Chapter 29: Fair and Square...

“Anyway, when you win the election, do remember to save me a seat on the student council.”

Sapphias, unaware of Mia’s realization, was still on his smug streak. She narrowed her eyes and hmphed at his brazen self-promotion.

“Just so you know...” She paused for dramatic effect and continued in a lowered voice. “You’re not fooling anyone.”

Her ominous delivery was meant to convey something to the effect of: Those secret plans of yours? I see right through them. Sapphias was taken aback at first, but he quickly recomposed himself.

“Haha, you’re giving her far too much credit, Your Highness. Rafina Orca Belluga isn’t nearly as formidable a person as you make her out to be,” he said with a flippant smile.

His response happened to be exactly what Mia was expecting.

So that’s your excuse. Well, I saw that coming from a mile away. You raise me up, and you pull Rafina down. By downplaying her clout, you assert that opposing her isn’t a big deal. In essence, you’re telling me that my suspicions are a misunderstanding, because why would you spend so much time plotting against someone who matters so little?

A stupider princess might have taken him at his word and felt really good about herself, believing that she really was possessed of more excellence than the Holy Lady Rafina.

But I’m not that stupid, so too bad for you!

Mia felt really good about herself, knowing that she’d seen clean through her opponent’s scheme. Irony aside, she puffed out her chest and fixed him with a glare.

“I refuse to partake in this devious scheme of yours, Sapphias,” she declared with supreme self-satisfaction.

You think you can get me to turn against Rafina? Think again!

“Y-You’re refusing this brilliant plan of mine? You’ll come to regret this!” he said incredulously before slinking out of the room.

She watched him go, basking in her triumph. Then, a thought occurred to her.

Wait, underhanded tactics are a no-no, but I still have to ask people from the Four Dukes’ families to buy votes for me. I’d better follow up on that tomorrow...

She would soon discover, however, that a series of rapid developments would throw her plans into complete disarray.

“That stupid little... coward of a princess! I’m practically handing her the win on a silver platter, and she has the nerve to say no?” muttered Sapphias as he brought his leg back to kick the hallway wall... but then thought better of it. The wall looked very solid, and he didn’t want to hurt his foot.

“Just so you know... You’re not fooling anyone.”

Mia’s words echoed in his mind.

“I’m not fooling her? No way...”

Wait for it...

“My plan is perfect. How can she possibly know?”

Wait for it...

“How can Rafina possibly be on to me?”

And there’s the kicker.

“She thinks way too highly of Rafina. This isn’t caution anymore. This is spinelessness. And so what if it’s a devious scheme? Everyone knows that all’s fair in love and war. I’m just doing what it takes to win.”

He grumbled all the way down the hall until a voice stopped him.

“Excuse me, Lord Sapphias?”

He turned reflexively in its direction, to find a girl.

“Hmm? Ah... You’re the daughter of that pauper noble in the outlands. Who gave you permission to speak to me, hm? Has all that special treatment you’ve been getting from Her Highness gone to your head?”

The sight of Tiona Rudolvon vexed him, and he snapped at her, focusing all his lingering frustrations into a venom that coated his glare and his words. She tensed and took a step back, but then gathered herself, tightened her fists, and looked up to meet his gaze.

“Please refrain from doing anything that would get in Her Highness’s way.” Her voice trembled, but she continued. “She’s... not like you people. She hates dirty tricks.”

He stared at her for a few seconds as though he didn’t understand what the words meant. When he finally realized that he’d just been lectured by a girl lesser than him in both age and status, his lips twisted into a disdainful grin.

“So, you were eavesdropping. How fitting. A base act from a base person.”

“Yes, I’m from the outlands. And yes, my family isn’t rich. But Her Highness is the kind of person who doesn’t discriminate by the circumstances of one’s birth.”

Her response turned his grin into a grimace.

“You’ve got a big mouth for a lowly noble. I think I’d better teach you a lesson...”

He intended to step forward and intimidate her, but his foot had barely left the ground when he heard a second voice.

“All right, let’s leave the lessons to the teachers, shall we?” said Abel, who appeared behind Tiona. “Also, personally, I wouldn’t go around threatening young ladies like that. Not good for the image.”

“Abel Remno, huh. The second prince of a second-rate kingdom. What makes you think you can talk to me like that? I am an Etoiler.” Sapphias looked down his nose at Abel.

“Well, a confrontation with you is probably diplomatically inadvisable, considering Remno isn’t exactly Tearmoon’s equal...” Abel said with a wry shrug. “But if I didn’t speak up here, I’d get an earful from that princess of your illustrious empire. So I’d appreciate it if you could refrain from any acts of violence toward ladies.”

Completely unfazed by Sapphias’s flaunting of imperial power, he wore a quiet smile. It was the kind of smile that warned his opponent against testing his patience.

His opponent, meanwhile, was very much fazed. As a blood relative of Mia, Sapphias Etoile Bluemoon shared her value system. Specifically, he wasn’t a fan of things that hurt. Even more specifically, he couldn’t stand seeing the universal symbol of pain — blood. In fact, the very sight of it could cause him to faint. Tripping and scraping his knee was likely enough to make him feel light-headed; he knew from experience. As such, even when he disciplined his servants, the most he’d ever give was a good slap across the face. And even that he tried to do as little as possible, because his hand would hurt afterwards. In theory, he could let his subordinates carry out the physical punishment, but that carried the risk of them failing to moderate their strength. If they split a lip or caused a nosebleed, he might pass out on the spot.

Due to this reason, Sapphias was a boy with a strong aversion to violence. It goes without saying that he’d never participated in the swordsmanship tournament, nor had he ever trained for it. Even Tiona was probably better than him with a sword. Strip away the political component, and he wouldn’t have much left in terms of power.

Meanwhile, Abel was royalty. Second-rate royalty from a kingdom inferior to Tearmoon, but still royalty. Furthermore, Princess Mia was fond of him. A verbal spat might go unnoticed, but in the case of a major confrontation, Sapphias would be on the back foot. He quickly analyzed the current scenario in his head, and...

“H-Hmph, don’t get too full of yourself. We Bluemoons are no pushovers. Plenty of the empire’s nobles are on our side. I’m going to talk to the rest of the Etoilers too, so you can forget about getting any help from them!”

“Well... Go ahead, then! Even without their help, Her Highness will be fine. She’ll beat Miss Rafina fair and square!” said Tiona, growing more confident as she spoke. “She’ll be fine. I know she will.”

News of this exchange wouldn’t reach Mia until the following morning, just before she was about to head out and start asking the Etoilers to buy votes for her.

G-Gaaaah! What is with this girl? Is she trying to spite me or something? Ugh, I can’t stand her! She’s definitely my archnemesis!

Frustrated as she was, Abel’s presence prevented her from throwing a tantrum. Moreover, he’d taken Tiona’s side, leaving her with little choice but to play along.

“I-I see... Th-Thank you. Y-You really gave him a piece of my mind there, didn’t you? That’s... definitely what I would have said.”

“I’m honored by your approval, Your Highness.”

I don’t approve, damn it! I definitely don’t approve of what you did!

As a result, Mia lost what was supposed to be a guaranteed bloc of votes from the Tearmoon nobles. What would come from Tiona’s display of courage, however, was yet unknown to her.