CH 333

Words that Reached… and Wishes that Didn’t Reach

“Uhm, Your Highness, I’m so sorry. I just finished with archery practise, so I’m probably stinky… If, um, this is about a tea party or something, I’ll go clean up and change first…”

“My, it looks like I’ve come at a pretty bad time.”

Mia looked at Tiona. Tiona’s hair did have a bit of a shine from sweat. It would probably be uncomfortable for her to stay like that for a long time.

“Well, if that’s the case, why don’t we both go take a bath?”

“Take a— Huh?”

Tiona didn’t understand a thing about what was said. The look of confusion on her face made Mia laugh.

“Chloe just so happened to give me some interesting bath herbs not long ago. It seems that they are good for getting rid of tiredness. Since you just finished practising, why don’t we go try them out?”

Chloe had been worried about Mia, just like Rania had been, and the bath herbs were her way of showing it.

Mia thought that she should try them out today because she might not get another chance.

“Yes, I think this is a great chance,” she said, ostensibly to herself, since Tiona didn’t seem to understand. They then started walking towards the public baths.

The early afternoon time worked out well for them because the baths were empty when they got there. Mia was so happy to find this out that she immediately dumped the whole bag of herbs into the water.

“Y-Your Majesty? Are you sure you want to just toss them all in? Sh- Shouldn’t we get permission first—”

“Oh, don’t worry about it at all!” said Mia with a lot of self-assurance. After all, she was living in the present. Even though she didn’t have permission, she turned the public baths into her own spa.

So she thought, until the herbs hit the water and gave off smoke right away. The strange thing almost made her heart jump out of her mouth. Soon, there was white smoke in every corner of the room. It was so thick that she couldn’t even see Tiona a few steps away.

“Your Majesty?”

“Don’t worry. This is all right… Probably.”

What had been a lot of confidence disappeared in an instant, and her heart went from being like a pig to being like a chicken.

Just as she started to think, “Oh, I did it now, and I’m in so much trouble,” the smoke started to thin out. Still, it was a little too thick to be regular steam, but she could probably get away with it and no one would notice.

After a few more murmuring that “this is fine”, her inner chicken stopped quivering.

As she took a deep breath of relief, it came to her that she knew the smell coming from the water.

“Wow, isn’t this lucioluna grass?”

“Yes, I agree. It smells really good.”

Tiona seemed to relax when she smelled the pleasant scent.

Both of them quickly washed off and stepped into the tub. Mia sighed in comfort as the warm liquid wrapped around her. Chloe did say that it was supposed to be a calming herb. She was right about that, though. She could feel all the stress leaving her body. The raging storm of worry inside me calmed down to a nice lull.

We’re both feeling calm because the water is nice and the herbs smell great. So, of course, it’s time to talk now. Good going, Chloe! I was looking for just this.

She let out a guttural hmmm and spread out her arms and legs before sinking further into the water.

A giggle entered her ears. She looked at Tiona with confusion, not sure what had made her laugh.

“Hm? What’s that?”

She smiled and said, “Oh, nothing much. I just noticed you got a little bit bigger.”

“…What?”

Mia froze.

The peaceful calm inside turned into a storm of worry very quickly. But…

“I was worried about you a little bit. After hearing that you lost your appetite, we all were,” Tiona said to explain.

“Ah, yes, I see what you mean. You worried that I wasn’t eating well.”

Mia nodded. She wasn’t sure if the explanation helped or not, but she still nodded. Then she looked at her upper arm. She frowned and grabbed the meaty part.

Did I get fatter? I don’t believe so. Hmm… It doesn’t seem to be any jigglier. I’m pretty sure it’s always been like this. Even before summer… Wait. Doesn’t this mean..?

“So, um… About what did you want to talk to me?”

Mia was about to figure out something important when Tiona pulled her out of her thoughts and made her stop the train of thought she was on.

