CH 458

Two Scents

“Hmm…” Mia asked, “Rafina-sama, do you mind if I ask your opinion on the matter?”

She had just thought of a question.

“Do you see things the same way as Count Lampron? That crooked nobles should be taken out, even if it means using force?”

Rafina’s head was tilted in thought. She was about to answer, but changed her mind and averted her gaze. She finally spoke after a short pause.

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“Once,” she said. After another pause, she added, “And still do sometimes, if I’m being honest.”

S-Seriously?!

Mia’s hands went to her head to make sure it was still there.

Most of the time, Mia saw Rafina as a friend. In fact, this was a fairly recent change. It took her a long time to get over the pain from her past. She liked not having to worry all the time about being found out and put to death. That relief didn’t last nearly long enough.

Oh, moons… Rafina-sama’s wrath is still incurable. I should be careful not to hurt anyone by accident… I could die with the smallest mistake…

Friends can forgive each other, but they can only do so much. A few jokes could be laughed off, but what if you broke something important to them? Like getting in the way of them eating a cake? Yes, some things can just go too far.

In the case of Rafina, her anger was caused by selfish or cruel actions by the nobles. She was also often irritated by being too lazy. Mia had already figured out that this was a part of her own personality. Mia also knew that she herself could be a little self-centered at times. Also bossy, which was like a mild form of control. As for being lazy… Maybe just a little bit of that, too. Because of this, Rafina’s confession made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Even so…

“But, Mia, ever since we became friends, I’ve noticed that I’ve changed. Tiona, you too. Since I’ve known you, I’ve started to see things differently.”

Tiona was surprised and said, “…Huh?”

She didn’t think that the talk would suddenly turn to her.

“I heard that during the race for student council, you forgave the people that harassed you. Not only forgave them, but also worked with them to help Mia.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, I guess that really did happen…” Mia muttered as she thought about what had happened in class that day.

I was going to do some sneaky things behind Rafina’s back to beat her in the election, but now that I look back, I’m glad I didn’t. If I had done something wrong, Miss Rafina might have never liked me again.

She shook when she thought about it.

Moons… I didn’t know it at the time how close I was to losing my head.

Rafina gave her a soft smile and went on. “That was the moment when I finally got it… I remember thinking, ‘Oh, so this is the kind of world she is working towards. This…was what she had always seen when she looked far away.’”

Mia’s eyebrow raised. She didn’t know where she was going or what was at the end of her look.

Rafina didn’t notice the response because her eyes were filled with longing. “Do you remember what happened at the dance party on the day of the new student welcome ceremony, and how you came to me afterward to ask for their forgiveness?”

“Well, yes.” Mia said, “I remember it like it was yesterday.” She nodded quickly to hide the fact that she did remember it like it was yesterday’s homework, which she often forgot.

“When you showed up, I was pleased, but to be honest, I was also disappointed. I felt like you were too easy on them.” Rafina shook her head. “But no more. When I look back, I can see that what you did would test of my patience, but if it worked, it would lead to a much better future.”

That forgiveness led to a lot more. If she had kicked the troublemakers out of Saint-Noel at that time, none of the things that followed would have happened. Instead, those who were kicked out would have been angry for a long time, and Mia’s side wouldn’t have gotten as much support during the election.

“It seemed like you were trying to tell me something with what you did, Mia. I thought about it. I still do.”

“About what?”

“About our opponents and whether it’s right to write them off as hopeless… Maybe it would be better to try to get them to change for the better instead…”

Mia had a hard time believing what Rafina was saying. She did want to hear more, though, because they were good words.

Yes, you got it! That’s a good way to think, Rafina-sama!

She was so happy that she had to stop herself from pumping her hand.

If Rafina was really thinking of such an approach, it would show a big change in how she thinks. If Rafina was more forgiving, Mia wouldn’t be put on trial or worse, have her head cut off after one mistake.

I’m not perfect, after all. I make tiny mistakes sometimes, but it doesn’t happen very often. So it’s a good thing for Miss Rafina to think about these kinds of things.

Mia decided right away to be easier on herself when she realized she was on better terms with Rafina than she had thought. She was always on guard, you see. Her watchfulness was just a way for her to take it easy.

Rafina added, “Also, and this is just a gut feeling, I think that being too hard on people gives the Serpents chances to take advantage of…”

“The Chaos Serpents, huh?”

Mia thought about what Bel had told her about the future. In it, Rafina was the Empress Prelate and terrorized the whole world. She had said that all enemies should be killed, and her emphasis on this extreme solution was almost obsessive. Even though her unchecked anger worked against the Serpents, she ran the risk of being used by them in return. While this was going on, the dead just kept piling up.

Mia thought Rafina’s guess was right, even though it was just a gut feeling.

“Oh bother. I was just about to… But I can see you’re already very busy,” Rafina said with a sigh of disappointment.”

“Huh? What would you do if I wasn’t busy?”

“Well, you see, I didn’t come to Sunkland just for the ball. I heard some…bad news about the Equestrian Kingdom from Malong a few days ago, and I’m here to talk to the king about it.”

“Oh, the Equestrian Kingdom…”

“To tell you the truth, I really hoped you could help me, but I guess there’s nothing I can do. After all, you already have a lot on your plate.”

Hmm, am I the only one who…

Mia smelled two different scents. The first was a sense of danger, which was everywhere. Rafina had made the trip to Sunkland on her own. That alone told a lot about how worried she was. No matter what the problem was, it was bad news.

As if Sion being killed and Esmeralda asking to get married weren’t bad enough. She didn’t want to give herself another problem. Mia usually tried to stay out of danger as much as possible.

Is this something I should never, ever touch…? Yes, this is not the time to be curious. As the saying goes, ‘curiosity killed the princess.’

It didn’t take her long to decide that the best thing to do was to stay out of it.

We all know she would get involved in the end anyway, because she wouldn’t be Mia otherwise. But for now, just let her have this.

The second scent is…

“It looks like our food is coming, so let’s eat first and talk more afterward.”

It had to do with food. When an earthenware pot was put on the table in front of her, she let out a happy gasp.

“My! This must be the matsutake cooked in a pot! Aaah… What a wonderful smell…”

So, after eating a delicious meal of foods that Rafina approved of, Mia went back to Count Lampron’s house, full in both body and mind.

What happened? You might ask, “What about Esmeralda’s wedding?” And what’s the truth about Sion’s planned murder?

Well, let’s just say that “eat first and talk more later” put more stress on eating than talking.