Grandma's words hit Dream Weaver like a heavy blow. She never imagined that the Uma Musume Grandma had spoken of before was actually her own mother. But before Dream Weaver could respond, Grandma continued.
"Do you remember what I told you? The Mejiro family wants to achieve back-to-back victories in the Tenno Sho—Spring and Autumn. They call it the Emperor's Shield, a glory they aim to keep within the Mejiro house forever."
"And Mejiro Asama was the first Mejiro Uma Musume to accomplish that feat."
Here, Grandma paused, her tone tinged with sorrow.
"And your mother… she wanted to be the second."
"But her talent wasn't enough to reach such heights."
At those words, Dream Weaver trembled from head to toe. She already understood why her mother had passed away.
Bowing her head, she asked softly, "So that's why Mother released the limiter?"
"Was Mother… really that competitive of an Uma Musume?"
Grandma shut her eyes painfully, her breathing growing heavy with the weight of memory.
"Competitive? If it were only that, I might have been able to talk her out of it."
"She was my daughter. But she was also… Mejiro Asama's niece. It was because she admired that spring-and-autumn Tenno Sho victory, because she wanted to carry on the Northern family's glory, that she threw herself onto the racetrack without hesitation!"
By now, Grandma's voice was choked with emotion. Lost in her memories, she looked at Dream Weaver as if seeing the ghost of her own daughter. Gazing at that identical red ribbon, she murmured, "It was all my fault… If only I… If only I hadn't taken you to see that race."
"More than the glory of the Northern name… I just wanted to see you grow up safe and sound…"
Already in poor health, Grandma's eyes grew hazy from the intensity of her emotions. The figure before her was no longer Dream Weaver, but her own daughter, gone too soon.
In her heart, she believed that aside from Mejiro Asama, she too was responsible for her daughter's early death. If she hadn't constantly emphasized the glory of the Northern family, perhaps her daughter wouldn't have staked her life on that double Tenno Sho.
If she hadn't been so absorbed in developing the limiter, neglecting her daughter's need for companionship, then maybe her daughter wouldn't have sought affection from another elder—wouldn't have turned to Mejiro Asama.
In Grandma's eyes, only two were to blame for her daughter's death.
One was Mejiro Asama, who knew her daughter lacked the talent and that the limiter was flawed, yet still encouraged her to chase that dream instead of stopping her.
The other was herself. If only she had given more love to her daughter rather than the family legacy, if only she had paid more attention, if only she hadn't placed so much faith in the limiter back then—everything would have been different.
The Northern family wouldn't have been reduced to just her and Northern Dreams. She wouldn't have exhausted the family's resources and dismissed its members in her obsessive pursuit of the perfect limiter.
The phrase "last hope of the Northern family"—in Grandma's mind, those words "last" were largely the result of her own mistakes.
So after her daughter's death, she became even more fixated on the past glory of the Northerns. Since it was all her fault, she had to make amends before she died.
That dreamlike era—the kind elders, the comrades fighting together, the time when her daughter was still alive—that was the past she was willing to give everything to return to.
Every second she spent polishing the portraits in the golden hall, she was reliving that era.
St. Simon, Nearco, Northern Dancer—the honors won by past generations illuminated the entire hall. But Grandma's eyes rarely lingered on them. Over and over, she wiped the portraits of the family she knew so well.
Her mother's, her dearest friend's, her daughter's—their portraits felt as though they were watching her, as if by doing this, she could return to the bustling, vibrant Northern family of old.
In a daze, Grandma seemed to see her old companions gathered behind Dream Weaver, smiling and waving, as if inviting her back to that era she yearned for but could never reclaim.
Her eyes cleared briefly from their haze. Gripping Dream Weaver's hand tightly, she said, "Dreams, you're the same. More than seeing the Northern family's glory, I want to see you live a healthy, long life."
"So… even if you can't win your races, it's alright. Use the limiter as soon as possible. Let the curse hanging over the Northern family vanish for good!"
In the final moments of her life, Grandma had finally understood her own heart. Her obsession with past glories was just a longing to return to a time when all her family was still together.
And the heavy, near-impossible task of restoring the family's honor shouldn't fall on Dream Weaver's shoulders alone.
Since they had already failed, why make the next generation carry that burden as well?
The decline of the Northern family was inevitable. This last, desperate struggle was nothing but painful thrashing—she couldn't bear to make Dream Weaver suffer through it.
Grandma squeezed her granddaughter's hand urgently. "Don't direct your anger at the Mejiro family. They are your family too. After I'm gone, they will take you in and care for you."
"Dreams, you're still just a child. The rotten history of the past… it shouldn't weigh you down."
"Find your own future, Dreams."
"Not the Northern family's future—your own."
This was what Grandma had buried deep in her heart all along. It was why she kept postponing Dream Weaver's racing debut, only letting her enter the Kobe Shimbun Hai after confirming the perfect limiter was nearly complete.
At the end of her life, all she wanted was to take everything—the glory and the decline of the Northerns, along with her hatred for Mejiro Asama—with her into the earth.
But Dream Weaver, holding her grandmother's hand, stayed silent, quietly tightening her grip on the red ribbon in her other hand.
"I won't resent the Mejiro family."
But I will never leave here, either.
Looking into her grandmother's half-closed eyes, Dream Weaver spoke slowly. At the same time, she clasped those slipping hands tighter, trying to transfer her own warmth to the elderly woman lying before her.
"But your dream… and Mother's dream… I will make them come true."
"The glory of the Northern family, the spring-and-autumn Tenno Sho—I will win it. I will absolutely win it!"
Leaning close, she growled low, like a cornered beast.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.