Something Beautiful
Chapter - 24

Half an hour later, clad in a red traveling gown stitched by a fashion designer, Lisa stepped into the black, leather-coated shiny carriage on which the Mingyu family emblem, made of silver, was emblazoned, then sit on a luxurious soft seat plated with gray velvet.

The carriage driver raised the stairs and closed the carriage door and, barely feeling it at all, the carriage glided through a long driveway pulled by four brown horses and escorted by six uniformed bodyguards. Lisa looked around, admiring the door knobs made of heavy silver and the lights made of crystal and silver. While enjoying the luxury of the train that turned out to be very comfortable, he tried to convince himself that he was really married, really on his honeymoon trip. Opposite him, Mingyu sat down while stretching his legs, crossing them at his ankles, and gazing out the window, enjoying the silence.

The man had changed into a traveling outfit, and Lisa was inwardly amazed at how her brown biscuit-colored tights and shiny brown shoes accentuated her long, muscular legs. His cream-colored shirt opened at the neck, slightly revealing a brownish neckline, and his dark brown jacket reinforced his fielded shoulders. Lisa inwardly prayed that someday her husband would find himself attractive to look at, just as he felt towards her current husband, and then she decided to have a little chat.

"Your mother's bride's maid is very beautiful," she said gently, trying to chat. "I was worried that the dress was broken, but thankfully nothing happened."

The man's gaze turned towards Lisa. "You don't have to worry about the dress being broken" she said flatly. "I'm sure you're worth more to wear that symbol of chastity than my mother."

"Oh," said Lisa, knowing that she had just been praised, though it was not appropriate to thank her for such a compliment.

When she saw that Mingyu was not trying to continue the conversation, Lisa felt that the man was facing a strange problem, therefore she let the silence continue, quite satisfied with just looking at the hilly green scenery behind the window.

At three in the afternoon, they finally arrived for lunch at a large inn whose yellow brick walls were full of vines and its spacious courtyard was surrounded by a white fence.

Looks like one of the bodyguards has been sent there first, because both the innkeeper and his wife came to greet them and accompanied them through the large sitting room and into the private dining room where various luxurious meals in closed trays had been served.

"You were hungry, huh?" mingyu said as Lisa put down her knife and fork while sighing in relief.

"Mature is very," Lisa asserted. "My stomach is still not used to city-dining times like you used to at Grandma's house in Rosemeade. By the time you had dinner at ten, I was usually asleep."

"We'll stop for dinner around eight, thus you won't wait too long for the next meal" Mingyu politely suggested.

As the man seemed to want to linger over his wine, Lisa asked, "Did you mind if I waited outside? I'd like to take a walk before we get back on the train."

"alright. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."

Lisa walked out, enjoying the sunlight under the watchful eyes of carriage coachman Mingyu. There were two other horse-drawn carriages going into the courtyard, both looking beautiful and shiny, but not as luxurious as her husband's traveling carriage with its silvery family crest and shiny silver horse-dressed. The bachelors ran forward to take over the horses, and for a few minutes Lisa was just watching, enjoying the scenery.

The Mingyu horses were being tethered when Lisa saw a boy crouching in the corner of the fence, like he was talking to something on the ground. Curious, he walked towards it, then smiled when he saw the boy talking to a bunch of carefree, long-haired puppies.

"Will you buy one?" ask the boy expectantly. "I'll give you a cheap price for these puppies. They're purebred dogs."

"What kind?" lisa asked, laughing amusedly as the smallest puppy looked like a ball of white and brown fur separating from her siblings, jumping around her feet and biting the tip of her dress, playing while tugging at him.

"Good English shepherd dog" the boy explained, as Lisa looked down to separate the puppy from the hem of her dress. "They're very smart."

As soon as his fingers touched those thick and fine feathers, he was instantly blown away. He used to keep collies, but after his father died, food became too valuable to give to animals that could not produce anything, so he gave the collie to Roseanne's sister. He lifted the puppy, looking at him parallel to his eyes as the little legs of the puppy kicked in the air and his pink tongue excitedly licked Lisa's fingers. She was still holding the puppy, talking about the dog's advantages with her enthusiastic owner, when her husband came from behind and said, "It's time for us to leave."

Lisa never intended to ask her husband to allow her to keep a puppy, but the request unwittingly radiated in her big eyes and her gentle smile as she turned to face her husband. "I had a collie, a long time ago,"

"Oh yeah?" ask Mingyu.

Lisa nodded, put the puppy to the ground, patted his head, then smiled at the boy. "Hopefully managed to find a place to live for them" he said.

She had only walked three steps when she suddenly felt the tip of her skirt being pulled. He turned around, and he saw the puppy he had been holding releasing his bite on Lisa's skirt and sat down, his pink tongue sticking out, his expression somehow hopeful.

"He likes me" Lisa explained, then laughed. He bowed and turned the puppy's body towards his brothers and patted his butt, telling him to go back to the boy. The puppy stubbornly did not want to move a bit. Left with no other choice, Lisa smiled affectionately and regretfully at the tiny ball of fur, then turned around and let Mingyu guide her to the carriage.

After pausing for a while to give instructions to her coachman, Mingyu got into the carriage and sat down next to Lisa. A few minutes later they left.

"The road here doesn't seem to be as smooth as the road north," Lisa commented a little nervously an hour later as the heavy carriage bobbed violently, drifting to the left, and immediately stand straight again and keep walking.

Mingyu who was sitting in front of him while crossing her arms across her chest and poking her legs said, "No."

"Then why is this train floating around like this?" ask Lisa a few minutes later when the train is back on. Before Mingyu could answer, he heard the coachman shouting "Whoaa" to the guards and stopped the carriage by the roadside.

Lisa peeked through the window towards the forest along the way. Moments later the door of the train was opened and the coachman with an annoyed and regretful look appeared on the doorstep. "Your Grace," he said guiltily, "I can't control a horse while keeping this 'unwilling machine' in motion at the same time. I almost threw this car into the hole."