Chapter 29: Thrown Overboard! —Princess Mia... Displays a Seductress’s Charm—

It was smooth sailing for Mia’s party as the Emerald Star pushed through the water at a brisk pace. The yacht’s masts were designed to optimize performance, allowing its sails to efficiently harness the wind’s momentum. Down below, improvements to the bilge greatly reduced the roll and pitch. All in all, its passengers enjoyed a fairly luxurious experience as they cruised quickly and evenly through the sea.

“Ah, I see it! Look! That’s the island I spend my summers on every year! It’s uninhabited, so we’re free to go wherever we want!”

Mia, who’d been dozing on a blanket spread across the deck, woke to Esmeralda’s announcement. She opened one sleepy eye, closed it immediately from the noon sun’s glare, and slowly got up to her knees.

“Oh... So we’ve arrived...”

Looking out into the distance, the silhouette of an island did indeed appear in her blurry view. It looked a lot smaller than Saint-Noel but still large enough that she wouldn’t have been surprised to encounter residents. A mountain rose from the island’s center, while the rest of it was covered in lush green vegetation. A white beach was also visible, though access from the sea was denied by a number of large rocks that jutted out from the water, forcing the Emerald Star to stop some ways out from land. The distance to the island was about 300m—that’s three hundred moontales, for the uninitiated. That obviously wasn’t swimmable, so they lowered some small rafts to get them to shore.

“We’re...still pretty far out...” said Mia as she clung anxiously to the side of her boat.

The Emerald Star carried three boats in total. Mia and Esmeralda got into the first one, along with Nina, Anne, one of Esmeralda’s guards, and a rower. The second one ferried Sion, Abel, Keithwood, and Mia’s guards with another rower, while the slightly larger third one was used to transport the luggage they needed for their stay on the island. Thus, the group made for land...and that was exactly when Esmeralda chose to strike!

Operation Payback, Stage One: Humiliate Mia by taking advantage of the fact that she can’t swim!

“Look, Miss Mia, over there!” Esmeralda exclaimed as she leaned over the side of the boat and pointed.

“Hm? What am I supposed to be looking at?” asked Mia, shuffling over with a puzzled frown.

“That! Can’t you see? Look, over there...”

An evil grin spread across Esmeralda’s lips.

Oho ho, it’s terribly difficult to keep small boats like these balanced, you know?

Mia approached, the boat swaying back and forth below her feet. Then, all of a sudden, the world flipped on its head.

“...Eh?”

That was all she managed to say before being flung overboard, plunging head first into the sea with a splash.

“Eeeek! Help! I-I’m drowning! I’m drownnggghhh... Blub blub blub...”

“Milady!”

Anne shrieked in dismay at the sight of Mia slapping frantically at the water in a futile bid to stay afloat. Despite being in equal danger of drowning, the maid’s concern was for her mistress. Esmeralda, meanwhile, regarded the scene with utmost nonchalance as she bobbed beside their overturned craft.

The island has a long shoal, and we’re already pretty close. If she calms down and checks, she’ll realize the water’s shallow enough to stand in...but she won’t! And I’m not going to tell her! So she’ll just keep panicking and embarrass herself in front of everyone! Oho ho!

Stage one of her plan was going remarkably smoothly. She wouldn’t dare pull a stunt like this with the princes on board, but she’d seen to it that other than Mia and Anne, the occupants of her boat consisted entirely of her own people. In other words, she’d resolved to condemn all her attendants—and indeed, even herself—to a watery fate for the sake of this plan. She was literally willing to go down with the ship, so long as she dragged Mia down with her. And it had worked like a charm. Now, the silly princess was flailing around uselessly in the water and making a total fool of herself...

But that was as far as she got with her plan before getting a taste of the Mia Special which, when previously employed against Keithwood, had earned its user the title of “Seductress.”

“S-Someone...help me...blub blub...”

“Mia! I’m coming!”

“Stay calm! We’ll be there soon!”

