On the third week of April, the sky over Nakayama Racecourse was gloomy, as if it would rain at any moment. Saint-King Halo looked up at the racecourse, shrouded by the gray sky, and hesitated.
"What are you hesitating for?"
Just then, a cold female voice came from behind her. Startled, she instinctively turned her head. Seeing that it wasn't Celestial Weave, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Watching her calm her pounding heart, Admire Vega narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she had noticed something. "You're avoiding her."
Shocked by her astuteness, Saint-King Halo subconsciously took two steps back, crossing her arms in a defensive posture. She opened her mouth to say something but was immediately cut off. "I can't read minds."
The blatant act of mind-reading only intensified her unease. She quietly took two more steps back.
Seeing her so on guard, Admire Vega could only shake her head helplessly and explain, "I'm Admire Vega. I'm here to compete in the Satsuki Sho."
"As for why I could guess what you were thinking..."
"It's because it's written all over your face."
Watching her take out her phone and start checking her reflection, Admire Vega sighed and decided to get straight to the point. "The story about you two sisters has already spread throughout Tracen."
Hearing this, Saint-King Halo's expression immediately darkened. After their argument that day, it hadn't taken her long to realize it was all her fault. Out of her ridiculous pride and jealousy, she had said such things to her sister. But when it came to actually apologizing, she suddenly lost her courage. She could only silently curse her own cowardice, hesitating until today, the day of the Satsuki Sho. She had come all the way to Nakayama Racecourse but didn't even have the courage to go inside.
"It was all my fault... Yume has a race, and I did something like that..."
"Foolish."
Faced with the dejected Saint-King Halo, Admire Vega offered no comfort, coldly spitting out the word.
Hearing her assessment, she had no energy to refute it, only lowering her head in admission. "What I did was indeed—"
"I wasn't talking about that."
As she was wallowing in her self-loathing, she was cut off again. Startled, she looked up, confused, at Admire Vega's complicated expression.
She was silent for a moment, as if deciding how much to say. Finally, she took a deep breath. "I... also have a younger sister."
Saint-King Halo nodded blankly. No wonder she had unconsciously told her about her feelings for her sister. Was it the sense of kinship that came from being an older sister?
"But... I never got to meet her..."
"My sister... she sacrificed herself for my life..." Admire Vega's words were like a sharp blade, cutting open the most painful part of her heart and showing it to her.
Faced with this sudden act of self-harm, Saint-King Halo was at a loss. She couldn't understand why someone would reveal their deepest vulnerability to a stranger. With every word she spoke, Admire Vega's expression was as pained as if she were being sliced by a thousand knives.
"I've always wanted to see her, to say I'm sorry."
"Every victory that the horse girl Admire Vega chases is an act of atonement to my sister."
"Only by becoming a first-class star on the track can I tell myself that I am worthy of standing by her side."
Her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, turning the skin white. But this physical pain was nothing compared to her mental anguish.
Watching her, Saint-King Halo fell silent, quietly looking away as if she couldn't bear to watch.
"Look at me!"
But a sharp rebuke pulled her gaze back.
"I know that everything I'm doing is just self-comfort."
"No matter how many championships I win, my sister will never come back."
"But—"
As she spoke, her tone grew more intense. She grabbed Saint-King Halo's shoulders, forcing her to look her in the eye. "You're different! Your sister is still alive! She's right here!"
"If you want to apologize, you just have to take two steps back and you can see her!"
"And you're holding back because of cowardice, because of a lack of courage—such a ridiculous excuse!"
Her words were deafening, and Saint-King Halo unconsciously clenched her fists as well. Under the gloomy sky, Admire Vega's purple eyes flickered with an emotion she couldn't yet understand. She was silent for a moment, as if to soothe her own pain, before she said softly, "Don't wait until it's too late to regret it."
Her tone returned to its previous calm. She patted her shoulder and, without another word, walked past her and towards the racecourse.
Outside the overcast Nakayama Racecourse, the damp air felt almost solid. Every breath sent a dull ache through Saint-King Halo's chest. Admire Vega's words still echoed in her ears. She suddenly realized that she wasn't the only one with a heavy reason to be on the track. On this racecourse, everyone had a reason they couldn't lose.
She turned and stared at the racecourse, remembering what her sister had once said to her.
"The horse girl named Celestial Weave has none of the so-called talent you speak of."
"But she can still win the Satsuki Sho!"
"She will use her inferior abilities—"
"And win the Satsuki Sho!"
She must also have a heavy reason she cannot fail. And I only saw my own disappointment, and failed to notice her pressure.
"I really am a fool."
Muttering to herself, Saint-King Halo finally took a step towards Nakayama Racecourse.
She clenched her fists, letting her nails dig into her palms. After this showdown, she would stand before her sister as a sister. Not with the mask of a boastful, first-class horse girl, but with the most honest smile, to say the long-overdue "I'm sorry" and "Congratulations."
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