Chapter 66: Poor York

"Parker is the son of Count Ancali of the Northern Province, but I don't really like him. He is too tall and doesn't read much. Child is the son of Father Dolemesh and also my friend. When I go to church to pray, I often discuss doctrinal issues with him. He has sent me roses a few times, but I refused them all... I think he is a bit rigid."

Before Lu Xing could even ask, Annie explained everything in one breath, rattling off several of her suitors, seemingly trying to prove that she kept a proper distance from her admirers.

In this world, clergy members are also allowed to marry. Unlike ordinary people, however, a cleric's partner must also belong to the church and cannot hold a different faith.

Since even the gods themselves could reproduce, it wasn't surprising that clergy members married.

"Mr. Lu Xing...?" Annie asked softly.

She seemed to be seeking his thoughts and opinions.

"Does Annie have any boy she likes?" Lu Xing chuckled and asked. She had just shared her opinions on her suitors, but hadn't mentioned feeling a heartbeat for any particular boy.

After a moment of silence, the noble young lady whispered, "Why is Mr. Lu Xing asking me this? I've never thought about romance. I have to attend classes, read, learn a lot of knowledge, and go to afternoon tea parties with friends. Perhaps after I graduate from the Imperial Academy, my father and mother will choose a husband for me... But now, Mr. Lu Xing is my... so, so it's not needed..."

Her voice grew softer and softer.

Lu Xing chuckled and was just about to speak when Annie hurriedly blurted out:

"Ah! Mr. Lu Xing, my classmate next to me just saw me blushing and asked me what's wrong. What should I do?"

"Uh, just tell her you're fine. Don't worry."

Pausing for a moment, Lu Xing told her, "Annie, if you want to act under your own identity, just say it boldly. Others will simply think you have dissociative identity disorder. I've written about this on a note before."

Considering that Annie and the others needed to socialize with people, it wasn't ideal to always use his identity, so he decided to simply let them choose whichever identity they preferred.

As for academic issues or dissociative identity disorder, they could cross those bridges when they came to them; at worst, she could take a leave of absence.

"Oh... so I'm Annie then?"

Uttering these words, she couldn't help but giggle softly herself.

"Yes, you are Annie!" Lu Xing said with a smile, daring not to imagine what he would become like once he returned. With Annie's social butterfly energy, she could probably make best friends across every major at Haida University within two or three trips to Earth.

"By the way, Annie."

"What is it, Mr. Lu Xing!" Annie's vibrant tone returned.

"Apart from the few you mentioned earlier, are there anyone else?"

"Um, I suppose not... Does Mr. Lu Xing not trust Annie?"

Her voice sounded a bit wronged.

"I trust you, but I ran into someone named York at the magic tower just now. He's also one of your suitors, isn't he?"

"York? York... Is it that York with short hair, the one who doesn't dare look people in the eye when he speaks?"

Annie seemed to struggle to recall, and after a long while, asked in confusion, "Does York even count as one of my suitors?"

Lu Xing couldn't help but laugh out

Poor York. His tactics were completely ineffective in front of Miss Annie, and he hadn't even been categorized by Annie as a suitor. Her only impression of him was: short hair, doesn't dare look people in the eye.

After chatting for a while, Annie had to return to class, and Lu Xing also went back to the castle.

Shortly after, he changed into another outfit:

The upper body was a red buttoned-up uniform jacket, the lower body was a pair of deep blue trousers, paired with tall boots. The trouser legs were tucked into the boots, and a small dagger was sheathed inside the right boot, convenient for drawing at any moment.

He put on a narrow round hat, his long golden hair coiled into a bun beneath it.

His usual jewelry was completely stripped away, leaving only a long sword buckled around his waist, the hilt adorned with various colored gemstones.

Resting his right hand on the sword hilt and securing the belt around his waist, Lu Xing stood in front of the mirror, twisted his waist to look left and right, and couldn't help praising, "Annie looks so gorgeous in this outfit!"

He said these words aloud to the maid Catherine, and also spoke them in his heart to Annie.

"Heehee~"

Annie let out a somewhat shy giggle and said, "Mr. Lu Xing, remember to gallop on horseback later, ride into the woods, ride into the stream, let the horse play in the water, and shout with joy!"

"Why?" Lu Xing asked in surprise, gazing at the beautiful and dashing noble girl in the mirror, imagining what she looked like wearing this outfit in the past, riding and cheering as she galloped everywhere.

"Because Ronayat likes it!"

"Tell the truth!"

Lu Xing saw right through her little white lie. Ronayat was the name of her mount.

"Heeheehee... Because when Mr. Lu Xing rides and runs, it's like Annie riding and running! When Annie goes back, she can feel Mr. Lu Xing's happy mood! Just like right now, when Mr. Lu Xing looks at Annie in the mirror and speaks to her, Annie feels like she can see Mr. Lu Xing!"

She finished this sentence rapidly in a joyful voice.

"Is that so? Alright, I promise you."

Lu Xing smiled. "But I'm afraid I won't know how to ride a horse all of a sudden and won't be able to control it well."

"It's fine, Annie's body is very sturdy! Falling off the horse is nothing, it's just a bit embarrassing~"

"Annie is amazing!" Lu Xing praised her, and she laughed even more happily.

"Are you speaking with Miss Annie?"

The maid noticed the reason for his distraction.

"Guessed right."

After bidding farewell to Annie, Lu Xing turned and walked out with the sword at his waist. It was his first time wearing trousers—meaning when he transformed into Annie, he finally no longer had to wear little skirts. Consequently, his steps were exceptionally brisk, and a group of maids couldn't even keep up with him.

Downstairs, passing through the grand hall on the first floor of the castle, a snow-white steed was already waiting at the front doors, held by a servant. This was Annie's exclusive mount, Ronayat.

Lu Xing walked closer and couldn't help but gasp in admiration:

The beauty of this horse was extraordinary!

It was slightly taller than Annie, with a body as white as snow, without a single stray hair. The hair of its mane and tail was especially gorgeous, and its muscular build was a feast for the eyes.

Even more incredible was that upon seeing Lu Xing approach, it obediently lowered all four limbs to the ground and let out a joyful whinny.

"Ronayat carries the bloodline of unicorns and can understand its master's words."

Noticing his astonishment, Catherine offered an explanation.

"Simply breathtaking!"

Lu Xing praised, stepping up onto the stirrups and mounting the snow-white Ronayat.

It quickly rose to its feet, and Lu Xing finally transformed from short-statue Annie into someone who could look down upon the maids from above.

Soon after, Catherine also mounted a horse and rode alongside her.

Riding through the back garden of the castle and arriving at the front gates, Lu Xing found two squads totaling over twenty white-armored knights waiting there. Upon seeing him, they all knelt on one knee, leaned on their long weapons, and raised their helmets to salute him.

Lu Xing queried Catherine with a glance.

"They are the knight attendants who will be training with you today."

Catherine simply introduced their identities.

Presumably, this was to let him improvise freely.

Lu Xing thought for a moment about Annie's personality and called out to them, "Take up your weapons, mount your steeds, and follow me out of the city for training!"

"Yes, at your command, esteemed Miss Annie!"

The knight attendants put on their helmets one after another, stepped into their stirrups with athletic agility to mount their horses, and quickly formed a protective formation around Lu Xing.

They neither hindered his forward ride nor failed to block any sudden dangers the moment they arose.

Lu Xing already knew that Annie's horsemanship class wasn't about learning how to ride—that was a curriculum from before she was six years old.

Annie's horsemanship class was actually a military command lesson, training together with the knights of the Swinton family!