Thanks to Maruzensky's timely intervention, Xingyun Liuge greeted the two horse girls with a smile and made it clear that, in her view, the subject of transferring affiliations really was not appropriate for this occasion.
So the sharper reporters wisely switched to more conventional questions.
"Miss Xingyun, what is your next goal? Surely you have your sights set on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe?"
That really was the sort of question a reporter would ask.
It was the most famous turf race in the world, after all, and Xingyun Liuge had already displayed terrifying adaptability on both dirt and turf. Any ordinary person would naturally think of the Arc, let alone the press.
Xingyun Liuge touched a pale finger to her lips and put on a thoughtful expression. Watching from in front of a screen, Kitasan Black immediately cried out, "Ahh, I lose!"
Not only that, she threw her arms around her friend's neck and sighed, "Hey, hey, Dia, don't you think Senior Xingyun looks super cute like this? Super cute, right?"
The little girl's eyes sparkled like they held the stars themselves.
Satono Diamond helplessly patted her friend on the head and lowered her brows into a polite smile.
"She really is very cute, but... as a junior, you probably shouldn't describe a senior that way, should you?"
As for Xingyun Liuge, she answered calmly, "Now that I think about it, the Arc is still a bit too far away. According to the schedule, the next one should be the King George, then the St. Leger, and only after that the Arc."
"Of course, I may squeeze in a few more races in between. It's only mid-June right now. October is still a long way off."
The way she said it made it sound like: Only three G1s in three and a half months? Isn't that a little lazy?
A collective gasp rippled through the room.
Even within Britain, plenty of horse girls and racing fans held the same opinion: The St. Leger? Compared to the Arc, it feels a little... inferior in prize money.
That said, Britain had gone so long without producing a new Triple Crown winner that, since this undefeated double-crown holder so clearly coveted the Triple Crown title, the racing public naturally supported her.
More than that, many of them liked Xingyun Liuge even more now.
Who wouldn't want to see a new Triple Crown winner?
Even the old diehards who insisted on Britain first had to pinch their noses and admit that Xingyun Liuge had a point: running the Arc for the money? Unacceptable. Running the St. Leger? Acceptable! The British Triple Crown was the correct path after all!
The reporters below were flushed with excitement. Every one of them felt like they had just struck gold and wanted to fly straight back to the office to get the first edition rolling.
Just like that, the press conference came to an end in an atmosphere that was both tense and feverishly excited.
But Xingyun Liuge and the others had no time to rest. Almost immediately, they received a new visitor.
"Huh? Another guest? This soon?" Chihaya Yui glanced at Xingyun Liuge, who was just stretching lazily, and then asked in a low voice, "Could we ask them to come another day? The press conference just ended, and Little Song needs to rest too. It would be better to schedule another time."
The messenger, however, did not recommend doing that.
Because this was a visit from someone of extremely high standing.
A short while later, a young woman in a traditional maid's uniform approached with graceful steps, holding out a calling card with both hands. Bowing at a perfect forty-five-degree angle, she said, "Miss Chihaya, I ask that you please look this over."
Her expression and tone were so composed that it was honestly hard to think of her as just a maid. At the very least, she seemed like a head maid or some other high-ranking attendant.
Chihaya Yui could not make sense of it, but she still accepted the calling card with both hands.
The moment it touched her fingers, she could tell the sender was no ordinary person.
The envelope felt exquisite—nothing like the plain stationery sold in shops. On closer inspection, even the color was unusual. It was not an ordinary white, but a soft cream tone that reflected light gently whether under lamps or sunlight, never harsh to the eye.
Even more than that, its edges were lined with a fine band of gold so subtle it would be missed unless one looked carefully.
The whole thing radiated understated luxury.
Just from looking at the envelope, Chihaya Yui could already tell the other party was likely someone very important.
It was only a letter, yet it had been made to feel so ceremonial, so lavish. Probably only those so-called old-money families would go to this much trouble.
A drop of sweat slid down her temple.
She had the strong sense that they might have run into a truly enormous problem.
She looked again at the maid standing opposite her. The silver-haired girl kept her eyes lowered, utterly indifferent to the gaze of others, exuding the sort of composure that would not change even if a mountain collapsed in front of her. This was clearly not the bearing of an ordinary person.
Chihaya Yui swallowed hard and lowered her gaze back to the envelope.
On the back was a family crest impressed in intaglio and finished in hot-stamped gold leaf. It showed a red shield adorned with lilies, bearing the figure of a golden lion crowned in regal splendor.
Chihaya Yui knew nothing at all about Britain's noble houses or their heraldry, but the texture of the envelope and that crest alone were intimidating enough.
Without even realizing it, her attitude grew more formal too—though the nervousness in it was plain to see.
There was no helping it.
Back in America, what they had received were invitations from Triple Crown winners, and Rudolf Symbol had been there with them. Relations between horse girls were still comparatively straightforward in that setting, so there had not been much to worry about.
This, however, was completely different.
The other party had not appeared in person, nor even revealed their identity. They had simply sent a maid with an invitation.
If the sender were also a horse girl, they probably would not have handled things this way. Would it not have felt much warmer to come in person with their maid in tow? Unless, perhaps, it was someone from the royal family who feared causing a stir by appearing in public.
But Latifa carried royal blood too, so why had she never been so "careful"?
Chihaya Yui's thoughts were a mess as she broke the seal and touched the ivory-white card within.
And at that very moment, Xingyun Liuge—who by all rights should still have been surrounded by the other horse girls—appeared out of nowhere. She wrapped her arms around Chihaya Yui's slender waist from behind and pulled her firmly into her embrace.
If Chihaya Yui had been wearing anything tighter, that hug probably would have set off quite the upheaval.
Then, in a soft voice, Xingyun Liuge asked, "Yui, are you doing something naughty behind my back~?"
Her tone was thick with playful amusement. It was hard to say whether she was merely teasing Chihaya Yui or whether a full-blown prankish impulse had already taken hold. Given her personality... perhaps it was the former?
But then she stretched her neck forward and deliberately smeared the fresh sweat from her skin onto Chihaya Yui's neck, leaving her damp and sticky.
That was absolutely a prank, wasn't it?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin