CH 227

Thrown Overboard! – Princess Mia Shows Off her Seductive Charm

Mia’s group had a smooth ride as the Emerald Star moved quickly through the water. The masts of the yacht were made to be as efficient as possible so that the sails could use the wind’s power effectively. Down below, changes to the bilge made the ship roll and pitch much less. Overall, its passengers had a pretty nice time as the ship moved quickly and steadily through the water.

“Ah, I see it now! Look! That’s the island where I spend every summer. Since no one lives there, we can go wherever we want!”

Mia woke up when Esmeralda said something. She had been sleeping on a blanket spread out on the deck. She slowly got to her knees after opening one sleepy eye and quickly closing it again because of the bright noon sun.

“Oh… I guess we’re here…”

When she looked out into the distance, she did see the shape of an island in the distance. It didn’t look as big as Saint-Noel, but it was still big enough that she wouldn’t have been surprised to see people.

In the middle of the island was a mountain, and the rest was full of lush green plants. A white beach was also visible, but there were a lot of big rocks in the water that made it impossible to get there by sea, so the Emerald Star had to stop a long way from land.

The island was about 300m away, which, for those who don’t know, is three hundred moontales. That was too deep to swim, so they lowered some small rafts to help them get to land.

Mia clung nervously to the side of the boat while saying, “We’re…still pretty far out.”

The Emerald Star could carry a total of three boats. Mia, Esmeralda, Nina, Anne, one of Esmeralda’s guards, and a rower all got into the first one. The second one took Sion, Abel, Keithwood, and Mia’s guards to the island with another rower. The third one, which was a bit bigger, carried their luggage for their stay on the island.

So, the group went to land, and that’s when Esmeralda decided to attack.

First step of Operation Payback: use the fact that Mia can’t swim against her to make her feel bad.

“There, Miss Mia, look!”

Esmeralda yelled and pointed as she stood on the side of the boat.

“Hm? What am I supposed to look at?” Mia asked with a puzzled frown as she shuffled over.

“That! Don’t you see it? Look over there…”

An evil grin spread across Esmeralda’s lips.

Oho ho, it’s awfully hard to keep these small boats balanced, you know.

Mia walked toward the boat, which moved back and forth under her feet. Then, all at once, the world turned upside down.

“…Eh?”

That was all she could say before she was thrown overboard and fell headfirst into the water.

“Eeeek! Help! I-I’m drowning! I’m drownnggghhh… Blub blub blub…”

“Milady!” Anne screamed in horror when she saw Mia desperately slapping at the water to stay afloat. Even though she was just as likely to drown as her mistress, the maid was worried about her.

As she floated next to their overturned boat, Esmeralda looked at the scene with the least amount of interest.

We’re getting close to the long shoal near the island. If she stops freaking out and looks, she’ll see that the water is shallow enough for her to stand in, but she won’t. I won’t tell her, either. So she will keep freaking out and making a fool of herself in front of everyone.Oho ho!

The first part of her plan was going very well.

She wouldn’t do something like this with the princes on board, but she made sure that everyone on her boat was one of her own people, except for Mia and Anne.

In other words, she had decided that all of her servants, as well as herself, would drown because of this plan. She was ready to go down with the ship as long as she could drag Mia with her.

And it worked beautifully.

Now, the silly princess was flailing around in the water and making a complete fool of herself…

But that was as far as she got with her plan. She was about to get a Mia Special of which Keithwood gave her the title of “Seductress.”

“S-Someone…help me…blub blub…”

“Mia! I’ll be there!”

“Stay calm! Soon, we’ll be there!”

Two voices, both loud and urgent, could be heard as the two princes jumped off their boat at the same time. Both of them were good swimmers, and they didn’t take long to get to her.

“Mia, relax! Pay attention to me!”

Abel was in front of her and telling her to stay calm as he got closer.

Mia almost pounced on him and grabbed whatever she could get her hands on with the primal strength of a creature trying to stay alive. This immediately made it harder for him to swim, which sent them both down.

Any good lifeguard knows that you don’t walk up to someone who is drowning from the front. This is why.

Sion, on the other hand, had gone around behind her and was trying to get his arms around her while talking to her in a soothing voice.

“Calm down, Mia. Just relax. People can float on their own—Hm?”

When he saw something, he stopped right away. He felt something. Then he let out a long sigh and shook his head.

“Okay, you two can stop fighting like you’re going to die now. It’s not too deep to stand in.”

“…Eh?”

This made her stop. She carefully brought one leg down. The bottom of her shoe made contact with solid ground.

“M-My… It looks like you’re right… Oh, silly me…”

She gave a nervous laugh to try to save a little bit of her dignity by making the situation funnier, but when she looked up, she found herself staring straight into Abel’s eyes. They were very serious, worried, and close to each other.

Then she realized that they were so close that they were almost holding hands. She couldn’t get away from him! Even with all four limbs!

Sion was also pushing against her from behind.

Simply put, she was between two handsome princes, with her clothes wet and their skin touching.

It was a dream come true! She was living it at the moment! She had never been so deeply excited about something before. So deep, in fact, that it made her head spin. She swayed, and the princes ran to catch her so she wouldn’t fall.

Sion gave Abel a quick look.

“I think we should stay this way for now. Keithwood will take care of our boat. We can help her get to land until then.”

“Right. Let’s do that,” Abel said, then turned back to her.

“But Mia, you really need to stop making us feel like we’re going to die.”

“Yes, I’m aware. I apologize…”

She hid her reddened face in her hands, as if she felt bad about what she had done.

Sweet moons… these two are becoming manlier every day… Mmm…

Esmeralda stood back and watched the scene unfold, confused and drenched.

“H-Huh? She just embarrassed herself, so why does she get all the boys? Hey, Ni—Ahem. What the moons is that? Tell me what’s going on,” she told the maid who was standing next to her.

Nina said in a calm voice, “If I may speak frankly, mistress, I’ve heard that men have strange tastes and are attracted to what a woman with weaknesses.”

“And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?”

“Let’s use you as an example. You, milady, know how to swim well. When your boat capsizes, like it just did, you don’t get scared. You don’t even think twice about putting your face under water. All of these things are impressive in their own right. But…”

She paused for a moment and shook her head.

“It also means that no one has to help you.”

“…Ah.”

Esmeralda opened her mouth wide in shock. Nina continued.

“When it comes to things like this, milady, it’s important to show a little bit of weakness. I want you to remember what I’m telling you.”

Unlike Anne, who was said to be an expert at romantic manuevering, this maid gave good advice.

Esmeralda stopped talking while she thought about what this new information meant. She looked back at Mia, who was making splashing sounds as she paddled toward the shore with the help of the two princes.

The princess was smiling, and it was clear that she was having fun.

Esmeralda looked at that smile and felt…respect, like when a skilled opponent landed a good blow in a duel.

“…I see. So that’s how you managed to get them to like you. You’re a real seductress, right? Touché, Miss Mia. Touché.”

At that moment, Esmeralda felt like she had a better (though completely made-up) idea of how good Mia really was as a rival.

Keithwood soon arrived with the second boat to rescue the rest of the capsized victims.