"Empress-sama!"
Shirayuki opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was a crowd of little foals gathered around her bed, all of them crying so hard their faces were a mess. The moment they realized she was awake, they flung themselves onto the mattress.
"Shirayuki-samaaa!"
"Senpai, waaah!"
They clung to Shirayuki and burst into louder sobs.
What is going on? What happened?
Shirayuki blinked in total confusion. Just a moment ago, she had been racing Orfevre. After entering the Zone, this body had temporarily lost control, and when she woke up again, she was lying in a strange room surrounded by white curtains and a swarm of people.
Where the heck did they take me? Am I still in Japan?
Looking at the sniffling, teary-eyed girls around her, Shirayuki gently patted their heads.
"Can someone tell me what happened?"
"Empress-sama collapsed!"
"We carried Senpai to the infirmary…"
Everyone started explaining at once, their voices overlapping in a frantic jumble. Shirayuki pieced it together bit by bit. After she entered the Zone, her body had gone limp and fallen to the ground. The students who saw it thought something terrible had happened to her, so they panicked and rushed her to the infirmary. Then they called the teachers, the student council, the Director, the health committee.
Basically, they called everyone they could possibly think of.
The only ones they had not summoned were the police and the press.
Oh my god…
Shirayuki held her forehead.
It was just a fainting spell. Did they really need to turn it into a whole emergency operation?
Anyone who did not know better would think she had died.
"I'm fine. Don't worry," Shirayuki said, trying to comfort the students.
Naturally, none of them listened.
Only after the infirmary teacher came over and gave Shirayuki a full, careful checkup, confirming there was nothing wrong with her, did the students finally let out a collective sigh of relief.
"See? I told you."
Shirayuki smiled and patted their heads. The little foals immediately shuffled closer, nuzzling against her like chicks crowding around a mother hen. Every one of them wanted to soak up warmth from this gentle Empress-sama.
No matter who came to her, no matter what the problem was, the Empress would always help. She never looked annoyed. She never brushed anyone off. She simply did what needed to be done, with flawless patience.
That was exactly why, in places where Shirayuki could not hear them, those younger students secretly called her "Mother Empress."
And it was not only the underclassmen. Shirayuki's classmates, the student council, President Rudolf, and even Rice Shower all came rushing over too.
"It was likely fainting caused by low blood sugar," the infirmary teacher said. "You should rest for a while. Studying, training, student council work… your body is already close to its limit. Learn to relax a little. Don't push yourself so hard."
Then she turned to the others.
"And all of you too. Be considerate of Shirayuki. Give her time to rest."
"Yes…"
Everyone nodded obediently.
"Good. Now, out. Let Shirayuki rest by herself for a while."
After driving them all out of the room, the infirmary teacher closed the door. "I put a sign on the door, so just rest quietly, Shirayuki. Sleep for a bit and you'll be fine. Your body is perfectly healthy."
"Yes."
Once everyone had left, Shirayuki lay back on the bed and stared up at the white ceiling.
Not long after, the door opened again.
Fujiwara Chiya walked in.
He sat down beside Shirayuki's bed.
Who would have thought one little fainting spell could alarm the entire academy?
Hayakawa Tazuna had abandoned her work and come sprinting over. So had Rudolf. It was the first time Chiya had ever seen Rudolf look that flustered. There had not been a single trace of the "Emperor's" usual composure left on her face.
Looking at the quiet, adorable Shirayuki, Chiya reached out and brushed her bangs aside. Her soft white hair slid down from her forehead to her temples, and her big blue eyes blinked at him, calm yet lively.
When Orfevre found out Shirayuki had collapsed, she had practically shoved him out the door.
"What are you standing around for?! Go see what happened to the Empress!"
Her expression had been unbelievably anxious.
She spent all day complaining that Shirayuki was this or that, yet the second something happened to Shirayuki, she got more worried than anyone else.
That was why Chiya kept saying Orfevre was a good kid. Yes, she was selfish. Yes, she was hard to manage. But deep down, her roots were good. She knew right from wrong.
Before he left, Orfevre had even added, "If the Empress is fine, tell me. If something happened, tell me that too. She is my rival. I have the right to know her condition."
Chiya had considered simply calling Orfevre over to see for herself, but there was a nine-out-of-ten chance she would refuse. Orfevre had this natural resistance toward Shirayuki. She did not want to get close, but she did not dislike her either.
Honestly, it was hard to describe what Orfevre felt toward Shirayuki.
A bit like an obsessive fan.
A bit like an anti-fan.
A bit like a die-hard loyalist.
Basically, a little bit of everything.
Chiya had always believed that people should not overestimate their own importance. No matter how talented someone was, there would always be someone better. The world would never revolve around a single person forever.
And yet even someone as stubborn and twisted as Orfevre paid that much attention to Shirayuki.
There was no denying it.
Right now, all of Tracen Academy revolved around Shirayuki.
She was simply too perfect.
So perfect she hardly felt real.
Rather than a living, breathing person, Shirayuki felt more like a character drawn straight from fantasy.
A character who had walked out of Fujiwara Chiya's own imagination.
A girl who had shaped herself again and again into the ideal image buried deep inside a man's heart.
Shirayuki shifted along Chiya's thigh, then quietly leaned against him. The noise in the corridor gradually faded away. The world turned silent, as if everyone and everything were afraid of disturbing her. Even outside the window, there was not a single sound.
It was rare for things around her to be this quiet.
Even rarer for Chiya to be beside her at the same time.
The infirmary teacher had misunderstood the reason she had fainted and told her to relax her body. But Shirayuki felt that even if the teacher had known the truth, she really did need to take a proper break.
After all, the reason she had learned cute poses and beautiful movements was never to benefit other people or become some universally adored idol.
She had done all of it for herself.
From the very beginning, the reason Shirayuki cared about her image, the reason she changed herself, had only ever been one thing.
To make herself fall in love with herself.
And now, Shirayuki had truly succeeded.
Whether it was the smallest detail in her expression or the precise sway of her ears and tail, every part of her struck Fujiwara Chiya right in the heart.
Her soft pink lips parted slightly. Her smooth brows slowly relaxed.
There was one thing Agnes Tachyon had failed to notice.
She had said Shirayuki's hormones were unusually active, and that her desires were much stronger than those of an ordinary uma musume.
But Chiya's body was the same.
He, too, would sometimes stare blankly into the mirror, his mind filled with all kinds of fantasies.
Otherwise, how could we be the same person?
Even in this, they matched so perfectly.
Both of them longed for that time that could fill the empty space in their hearts.
Shirayuki loosened his collar and breathed in the air growing steadily thicker around them. She gently pushed Chiya down onto the bed, then bent her slender waist.
Click.
Her teeth caught lightly.
With a soft rip, Shirayuki lowered her head.
Right now, she wanted that feeling again.
Looking at the self who was waiting for her with the same anticipation, Shirayuki's eyes shimmered. She lifted her chin, closed her eyes, parted her soft pink lips, and kissed him.
"Mm…"