"You've got to be kidding me?!"
Chiemi Representative's voice jumped sharply, drawing glances from a few tables nearby. She didn't care in the slightest, continuing in a rush:
"How is that Yuu's responsibility?! URA was just looking for someone to take the fall!"
In that moment, she even forgot Rudolf's feelings. She was simply furious on behalf of her trainer.
Rudolf's tears finally spilled over. Her voice shook as she asked, "But why didn't you tell me…? If I'd known sooner it was because of me…"
"Telling you—what would it have changed, Rudolf?" Wu You said softly.
"At the time, you were being crushed by injury and the weight of failure. If I told you the truth, it would only have made you suffer and blame yourself more. Would it have changed anything else?"
Rudolf had no answer.
Yes… back then, she was drowning in pain and shame. She didn't even have the courage to face Wu You's departure. She convinced herself he had left because he was disappointed in her—because he'd finally given up.
She couldn't even manage a proper Don't go.
Wu You let out a quiet sigh.
Back then—couldn't his ability have helped Rudolf's injury?
Of course it could.
Just… not without conditions.
He had the power to ease fatigue and mend damage, but it required a price.
For an injury that could alter someone's entire life, he had to exchange something of his own.
It was a trade.
And the premise of a trade was simple: both parties had to consent.
Once a horse girl lost her will to keep running, the trade could not be completed.
At the time, Rudolf was already under unbearable strain, like a spring stretched to its limit. The injury was the snap—the moment the spring broke, her fighting spirit broke with it.
And Wu You's healing wasn't an instant "refresh." Even if the bone knitted, she would still need time to adjust, to rebuild form, to regain race condition.
She didn't have that time.
So did Wu You do nothing?
No.
That kind of injury could have destroyed Rudolf's future. He could not allow it.
Rudolf had no conviction then, and the trade could not be formed—so Wu You chose to pay more.
He paid with his sight.
And with a portion of his health.
Did he regret it?
Not for a single moment.
For Rudolf, he did it willingly.
…
"I…"
Rudolf's pride shattered into fragments, leaving only endless remorse.
"I didn't even say goodbye properly… I thought you abandoned me… Yuu, I…"
She couldn't complete the sentence.
For two years, she carried the regret of the Arc, the confusion and ache of his sudden departure, and threw herself into harsher and harsher work as though it could fill the hollow space he left behind.
She had purged the selfish executives who had stood above them and pointed fingers.
But what did it matter?
Wu You was gone.
And now, seeing him—so much frailer, those eyes always closed—
It hurt. It hurt so badly she could barely breathe.
"I know I'm not qualified to stand by your side anymore… but… I really… I just missed you…"
Symboli Rudolf was no longer the iron-willed Emperor.
She was simply a girl who knew she had done wrong, crying, hoping for forgiveness.
Chiemi silently set down her coffee.
The small jealousy and competitive edge she'd felt earlier evaporated in the face of such heavy history.
"Yuu…" Chiemi turned to the young man beside her, hesitation written on her face.
She truly didn't know what Wu You would say.
Rudolf was her friend. Chiemi had watched her for two years—she knew her pain.
But what about Wu You?
If Chiemi were in his position, honestly… how could there be no bitterness?
His future should have been brilliant. He could have become the undisputed pinnacle of the profession.
He could have been the "Symboli Rudolf" of trainers.
Yet because of that incident… he had been cast out.
Amid Rudolf's quiet sobbing, Wu You moved.
He pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the tears from her face.
Rudolf froze.
She stared at him, disbelieving. Even with his eyes closed, he was still exactly as she remembered—so gentle it made her chest ache.
His touch was careful, patient, as if she were something fragile and priceless. He wiped slowly, steadily, until every tear was gone.
But Rudolf still thought it was too fast.
She hated herself—hated that she wasn't faster, that she couldn't catch time when it mattered.
But… she could catch something else.
Rudolf raised her hand and caught Wu You's withdrawing fingers, pressing them against her cheek.
Her movement was delicate—afraid of hurting his weakened body.
Yet there was a faint, stubborn force in it too, unwilling to let that warmth vanish after two years.
"Please… Yuu… even if I never get to see you again… please give me just a little more time…"
Wu You paused, then smiled faintly. He didn't pull away.
Seeing that, Rudolf's smile turned bitter.
Ah… from this point onward… he might truly disappear from her world.
"Luna."
Clink.
The spoon slipped from her hand and struck the floor, the sharp sound cracking through her ears like a shard of glass.
Too loud… so loud…
Loud enough that she almost thought she was hallucinating—hearing the old name he used for her.
But if it was a hallucination…
Then please, Three Goddesses—please—let her hear it again.
"Luna."
Tears poured down in two clear lines.
This wasn't a hallucination.
"Yuu… you're still willing… to call me that?" Rudolf asked, voice breaking.
The tears blurred his face. She wanted to wipe them away—but if she loosened her grip, the fingers on her cheek might disappear.
Wu You didn't answer. Instead, he asked quietly, "You think… I hate you. Don't you?"
Rudolf pressed her lips together, silent.
She believed he should hate her. She'd prepared herself for it.
But she realized she was wrong.
If Wu You ever said the words I hate you—she truly felt her heart would tear apart.
"You wonder whether I resent you," Wu You continued, his calm voice revealing no turbulence. "If I said I didn't at all, that would be a lie."
Rudolf went rigid again.
"But that resentment was short," Wu You said, the corner of his mouth lifting into a gentle curve. "So short that it lasted… maybe from the moment I heard the executives' decision to remove me, until the moment I sat on the train leaving Tokyo. Half an hour, at most."
His smile remained soft.
"Because I realized very quickly: that trade was my choice."
"I paid the price, and in exchange, you could keep standing here—if not as a racer, then as yourself."
"But you were meant to have something brighter than this," Rudolf whispered, trembling. "Why would you—"
"Because I'm a trainer."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it was decisive.
Rudolf's eyes widened. The fading sunlight stung, but she refused to blink.
Bathed in gold, the young man smiled and said:
"To give everything for an Umamusume… that's what a trainer is supposed to do."
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