“Oh, yes. That. Uh…”

Mia slightly straightened up and took a big breath.

“I need to apologise to you for something.”

“Huh?”

The statement came out of nowhere, so Tiona could only blink a few times showing how confused she was. Mia didn’t let anything stop her.

“A long time ago, I did something to you. Something very cruel.”

Her voice was softly heard in the bath room.

“Wha-what are you talking about? I don’t… Your Highness, you have always been nice to me. How could you have ever done something bad to me?”

Tiona was taken aback by Mia’s strange confession.

“That’s…totally unthinkable.”

“Oh? Is it? I can also be mean sometimes. If someone tries to flirt with a boy I like, for instance…”

“But, I’ve never done anything like that to Prince Abel…”

Tiona suddenly remembered a part of her dream from the night before. Mia said she wanted to say she was sorry. Tiona had pushed her away and refused to talk to her, but now she only has regrets.

Of course, it was just a dream. A figment of her imagination.

Her heart, on the other hand, hurt from the bitter patterns that were etched into its spiritual flesh. So, she got herself together.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if Your Highness really did do something bad, and you’ve apologised, which you just did, I’m sure…”

There had been a time and a place where she thought she couldn’t forgive Mia. Must not, not couldn’t. And she paid a heavy price for it.

How terrible it must keep hating someone like that…

Tiona thought about the rest of the dream she had.

She thought about the lost days of light and joy she had lost because she had grown to hate Mia. She thought about the moment she realised that her hatred had been misinterpreted and how badly she had wanted to talk to Mia after that.

Because of these ideas, she turned towards the Mia who was still alive and looked her in the eye.

“I’m sure you’ve been forgiven. I’d forgive you at least. I… already did, in another life…”

Even though she whispered her last few words, Mia’s face changed when she heard them.

“You…did…”

Mia’s face no longer looked as tense as it had before. She stared at nothing for a moment, as if the weight that had been lifted from her shoulders was so big that she didn’t know how to deal with her newfound happiness.

Then, she smiled again, showing that she was happy again.

“Aah… Wonderful. That’s…really wonderful. Now I have no more regrets.”

This time, Mia’s last words made Tiona feel uneasy, and she could feel it in her chest.

“Uh, Your Highness, I’d also like to speak with you. Talk, I mean. I want to talk with you for longer.”

She said what had been on her mind for a long time. In her dream, the wish was impossible, but now…it might still come true.

Mia’s face was hard to read for a second.

She then said, “Oh, I see… Then, let’s talk after the Holy Eve Festival is over. Then we can spend as much time as we want together.”

“…The Holy Eve Festival?”

“Yes. The holiday of Holy Eve. If I make it through without getting hurt, we’ll get together and talk all night.”

It made sense.

As a member of the student council, they probably had a lot to do during the Holy Eve Festival and didn’t have much time to relax until it was over. It made perfect sense to wait until then. But for some reason, Tiona’s feeling of unease in her chest only got worse.

“Well, it looks like that’s it for now.” Mia smiled as she got out of the pool and said, “Thank you very much for your time today.”

Tiona looked up at her as she was leaving, and her heart skipped a beat.

There was an eerily ephemeral air to the princess, as if she were the moon who, though once the protagonist of the sky, was now being relieved of her role as the night waned. Maybe it was just the faint haze of the bath room that made it hard to see her, but…

“Your Hi – ?”

The way I felt didn’t last long.

When Bel and Citrina came in, they stopped Tiona’s cry.

“Mia-neesama, oh. What a great timing.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Mia asked, “My, are you two here to take a bath?”

“Yes, we are,” Bel said. “But why is it kind of foggy in here?” he asked, looking around.

“I tried some herbs that Chloe gave me for a bath. It was pretty fun, to be honest. When they hit the water, so much smoke came out.”

Mia smiled. She was back to being the happy person she usually was, and the fleeting air around her was almost gone…

Then it was time for the Holy Eve Festival.