CH 328

Mia, the Heartthrob, Dances

“By the way, what are you doing in Sion’s room?” she asked.

“What are you doing here, Mia?” Abel asked her.

Those who haven’t yet figured out the social faux pas in this situation probably need an explanation. The strangeness of Mia’s carefree attitude would be clear from a quick look at the situation.

They were in Sion’s room, which was in the dormitory for boys. Even though there wasn’t a strict rule, everyone knew that girls weren’t allowed in the boys’ dorm.

At the very least, you weren’t supposed to walk in just to take your sweetheart out on a date.

Debauchee Mia, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about rules. After all, she was unbeatable at the moment!

Nothing—well, almost nothing could stop her, since she wouldn’t talk about things that were scary in and of themselves.

At last, her fear of taking risks had reached a higher level. It had jumped for the peaks of chickenheartedness, but its feet had scraped the edge. It couldn’t hold on, so it fell back down to a lower ledge.

She now had a pig’s heart. It didn’t squawk as much as it used to, but it also couldn’t roar like a king. It just simply oinked.

Hoped that her newfound porkiness would stay in her heart and not be used to describe her stomach…

In any case, that was why Abel was surprised to see Mia, who was grinning.

“I need to borrow you for a little while. Will that be all right?”

“Huh? U-Uh, sure, I guess?”

Abel looked at Sion, who was holding up his hands as if to say, “This is yours.”

“The princess wants something, and she gets it. I think it’s a gentleman’s job to make sure there’s a connection between the two,” Sion said with a wink.

“Well, then… I’m sorry to cut our conversation short, but I’ll have to leave.”

After Mia led a reluctant Abel out of the room, he asked, “So, what exactly do you need me for?”

This time, Mia had to think about what to do.

“Well, I guess you know…”

She didn’t know either, it turned out.

If she had written down her plan, it would have said “Step 1: Find Abel, Step 2:???

She thought about going to town for a candy tour, but as soon as she stepped out of the dorm, a cold breeze made her change her mind.

This…isn’t really good weather for going outside. Too chilly.

Mia was the type of person who liked to stay inside on cold days. Going on a date outside in the cold wasn’t even close to being a choice.

So, where does that leave us? Inside the academy?

At that moment, she heard a faint sound of music in the air. The sound was lively and came from the grand hall. Before she knew it, her feet started to move towards it.

In the hall, people were getting ready for the big meal that would follow the candlelight mass on Holy Eve. Almost all of the decorating was done, and the hall looked great.

Sacred paintings in gold frames were hung on the walls of the room, which was made of wood. They were only shown on these kinds of special occasions. At the place where the ceiling met the walls, bright red cloth hung down. This added to the party atmosphere.  Rings of musicians were practising pieces for the upcoming ball at the front of the hall. Mia’s mind went back to a time when she saw that thing.

“I know about the Holy Eve Festival and dancing.”

She was reminded of the party where new students would be welcomed. She had danced with Abel that day, but for different reasons, they hadn’t been able to dance together since.

“Let’s go dancing. Before it’s time for the ball, I want to see how good you’ve gotten.”

“Huh? What—”

Mia told a member of the staff, “Excuse me, but we’re going to use that spot over there for a while.”

“What? Mia, wait—”

She grabbed Abel’s arm and pulled him to a corner of the hall where there was no one else. Even though everyone around her was shocked, she moved closer to him anyway.

“It’s fine, Abel. Let’s dance.”

She told him to start with a graceful flutter of her skirt. He looked at her dumbfoundedly for a few seconds before he could bring himself to smile.

“Someone is being a bit pushy today, isn’t she?”

Mia gave you a defiant grin when you said that.

“Oh? Then someone else is a little behind the times. Don’t you know? People have always said that I’m a very selfish princess.”

“Are you? So this is really who you are? So, I guess I have no choice but to do what you want.”

He moved his body close to hers, and then they both started to glide around their makeshift stage.

Even though people were running around getting ready for the festival, the couple danced as if the people were just a background to their romantic moment.

