Orfevre fell silent.
Only then did she realize—she had been seen through from the very beginning by this trainer named Wuyou.
He hadn't flattered her authority, nor had he deliberately provoked her.
Even when he did something that bordered on insolence, it was never about trampling her dignity. He simply placed them on equal footing and returned the right of choice to her.
Whether to speak or stay quiet, to linger or leave—those decisions were hers.
That sense of freedom lightly poked at something soft inside Orfevre.
She stopped talking. Her gaze returned to the garden.
Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, leaping across the tips of her molten-gold hair.
A warm, mellow satisfaction quietly spread from the bottom of her heart.
She began noticing small details—
The flowers were still the same flowers, yet their colors looked a shade more vivid.
The sunlight was still sunlight, yet it somehow felt gentler.
As she watched, Orfevre's eyes drifted back to the young man beside her.
Wuyou's breathing was steady, as though he had blended into the surrounding world.
Now and then, he would move a finger slightly—like he was feeling the direction of the wind.
It was… genuinely pleasing to look at.
"…Strange," Orfevre murmured under her breath.
"What is it?" Wuyou asked.
"I find I am not bored," she admitted, her gaze turning toward the distance. "In the past, if someone sat beside me in silence like this, I would have left long ago."
Wuyou chuckled softly. "Maybe because we're doing the same thing."
"What thing?"
"You're an Umamusume skipping class. I'm a trainer skipping work." Wuyou shrugged. "No purpose, no burden. Just enjoying the moment. That's all."
Orfevre paused.
That explanation wasn't enough.
She was not an Umamusume who could sit still for long.
The very reason she'd cut class today was because she disliked "staying" in one place for too long.
And yet now—because of the person beside her—this "staying" had become… oddly precious.
She suddenly wished this stretch of time could last a little longer.
"Wuyou."
It was the first time Orfevre had spoken his name. Her voice, faintly, seemed softer.
"Hm?"
"Tomorrow… at this hour—will you be here?"
After a brief moment, Wuyou answered, "If the weather's good."
Orfevre nodded and said nothing more.
Yet at the corner of her lips, a very faint curve appeared.
She knew it: she had already begun to look forward to tomorrow.
…
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
They sat in the garden like that, soaking in the sun, occasionally exchanging a few idle words. When they came back to themselves, it was already lunchtime.
Orfevre's brows lifted slightly. She murmured, "Time passes so quickly…"
"Then I'll be going. See you another day."
Wuyou took up his cane, preparing to leave. At once, something unfamiliar flickered through Orfevre's chest.
Before she could even identify the emotion, she had already stepped in front of him.
"Is there something else?" Wuyou stopped and asked.
Orfevre looked down at him and declared, as if issuing an edict, "Consider it an honor. Today, I grant thee the privilege of dining with me."
"Huh? Oyster, oyster."
"…What?"
Wuyou waved a hand. "Sorry. Can't do that."
The air pressure around Orfevre dropped sharply.
Wuyou's earlier little acts of defiance could still be written off as kittenish mischief—impudent, but cute.
But when it went too far, it became something else entirely.
A keycap… the sort that needed proper correction.
Still, after a beat, Orfevre asked, "Why?"
Wuyou replied, "I promised my own partner Umamusume I'd meet her in the office and eat together."
"…What?"
The oppressive aura around Orfevre grew even heavier, as if deep black flames had ignited around her.
The moment she heard that Wuyou already had a partner Umamusume, a sour, inexplicable ache churned in her chest.
Rationally, she understood. In fact, it would be stranger if Wuyou didn't have one.
But understanding was one thing—emotion was another.
Orfevre could tolerate a kitten's occasional rudeness, even if it got a bit bold.
The one thing she could not allow was this—
That the kitten had run into someone else's arms.
A king didn't only possess an aura.
A king also possessed an appetite to possess.
Sensing the shift in her mood, Wuyou's instincts screamed trouble. Better to leave while he still could.
"Um… can I go now?"
He didn't wait for an answer. He tried to step around her.
Orfevre's arm shot out, blocking him.
"Displeasing… I have not permitted thee to leave."
Wuyou swallowed hard. He felt like he'd been dragged onto a heavy track—utterly unable to break free.
Mr. C.B., save me!
Meanwhile, in the office, Mr. C.B. stared at the empty room:
Where's my trainer? Where did he go?! (Very concerned.)
"I will say it again," Orfevre said, her voice turning cold. "You will accompany me to the cafeteria for lunch. You do not possess the right to refuse."
Now she truly let the Tyrant's pressure spill out, bearing down on Wuyou in full.
When that frail figure trembled, pain flashed through her brilliant eyes—only to be replaced instantly by resolve.
A disobedient kitty had to be taught a lesson.
Wuyou felt the pressure growing stronger and knew he couldn't keep butting heads with her.
After all… for an Umamusume, forcing a human to his knees was effortless.
If he couldn't refuse, then he would comply—temporarily.
He spoke quickly. "All right. But I need to stop by the office to pick up a report. I have to submit it to the Chairwoman this afternoon."
Orfevre narrowed her eyes. The dark pressure eased slightly, but her arm remained in place.
She scrutinized Wuyou's expression. Seeing no sign of a lie, she fell silent for a moment, then gave a soft, disdainful snort.
"I shall accompany you. If you deceive me, you will learn the consequences."
Wuyou silently exhaled in relief and nodded.
And so the two of them left the garden—one ahead, one behind—heading toward the teaching building.
Orfevre didn't stick close to him, yet her gaze never left him.
With her speed, if Wuyou so much as thought about running, she could easily let him go for a few seconds… and still catch him.
In fact—
Somewhere in her heart, she was quietly hoping he would run.
Then she would have a perfect reason to "punish" this naughty little kitty properly.
But as they crossed the central corridor, excited shouts came from the side.
"Wow! Look, look! It's Lady Orfevre!"
"Mmm—she's as handsome as ever…"
"His Majesty passes! Make way at once!"
As mentioned before, Orfevre had the same kind of "handsome face" as Mr. C.B.
Naturally, she had an astonishingly large fan club at Tracen Academy.
And it was lunchtime. Many Umamusume had just finished class. They surged forward excitedly, phones raised, eager to capture Orfevre's heroic presence on camera.
They all knew they shouldn't block the path—but once the crowd got big, the scene slipped out of anyone's control.
The mass of bodies pressed in.
In the blink of an eye, the route ahead was clogged.
Orfevre stopped, frowning slightly.
Then, abruptly, she realized something—
Wuyou's figure was gone.
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