"Invincible, you're so lucky. You've been so highly regarded since you were born, and you have the talent of a horse girl. You'll definitely be the next general of the Mejiro family."
"Your mother really dotes on you! You're so happy!"
"I'm so envious of you. Palmer-auntie and the others are most concerned about and optimistic about you. Their relationship with your parents is really good."
Her childhood was spent at the Mejiro home. In the eyes of all outsiders, she could be said to be a princess who had been born in "Rome" as a standard. Her birth configuration was something that countless people could not even hope to achieve in their lifetime.
First, she was born in one of the two major horse girl families in Japan, the Mejiro family. And her mother, Mejiro Ardan, was recognized as one of the purest and most outstanding horse girls in the family—it could be said that if she had not married her father, who knows how many foreign horse girl families would have coveted this excellent bloodline.
Second, born in the Mejiro family and already living a life of ease and comfort, she later also showed extremely outstanding potential as a horse girl. In a situation where the descendants of the family were in a brief decline, she almost became the benchmark of the next generation of "generals" of the family, shouldering the important task of reviving the family!
This also made her, from the day it was confirmed that she had the potential of an outstanding horse girl, enjoy the meticulous and super-high treatment of the entire Mejiro family. It could be said that in the family, her existence represented the new generation of the family, and her family status was second only to the head of the family!
And what made people even more envious was the famous love story of her parents in Japan.
She had heard her parents' rumors more than once. Her father was originally her mother's trainer during her active period. He, who was suffering from an incurable disease, took over the "as fragile as glass" Ardan of the family. With the idea of not wanting her to be as broken as himself, he had made a promise to the then-horse girl her.
"I will realize your ideal. I will let you run wholeheartedly on the racetrack without any worries. I will absolutely not let the glass break even once."
—And later facts proved that her father had really kept his promise. Looking at her mother's performance on the racetrack, winning both the Japanese Derby and the Tennō Shō (Autumn), her record and standard were no less than those of the "Heisei Three Strongs" of the same era. Many people said that if not for her frail health that had held her back, she would very likely have been the "Heisei Fourth Strong."
And her mother was so fragile. Under her father's meticulous care, besides giving birth to her, he had never let her suffer any more pain. Everyone envied their love, and even more so, they envied the crystallization of their love, the doted-on Invincible.
...But she had her own troubles. She had always suspected whether her family was really as happy as she had imagined.
Compared to her mother, her impression of her father was too little. The main reason was that before she could distinguish between the envy and jealousy of others, her father had been bedridden for many years, looking sickly. Most of the time he was just asleep. Her mother had also been by his side for many years. Even when she went to see him, he was motionless most of the time.
But she was not sad about her father's serious illness. It was not just because she was young at that time and could not yet distinguish between life and death. It was also because she realized that her family had undergone a drastic change.
And this specific manifestation was, for a young child, incomprehensible and even a bit cruel.
The young her had more than once, when she got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, passed by her parents' room. She remembered that she had accidentally heard her parents having a very fierce quarrel. Her mother, who was already in poor health, plus a father whose health was even worse since she could remember. Two people who should have pitied each other were arguing, and even fighting fiercely, in a place she could not see.
She still remembered hearing her mother's sobs. When she carefully peeked through the crack in the door, she found her mother desperately resisting his hand, as if she was afraid that his raised hand would fall on her. She had never seen her mother so scared, horrified, and determined.
"No—I will absolutely not allow you to do this!"
"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're like this now!"
The next moment, under her shocked gaze, her mother, as if unable to bear it anymore, violently bit his hand. And from her father's sharp intake of breath, and her mother's suddenly falling tears... she could be sure that her mother's bite was definitely not to be underestimated.
This is definitely very serious domestic violence, right? The young her knew very well that no matter how weak her mother was, she was a horse girl who was much stronger than an ordinary person. Unless she took the initiative to give in and did not dare to fight back, otherwise, with her father's terminally ill state, how could he do any rough behavior to her?
Then this scene seemed to be only possible that her father had done something that had made her mother cry, which had made the unbearable mother have to fight back...
And on the second morning, she silently watched her mother, who seemed as if nothing had happened, push her father, who was inconvenient to move and was sitting in a wheelchair, out. She pretended to be nonchalant and mentioned his bandaged bitten hand.
"Ah... this, I just accidentally hit my hand on the corner of the cabinet and got some bruises. Don't worry."
Faced with her father's comforting smile and her mother's usual tolerant and gentle smile on the side, she did not say anything to expose it, or rather... she did not have the courage to expose it.
But all of this had planted a seed in her heart. She began to realize that her seemingly harmonious and enviable family was actually perhaps not happy... all of this might just be a false maintenance.
But she shouldn't be demanding, right? Because of this experience, she had understood earlier than other peers that family was a relationship maintained by both parties. A completely happy family was a rare fantasy, at least not in her family.
