CH 436

Sion’s Crisis and Mia’s Considerations

Mia opened the copy of the Chronicles that Bel had given her as soon as she got back to the capital.

To be clear, she only planned to quickly look over it. Nothing important. Ludwig had told her how important it was to get backing from the nobles of neighboring countries, so she thought she was set. After all, she already knew Rafina and Sion pretty well. As long as they, two of the most powerful people on the continent, asked for her help, backs would surely bend toward her like reeds in the wind. At that time, the path to becoming empress seemed like a short walk in the park.

Sad to say, trust led to being careless. As she picked up the book, she was already imagining sections about a future where she survived the poison and became empress. At the same time, though, she also thought that nothing would change. She had already been disappointed before. It was best not to raise her hopes too much. Most likely, it was still the same old pages about the same old death. She only wanted to read half as much when she thought about reading about how she died, but she forced herself to open the book anyway. She had to force herself to open her eyes after that. What she saw when she opened it…

“H-Huh?! What in the moons is this supposed to be?!”

The Chronicles read: “Sion Sol Sunkland died when he was young”

It hit her head like a hammer. They made her mind spin.

“What? But… but how? Sion was meant to become the King of Sunkland, wasn’t he? And stuff like get a lame nickname? What happened? Is it the King of Libra or something?”

She quickly read through the changed parts and found that Sion had been killed in a fight with a group of bandits.”

Huh?! What in the moons was that kid thinking? Why on moons would he go out there on his own? Just leave it to the soldiers!” she moaned before she saw something else that scared her. “Hold on… What? It’s only been thirty days until this happens?!”

After she got over her original anger, she changed her mind and realized that this was exactly the kind of thing Sion would do. Since he seemed to think of himself as a kind of symbol of justice, hearing that a group of thieves was making trouble could very well get him to leave his safe place. Worse, she had heard that the idea that “justice is best served personally” was common in Sunkland, which made it even more likely that this would happen. In that kingdom, it was a given that royalty set an example for the rest of the people and should always lead the way in war. When they were in trouble, they couldn’t just hide in a safe room in the castle. Also, when bandits were a threat to their people, both royals and nobles were expected to be the first ones there, with troops following close behind. If they didn’t live up to this image, it would make people question their sense of justice and, by extension, their high standing.

Remno had the same lifestyle. There, people expected kings to be brave and bold. No one could sit on the throne who wasn’t in charge of an army. Because of this mindset, Abel had once led an army himself to put down a rebellion.

“It’s also possible that someone in Sunkland could take advantage of this hope to trick Sion into putting his life in danger.”

Maybe the bandits’ actions were a trap from the beginning, and Sion was set up. Mia crossed her arms and started to think deeply.

“Hold on, I need to think about this… Maybe this is okay after all? I-I mean, I don’t really care if Sion dies or not. He did once cut off my head. And sometimes he’s so annoying. Besides…”

Deep thinking didn’t last even a minute before she gave in.

“No, I can’t let him die on his own. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth.”

If she hadn’t known about it, things would be different. She couldn’t stand the thought of being able to stop it from happening but choosing not to.

“We’ve had our disagreements, but when I needed help, he came to my aid. I owe that to him. Oh, and I guess I can’t be sure that whoever takes his place on the throne will back me. And Bel likes him a lot too…”

She decided soon after.

“Right. I think I need to do something about this.”

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If this was just a mistake, she could just send a message to Sion or Keithwood to send more soldiers or increase protection.

“I probably can’t stop them from sending Sion out in the first place, though…”

That would be getting too involved in family matters, and a simple warning didn’t seem like it would work with Sion’s attitude.

“It’s also possible that this is a plot by the Serpent.”

That was a better way to think about it. It didn’t seem likely that Sion would die because he fought with a couple of bandits.

“His sword arm is pretty strong, and Keithwood is with him. There’s no way a random bandit would be able to kill him.”

And if the Serpents were involved, that would make things much more difficult.

“I’d rather send Dion over if we have to deal with Serpents, but I think that would hurt Sunkland’s pride…”

The Empire’s Finest would definitely foil any bad plans they had, but she had no good reason to send him from a strategic point of view. A small country might have been able to deal with complaints, but the Kingdom of Sunkland was the same size and strength as the kingdom. If they were asked to add a possible Tearmoon spy to the group that was supposed to protect their crown prince, they probably wouldn’t agree.

“I mean, I’m sure Sunkland has a lot of good soldiers, but I can’t just tell them to follow Sion.”

In the empire, she could often get her way with these kinds of plans. If only this wasn’t happening in another nation.

“Ugh, it’s so annoying that I can’t just tell people what I know is going to happen. I must be able to do something… Think, just think…”

At this point, she could do nothing but tell him to be careful. Maybe just telling him that there might be a plot would be enough. Or maybe it wouldn’t be like that. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to put all of her eggs in that unstable basket. Especially since Sion might use that as a chance to put himself in danger on purpose so he can find the person in charge of everything.

Finally…

“Hnnngh, this is giving me a headache.”

“Pardon me, milady. Lady Esmeralda is here…”

Mia was stuck in her thoughts when she heard Anne’s words.

“Oh? Esmeralda? Hm…”

Mia scratched her stomach.

“Hmm… I have a lot of thinking to do, and sugar helps you think, so I think it’s time to refuel!”

For now, she thought about the tasty treats Esmeralda had probably brought with her.