CH 424

Princess Mia Pumps Her Arms

When Shalloak Cornrogue started to fall, Tatiana was the first to help. She ran to his side and tried to hold up his big body, but she couldn’t. He fell down, taking her with him, but she made sure to put her arms between the ground and his head as they went down. Then she got out from under him and tilted his head to keep his airway open. Then she gave a quick series of orders to the people around her, telling them to help with first aid. Mia couldn’t stop looking at her in amazement at how fast and sure she had moved.

The fact that things changed quickly also didn’t help. Mia had put Shalloak in a tight spot and was ready to kill his image with a brilliant “coup de grace.” She didn’t expect her opponent to fall before she could taste blood after she went for his neck. She turned to Tatiana as she watched four guys work together to carry him away.

“Do you think that he’ll be okay?”

“Oh, um, probably… I think this is just a transient attack. His breathing has slowed down, so as long as he rests…”

“An attack? Is it a sickness of some kind?”

“We won’t know if it’s a disease until we check it out. I have heard about attacks like this, though. There was a rich noble in some country who died after a very similar thing happened. They ate a lot of rich foods, stayed inside all the time, and didn’t exercise at all.”

Tatiana made a sad face and crossed her arms.

“In other words, this kind of illness is caused by eating too much and not exercising enough.”

Mia paid close attention while unconsciously rubbing her stomach.

Too much food…and not enough exercise?

“Thank goodness, it’s still not too late. I, um… May I be excused, Your Highness? I want to find out about Master Shalloak.”

“Huh? Sure,” Mia said as she jumped back to attention. “Of course, you’d want to check on him. Go ahead.”

She quickly said “yes” and felt her belly again.

“Hmm… Tell me, where is the room where they took Shalloak to get treated? Oh, it’s in the castle, but it’s not too close. Hm, hm, I see… What a good thing. Yes, definitely check on him…”

She kept nodding, but now it looked like she was thinking.

“If that’s the case, Tatiana, I’ll go with you.”

“Huh? You will? Why?”

Tatiana looked at Mia in shock, and Mia quickly turned her body to hide her stomach from the girl’s innocent but interested eyes.

“Why? Well, how do I say this…?”

There was no way to tell the truth. She wasn’t about to say that she had suddenly become interested in working out before bed. Her sense of pride wouldn’t let her. But because she couldn’t tell her, she had no reason to check on Shalloak. There was nothing she could do to help him, and they were rivals to boot. She was not obligated to come. Unless she had a very good reason to leave, it made sense for her to stay here and keep talking with Yuhal. After wrinkling her face and pursing her lips, she gave her reason.

“Because Shalloak is getting weaker.”

That’s right. Great General Mia knew that in war, there was no room for kindness. Every chance the enemy gives you should be seized and used to the fullest. Shalloak was in a bad spot at the moment. So, now was the time to kill him for good and make sure he would never again be a threat to the country.

She didn’t do it because she wanted to work out. No, this was Mia walking with determination toward her last battle! At least, that’s what she told herself.

“Which is to say…” She smiled at the thing she kept hidden. “Tatiana, it looks like it’s finally your time to shine.”

She had brought the girl with her because she was the last nail in Shalloak’s coffin, and now it was time to drive her in. Mia would hold her up in front of him and say: Look, Shalloak! Her existence disproves everything you say! You have no right to call yourself a coldly logical business person. You’re just a regular person with the same weakness, emotion, and kindness as everyone else.

Tatiana would have to help out for this dramatic climax to work, so Mia looked her in the eyes and said, “I’m counting on you, Tatiana. Make me proud.”

—

“Your Highness…”

Tatiana felt like a missing piece of a puzzle fell into place when she heard Mia’s words. Everything Mia had told her… Now everything made sense.

She saw that Master Shalloak’s health was getting worse and wanted to see him in person to wish him well.

From what they said to each other before, it was clear that Mia and Shalloak did not agree on much. Instead, they looked like they were going to fight. Tatiana had thought that Mia would use her against him as a tool. But it wasn’t like that.

She is trying to save Master Shalloak.

What had been a bunch of separate events came together all at once, showing a full, connected pattern. Back at Crolio Pond, Mia had said that she liked how Tatiana wasn’t afraid to correct people when she needed to. She liked how honest she was. Then she told Tatiana that if she ever got into trouble, she should come to her. Tatiana could now see that Mia had been trying to push her forward by giving her encouragement.

She began to remember more of what Mia had said. She had said that everything would depend on what Shalloak did. How prescient she’d been! She was obviously talking about this exact thing. Mia always knew that Shalloak’s health would get worse if he didn’t change what he ate. So, she brought Tatiana with her to tell him what he needed to hear and try to get him to live a better life.

That’s not all, either. She might be trying to remind Master Shalloak of…

Mia wanted to do two things. She wanted to warn him about his health and save his life through Tatiana. She did this because she wanted him to remember all the great things he had done in the past. The health of both the body and the mind. She wanted to give him both back.

Tatiana couldn’t help but think that she had found out Mia’s real plans.

She says that everything depends on how he acts, but behind the scenes, she is doing everything she can to stop Master Shalloak from hurting himself and get him back on the right road.

She thought that this way of doing things was a lot like how doctors work. Shalloak is the only one who can decide if he wants to live a moderate life. His health and how long he lived were eventually determined by the decisions he made.

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“But decisions can be influenced.”

There was no reason to just stop trying. People who didn’t want to listen could still be told over and over. With enough time, they might finally change their minds one day. Not because they were moved by how serious you were, but because they were sick of hearing the same advice over and over again and just wanted it to stop.

It’s up to Master Shalloak… Her Highness’s words sound cold and heartless at first…

But now, Tatiana was very thankful. She wanted to thank Mia from the bottom of her heart for bringing her to this crucial crossroads and giving her the chance to save Shalloak Cornrogue, the guy who had changed her life.

“Okay, Your Highness. Let’s go.”

When she looked at Mia, she saw that she was pumping her arms. It was strangely like a move that the other young girl following her, Bel, did all the time, and there was something strangely…exercise-like about it.

===

TN’s Note: This is exactly how one becomes a member of the Cult of Mia.