If not for my existence, this family might not have been able to be maintained, right? Such a bitter thought couldn't help but arise in her heart.
But at least I still have what can be called "parents." Although this family is not perfect, at least it can be maintained... I'm not yet to the point of being "unfortunate."
However, this thought of hers did not last long... her father, under the torment of his serious illness, eventually died young. He had not even lived to be 30 years old before he left this world.
That day, she, who had known about life and death for the first time, had lost the person she could call "Dad"... she had to say that at her father's funeral, it was the first time she had shed tears since she could remember—but her heart did not feel too much sadness. On the contrary, she was relieved for her mother.
After all, compared to her father, who was terminally ill and did not have much time to communicate feelings, she had spent most of her time with her mother. She could clearly feel her mother's doting love, that gentleness, was the most beautiful feeling she cherished.
And in contrast, her father, who had made her mother cry more than once, she actually had more resentment in her heart. Those countless nights, when she had heard her parents' arguments and her mother's tears, the her who could only wrap herself in a quilt and cover her ears, naturally could not have a good relationship with her father.
And now, her father's death... was her mother then free? She didn't have to wash her face with tears anymore? Could she finally see a gentle mother who smiled without any burden?
However, just as she, who had lost her father, was holding such an expectation, everything that happened afterward, like a bolt from the blue, struck her, causing an unprecedented turmoil in her life.
After her father's funeral, her mother did not close her eyes for a day and a night. She just, in her own room, repeated the piece of music they had created together over and over again, as if that had become the last thing she cared about.
And on the first day, Ardan, who had been playing the piano all day, fell ill in her own room. And in a week, her condition rapidly worsened...
All of this drastic change was unexpected for her, who had just recovered from her father's death. And in the days when she took care of her mother day and night, meticulously, she watched her condition worsen day by day, her physical condition deteriorated, and even once reached the point where she felt that she was going to have her closest relative again.
But fortunately, after experiencing a week of a dangerous period, Ardan successfully escaped the danger of life. But at the moment she watched her mother wake up from her sleep... she saw the two lines of clear tears silently falling from her awakened mother's eyes.
"Why... why didn't you let me leave with you... why did you leave me alone... to face all of this alone..."
"Trainer-san... Kitano... why did you leave me to live alone... this is too cruel... too much."
...That was the first time she had seen her sobbing mother. And she also knew that her mother's heartbreak was because of her father's death. That was also the first time she had intuitively felt that her parents' feelings seemed to be a little different from her long-standing impression.
However, faced with her heartbroken mother, she, who did not know what to do, welcomed the help of the third most important person in her life—her and her parents' best friend, her great aunt, Mejiro Palmer.
"Your mother has lost the most reliable pillar in her life. For her to be able to get through this is already very simple."
With that, she witnessed her Aunt Palmer and her mother in a room, not knowing what they had talked about, for a full several hours. In the end, she, who had been summoned to enter the room again, finally saw her mother sitting on the bed, who, although a little pale, seemed to be in a much better mental state. She forced a smile and proposed to her the final proposal that had been discussed with Palmer:
"Invincible... are you willing to leave Japan and go with us to China, to the country where your father had lived before?"
"I want to bury your father's ashes in his hometown. From now on, we will always be by your father's side. Are you willing?"
"I'm willing!"
And seeing her mother, who had regained her energy, the overjoyed her immediately agreed. She excitedly held her hands, her voice slightly choked as she said, word by word, "As long as Mom is happy, we can go anywhere!"
—And so, Invincible, Ardan, and this time, Mejiro Palmer, who was worried about them and accompanied them, went to China with his ashes. In the heart of this land, they buried his ashes together, and from then on, they lived on this land that was strange to them.
Time passed, year after year. Soon, she had lived on this originally strange land for six years.
The sixteen-year-old her, whether it was because of his genes or her own extraordinary talent, had now become a local who spoke Chinese even more fluently than Japanese. And she, who had shown her horse girl talent, had also been valued in this country. Coupled with her well-known Mejiro family bloodline in Japan, she had quickly become a key new generation horse girl to be cultivated.
And on her sixteenth birthday, she had also successfully obtained the admission notice from China's "Tracen Academy." The overjoyed her couldn't wait to return home and share this good news with her mother and aunt.
And she would never forget that day... that day, her mother was also unprecedentedly happy. She, who was not in good health, had rarely cooked in person once, and had cooked a delicious meal for her.
That day, her mother's appetite did not seem to be good. At the dinner table, her mother had said a lot to her, more of a worried complaint and a gentle admonition.
"When you get to the new environment, remember to take good care of yourself. Mom won't have a chance to be by your side all the time anymore."
"Remember to get along well with your new friends. Don't be as proud as a lone wolf as before."
"Also... don't resent your dad anymore. He really loves you. It's just that he never had a chance to express it to you."
"Alright, alright, I know, Mom. Don't be so long-winded, okay?"
