Parting and Meeting

Thursday after the End of Heat.

Ever since getting up, there had been a vague sense of unease, and even during the morning's work, focus had been elusive.

And just like that, time flew by.

With the inspection of the final stall complete, only one task remained: weaning the yearling.

As a first-time mother, Dazzling Move had provided Moon Radiance with ample milk for a full six months since successfully giving birth in February, silently enduring even her foal's mischievous behavior.

They said she had been big and temperamental as a racehorse, but after having a child, she had become a complete fool of a mother.

Even today, the dark bay mare had not learned to pin her ears back at her foal.

The small pasture deliberately fenced off outside the stable, along with a cramped corner surrounded by impact pads, had been Moon Radiance's entire world until now.

"Then, let's begin—"

With Ravide's words as the signal, the farm staff rose one after another.

For a moment, even the Indian man's face showed hesitant uncertainty, as if he wanted to say something but held it back.

"...Let's begin."

He took a deep breath, then let it out sharply.

He was the first to step forward.

The heavy gate opened with a clatter, and the blue-roan foal nursing beneath his mother instantly lifted his head alertly.

Four months after arriving at Mejiro Farm, Dazzling Move's blue-roan foal born in 2028 had already grown into a horse with the build of an adolescent.

The once-awkward lines of his hindquarters had become fuller and smoother, while the fading foal coat had begun to reveal the bearing of a colt.

"It's time."

He gently pushed away the young black horse's head as it tried to hide beneath its mother again, then fastened on