This one works on you quietly. A dying mother, a promise to become a Lady, and a little girl shipped off to England to meet relatives who did not ask for her: that is the whole engine, and it never needs to raise its voice. Sara's coldness is the real antagonist, not a villain so much as a sister who resents the space Rin takes up, and the thaw between them is earned in small degrees rather than one big tearful scene. Then the story jumps ahead and Rin is thirteen, still chasing the promise, now on horseback and collecting wins, and you feel the years that passed off-screen. It is shoujo melodrama played at low volume, patient with grief and pettiness alike. The payoff is not a trophy. It is Sara finally standing next to her instead of across from her.

After her mother dies, young Rin vows that one day she will become a lady, and she travels to England to meet the rest of her family. Her welcome is cool at first, especially from her stepsister Sara, but over time they grow into a happy family. Rin also loves horses and racing, and she wins her share of contests. The story follows her in two stages, first as a young child and then at around thirteen.