CH 392

Mia’s Life Consultation

Rania finished her bath and immediately went to get the sweets. She then proceeded to Mia’s room. She brought some sunblessed treats, a Perujin specialty prepared with sun-dried fruits from her area. She delivered these sweets with her father’s express instructions to “go and advertise these in Saint-Noel.”

Her father’s advice kept coming back to her. “It’s all for the good of our nation.” Her entire life had been hammered with his lessons. They produced crops, traded them for money with stronger countries, and helped their country grow. Rania had a duty as a princess to devote her life to following that Perujin route to prosperity. Year after year, generation after generation, they would carry on in this manner…until the day they could get back those greater powers. She had always carried out her mission, ever since she could remember.

Did Princess Mia saw right through me?

She kept thinking about Mia’s expression when she had been in the bathhouse. Her stare had have a piercing quality. She had something gently corrective in her eyes. Her grin had appeared to be all-knowing. Then she invited Rania to tea.

“She noticed. Definitely… that I have been feeling down from the start.”

Rania inhaled deeply as she knocked on Mia’s door.

“Rania, that’s good timing. Just now I prepared the tea. Should we start?”

Mia remarked while grinning warmly and subtly. Her look suggested that she was intentionally trying to uplift a friend who was feeling down.

“Are those the brand-new Perujin sweets? Please show me now.”

Her sparkling voice was filled with unbridled joy. She seemed really excited to try the desserts from the way she said it.

“We refer to them as sunblessed treats.” Rania held up a platter and said, “Here, take a look. They are prepared from fruits, but since the fruits in this instance have been dried, they last a long time. Additionally, it makes them considerably tastier and less tart.”

“Hm, hm. I get it now.”

Mia narrowed her eyes as she looked at the food on the dish. “They resemble withered fruits, sort of. To be honest, they don’t seem too appetizing.”

“Try one.”

Mia took the knife and fork, cut off a piece, and brings it to her mouth.

Her expression burst into full joy as soon as the piece made contact with her tongue.

“Aaah… It’s so sweet! Additionally, it has a gumminess that enhances the flavor.”

“Naturally, we made sure they were sweet, but we also worked hard to retain the fruit’s original flavor. I believe that it’s also important to appreciate the scent.”

“It is! Definitely! The flavor is still present even if they are entirely dried out. How did you accomplish that? Some type of undiscovered drying method?”

“Sort of. It’s more complicated than just leaving it in the sun. I’ll make that clear. The procedure is somewhat challenging.”

“I see.” Mia looked at each of the sun-blessed delicacies in turn, clearly impressed, before giggling.

“Rania, I have to admit that you’re quite the salesperson. Even just hearing your description made them seem more appetizing.”

The praise worked, and Rania couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“I’m pleased that you like them.”

After tasting two more treats, Mia finally leaned back and sipped her tea with satisfaction.

“Now then, let’s talk about Arshia,” she continued after pausing for a moment. “You are probably aware that she is a lecturer, but she also has another very essential job that I have given her.”

“What kind of work is it?”

Rania had not actually heard from Arshia regarding the specifics of her position. The letters had stated that she had been directed by Mia to work on a specific project and that her days were very rewarding, but they had also stated that she was not permitted to discuss the project’s specifics with anybody, not even family.

Arshia was subject to a secrecy clause, while Mia was undoubtedly exempt from it. After all, Mia was the one who initially issued the condition. Everything was fine as long as she was open to speaking. Rania looked at Mia with an interest she had never had before, excited to finally have the chance to learn more.

“I tasked Arshia with creating a new wheat variety that can withstand the cold.”

“Wheat that can resist the cold?” she asked perplexed. “I suppose I do recall my father discussing how the weather this year is particularly concerning, but…cold-resistant wheat? Is that even a thing?”

As a result of her upbringing as a Perujin princess, Rania has a profound grasp of the level of destruction that a year without sunlight can cause. The grains would be little and hollow without any indication of any kernels. In Perujin, it was accepted wisdom that the only option if a year like that arrived was to simply throw one’s hands in the air and give up.

They were aware of the foundations of selective breeding. In search of strains that tasted better and produced more kernels, they actually treated them repeatedly. However, they had never looked into developing a breed that could tolerate the occasional cold snap that would drastically reduce production. None of them had even considered conducting such research in their imaginations.

“It can exist,” stated Mia as she turned to face Rania. “We’ll make it happen. I promise it.”

She spoke without the slightest hint of uncertainty. How was it possible for her to speak so passionately about something whose existence was still unproven?

Wow, Princess Mia truly has faith in Arshia.

Since it was based on Mia’s unfailing faith in Rania’s sister, it wasn’t unfounded. Rania let out a soft awe-filled gasp. People would no longer go hungry thanks to the creation of a breed of wheat that could thrive with only a modest amount of solar assistance. That was not her sister’s dream, was it? When they were younger, Arshia had talked about it regularly, if not constantly.

“Must be nice.” Before she realized it, the words had already left her mouth.

