"Yes... yes... Palmer-nee-san..."
As Mejiro Palmer descended the stairs with the formally dressed Ardan, McQueen, Zenshin, and Dober, who had been surrounding Kitano hoping to seize the opportunity for guidance or even to pull him into the Mejiro family, all sheepishly dispersed under Palmer's authority.
However, though the three sisters left, Palmer and Ardan took their places. But facing the approaching sisters, Kitano's gaze remained fixed on Ardan, the white knight-princess who seemed to be guarding Palmer...
It wasn't just Kitano; in fact, the other Mejiro family members, as well as Festa, Golshi, and Teio beside him, all looked back and forth between Kitano, Ardan, and Invincible with rather surprised expressions, especially when they noticed the three of them were dressed in almost identical styles.
Your outfits... did you three plan this in advance? This was the meaning conveyed in everyone's eyes. Even Ardan herself was surprised that such a scene would occur.
When Palmer was choosing a new dress for her sister, she had specifically asked for Ardan's opinion. A small emotion in Palmer's heart made her want to test her sister's view of Kitano after their time together.
"Um, if possible, I think it's better not to choose too luxurious a dress. It's better not to make him feel uncomfortable."
"But..."
But, will this make him think I'm too eager? Will it make him think I'm the type of woman who is very easy to conquer? Should I show him my more responsible side as a Mejiro horse girl?
Ever since she knew he was coming to the banquet, Ardan had subconsciously placed all her thoughts on him. However, now that she vaguely guessed some of the truth, her heart was particularly conflicted.
After eavesdropping on the conversation between Suzuka and C.B., Ardan was certain that unless the two of them were colluding to deceive her, then everything they said might be true—Kitano Ryuichi was a mysterious being who had been reincarnated many times, creating extraordinary relationships with different horse girls in different parallel universes.
And based on the fragmented memories that had been appearing in her mind before meeting him, her inexplicable palpitation at their first encounter, and the information revealed by the now-recovered memories of Suzuka and C.B., Ardan had roughly guessed that she and he, like them, probably had a connection in a parallel world.
And from their performance, he seemed to have paid a lot in his interactions with them... to the point that after their memories were restored in this life, the first thing they thought of was to protect him, to the point that two horse girls who both had romantic feelings for him were willing to team up.
Ardan knew that if she had a connection with him, judging by their performance, he must have been very considerate to her parallel world self.
Otherwise, her heart would not have pounded so much at the sight of him... otherwise, that child Invincible probably would not have...
—Logically speaking, Ardan should have been like C.B. and Suzuka, falling for him and trying every means to rekindle their past relationship. But it was precisely because of their strong feelings for him that a small barrier had formed in her heart.
After all, unlike them, she did not have the memory of being with him, had not experienced their heart-wrenching feelings. She also did not know what his kindness towards her parallel world self was specifically like.
She even felt that his so-called kindness to her might not be stronger than that to them. After all, if he had really been her trainer and had been with her for three years, with his usual character, it would be normal for her to have feelings for him.
She also knew her own personality. A sheltered young lady like her, if she had her first crush, would very likely fall in love with the person who had always supported her and continue to be with him.
But... she was deeply in love, but she did not know what he had done for her in the past. And even, he seemed to be very affectionate to every one of his past charges. This made her feel very uncomfortable...
For various reasons combined, Ardan, this young lady who was very easy to conquer as long as one was single-minded and spent time with her, had developed a certain "barrier" against him. She could fall in love with someone through daily interaction, but she could not accept a "husband" who had fallen from the sky and had a one-sided affection for her—even if she herself had been smitten at the beginning.
So for a moment, she developed a different kind of rebellious psychology towards this "heaven-sent husband." The usually gentle Ardan did not seem to plan to be conquered by him like her parallel world self.
"Perhaps I should also show a different side? As a Mejiro horse girl, I should also show my strong and independent side."
"A very good idea. Let him see a different you too."
For some reason, when Palmer heard her sister subtly express her distance from him, a faint, imperceptible smile appeared on her face outside of Ardan's line of sight—Palmer, who was supposed to be verifying her sister's relationship with him and verifying her own guess, under her own imperceptible mood, took the initiative to take out this suit and hand it to her.
"Then let's use this dress. It was originally intended to be your second racing silks, but unfortunately, it was not used. But now as a dress, this outfit is also very decent."
"This kind of attire might allow you to show a temperament different from your usual overly gentle self."
"At that time, we will go to the banquet together and let them see that we Mejiro horse girls, every single one of us, has the spirit to support the Mejiro family."
—Originally, both Palmer and Ardan had thought so. When Ardan showed a temperament different from her usual self, he should have a different view of this sheltered young lady, and thus realize that under her gentle exterior, she actually had a proud temperament no less than Palmer's.
