Prologue: Bad News! The Nefarious Plot Is at Last In Motion!

With the horsemanship tournament concluded, autumn was now in full swing, bringing to mind that poetic seasonal adage, a time of high skies and portly princesses. Wait, ponies. It was definitely ponies. The point is, it was the season when there were lots of tasty things to eat. Normally, this would be Mia’s favorite time of the year.

“Oh, woe is me...”

Instead, she was currently letting out a forlorn sigh. You might assume the reason to be another episode of F.A.T. that was preventing her from devouring platefuls of sweets, and if you did, then you would be...wrong! The source of her misery was none other than The Chronicles of Saint Princess Mia. While her brain had the usually convenient tendency to suffer bouts of amnesia when it came to recalling unpleasant facts, it wasn’t going to forget that winter’s approach would bring with it her foretold doom. Meanwhile, the Princess Chronicles stubbornly refused to regain its original girth despite presenting an updated passage about her winning the horsemanship tournament. It even included a description of her victory lap, during which she purportedly “flew about the spectator stands like a fairy.” That bit of embellishment had earned the book a scowl.

What kind of nonsense was Anne feeding to Elise?

“Hmm...” Mia murmured, her brows furrowing. “I think I’m going to need to ask everyone for help...”

Her experience in the horsemanship tournament had taught her the importance of seeking help from others.

“I can’t just tell them about the Princess Chronicles, of course, but... Maybe I can say I caught wind of a plot to assassinate me?”

She could ask some of the boys for help. Abel’s face flashed through her mind, followed by Sion’s and Keithwood’s. They were all capable fighters. If she had them take turns guarding her around the clock, wouldn’t she be able to fend off any attempts on her life?

Though the plan seemed sound, it would soon prove futile. The next morning, she resolved to discuss her plan with them, but before heading off, she checked the Princess Chronicles only to discover that it had updated itself to reflect both the discussion she was about to have and how she’d die afterward. According to the book, although Abel would closely shadow her as a bodyguard, she eluded his watch and snuck out of Saint-Noel.

“Gah! Wh-What in the moons was this future me thinking?”

She held her head and shrieked in frustration. At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

“The way things keep playing out in the book...it’s almost as if I’m being manipulated by someone and keep heading off toward my own death.”

She tried to imagine herself sauntering thoughtlessly out of the academy, lured by the Serpents. She succeeded. Far too easily. The vacant, clueless look on her envisioned face made her shudder.

“Also, now that I think about it, even if I survive the night of the Holy Eve Festival, it’d be pointless if they just carry out the plot against me soon after... Which raises another question. Am I really going to be assassinated?”

It was theoretically possible for her to surround herself with guards to ward off assassins, but that was neither feasible in the long term nor did it solve the fundamental problem. So long as the assassins’ identities remained a mystery, she could treat only the symptom and not the disease. Particularly frustrating was the fact that she didn’t even know what exactly would happen. The sole witness—herself—had been killed, so details were extremely sparse. Scouring the Princess Chronicles had told her nothing more than the simple fact that she’d somehow end up dead.

“Well, I guess I did learn one thing. I know now that I sneak past my own guards just so I can get myself killed. In that case, hm... Maybe for that one day, I should tie myself to a pillar somewhere... Or lock myself in a dungeon. But that still feels like it’s just delaying the inevitable. Hmm...” she muttered as she passed the library.

“Ah, Princess Mia!” said Chloe, who happened to be at its entrance.

“My, Chloe. Hunting for more books, I presume?”

“Yes. They do say fall is the best season for reading.”

Smiling, she showed Mia the books she was holding.

“Mmm, it’s certainly a comfortable time. Not too cold, not too hot. Great for losing yourself in a book, isn’t it?” Mia agreed, though a dreary thought prevented her enthusiasm from matching Chloe’s.

If I end up dying in the winter, I won’t get to finish reading Elise’s novel. I do wonder what’ll happen to the prince and the dragon...

That tale was yet to be finished. Having first heard it in the underground dungeon, she’d hoped to read the rest of the story.

Granted, considering I’d heard it at a point in time that’s technically three years from now, and it still won’t be finished then...I guess I’m out of luck.

For booklovers, there were few things worse than not being able to read a good story to its end. She continued to be occupied by this upsetting thought until...

“Oh?”

...Chloe held a book out to her. It was titled Exotic Gastronomy 2.

Oho ho, I see what’s going on now. So that’s the kind of reading you’ve been doing. I see you’re a fellow comrade of cravings!

Autumn was a time of harvest. Inevitably, it was also a time of invigorated appetites.

“Now isn’t that a rather delicious-looking book,” said Mia.

“It really is. Exotic Gastronomy had descriptions of delicious foods from all over the world, and now volume two is out. This one focuses on seasonal dishes and... Look! It says here that mushroom stew is particularly tasty right now.”

“You don’t say...” Mia’s eyes glittered. “Mushroom stew... How terribly tempting. All right, I shall give this book a thorough read!”

Keithwood’s kitchen nightmares were about to begin once again.