Faced with these words that her mother had repeated thousands of times, she did not listen carefully. She seemed to have noticed her mother's helpless smile, but she could only keep the apology in her heart and was too embarrassed to express it to her mother in person.
And this became the most unforgettable pain in her life. If time could turn back again, she would only want to listen to her mother's countless repeated nagging, that gentle teaching... if she had such a chance, she would definitely listen to all her words seriously, absolutely.
She would never forget... that night was the most peaceful night she had ever slept... she felt her palm seemed to be held by a pair of warm hands. Then, she only felt a warm feeling all over her body, as if she had turned into a baby in a swaddling cloth, protected by a warm chest, and fell into a deep sleep.
And the next day, for some reason, she, who had slept until the afternoon before waking up, but after she got up abruptly, she found her bed was sat by Mejiro Palmer. When she noticed her aunt's bloodshot and red eyes, which had been staring at her from beginning to end, her heart was also fiercely squeezed.
She had a premonition that something very bad had happened... she felt her mother's strange attitude yesterday. Her dry throat made an extremely hoarse sound, and she asked with unprecedented hesitation, "Aunt Palmer... Mom, where did she go?"
"...She went to find your father, Invincible. Before she left you, she protected you in the same way as your father."
Under her trembling pupils, Palmer silently closed her eyes. This woman, who had lost her former trainer and her dear sister, could not maintain her strength at this moment. But she still restrained her emotions and revealed everything that she had not noticed, or rather, everything that this couple never wanted their child to know.
"...Actually, your mother's illness has never been cured. Her condition has been deteriorating. It's just that she has been hiding it very well in front of you, so it's hard for you to notice."
"Actually, with her lifeline, from the day your father passed away... no, from the day you were born, she couldn't have held on at all. Your father has always been your mother's pillar. And from the day her spiritual pillar collapsed, she actually couldn't hold on anymore."
"...But she persisted. For you, she persisted until the day you grew up before she collapsed... she had it too hard."
"No..."
However, her words could not resolve the touch in her heart at this moment. In front of her, this girl, who, after knowing that her mother had passed away, her eyes were instantly filled with tears. She shook her head in resistance, unwilling to accept such a cruel news, and repeated her words over and over again:
"No... impossible... I don't believe it... you're lying to me, you're all lying to me."
"Mom... how could she leave me... how could she leave me... I... I..."
"Ah... ahhhhhhhhhh—!!!"
A small animal-like wail, along with the heart slowly accepting this heartbreaking fact, turned into a heart-wrenching cry. Her whole body collapsed because she couldn't accept such a stimulus. She clutched her chest tightly, and over and over again, she let out a scream that was enough to make people feel horrified, but it could not relieve even a little bit of the pain in her heart.
Now, the only one left by her side was Mejiro Palmer. She silently went up and hugged this girl's body, this last bloodline of her sister left in this world. And after who knows how long, she finally whispered in her ear, "…Your mother didn't want to collapse in front of you. This was her last wish. I have already arranged everything according to her wishes."
"From now on, I will take care of you, Invincible... my sister's daughter, my former trainer's daughter. You are the last thought they left in this world. I will take good care of you in their place."
"Aunt Palmer..."
Faced with the only relative left in this world, the heartbroken her tightly hugged her body. After repeated wails, the completely collapsed her wailed out her last feeling in her heart at this moment:
"Aunt Palmer... I don't have a mom and dad anymore... in this world... there's no one who loves me anymore..."
"No more... no more..."
She cried out in sorrow over and over again. Palmer silently hugged her niece. The two of them snuggled together until their hearts, after such pain, no longer had a single feeling.
From that day on, her heart began to become cold and closed. Her personality became irritable, hot-tempered, and twisted. She showed resistance to all outside concern. No one could walk into her heart again, and no one had a chance to touch the deepest pain in this girl's heart.
And on the day of enrollment, a tall horse girl with a neat, chestnut-to-black shoulder-length hair, exuding a cold, unapproachable, and dangerous aura, stepped into China's "Tracen Academy" and became the focus of all the horse girls' discussion. This existence, whose temperament and appearance were extremely outstanding even in the horse girl group with a relatively high average appearance level, immediately attracted the attention of many horse girls.
"That, that, excuse me!"
Finally, after a horse girl senior was pushed out by her friends, she stood in front of her and asked nervously, "This junior, are you a new student? Do you need any help? What's your name? We can help you take your luggage to your dormitory."
Unable to ignore the senior blocking her way, this horse girl, whose heart was closed, unapproachable, tall, and cold, after a long exhale, still couldn't hide the dangerous aura all over her body. The moment she opened her mouth, she scared a group of horse girl seniors into trembling, feeling terrified from the bottom of their hearts.
What a scary girl. With this kind of aura, will she really eat everyone?!
"—My name is Invincible."
"I have only one purpose for coming here—to become a horse king worthy of this name."
....
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