Chapter 1: Mia Day

Upon arriving at Lunatear, Mia went to see her father and announce her return. In the meantime, Lynsha and Bel went with Anne and stayed at her home. As Mia’s maid, Anne would of course come back to the Whitemoon Palace later, but she had to drop Bel off first; taking the little girl with her into the palace would invite far too many questions.

Mia, after changing into a new set of clothes in her own room, promptly made her way toward the audience chamber. As she walked, her steps began to grow heavy.

This reminds me... He threw a big fuss last time about how I have to call him “Dad,” didn’t he?

The realization bore down on her with a visceral weight. It felt like such a long time ago...but it was nevertheless the reason she’d departed early for Saint-Noel and shunned all opportunities to return during the holidays.

Surely, he can’t still be hung up on that...

She failed to convince herself of this, and her anxieties trailed her all the way to the throne room, whereupon she discovered a surprisingly composed emperor.

“Oh, Mia, you have returned. Good, good. I pray you are in good health?”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Imperial Majesty. I arrived not long ago and am in perfectly good health.”

“As I have instructed on countless occasions, you are to address me as ‘Father’ if you can’t bring yourself to call me ‘Dad.’”

“Yes, Father. I am glad to see that you are of sound health as well.”

These were the usual pleasantries. She was relieved to find that he was no longer insisting that she call him Dad.

“I see... Are you enjoying yourself at Saint-Noel?”

“Yes. I have recently become very well acquainted with such figures as Miss Rafina, Prince Sion, and Prince Abel. I find that speaking with nobles from other nations broadens my perspective, and my days with them at Saint-Noel have been most enjoyable.”

The emperor, who had been nodding fondly along to Mia’s account of her school life, frowned suddenly as something came to mind.

“This reminds me... That fellow you’ve been delegating a lot of important matters to... What was his name? Ludwig? It seems I will need to have a firm word with him...”

“...Eh?”

She blinked in confusion at his words.

“How dare he get in the way of my dear daughter’s enjoyment! You were having a perfectly good time at school, and he had the nerve to call you back? Unacceptable! Given his contributions during the Remno incident some time ago, I’ll spare him the gallows, but perhaps I’ll order him to be banished to some penal colony in the outlands at first light...”

“Father, please stop. If anything, I am glad to be back home in Tearmoon. Moreover, I returned because I am needed here. As the Princess of Tearmoon, it is but natural for me to fulfill such duties,” she said in a tone that suggested she would entertain no further discussion on the topic.

Losing Ludwig right now would be an absolute disaster, so she swiftly severed this rather disturbing stream of thought her father had been going down.

“Do you mean it? Do you really believe there is no need to punish him?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I believe.”

Hearing the finality in her tone, the emperor slumped back a little and let out a long-held breath.

“So I see. Good, good... Now that your intentions are clear, I am finally free to reward him without reserve.”

“...Huh?”

“Come now. Why the baffled look? You may not think much of it, but I am the emperor, you know? I am of course your father, but at the same time, I am also the ruler of this empire. They are often two immiscible roles, and I am forced to pick and choose which to assume for every interaction. It goes without saying that there will be times when my opinion as a father must yield to my opinion as emperor.”

Mia took a moment to parse what she’d just heard. As it slowly sank in, she found herself mildly impressed.

I’ve always thought of my father as a hopelessly incompetent emperor, but when it comes to the things that matter, I guess he actually is giving them the proper thought...

A small trickle of admiration began to well up inside her...

“Therefore, in my role as Emperor of Tearmoon, I shall reward him handsomely for this decision.”

...Only to be overtaken by a burst of sudden amusement at her father’s proclamation that culminated in a bout of involuntary laughter.

“Oh, sweet moons... How did you manage to get the most important part wrong? You should be doing so not as emperor, but as my father, who is glad to see his daughter back.”

“Hm? I fail to see how I am wrong. When you are here in the capital, all the people of the empire rejoice, and when you depart for Belluga, all the people of the empire despair. Therefore, as the one who orchestrated your return, Ludwig deserves my emphatic approval as emperor. The logic seems perfectly sound to me.”

Silence ensued, during which the Emperor of Tearmoon leaned back against his throne with all the satisfaction of someone who’d just made a simple and incontrovertible point clear. An old friend reared its head inside Mia’s, well, head, and she greeted it with dismay.

Ah, there you are, throbbing headache. I guess you’ve missed me.

Though she knew her father doted on her excessively, the sheer depths of his unreasonable infatuation once again took her by surprise.

Sometimes, I feel like if I just asked him very nicely to put some serious thought into fixing the empire, all our problems would be solved...

She was mere inches away from coming to a profound realization of cosmic truth, but alas, she let it go, figuring it was too good to be true.

I have to say though, he never changes, does he?

Something about the man’s unbridled joy at seeing her was just too earnest to scorn. It didn’t make him any less annoying, of course, but she couldn’t help but feel a sliver of delight at his welcome. Maybe three parts delight and seven parts annoyance, she decided.

“Right, then. To commemorate the joyous occasion of your return, Mia, I declare that henceforth, this day shall be known as Mia Day! For the next ten days, the whole empire shall celebrate, with festivities spanning—”

“How about we save that for next time, all right?”

Two parts delight and eight parts annoyance, actually.

Oh, but... I guess I did have him involuntarily take a hit to his reputation with the whole Bel situation...

She felt a little guilty knowing Rafina now held some baseless doubts about his character. Annoying or not, she still had a soft spot for the man.

“Father, I am of course delighted by the proposal to have the people of our empire celebrate my return, but I find myself fancying the idea of the two of us sharing a nice, quiet dinner tonight,” she said with a gentle smile.

The emperor took one look at her tender expression...

“Ooooh... Ooooooh...”

...And burst into tears. Like parallel cascades, they streamed down either side of his face.

“Mia... My dear Mia...wants to have dinner with me... Ooooh, what bliss! What fortune! Dinner it shall be then! I will have the chefs prepare the most extravagant of culinary masterpieces! And I will have the soldiers burn down the forests so we will have the freshest and tenderest of naturally grilled hare—”

“Please stop. I am perfectly fine with ambermoon tomato soup for dinner, so how about we just have that?”

Final tally: one half part delight, nine and a half parts annoyance.