Chapter 21: Premonition of Bumpiness

“Hm, I think this’ll do.”

“Yes, you look wonderful, milady.”

In a tent set up for changing, Mia finished donning her riding clothes—a white blouse and brown shirt with short pants and shin-high boots. With a touch of panache, she placed her hat on her head. For a moment, an aura of equestrian verve radiated from her, only to be doused by her next words.

“...Mmm, it feels a little tight around the stomach.”

She patted her belly. It jiggled ever so slightly.

“I guess I shouldn’t have eaten so much at the stalls...”

On a table beside her lay not one, not two, not even three, but six! Six barren skewers, all deprived of the little cupcakes that had once adorned them. She’d gorged herself so fully on the delicious treats that Kuolan might just decide to go on strike, refusing to carry what would now be a human-shaped anvil on its back.

“Fwaaah...” She shielded a yawn with her hand. “Also, I’m starting to feel sort of sleepy now. Ugh, I’m not up for this. But they smelled so good. Hmph, it’s not my fault. Those pastries weren’t playing fair.”

While she was busy making excuses to no one in particular, someone rapped on the door flap.

“Excuse me? Princess Mia?”

“My, Chloe. Come in please.”

At Mia’s beckoning, Chloe stepped into the tent, followed by a small army of students both male and female.

“Tiona too? And who might all of you be?”

The group, led by Chloe and Tiona, consisted of the supporters of Mia’s election campaign, and they’d gathered once again to cheer for her. The atmosphere about them was a tad different from before, most strikingly exemplified by the skewer of cupcakes in Tiona’s hand, which Mia noticed with a wry smile.

Well, times have certainly changed. I suppose we can’t always be in campaign mode.

They were here to support her, yes, but this was also a day of fun and excitement, meant to be enjoyed. Clearly, they’d been doing far more of the latter. Tiona, tracing Mia’s gaze toward her own hand, hastily tried to hide it behind her back.

“U-Um, this is... I just—”

Mia smiled and held out one of her own now cupcake-less skewers.

“It’s so hard to resist, isn’t it? You see them, and the next thing you know, you’re reaching for your coin purse.”

They shared an embarrassed giggle like children caught red-handed mid-prank.

“Try your best, Your Highness. We’re all rooting for you.”

“Thank you, Tiona, and all of you too. I’ll do my best.”

Mia dipped her head at her supporters in a small bow. They had, after all, come here to cheer her on, and that deserved proper recognition.

Of course, it’s not the support I’m worried about here...

Last time, her opponent had been Rafina. This time, things were different. Ruby’s standing, no matter the power and influence of her father and house, still paled in comparison to Mia’s. She was pretty much guaranteed Sapphias’s support, both as princess and a fellow member of the student council. Esmeralda, despite the occasional friction in their relationship, would probably side with her as well. On top of that, Bel had even roped Citrina into cheering for her.

Huh... Wait a minute. Is it just me or am I actually coming into this tournament with a lot of momentum? I’ve got three of the Four Houses on my side.

Furthermore, she had the saintly support of Rafina, along with Sion and Abel’s backing. Even Malong of the Equestrian Kingdom was rooting for her. Her influence arguably spanned the entirety of the continent. Mia was on a roll!

I’d crush her in the polls! If there were any polls for me to crush her in...

She smiled. It was a hollow, mirthless smile, as empty as her “victory.”

I won the popularity contest. Go me. Her brief attempt at escapism only called more attention to her hopeless reality. She let out a morose sigh. If only this were the student council election...

Indeed, popularity was irrelevant this time. The element being tested was her riding technique and—arguably more importantly—the speed of her horse.

That red horse... Skyred Hare, was it? I doubt Kuolan can put up much of a fight against that...

She was half ready to throw in the towel when Chloe offered some advice.

“So, Princess Mia, as I was saying, we took a look at the course and...” She pushed up her glasses, causing them to flash dramatically, and looked Mia in the eye. “I think this tournament is going to be...a bumpy one.”

“...What? Bumpy?”

Baffled, Mia tilted her head. Chloe nodded.

“Very bumpy. We took a look at the course earlier, and we found that a lot of it is still muddy from the rain.”

It was perfect, cloudless weather for the tournament today, but the previous day had seen sustained rain. Mud and puddles would hardly be a surprising sight.

“Muddy, huh...” Mia murmured with a purse-lipped frown.

That...sounds like it’ll make for some tricky riding...

If the ground were in the same condition as her practice sessions, she might have had a chance. Now, with this new obstacle, one wrong move could result in a painful and involuntary dismount.

So much for my chances of winning. Not that I had much of a chance to begin with. I can still forfeit though. Maybe I should just do that... she thought with increasing bearishness at her own prospects at victory.

Chloe, however, smiled at her.

“That’s right, and it’s going to make things very interesting.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“Simply put, the speed of the horse won’t be the only factor that determines who wins anymore. Now, your skill at handling your horse is more important. And there’s room for strategy. Luck comes into play too.”

The women’s division of the speedriding event, which Mia was competing in, had a grand total of two competitors. The recent horse riding boom among the girls hadn’t quite produced a flock of cavalières in the academy. Interest, after all, always grew far faster than actual competence. As a matter of fact, Malong’s younger sister had meant to race with them, but...

“Ha ha ha, that’ll make for one hell of a lopsided race,” Malong had said. “Those two are no match for you. They’ve got this whole thing going with a duel and stakes and everything, so how about we just let ’em have their time in the sun? After all, ‘second to cross the finish line wins’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.”

...At his advice, she’d instead entered the men’s division, setting the stage for a one-to-one duel between Mia and Ruby with the latter widely considered the favorite. The reason wasn’t actually the riders themselves, but their steeds. The one that Ruby had brought to the race, Skyred Hare, was one of the most famous horses on the continent, and spectator opinion was largely unanimous as to its supremacy.

“The horses bred in Saint-Noel are very good, but they can’t possibly beat that horse, right?”

“Those Redmoons are such killjoys. Like, come on. Why would you bring a horse like that to a school competition?”

Such speculation failed to stifle Chloe’s optimism. She gave Mia an encouraging shake of her fist and said, “It’s slim, but it’s still a chance! You might just win this!”

Mia regarded her for a moment, then sighed.

It’s a chance, sure, but it’s still slim...