Chapter 14: The Loyal Subject Anne...Hardens Her Heart (for Tough Love)

It was a pleasant day in late spring with the kind of warm sunshine that heralded the coming of summer and the impending wheat harvest season. Anne stood in Mia’s room, watching her engage in her usual bed-rolling, and couldn’t help but feel a hint of worry. It was something that had been bothering her since the previous summer, when they’d gone on Esmeralda’s cruise. In particular, it was the events leading up to the cruise that had upset her. Mia, who’d developed a bit of a tummy bulge, had ended up enduring a period of considerable sweat and toil.

Miss Esmeralda might invite her again some time. Maybe it’d be best if she started getting a bit of exercise regularly.

Personally, Anne didn’t think Mia was overweight. She was perfectly beautiful as is. If anything, a bit of plumpness only made her more endearing.

...Which was a dangerous thought to have from a slippery-slope perspective.

Her personal preferences aside, it was undeniable that Mia had lately been rather lacking in the exercise department.

The head chef said it’s bad for her health too... I think it’s time I stepped in.

So, Anne mustered her resolve.

“Milady? Um...”

“Mm? What is it, Anne?”

Mia wriggled her way across the bed to look up at Anne. It was the kind of movement one would expect from a sea creature stranded on land. A mermaid, perhaps. Something incapable of bipedal—or any -pedal, honestly—movement. The slothful sight might have been the last straw for Anne.

All the important negotiations, student council duties, and secret cult-battling Mia had to deal with on a regular basis were doubtlessly exhausting. The weight of such burdens was not lost on Anne. It was therefore her longstanding stance to allow Mia to indulge in indolence as much as possible while in the privacy of her own room. But there had to be limits.

So, Anne hardened her heart.

From the consistency of warm cheese to cold cheese. This was, after all, an attempt to play the villain for the sake of her friend. There was no serious face-heel turn going on.

“Milady, you haven’t been attending dance lessons recently, have you? Why don’t you ask Prince Abel or Prince Sion to join you for some?”

In general, Mia didn’t hate physical activity. She was just...not inclined to engage in it of her own volition. Leave her alone for a few days, and she’d soon switch to energy-conservation mode and start slacking off. As her right hand, Anne had to warn her. As her confidant, though, she preferred to do it as subtly as possible.

“Dance, huh...” said Mia. “Interesting. It’s been a while since I’ve danced. Asking Abel to join me for a session might be a good idea. Actually, in that case, I might as well get the student council involved and organize something like a standing buffet party. Except it’ll be a dance-and-cake party—”

“H-Hold on, milady.”

Hearing that Mia’s train of thought was starting to derail, Anne cut her off. Dancing was fine, but it’d be counterproductive if she ate a bunch of cake in the process—and it would definitely be a bunch. Anne was no stranger to her mistress’s love for food...or her appetite.

“That sounds like something that would require a lot of time to organize. What about...a nice long horse ride instead?”

Mia’s metaphorical right arm deftly pivoted the topic. If only her physical one was as dextrous. “Hmm, that’s an interesting suggestion too. I haven’t been going to the horsemanship club lately either. I wonder how Kuolan and the others are doing... Yes, I think I’d enjoy reacquainting myself with long horse rides.”

Fortunately, the pivot proved successful, and Mia’s attention quickly shifted toward the new proposal. A willingness to give herself up to external forces was one of her strong points.

“Oh, can I go too?” Bel, who’d been listening to the conversation, raised her hand. “I want to see if the baby horse is healthy.”

“Ah, good point. You were there that time too. Well, I don’t mind if you tag along, but hm...” After a period of thought, Mia snapped her fingers in inspiration. “I know! In that case, we should ask Rina to come with us.”

“Rina too?”

“Yes. It’d be a shame if we didn’t and she ends up feeling left out, right?” said Mia before flashing a sly grin. “That way, you can both join the horsemanship club together.”

“Huh? You want me to join the horsemanship club?”

“That I do. You did pretty well when we were riding across the plains that time. With some practice, I think you’ll be galloping around in no time.”

