Chapter 22: Led Forward By Pied Piper Mia

There wasn’t a hint of apprehension to Tiona. The aura of hardheaded, forthright determination brimming from her took Mia back to a scene from the previous timeline.

That reminds me... This girl was once the saint of the revolutionary army, wasn’t she...

The Tiona standing before her was considerably less endowed in holiness — and revolutionary-ness, for that matter — but at her core, she was still someone who, in a past life, had been willing to pick a fight with an entity as powerful as her own empire.

And her dad— Oh, sweet moons, her dad! He’s one of those people... Those strange people who like it when people hurt them...

She shuddered as she recalled the time she’d made some unreasonable demands of Outcount Rudolvon, only to find that he was practically beaming at her. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in her mind that Tiona’s dad was some sort of pervert. Which was incredibly unfair to the old man, but unfortunately, he wasn’t here to defend himself.

Her little brother Cyril is still cute, but the Rudolvons are just a strange bunch of people in general. I guess it’s possible that she actually isn’t bothered much by the thought of opposing Rafina.

Figuring she wasn’t going to have much luck fighting Tiona’s familial disposition, she decided to go with the flow. Either way, a modest amount of campaigning would be necessary, and it was true that she was going to need a couple of helpers. After giving Tiona another onceover, she closed her eyes and spoke in a breathy whisper.

“All right. If you insist, I suppose...”

She trailed off as she noticed the appearance of a few approaching figures behind Tiona.

“Your Highness...”

“My, you four are...”

There were two boys and two girls, and Mia recognized them.

You’re the ones who locked Tiona in that room on the night of the ball... Oh, wait, I guess the official verdict was that your attendants were the guilty ones.

She lifted a questioning eyebrow at them. The frontmost boy proceeded to kneel before her.

“Your Highness, I am Uros, son of Baron Langess. You graced us all with your mercy and benevolence that day, and we have come to repay the debt. Let it be known that you have our full support as well.”

Following his lead, the other three respectfully took a knee before her as well.

What? What in the moons is going on here?!

“We all remember how Your Highness spoke on our behalf and saved us from expulsion.”

“Ever since that day, we have redoubled our efforts in our studies and committed ourselves to various volunteer works. We labored day and night in the hopes of regaining the trust of our peers, all so that one day, we could put that regained trust to use in service to Your Highness. We believe that day has come, and it would be our greatest honor to aid this endeavor of yours.”

The four of them then lowered their heads toward Tiona.

“I’m sorry for what we did that day, Miss Tiona.”

“We sincerely beg your forgiveness.”

Their apology was met with a gentle smile.

“It’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes. I don’t hold it against any of you. Besides, we’re all here to help Her Highness win, aren’t we? That makes us brothers and sisters in arms.”

Tiona had suffered their hostility, swallowed it wholesale, and still managed to smile. It was their compassion that defined a saint, and in that mentality of acceptance, Mia saw the makings of one.

Granted, Mia had a lot of compassion too; it was just all directed toward herself.

“Ohh... You are a paragon of beneficence, Miss Tiona. We are deeply grateful. In return, we shall do everything in our power to support Her Highness.”

To her annoyance, a rather gratuitous scene of forgiveness and friendship played out around Mia, with her stuck in the middle. What she didn’t realize, however, is the impact this short bit of theatre had on the rest of the room. Her usual retinue of girls, after witnessing something like this, were certainly not going to stay quiet. They were, after all, the kind of people whose hobby was following Mia around and idolizing her. Moreover, the composition of this retinue was actually somewhat different from the previous timeline.

Having Anne as her personal maid-in-waiting imposed a prerequisite on those who sought to flock to her side — they had to be able to stomach Anne’s position and presence. This functioned as a natural screening process, as it required candidates to be either sufficiently open-minded or so infatuated with Mia that they were willing to overlook everything else. Those who survived this incredibly selective process were, of course, a calculating bunch, but they also had to be people who were fundamentally drawn to Mia’s character and liked her as a person. They were the Mia Elite. And as the Mia Elite, they sure weren’t going to let the likes of Tiona or people who didn’t even hang around her much hog the spotlight.

“Your Highness, you can count on our support as well!”

Their enthusiasm proved infectious. Soon, the whole class was flocking toward her to pledge their support, leaving Mia struggling to hold back the urge to scream in frustration.

Ahhh! Stop it! Would you please just go away already? This was supposed to be all unassuming and discreet! I need to keep a low profile... Or Rafina’s going to start giving me the death glare!

“Milady...”

Anne’s steps quickened as she made her way down the hall. She was supposed to stay with Bel, but her concern got the better of her, and she decided to slip out of class to check on Mia. When she got to the door of the classroom, she found Chloe peeking in from the hallway.

“Miss Chloe?”

“Ah! Anne! Shh!”

Chloe put a finger to her lips and waved her over. She frowned as she walked toward the door.

“Trust me. Just watch,” said Chloe with a grin before turning back toward the classroom.

Anne peeked in as well, following the direction of Chloe’s gaze, and found that she couldn’t resist grinning as well.

“Milady...”

A number of students had gathered in a circle around Mia and were chanting their support for her. Mia, surrounded by their enthusiastic outpour, had her face buried in her hands. She seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“She didn’t let it show, but I guess she was nervous after all,” Chloe said in a sympathetic tone. “All this time, she must have been wondering if anyone would support her.”

Anne nodded quietly, her eyes still on Mia.

“Milady... I’m so happy for you...”

There were only a handful of students there, but it was a handful more than Mia had expected. Though their numbers were yet few, this moment undoubtedly marked the birth of the Mia Party. Small but bold, the fledgling faction nevertheless represented a formal challenge to the political goliath that was Rafina.

With her plan to keep her head down and stay out of sight falling apart in magnificent fashion thanks to the unforeseen addition of Tiona to her faction, Mia was at a loss. Little did she know, however, that it was this very event that would ultimately save her from an upcoming crisis.