Two voices, equal in volume and urgency, rang out as the pair of princes dove gallantly off their boat in unison. Both turned out to be competent swimmers, and they reached her before long.

“Mia, relax! Keep your eyes on me!”

Abel was in front of her, urging calm as he approached. Unfortunately for him, Mia all but pounced on him, clutching whatever she could get her hands on with the desperate, primal strength of a creature fighting to survive. This immediately impaired his ability to swim, sending both of them downward.

As any good lifeguard knows, one does not approach a drowning person from the front. This is why.

Sion, meanwhile, had circled behind, talking in a placating voice as he tried to get his arms around her.

“Take it easy, Mia. Just relax. People can naturally float— Hm?”

He promptly froze when he noticed something. Rather, when he felt something. Then, he sighed and shook his head.

“Okay, the two of you can stop fighting for dear life now. It’s shallow enough to stand.”

“...Eh?”

That got her to stop. She gingerly extended one leg downwards. The tip of her shoe touched solid ground.

“M-My... You seem to be right... O-Oho ho, how silly of me...”

She let out a nervous laugh, trying to save some scrap of dignity by injecting some humor into the situation, only to look up and find herself staring straight into Abel’s eyes. They were very serious, very concerned, and very very close. It was then that she realized that they were practically locked in an embrace. She was clinging to him! With all four limbs, no less! Furthermore, Sion was pressed up against her from behind. Put simply, she was currently sandwiched between two handsome princes, clothes soaked and skin touching.

It was the stuff of dreams! And she was living it right now! Never before had she experienced such profound titillation. So profound, in fact, that it made her head spin. She swayed, and the princes rushed to keep her from falling. Sion glanced at Abel.

“I think...we’d better stay like this for now. I’ll have Keithwood handle our boat. In the meantime, we can help her get to shore.”

“Right. Let’s do that,” agreed Abel before turning back to her. “But Mia, you really need to stop giving us heart attacks.”

“Yes, I know. I apologize...”

She buried her reddened face in her hands, ostensibly ashamed of her behavior.

Sweet moons, those two... They’re getting manlier by the day... Mmm...

In actuality, it was a slightly different emotion, with its focus directed more outward than in.

A bewildered and soaking-wet Esmeralda watched the scene unfold from a distance.

“H-Huh? She’s the one who just humiliated herself... So how come she gets the boys? What in the moons is... Hey, Ni— Ahem. You, explain this situation to me,” she demanded of the maid standing by her side.

“If I may be allowed to speak plainly, milady,” replied Nina in an impassive tone, “I have heard it said that men are creatures of peculiar taste, charmed as much by what a woman cannot do as what she can.”

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“Take yourself, for example. You, milady, are a competent swimmer. When your boat keels over, as it just did, you do not panic. You can even submerge your face under water without hesitation. These are all well and good, impressive feats in their own right. But...” She stopped for a second to shake her head. “It also means there is no need to come to your aid.”

“...Ah.”

Esmeralda gaped, stunned by the realization. Nina continued.

“It is important to present a certain degree of vulnerability when it comes to such matters, milady. I urge you to commit my advice to memory.”

Unlike Anne and her supposed mastery of romantic maneuvering, this maid offered up some legitimately sound advice. Esmeralda fell silent, contemplating the implications of this new knowledge as she turned her gaze back toward Mia, who was making little splashing noises as she paddled herself toward shore with the two princes helping to hold her afloat. The princess was beaming, clearly enjoying herself. Esmeralda studied that smile and felt...a sense of respect, like when a skilled opponent landed a good strike in a duel.

“...I see. So that’s how you wormed your way into their hearts. A real seductress, aren’t you? Touché, Miss Mia. Touché.”

In that moment, Esmeralda felt she saw Mia anew, having gained a clearer (and completely imaginary) understanding of her rival’s true competence.

Soon after, Keithwood arrived with the second boat to rescue the rest of the waterlogged victims.