now? Hmpf!" I cross my arms.

"My lady! You're so strong and cool. Who wouldn't want to be your friend? It is an honor on my part!" Mary switches tactics.

"Of course! Who wouldn't? I'm the best!" I laugh heartily.

"Of course, of course! Ah, Ah, Lady Annelise, please, please grant me this as your humble friend!" Mary pleads harder, grabbing my arms and putting them together.

"Fine, why not! For my most passionate servant!" I declare.

"What is going on?" Henry whispers to Prince Orion.

"Nothing but the usual." He whispers back.