CH 273

Princess Mia Turns Into A Vengeful Demon

“…Ugh, what a bad day!”

Mia walked to the public baths with tired, squishy steps. Anne walked alongside her.

“It’ll be okay, milady. We’ll wash it off right away,” the maid said in a reassuring way. “In no time, you’ll be your usual beautiful self!”

As she rolled up her sleeves, the fire in her eyes showed that she was ready to take on the challenge.

The public baths in Saint-Noel were filled with water from hot springs, so they were always full and could be used at any time.

“Hnnngh, I’m dripping with snot…”

Mia took off her wet clothes, but she still felt disgustingly sticky on her face and in her hair, which made her feel bad. She walked into the bathing room with a long face…

“Oh?”

The smell of the room made her curious. Some kind of grass or herb smell could be smelled in the steam. It had a nice, relaxing smell that seemed like it would be great for putting people to sleep.

“Mmm… It smells really good.”

She looked around to see where the new smell was coming from.

“Good morning, Your Majesty.”

“Huh? Miss Mia? Why are you here?”

There were voices coming from the pool. As she tried to see through the fog, she saw two people she knew.

“That’s my question, Bel. And so with Citrina. What are you doing here, you two?”

She looked at her granddaughter and her new friend.

Hmm… Taking a bath together at this time of day seems a little strange.

Mia walked over to washing area and sat down on one of the wooden stools. She raised an eyebrow. Anne showed up right away and started to rinse her hair. Mia liked how it felt when the maid ran her fingers through her hair and scratched her scalp. She closed her eyes to enjoy the process. As the water washed away the slime, she could feel her hair becoming smooth again.

Mia talked to Citrina when Anne was almost done with her hair.

“It’s rare to see someone like you here.” She looked at the girl and said, “I thought Tearmoon nobles didn’t like the public baths very much.”

You may think you’ve won me over, but I’m still looking at you.

Mia took a short, angry breath. The Yellowmoons were still a big threat, and Citrina was the daughter of their Duke. She wasn’t going to let down her guard around them at all. She focused her eyes and got ready to strongly report any suspicious behaviour she saw.

Citrina sat on the edge of the pool. Even though she was young, her thin arms and waist gave off an air of elegance. Even without clothes, she still looked like a doll, and a very good one at that. The skin on her arms and legs was as white as snow.

Mia thought the girl was probably telling the truth when she said she was born sick. She looked very weak.

I think even I could beat her in a fight…

Mia felt a strange sense of confidence after giving her opponent the “Mia once-over” and figuring out how she would do in battle.

In the meantime, Citrina replied with a sweet smile.

“Actually, I just told Bel that we should invite Your Highness to join us.”

“Oh? Do you mean, Join you here?”

“Yes. I know a little bit about herbs, so I asked Miss Rafina for permission to put some scented herbs in the bath,” said Citrina, grabbing a handful of water from the pool to show what she meant.

“Huh, did you now…?”

Mia thought that the nice smell she had noticed when she walked into the room must have come from the herbs.

After washing and rinsing, she got up from her seat and walked toward the pool. When she looked more closely, she saw a bag of dried flowers floating on the water.

“What plant is this?”

“This is a plant called moonbead. People say that moonbead can help loosen up stiff muscles. Please come in and check to see if it works for Your Highness.”

Mia got into the water because Citrina’s smile made her feel welcome. She breathed a sigh of relief as the warm fluid wrapped around her.

“This…feels wonderful. I feel like all my stress is just leaving my body. So cosy and nice…”

She slowly went deeper and deeper into the water until only her head was above the surface.

She grunted and stretched her arms and legs as far as they would go. From her toes to her neck, she could feel the heat seeping into her pores.

The “Oof” she let out might have been a little too guttural for her royal image, but no one said anything about it.

Citrina fell into the pool right next to Mia.

“Bel told me that Your Highness has been practising horseback riding a lot lately, so I looked for ways to help you feel less tired. I hope it’s useful.”

When Mia saw this incredibly thoughtful act, she…

“My! What a nice thing to do!”

… Was moved to the core!

She felt so good that she almost started crying.

Mia was usually easy to fool and liked anyone who seemed interested in bathing. Also, being in the bathhouse, where she felt most at home, had made her less cautious.

Because of these two things, she had become an affection point pinata, which Citrina had just broken open by showing her care in the bath and taking all those valuable affection points for herself.

If she had then given Mia a sweet that could be eaten in the bath, she would have probably been the official Princess’s Soulmate by the time they left the bathhouse.

“I see that you’ve made a wonderful friend,” said Mia, turning toward Bel.

The two smiled at each other.

“Ha ha, Miss Mia, I’m glad you think so. I like Rina a lot too.”

The grandmother and granddaughter then laughed together. It was a moment of family harmony.

Mia said, “Aaah, this is a great bath.”

She lifted her right arm above the water and liked how the water dropped off her smooth, spotless skin. She took a handful of water in her hands and splashed it on her face. The way the warmth spread through her cheeks was simply divine.

As a bath expert, Grandmother Mia liked ones that were a little bit hotter. Those gave her enough heat that she felt warm for a while after she went outside, even though she was no longer in the room.

Citrina said quickly, “By the way, Your Highness, since you’re practising so much, does that mean you’ll be in the Horsemanship Tournament in the fall?”

“Well, I guess no one would be wrong to think that. The truth is that I never planned to do that, but the way things are going, I think I might have to…” she said, sighing as she thought about what had happened that day.

“If that’s the case, is Rina welcome to come watch you practise?”

“Oh, Citrina, are you also interested in horseback riding?”

Mia’s look of surprise turned into a smile very quickly.

“Then by all means. Come check it out. The horses are very cute. Well, at least most of them…”

In her mind, she saw a certain horse sneezing with a smile on its face.

I’ll never let that horse go… Absolutely never! You’ll pay for this, you arrogant jerk! Don’t forget it!

She clenched her fist and vowed to get even with the horse who had hurt her so much. She would not stop until she got back at them.

Next time, I’ll eat a whole piece of carrot cake right in front of you! We’ll see what you think, you stupid horse!

On a different note, that carrot cake was one of the vegetable desserts that Tearmoon’s head chef came up with. He sent over the recipe, and soon it would be on the menu at the academy’s cafeteria.