CH 405

Loyal Retainer Anne Hardens Her Heart

It was a nice day in late spring, with warm sunshine that meant summer was coming and the wheat harvest was coming up soon. Anne stood in Mia’s room and watched her roll around in bed as she usually did. She couldn’t help but feel a little worried. It was something that had been bothering her ever since Esmeralda’s trip the summer before. What had really upset her were the things that had happened before the trip. Mia, who had gotten a bit of a belly pooch, had to sweat and work hard for a long time.

Miss Esmeralda might ask her back someday. Maybe it would be best for her to start working out more often.

Anne didn’t think Mia was overweight. She was beautiful just the way she was. If anything, a little extra weight made her more cute.

…which was a dangerous way to think.

Regardless of how she felt about it, it was clear that Mia hadn’t been getting much exercise lately, which the head chef said was bad for her health…

So, Anne made up her mind: “Milady. Um…”

“Mm? Anne, what is it?”

Mia moved around on the bed to look up at Anne. It moved in a way that would be expected of a sea creature that got stuck on land. A mermaid, perhaps. Something that can’t walk on two legs or any legs at all. The lazy sight might have been the last straw for Anne.

All the important talks, student council chores, and fighting with a secret cult that Mia had to deal with every day were no doubt exhausting. Anne knew how hard these things were to carry. So, she had always taken the position that Mia could be as lazy as she wanted in the quiet of her own room.

But there had to be limits, so Anne hardened her heart.

“Milady, you haven’t been taking dance lessons lately, have you? Why don’t you invite Prince Abel or Prince Sion to join you?”

Mia didn’t hate physical exercise in general. She just wasn’t interested in doing it on her own time. If you left her alone for a few days, she would soon go into energy-saving mode and stop working. Anne had to warn her because she was her right hand. As her friend, she preferred to do it as quietly as possible.

“Dance?” Mia asked. “Interesting. I haven’t danced in a long time. It might be a good idea to invite Abel. In that case, I might as well get the student council involved and plan something like a dinner party where everyone comes. But it’ll be a dance-and-cake party.”

“H-Hold on, milady.”

When Anne heard that Mia’s train of thought was getting off track, she stopped her. Dancing was fine, but it wouldn’t help if she ate a lot of cake while she was doing it. And it would be a lot. Anne knew that her lady loved food and had a big appetite.

“That sounds like it would take a long time to set up. What about…a long horse ride instead?”

Mia’s “right arm” skillfully changed the subject. If only her body was as flexible as her mind.

“Hmm, that’s also an interesting idea. I haven’t been going to the riding club either. I’m curious about Kuolan and the others… Yes, I think I’d enjoy getting back into long horse rides.”

Luckily, the switch worked, and Mia quickly turned her attention to the new idea. One of her strengths was that she was ready to give in to outside forces.

“Oh, can I go too?” Bel, who had been listening to what was being said, put up her hand. “I want to see if the baby horse is healthy.”

“Oh, good point. You were also there back then. Well, I don’t mind if you come along, but…” Mia thought for a while and then snapped her fingers. “I know! Then we should ask Rina to come with us.”

“Rina too?”

“Yes. If we didn’t, she might feel left out, which would be a shame, right?” Mia said, then smiled in a sneaky way. “That way, you can both join the equestrian club together.”

“What?” You want me to join the equestrian club?”

“That’s right. When we were going across the plains, you did pretty well. I think you’ll be galloping around in no time if you practice.”

Anne, catching on to what Mia had said, added.

“Yes, I agree. Even I was able to figure it out after enough practice. I’m sure you’ll figure it out very quickly, Miss Bel.”

Just so you know, Anne had two left feet in general, and it took her a lot of work to get to the point where she could ride. She didn’t say this, though, because she knew that keeping Mia healthy meant sacrificing the truth.

“You can’t call yourself a good princess until you can ride a horse, Bel. And you want to be a good princess like me, right?”

There were so many things wrong with what she said. Sad to say, no one there would point it out.

“But I…”

Mia pursed her lips and said “Hmm” again.

She then looked at Anne and whispered something in Bel’s ear.

“I know you think you could be sent back to your home world at any time, and if that happens, all of this would have been for nothing. That’s easy to understand. But listen, Bel. Even if you get sent back, you should learn how to ride a horse before you leave. It makes running away a lot easier…”

She smiled and winked.

“Besides, horses are adorable creatures, aren’t they? I think riding with Citrina will make it more fun.”

Anne added.