CH 438

Ludwig Guesses

Mia quickly began getting ready for her trip to Sunkland once she had made up her mind. She first called Ludwig and told him to set up her guard convoy.

“Understood. Then, I’ll put together a team of our most skilled Princess Guard.” He let out a defeated sigh. He had been dealing with Mia’s sudden whims for a long time and was used to them.

“I’ll leave it up to you then. Oh, and I’d also like to bring Dion along. Will that be okay?”

“Dion-dono, so you say…” Ludwig thought about her as he tapped the bridge of his glasses. “Should I take that to mean that this trip is dangerous enough to require him to be there?”

“Maybe. It’s a safety measure.” She gave a shrug. “The best-case situation is, of course, that it turns out to be completely safe, but you never know, and I can’t exactly bring an army into Sunkland with me. A small group of top guards is the only choice that makes sense.”

She also couldn’t say for sure that she would stop Sion from being killed. Mia knew she had been taking a lot of risks lately because Ludwig was so scared of her risky behavior this past winter. Even though her plan was to stop the crown prince of Sunkland from being killed, Mia didn’t think Ludwig would just let her go. So, she chose to lie about why she did what she did.

“…I see.”

To her discomfort, he looked at her for a while before making that unsettlingly penetrating look while fixing his glasses.

“If that is the case, I will go to Sunkland with Your Highness.”

“Huh?”

“Sudden changes like this often lead to problems that no one saw coming. My being there could be helpful. I’ve also been meaning to talk with Sunkland’s government in secret.”

“But don’t you—”

“All right, I’ll leave now. Before we leave, I need to find people to do my work for me.”

Before Mia could say anything else, he left.

“Huh. Well, I guess having him along can’t hurt. Maybe this is a good thing.”

It wasn’t like she could figure out the plot on her own. Her participation was just a way to get Dion, her best player, into Sunkland. That took care of the strength part of the problem, but she still needed some brains. The only thing that worried them was how Ludwig’s absence would affect all the problems he was dealing with in the kingdom at the time.

“If I know him, though, I think he’ll make sure everything keeps going smoothly,” she said to herself.

She turned her attention to the next part of her plans and wrote a message to Tiona in the Rudolvon domain. She had faith that Ludwig would take care of everything on his side. The winter before had shown Mia that both Tiona and Liora could be very useful in war.

“They’ll make me feel a lot safer. After all, there are many places where men can’t follow me, and Anne isn’t much of a fighter.”

She would have liked to bring one more person, someone who could be very helpful in a pinch.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“Hmm… Yes, I definitely should bring her,” Mia thought. “Anne, I need to leave for a while, so could you get things ready for me?”

“Right away, milady, but could I ask where we’re going?” asked her maid, who seemed a little worried.

Mia was happy.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to downtown Lunatear where the nobles live.”

—

Citrina Etoile Yellowmoon lived in a villa in Lunatear, the imperial city. As for why Mia knew this, it’s because… Well, that’s because Citrina came to see Bel this morning. She went to the Whitemoon Palace in a good mood after hearing that her friend had returned from Perujin and invited Bel to her house.

She said they were going to study, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t even open a book.

Mia knew her granddaughter. She would never study if she didn’t have a strict monitor watching over her.

“Lynsha has gone home for a while, so I guess I’ll have to fill her shoes for now.”

It was a big mansion, bigger than most nobles’ homes, and Mia found herself looking in awe at the walls covered in vines and the front yard that looked like a jungle.

As she walked into the building with her guards, she thought, “I-I wonder if all of these are poisonous.”

Inside, they were led to a large garden. Here, well-kept flowers adorned a yard that was much less wild. Citrina could be seen sitting at a table in the far corner. Bel was…

Bel was dancing in front of her!

“And then, right there, you hit the clappers.”

She hit them together with her hands as if they were clappers. She must have been showing Citrina the dance she had done in Perujin. or at least trying to.

“After that, do this!” She turned around a few times, clapped, and then posed in a proud way.

“Oh moons, she did literally every step wrong,” Mia muttered.

The way the girl danced was just…sort of…

It’s hard to say what’s wrong, but something just doesn’t feel right. Also, what is it about this girl that she can mess up the dance in every way and still act like she just did the coolest thing ever? It’s pretty amazing, actually. I might want to be more like her…

She walked over with a newfound admiration for her granddaughter.

“Mia-neesama, oh. You are are!” When Bel saw her, she smiled.

“Good morning, Your Highness. Welcome to Yellowmoon Villa.” Citrina stood up and curtsied. She smiled as she did it, and the move was as sweet and beautiful as spring flowers.

And this girl is still very cute…

“Good morning to you, Rina. How’s your father doing?”

“Yes, he’s doing well, and he says hello.”

“Good. Oh, but tell him to stop eating so many cookies, OK? Because eating too many sweets will actually make you shorten your lifespan. Did you know?” Mia felt a little overwhelmed by the others, so she quickly shared this piece of preventive wisdom that she stole shamelessly from Tatiana. The young’uns were impressed enough for Mia to flash a triumphant smug grin, as if she had accomplished something great.