Anne, catching on, added her support to Mia’s suggestion. “I agree. Even I managed to learn with enough practice. I have no doubt you’ll figure it out very quickly, Miss Bel.”

For the record, Anne was a bit of a two-left-feet person in general, and it’d taken her considerable effort to reach the point where she could actually ride. This was, however, a fact she chose not to mention, accepting that a sacrifice of truth was an unavoidable cost of maintaining Mia’s health.

“You can’t call yourself a good princess until you can ride a horse, Bel. And you want to become a good princess like me, right?”

There was so much wrong with that statement in so many ways. Sadly, no one there would be pointing it out.

“But I...”

Seeing that Bel’s expression clouded, Mia pursed her lips with another “Hmm.” Then, she glanced at Anne before whispering in Bel’s ear. “I know that you think you might get sent back to your original world at any time, and if that happens, then this would all be a waste. That’s understandable. But listen, Bel. Even if you get sent back, it’d be good for you to get some horse-riding practice beforehand. It makes it a lot easier to run away...” She flashed a winking grin. “Besides, horses are adorable creatures. It’ll be a lot of fun riding one with Rina. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

Oho ho, good one, Anne. You found the perfect solution. I knew I could count on you.

Mia smiled with satisfaction as she headed to the stable with Citrina in tow.

The answer is hobbies. If Bel finds a hobby, she’ll probably stop being preoccupied with how her time here might be short-lived. She won’t be nearly as interested in preparing for death once there’s something fun to look forward to. Hopefully, anyway. I mean, I’d be doing everything I could to avoid dying if I were her.

Now that she’d more or less figured out the cause of Bel’s wasteful spending habits, she understood that the solution wouldn’t be simple. Nevertheless, she had to keep trying. Lacking options, the idea of introducing Bel to a hobby was therefore a welcome suggestion that she hadn’t considered before.

Eventually, I’ll probably want her to take up some classier hobbies. Like mushroom hunting. I’m dabbling in it myself, after all. For now though, horse riding will suffice. Horses are adorable, so she should have a great time with them.

As she pondered, her gaze drifted to the sweetly smiling figure beside Bel. “By the way, Rina, would you happen to know how to ride?”

Citrina tilted her head quizzically. The gesture was endearing, and the cuteness of her expression put finely crafted dolls to shame. Just looking at her like this, it was easy to forget that she was formerly involved with the Chaos Serpents. Taking part in conspiracies was probably a lot easier when one could ride a horse. Perhaps, Mia figured, Citrina already knew how.

“No. This will be the first time for Rina. I’m looking forward to it.” Citrina giggled. “Oh, it’s going to be so much fun riding with Bel.”

“Hm...” Mia pensively crossed her arms. If neither of them have experience, it might be tough for me to teach them by myself. I may be a master equestrian, but still...

She was the founder of the Flotsam method of horse riding, so in a way, that was true. Nevertheless, master equestrian Mia knew her limits.

Soon, they arrived at the stable, where she ran into a familiar figure.

“My, you’re...”

“Hey, miss. Long time no see.” Lin Malong, who was tending to the horses in the stable, came out to her with a hearty laugh.

“Long time indeed, Malong. You graduated from Saint-Noel in the spring, didn’t you?” She thought he’d already returned to the Equestrian Kingdom. “Don’t tell me you came back because you miss the horses,” she added with a smirk.

He smirked back. “Nah, I knew the horses would be fine. It’s you and Abel that I’m not so sure about, so I came back to check on you.”

“My, really? Well, I appreciate your concern. We are, in fact, doing perfectly fine, so you’re free to leave now.”

“Ha ha ha, that’s good to hear. But jokes aside, I was asked by Rafina to come back every once in a while to look after the horses. Gives me a chance to see how the horsemanship club’s doing too.”

“I see, so that’s why. It’s nice to see that you’re still a ball of horse-loving energy,” she said with a friendly laugh.

