CH 440

Maybe… Probably…

Since we chose to go to Sunkland, Her Highness hasn’t been like herself.

Ludwig frowned as he looked into a room in the Tearmoon Empire’s Grand Library where Mia was sitting and muttering to herself.

It must be like I thought. This trip has a lot more to it than meets the eye. And this is a very important thing.

When she told him she was going to Sunkland for the first time, he thought of two possible reasons.

The first was, of course, making political friends by talking to people to set the stage for future projects. The Kingdom of Sunkland was stronger and bigger than Tearmoon. If Mia wanted to become empress, she needed more than just Sion’s help.

The second was Esmeralda’s marriage proposal. She was one of Mia’s best friends, and she was an Etoiline. Mia had good ties with the other scions of the Four Houses as well, but the young lady of Greenmoon was the only one she could really trust. Esmeralda would always be a very important asset as long as the backing of the Four Dukes was needed to keep control of the central nobility.

Now, someone or a group of someones were trying to get her out of Tearmoon.

There are things going on that make it clear a force opposes Her Highness becoming an empress… This must be a way for them to try to hurt her faction.

That much was both clear and easy for him to understand. He also knew that Mia’s trip to Sunkland was a way to fight back. It would make the opposition in her own country think twice before making any more plans, and it would also let her look into their ties in Sunkland. It was also a way to show support for Esmeralda. The problem was that…

She is going to bring Dion. That is something to think about.

He agreed that it was important to have some strength for safety, but he thought the Princess Guard should have been enough. Why bring Dion Alaia, who was a one-man army? Why was an overwhelming presence needed?

“The only thing that makes sense is that whatever is in the shadows warrants enough for him to be there. If that’s the case, I should also get ready,” he thought to himself as he walked over to Mia.

“Your Highness…”

“Oh, Ludwig. Are you here to find out something?”

“Yes. The other day, it became painfully clear to me that Miss Bel is missing a lot of basics in her schooling.”

Ludwig planned to give Bel a crash course on…well, pretty much everything before they left for Sunkland. He had heard that Bel would be going with them. But that wasn’t why he was here. He came to see how Mia was doing. But admitting his worry was an act of emotional honesty that was way above him.

“Judging by how she’s doing, I can tell that she’s getting some help, but I’m worried that her teacher may not be up to the task. It’s possible that the way they teach isn’t as good as it could be. It’s important to know when to be strict and when to be easy on someone. Integrating the two well is important for schooling.”

Mia’s reply was to purse her lips, but it wasn’t clear what that meant.

“…Okay. Then do what you think is best. But don’t go crazy, okay? For the sake of sanity.”

“Of course. If a teacher does something to hurt a student’s mind, it shows that they are very bad at what they do.”

“I was talking about your sense of sanity…”

“I’m sorry?”

Mia didn’t give a clear answer. She instead puckered her lips and said, “Never mind. I’ll let you decide.”

“Understood.” Ludwig agreed and then asked, “May I ask if Your Highness is also doing research?”

“Hm? Oh, sure, I guess so. After all, we are going to Sunkland, so I thought I’d…read up on them first. You know, figure out what’s going on there. So I can make travel plans.”

A map of the whole kingdom of Sunkland was spread out on her table. Around it were many open books about the businesses and towns of different parts of the kingdom.

“I see. Your Highness is always amazing.”

Mia is going to Sunkland with a clear and important goal in mind, but it looks like that wasn’t her only goal. She seemed to want to go on a tour of the country, which made perfect sense. They might as well use the chance to find out as much information as they can. It was amazing to see how much she was paying attention to and how logically she used her time to get the most out of it.

Food is the basis of all businesses, and its production is important for the empire’s growth in the future. She is definitely learning more about food in other countries so that she can make better decisions when she is empress. She is the Great Wisdom of the Empire because she has a never-ending thirst for information and a strong sense of reason. In fact, Her Highness never fails to amaze…

—

Never fails to amaze? I’m not sure what’s so great about it…

Mia cocked her head in surprise at the comment, then went back to reading the book she was holding. It talked about the specialties of each part of Sunkland and the most famous dishes in each town. There was nothing in it that seemed like it would be amazing to Ludwig.

But on the other hand, I am doing something worth praising, so I will happily accept the praise.

She was right, too! In fact, Mia had been thinking and thinking about really important things! After a lot of thought, she chose not to tell Sunkland that she would be traveling with Esmeralda. She was just going to show up with her entourage. The goal of this secret was to get rid of as many unknowns as possible. As a longtime reader of books about the future, Mia knew that the future was surprisingly fragile and could be changed in ways she couldn’t predict. In her case, this meant that the exact details of Sion’s death, such as where and when, were very likely to change.

For example, if I told him I was going as a student, he might feel like he had to let me in. Meet me at the border, if you want. That might keep him from getting into trouble, but it might not. I have no way of knowing how he will treat me, so he could still die the same way.

Also, his trip to the border could put him in danger in ways he doesn’t know about yet. If he did this, he might be able to avoid an easy fight with bandits, but a complicated plot to kill him could very well follow him everywhere he went.

That would only make things harder. I’d rather things go the way they are written about in the book.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

So, she had been racking her brains for the past few days, trying to think of a way to put herself into the story so that she would be with Sion on the day he will be killed, without changing any of the other facts too much. Even though putting Dion next to Sion was more important, because he was Sion’s defender, the difference could be overlooked.

And I need to take a detour somewhere to do that. So where?!

That question gave her the most trouble. Esmeralda had planned a route that would not take them through the place where Sion was killed. Fate didn’t want to make things that easy for her, it seems.

The detour should take me to places with lots of good food and unusual mushrooms. If I can also pick some veggies and look for mushrooms, that would be great.

Even though some of the things she thought about were questionable, the choice was still hard. It was important to choose a departure that made sense for her to ask for; otherwise, it would be unnatural. People would have a lot of questions if you asked to stay for a few days in the middle of nowhere. Even worse, Esmeralda might get bored, and an Esmeralda who was bored was a dangerous Esmeralda.

What are some famous Sunkland dishes? Well, well… I see. They have good water fish. So I can add this town on a river to the list. Then…

She did all of that so she could save Sion without acting weird. She didn’t plan her route so carefully because she secretly wanted to turn the trip into a sightseeing and food-eating vacation through Sunkland. She must have been thinking about very serious and important things…

“Oh, these dried mushrooms are something Sunkland is known for? I wonder where I can buy some.”

Probably…