"Your tea is here, Your Majesty. If you need anything else later, just call for me."
"Y-yes, alright. Thank you for your hard work."
The elderly Umamusume nodded and thanked the maid who had brought in her tea. Once the tea was delivered, the maid quickly withdrew, leaving Elizabeth alone in the garden once more.
It was a little past two in the afternoon. At this hour on most days, Elizabeth would be enjoying her leisurely afternoon tea in the little pavilion out in the garden. In a sense, it had become a tradition by now. Rain or shine, this tea was always served without fail.
Today was no different—another utterly ordinary day. For Elizabeth, the afternoon was when she sat in the garden, scrolled through videos, and checked the news.
"Nothing interesting in the news today either..."
Looking at the news feed and seeing the same old things she always saw, Elizabeth let out a sigh. All these years later, the headlines were still the same stale nonsense. To her, those old stories were less entertaining than watching a couple more episodes of Yes, Your Majesty!.
Elizabeth's daily life had always been that dull. If there was one thing she had been paying attention to lately, it was the bit of news Nijinsky had brought her before—that young Umamusume found in Japan. So much time had passed since then, and Elizabeth still hadn't received any follow-up from Nijinsky. She had tried contacting her herself to ask about the girl, but Nijinsky was impossible to pin down. Her contact information might as well have been decorative. Whether you could actually reach her or not was pure luck.
Where has Nijinsky run off to this time... Elizabeth glanced at the still-unanswered messages and sighed. Well, I suppose there's no rushing something like this...
She really did care about the matter. The legend of that princess was still widely known among Europe's royal houses. Elizabeth understood very well that, for now, the only royal family in Europe that knew of that young Umamusume's existence was the British royal family. That was why she wanted some kind of progress—or at least some sort of conclusion—as quickly as possible, before word spread and the matter grew into something much larger.
If the other royal houses learned about it too, it would no longer be something that could be wrapped up so simply. The British royal family might have the greatest say in matters concerning that princess, but if things dragged that far, it would still become a headache.
And even if they did find that young Umamusume, another problem remained: how would they prove that she was that princess, or a blood descendant of hers? It wasn't that Elizabeth had never considered DNA testing, but never mind how she was supposed to obtain a sample from a girl all the way over there in Japan—even if she did get one, she had no sample from that princess to compare it against. The princess had died hundreds of years ago. Naturally, there was nothing left that could be tested.
Every year, Elizabeth still set aside a day or several days to go visit her grave. For such a legendary racer, Elizabeth held only the deepest respect. Each year, she brought fresh flowers to replace the old ones there.
"Hmm... what's this?"
Just as Elizabeth was wondering what to do, a private message suddenly popped up on her phone screen. She glanced at the sender and found that it was Galileo.
[Galileo]:Good afternoon, Your Majesty. It should still be afternoon over there, right?
[Elizabeth]:It is. I'm still having my afternoon tea. So what made a young one like you suddenly think of contacting an old woman like me?
[Galileo]:A friend of mine—the Irish princess—shared something interesting with me. I figured it might be something Your Majesty would want to see, so I decided to message you.
[Elizabeth]:Something I'd be interested in? What is it?
Reading the message, Elizabeth lifted her teacup and took a sip. She was a little curious to see what interesting thing the current Student Council President of the European Tracen Academy had sent her.
[Galileo]:[Image]
A moment later, Galileo sent a photo through DM. Elizabeth had never been especially interested in looking at pictures, but out of curiosity, she tapped it open right away—
"Pffft—!!!"
The instant she saw it clearly, Elizabeth failed to hold back and sprayed out the tea she hadn't swallowed yet.
It was a group photo. Elizabeth recognized the girl on the left—that was the Irish royal family's young lady, Fine Motion. She had heard the girl had recently gone off to Tracen in Japan for a visit. She didn't recognize the Umamusume in the middle, but she had heard that she was this year's Japan Cup champion. From Galileo's description, that one was also a native Japanese Umamusume, and by the time she won the Japan Cup, she was already nine races unbeaten. That surprised Elizabeth a little. After all these years, it was the first time she had heard of a homegrown Japanese runner managing to keep the title of their own race at home.
Of course, none of that mattered anymore the moment she saw the girl on the right.
Elizabeth would never forget that familiar face.
A smooth cascade of blue-black hair. The girl was dressed like a noble young lady—and it was precisely that outfit that made Elizabeth recognize her at once.
"It's Kagura...!?"
For a brief, dazed instant, Elizabeth thought she saw Princess Eclipse's shadow overlapping with the elegantly dressed Inari Kagura. But she also knew she couldn't come to a conclusion that quickly. Looking at the photo, there were still differences between Kagura and Eclipse. Elizabeth still remembered the crimson eyes in Eclipse's portrait—eyes brimming with aura and majesty. Even as a mere painting, even just one glance from them was enough to make people shrink back.
And this Inari Kagura—at least judging from Nijinsky's account and the impression in the photo—seemed to be a very gentle, amiable Umamusume. Those clear blue eyes, that hair tinged faintly with blue... every one of those features suggested that she and Princess Eclipse were not the same individual, only uncannily alike by coincidence.
[Elizabeth]: Galileo, about how long until you return to Europe?
[Galileo]:I've finished watching the Japan Cup, so after I stay and play around for a few more days, I'll probably be heading back.
[Elizabeth]:I see. Then do you have time to go meet this Inari Kagura? See if you can draw out any more information from her? And while you're at it, ask whether she knows anything about Princess Eclipse.
[Galileo]:Time won't be a problem. But hearing you say that, Your Majesty really is very interested in her, isn't she?
[Elizabeth]:If I said I wasn't, I'd be lying. After all... it's her.
[Galileo]:Alright~! Then I'll find a time to go have a talk with Inari Kagura. Of course, I can't guarantee I'll really manage to get anything out of her, so please don't set your expectations too high~
[Elizabeth]:It's fine. Just do your best.
After sending the last message, and seeing that Galileo didn't seem likely to reply again anytime soon, Elizabeth finally set down her phone and leaned back in her easy chair.
I really do need to find a chance to make a trip to Japan someday...