It rained just before the race started. It was a heavy downpour, like a tropical squall. I was hoping that the race would be canceled, but it didn’t happen. The rain stopped after about 30 minutes.
The race will still commence.
“Hey, I heard Cedie’s horse is going to race as well?”
It was Masciolini-san who approached me. He is wearing a sleek blue tie today.
“Mm. It ended this way.”
“Hmm, let me see.…”
Masciolini-san pulled out a betting chart from his pocket.
“The most popular is Alexandria. Well, that’s to be expected. Cedie’s Silver Season is the 10th place.”
“I don’t have any track record at all. That’s natural.”
“But this get’s my gambler’s blood boiling. Hmm, why don’t I bet a hundred thousand crown coins on Cedie’s horse?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’ve seen a lot of miracles on Gandalcia after all.”
Masciolini-san winked lightly at me and went to buy a betting ticket. I don’t want my friend to lose money, but I didn’t know how the bet would turn out.
I waited for the start with a prayerful feeling.
A fanfare rang out on the racetrack, signaling the start of the main race of the day. The cloudy sky cleared up before I knew it, and the sun is shining brightly on the wet racetrack.
Oh, Char and Silver have already entered the gate. Both of them have a relaxed expression. Then all the other horses entered the gate.
Bang!
The race started.
Eh……
Silver is already in last place as soon as they turned on the first corner!
He looks confident, maybe their strategy is to catch up in the second half? Oh well, I guess asking him to race well did not work….
In comparison, Alexandria, the most popular horse, is doing amazing. Alexandria is running with unrivaled power. Moreover, it looks like she still got a lot of power left.
Even so, all the horses seem to have a hard time running. This is probably because the racetrack is muddy from the rain just now. The inside seems to be particularly muddy, and all the horses are running on the outside of the racetrack.
Oh! Silver and Char are charging into the mud!
What’s more, their speed is not slowing down, they’re actually picking up the pace.
Eh?
They should have been at the back of the line, but now they are already in the middle of the field!
Before I knew it, they warped!
I don’t know how this will turn out until the end.
Masciolini-san, who was watching the race from the side, is now cheering loudly.
“Good, good! Go on Silver Season! Keep that pace!”
Silver moved up the ranks as he rounded the second and third corners, and he is now in second place. Only about three horse lengths behind Alexandria, who is in the lead.
And then the race came to a final straight.
“Beat her Silver! Fasteeeeerrrrr!”
Silver’s expression, which had been nonchalant about the race up until now, suddenly became serious.
Was it because he could hear Masciolini’-sans voice?
“Silver, let’s go!”
Despite the buzz of the crowd, Char’s dragon voice echoes, and new power surged in Silver’s limbs.
Wooosh!
Silver accelerated so much that we could almost hear the sound effect. And in the end, he crossed the finish line five horses lengths ahead from Alexandria.
“Wooooooh, Silveeeerr!”
Next to me, Masciolini-san, who has a chubby physique, is waving a handkerchief and cheering loudly.
“Congratulations, Baron Dantes. Congratulations!”
“Thank you very much. I didn’t think I would win.”
“Haha. This is the most interesting race I’ve seen in recent years. What a great horse. Look at that imposing figure.”
Silver didn’t seem tired and he is friendly to the crowd cheering him on. When I went down to the racetrack to pick up Silver, he licked my face, which was unusual for him.
He seems to be asking, “Did you see that? Did you see how I raced?”
“That was amazing. You’re amazing Silver.”
“Fufun!”
“Thanks too Char.”
“That was fun. Char want to race again!”
“Heheen! (Boring!)”
Char and Silver were in a good mood the whole time.
By the way, Alexei-oniisan gave me the fiefdom.
I made a contract, so he can’t complain. He signed with a sullen face.
✲✲✲
Alexei, who returned to the territory from the capital, was quite sullen. His horse had lost, and albeit a small area, he had lost a part his estate.
It’s only natural that he is frustrated. The servants were all trembling and nervous, afraid of upsetting the Earl more.
However, there is one person who didn’t care, —Claire.
She talked to him directly.
“Father, I would like to go to Cedie’s Island for an overnight stay. Is that okay?”
Hearing Claire’s words, Earl Dantes’s temples twitched.
“At Cedie’s? No! A young girl should not go to a man’s place to play!!”
“Cedie is my uncle, isn’t he?”
“I won’t permit it, so no!”
The Earl angrily retreated to his study.
Claire was taken aback by his anger, but she was not the type to back down just because she was told it was no good.
She’s not going to waste all the dresses and swimsuits she had prepared to show to Cedie. In her mind, she already imagined herself and Cedie going to the hot springs hand in hand on the night path illuminated by the street lights.
“That’s right, love burns brighter the more obstacles there are. I won’t give up!”
“Hahaha!”, Claire laughed fearlessly.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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