Maria couldn't help but burst into laughter. Teasing him, she replied, "Well then, dear Duke, would you be so kind as to help me choose a more suitable piece of land?"

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to," Simon responded.

They turned their horses around, and the two—one on a black horse and the other on a white—trotted back along the path they had come. Maria's horse was a beautiful mare, and it was clear that this mare had caught the attention of the nearby black stallion. Throughout the ride, the black horse, which was slightly taller, kept trying to get closer to the white mare, causing their riders...