“Hm? What was that?” Mia asked with an arched brow.

Rania caught herself and responded, “Oh, sorry, don’t worry about it. It’s just that Arshia’s out there doing fantastic things.” She said, grimacing.

“Items that are beneficial to everyone and handy… And after seeing that, I start to doubt my life’s purpose. I feel like I’m squandering time more and more. Everything seems so pointless.”

“My, that assessment seems too critical. You’re not just sitting around doing nothing, right? In fact, as we speak, you are assisting Perujin in exporting its delectable confections to another country. I feel like I need to purchase a few boxes every time based on the way you explain your products. That seems like a perfectly worthwhile endeavor, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose so,” Rania’s mood was not improved by Mia’s praise. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about using trade to improve the lives of Perujin citizens. No, that was definitely worthwhile. But the way her father operated… His disposition… It had started to annoy her lately. She couldn’t help but pick up on the hints that only Perujin’s prosperity counted and that of every other country was unimportant. There was something vengeful about it, more ego than compassion, as if retaliating against more powerful people was the real goal and affluence was only a means to that end. She had started to believe that everything she did was just helping to further this dubious objective. And now, in contrast to her sister’s initiatives to stop starving underprivileged youngsters… Everything was too much. She felt so…

…small and hollow. This is it? Am I destined to spend the rest of my life working in such a senseless job?

For the first time, Rania was doubting her own way of life. She wondered how much simpler it would have been if Mia had followed the expectations of a girl in her position. If only she had been self-centered, conceited, and all-around dreadful like strong princesses were expected to be. Then, Rania could easily retaliate against her. She considered Arshia and pondered how much easier life would have been if she had obediently followed their father’s instructions and wed herself to some foreign monarch for the benefit of their nation. If only she had committed her entire life to Perujin’s success…

However, neither of them met these preconceived notions, and their dignity only served to emphasize the triviality of Rania’s own troubles. She had to reflect on herself as a result. Was her sole goal to deliver national retribution? Was her sole motivation to retaliate against Mia and the Tearmoon Empire? Would she ever be able to look her sister in the eye again if that happened?

Mia gave a thoughtful “hmm” in response to Rania’s uncertain tone and then remarked, “I see you’re not convinced. If so, then… Oh, I just had a thought! Why don’t you tell other countries about Arshia’s wheat development? You handle the marketing, she conducts the research.”

“Huh?” Rania’s eyes widened in shock at the startling advice.

“You do acknowledge the worth of her work, after all,” Mia said. “Why don’t you support her by telling your friends and neighbors about it? You clearly have a talent for pepping people’s interest in stuff.”

She appeared to be immensely satisfied by the brilliance of her own inspiration as she clapped her hands together.

“If I do say so myself, this is a really great idea.”

“You want me to assist Arshia, right?” Rania mumbled as she thought about the possibilities.

She was aware then. She saw right through me. She already understood what was bothering me, and she’s now providing me with a resolution.

Rania reasoned that this must be the reason Mia had been so adamant about trying the brand-new Perujin sweets at this tea party. Mia might compliment her eloquence by listening to her talk about the sweets and use the situation to make a proposal to her. All of it was a setup, but it was a successful one because it created a persuasive chain of reasoning that showed she had what it took to truly assist her sister.

Perhaps I’m overanalyzing this, and she didn’t mean to say it that way at all. However, even so…

She had the impression that she had discovered a way forward—no, the way forward—that would enable her to follow her heart and feel good about herself in the process. She would be able to do the work and look forward to doing it. Instead of feeling ashamed, she could present her sister’s work with joy.

Rania started to consider her life seriously for the first time.

—

Rania was undoubtedly overanalyzing the situation, but it scarcely seemed important to note. Mia and introspection did not mix well.

Even if Arshia and Cyril are successful in creating a new strain of wheat, There was the issue of where to plant it.

Mia wanted to make wheat less expensive. She needed to expand the total amount in circulation to do that. She would have to plant a lot of them, assuming they were able to create wheat that could withstand the cold. The Rudolvon and Gilden lands by themselves probably wouldn’t be enough. It didn’t seem like enough to include even all the fields surrounding Saint Mia Academy. The new wheat would ideally be grown throughout the empire. However, doing so would require convincing numerous Tearmoon aristocrats, and Mia, quite frankly, couldn’t be bothered to cope with their heads’ extreme density. She would eventually have to deal with the problem of raising domestic output, but given the choice, she would prefer to do so later. Giving seeds to nearby countries like Perujin and asking them to grow the things was much simpler at this time.

“You want me to assist Arshia, right?”

“Absolutely. The task will likely be highly meaningful to you, in my opinion. Don’t you think so, too?” she asked with the biggest smile.

Her objective was to disperse the new wheat over the continent. In this manner, the cost of importing wheat into the empire would unavoidably decrease. She was essentially borrowing land from other countries to drive down the cost of wheat in her own.

I’ll save so much time and work if I can get Rania to join me! Mia smiled. She was experiencing success and was eating treats. Life was good.