But they were not.

They had things to do, and a romantic couple twirling around the venue while they were trying to work was a huge distraction. It’s likely that more than one person hissed a private “Oh, just get a room. You’re making things harder.”

When they saw this public display of affection, the orchestra members began to jibe. Not at them, but with them.

They had always been good sports, and the fact that they played with Mia on the spot showed that. After seeing her take over the dance floor that night, they were happy to play some music on the spot for the couple.

“Wow, it seems like we’ve taken over the orchestra,” Mia said as she started to dance to their lively beat.

Her movements were smooth and done with expert skill. Abel could also keep up with them. He didn’t miss a beat.

“Wow, you’ve really improved at dancing, haven’t you?”

“Ha ha, it’s great to hear that you agree.” Abel said with a hint of pride, “I never got a chance to show you, but I’ve been practising more than just swordsmanship.”

“Have you now?” Mia asked with a bit of a challenge in her voice.

“Impressive. But can you keep up with steps that are harder?”

Her movements got stronger. She got completely caught up in the moment as they moved from one step to the next as a single unit.

She would pull away one second, then press herself against him the next. She went around and around him, twirling like a fairy at a party in the woods. She forgot where she was and when it was.

Like in a dream. It was the best kind of dream, where she only felt happiness.

Suddenly…

“Mia, say something to me…”

She could hear Abel talking.

“Am I…not good enough in some way?”

His face showed that he was serious.

“What’s not enough?” She asked, “What do you mean?”

“I know that something has been making you sad lately. I’m worried about it. I have no idea what it is. Sion also doesn’t. I don’t think you’ve told anyone, as far as I know. It seems like you don’t want anyone else to know. You are taking it on yourself…”

“Abel…”

She was speechless for a moment because of how much he cared. She could only look into his serious eyes.

“Is there any way I can…help you carry your load? I know I’m no genius. I’m pretty sure I can’t help you solve your problems. But if I can help you in any way, even if it’s just a little bit, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

She almost passed out from how sweet his words were. She had to use all of her self-control to keep from spilling every last secret right then and there. She forced herself to smile in a sneaky way.

“Are you now? So… what about this? If you ever get as good at dancing as I am, I’ll tell you a valuable secret I’ve been keeping to myself.”

She was sure that telling them wouldn’t help. She could tell them everything she knew and pour out her heart, but she would still sneak off Saint-Noel Island when it was time. And if she told her secrets before she did that, the Princess Chronicles said that her future would be much worse.

If Abel lost Mia, it would push him over the edge of being sane. Since he didn’t care about his own safety, he would eventually die in a terrible way. Sion would also be hurt badly, and his actions would eventually bring down all of Sunkland. Everyone she knew would feel sad about her death for a long time. No one would be spared, and no one would ever be able to get away from the overwhelming grief.

The parts of the Princess Chronicles that talk about these events were written to show how much power she had, but the bad things that happened made her speechless. In fact, they had taken away her ability to tell her peers what was in the book.

If I told them, things would only get worse. If they know it’s going to happen, they’ll feel even worse about it when they realise they couldn’t protect me. I would doom Abel to pain… If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to die in peace.

She realised that even though she had taken many steps to try to stay alive, she was starting to accept her grim fate. That was a horrible thing to think, so she shook it out of her head.

“… Right now, don’t think about anything else. Just try to have fun at this dance.”

She felt very happy when she was dancing. It felt like the first time in a long time that she could laugh her heart out.

She had a great time. So much that she felt like she’d be happy to die right now. Her body was filled with happiness, except for a small spot in her heart of hearts.

For some reason, I feel like there’s still something I haven’t done yet… Something I could be sorry about… I don’t know what…

She wouldn’t figure out what she hadn’t done until a little while later. After enjoying every sinful pleasure she could think of (snacking, pastries in bed, sweets for breakfast, etc.), there was only one thing left on her bucket list.

She had no idea that this last thing was the only way for her to make it through the Holy Eve Festival.