But Palmer and Ardan had miscalculated on two points. First, his understanding of her far exceeded their imagination.
Second... was Invincible. She had actually also chosen a set of clothes that was almost carved from the same mold as his and Ardan's. This had caught the originally-wanting-to-show-her-spirit Ardan off guard. The original intention to keep a distance from him had now been changed by the addition of Invincible.
Both of them knew very well that Invincible was their child, and the three of them at this moment, with their almost identical attire, made them both involuntarily think of the same problem—
This child's aesthetic, could it be that she learned it from the two of them?
And as luck would have it, Kitano and Ardan, who had thought of this problem at the same time, also turned their gazes to each other at the same time. And the moment their gazes met, they both, as if electrocuted, simultaneously turned their heads away in embarrassment.
"..." And at this moment, Invincible, who was expressionlessly standing between the two of them, looked left and right at her parents, who looked as if they had just fallen in love. Her expression was almost as calm as dead water, but her eyes revealed a hint of faint joy.
"—Trainer Kitano, I hope you are not too curious about Ardan's attire. This sister of mine is actually quite shy."
And at this moment, Mejiro Palmer also keenly observed that the outfit she had chosen for Ardan seemed to have had the opposite effect. With an involuntary twitch in her heart, she also calmly and actively stepped forward, still observing perfect etiquette, and smiled faintly at him:
"Thank you very much for your care for my sister and for Miss Invincible during this period. I have also heard about your deeds during this period. To be honest, I very much admire your way of cultivating and teaching horse girls."
"I also heard about your help to Zenshin before. I don't often praise people, but you are the most special trainer I have ever seen... one of them."
"Thank you for your praise, Miss Mejiro."
And faced with Mejiro Palmer, even he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Although he could be said to have been brought to the Mejiro family by her, and it was also because of her that he had met Ardan, he still remembered clearly the matter of being transferred by her to Ardan back then. To say that he was not nervous seeing her now was impossible.
In a way, Mejiro Palmer had already left a knot in his heart. He, who had always been the one to make others lose him, had also tasted the feeling of losing a charge... and this also made him, when teaching Ardan and many subsequent charges, have to repeatedly confirm whether the relationship between him and his charge had the possibility of breaking.
And after he was sure that his relationship with a horse girl would last for a whole playthrough, he would wholeheartedly build his charge, so that from beginning to end, she would feel his support.
Because he had already experienced the feeling of being abandoned from her. He did not want his charges to experience this extremely unpleasant taste again.
Especially for a horse girl like Ardan, who lacked a sense of security, he would do his best to make them no longer feel lonely, feel betrayed, and be loyal from beginning to end.
And as if she had also sensed his nervousness and unnaturalness towards her, Mejiro Palmer, who already had some emotions in her heart, at this moment, let out a "tch" without a trace. But fortunately, the piano music of the banquet concealed her voice, allowing her to immediately regain her state.
"Then, as a token of my gratitude, I wonder if Trainer Kitano would be willing to dance with me?"
Driven by her heart, Palmer, under Ardan's somewhat surprised gaze, after a dignified courtesy, actually took the initiative to extend a slender hand to him, her expression unchanged as she smiled:
"I think your dancing skills will definitely not disappoint me, right?"
"This..."
Faced with her outstretched hand, he hesitated for a moment. But before he could answer, he only felt a push from behind him, and Nakayama Festa's voice immediately came:
"Hurry up. You're the trainer of the Gold Family. Don't let the Mejiro family look down on you."
"—Since it's Miss Mejiro's invitation, I will naturally not refuse."
And even Nakayama Festa had said so. He had no choice but to suppress the unease in his heart and, relying on his muscle memory, grasped her hand. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, without using an extra bit of strength, he held her hand, and the two of them, step by step, under everyone's gaze, came to the center of the banquet hall.
And this scene, not surprisingly, attracted the attention of all the Mejiro family members present. Even the Mejiro family head, who had quietly retreated to the edge, couldn't help but show a surprised expression when she saw that it was Palmer and him who had come to the dance floor.
"This is not quite the same as her original plan... what is that girl thinking?"
However, at this moment, when the Mejiro family head couldn't help but think of the things she had told her about, a strange thought suddenly popped into her mind. And this thought also made her a little nervous for a rare moment, subconsciously unwilling to believe her own judgment.
And on the other end... Invincible, who was standing next to Ardan, had her gaze, which was as calm as dead water, fixed on him and Palmer from beginning to end. This child of his and Ardan's, at the moment she watched the aunt who had raised her for longer than her own parents, link arms and waist with her father, seemed to have thought of the same problem.
If that was the case, then this problem was really a bit big... this was a relationship, a nearly irreconcilable conflict between the heir apparent of the Mejiro family and the most beloved younger sister, her two closest relatives.
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