Duet Before Dawn

"...Sir?"

"Sir?"

The voice by his ear seemed to come through water, gradually becoming clear. He slowly opened his eyes.

Before him was the concerned face of a flight attendant.

Through the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the plane window. Beyond the slightly dazzling light after waking up was the familiar outline of the airport.

It was 9:32 a.m. on February 3. The flight that had departed New Chitose Airport that morning had arrived in Tokyo.

"I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you."

"Not at all. Please take care."

After offering the flight attendant a small apology, he picked up his travel bag and stepped out of the cabin.

A few days earlier.

After Starlit World's intended mate had been announced, there was unusually little fierce opposition among the staff.

Of course, that was largely because Ravide, formerly the main force of the resistance, had merely asked, "Are we really using a pairing like this?" before casting a neutral vote.

It was called neutral because although he understood the intention behind the pairing, the Indian ranch manager did not approve of this breeding approach.

Besides pursuing sound scientific matches, racehorse pedigree construction often had to take practical realities into account.

For example, if it had been a club-owned horse, no amount of explanation would ever have made the members accept a Starlit World × Nogimi Maeda pairing.

Even now that the ownership rights had been transferred, the announcement of the chosen mate would probably still invite prolonged criticism from the former fractional owners and fans.

Amid the staff's collective sighs, he easily booked Nogimi Maeda's February breeding slot. What followed were several days of rare peace and quiet.

If she hasn't foaled by tomorrow, Chongli's race will be too late...

That had been his thought before falling asleep