After enjoying some more banter with Malong, Mia peeked inside the stable. “Hello, Kayou. How have you been? I’m sorry I haven’t been around more often to see you.”

The last time she’d seen the horse was in the winter. Since then, she hadn’t been able to find enough free time to go horse riding. For a moment, she worried if Kayou had forgotten about her, but the welcoming nose-huff Kayou let out upon seeing her laid that concern to rest.

“Mmm hm hm, yes, it’s been too long since I’ve seen you. And you too! Um...”

She regarded the foal next to Kayou. Its delicate little ears twitched at her voice. There were hints of Kayou’s gentleness and dignity in its visage.

“The little one’s name is Gingetsu. Means ‘silver moon,’” said Malong, walking up from behind.

“Silver moon! Mmm, I like the ring of that. What a wonderful name, isn’t it, Gingetsu?” The more she studied the foal, the more she felt like she found her soul steed. She swore she’d ride it once it got a little bigger.

“Wow, it grew so much!” exclaimed Bel, hopping up to her side.

“It sure did,” agreed Citrina. “The last time we saw it, it was still so little...”

The two girls chirped happily with each other as they gestured at Gingetsu, who seemed to remember the pair. It slowly approached them and twitched its nostrils. It was a very wholesome scene, and Mia watched them tenderly...until a thought made her frown.

“Huh. Where’s Kuolan? Did someone take him out for a ride?”

There was something distinctively missing about her usual equine experience—feeling Kuolan’s smug gaze on the back of her neck. For the longest time, she’d felt terribly uncomfortable around the horse, but ever since their daring escape from certain death that night, she’d grown fond of it. Its unflappable cockiness, once utterly grating, was now a reassuring quality. She trusted it like she would an old comrade in arms.

“Oh, Abel’s riding him right now, and— Speak of the devil. Looks like he’s back.”

Mia turned just in time to see Abel walking in with Kuolan’s reins in his hand.

“Hey, Mia. Did you come to do some riding?” He flashed her his usual easy smile.

“Yes, actually. It’s a nice, sunny afternoon, so I figured I’d come. On that note...” She looked him up and down. “You’re a real mess, aren’t you?”

There were flecks of mud on his face. On closer inspection, his riding clothes were dotted with stains as well. He smiled awkwardly. “Let’s call it a baptism by mud. This horse is really something.”

“My, is that so? If you just wanted to go riding for a while, couldn’t you have chosen a different horse?” Kuolan’s disposition was on the wilder side. It was by no means an easy horse to handle. There were better choices for a leisure stroll. Kayou, for example. She was baffled by his choice. “Anyway, don’t be too discouraged. Kuolan’s a difficult horse to get used to,” she added.

“But you rode him so effortlessly. If I can’t, then...it’d make me look bad,” he argued, lips pushing outward ever so slightly in a pout. “I’ll learn to ride him. Just you watch. I haven’t figured him out quite yet, but I’ll keep practicing until I do.”

Mia regarded him and realized at once what she was witnessing. My! So this is what they mean when they talk about boys having stubborn streaks! How adorable.

She had to hold her hand to her mouth to hide her grin. Though Abel was quickly growing into an impressive young man, his heart definitely outpaced his faculty. His metaphorical tiptoeing to seem more mature was downright swoon-inducing.

The way he sometimes gets so hung up on a thing and refuses to admit defeat is definitely one of his cuter aspects... Hm? Suddenly, she was struck by a sense that something was wrong. How odd. Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something...

It was something important. Something she couldn’t afford to forget. Or at least, she thought it was. There was something...missing from this picture. Something that had yet to happen.

Fwoosh!

Right at that moment, she felt a puff of air on the back of her neck. Rather than wind, it felt more like...

“M-My... What a strangely nostalgic sensation. I wonder what it is...” She turned to find herself face to face with Kuolan. More specifically, face to flaring nostrils. “A-Ah. Kuolan. It’s been a while since I’ve— Gyaaah!”

Her undignified scream was drowned out by the thunderous roar of Kuolan’s nose cannon. For whatever reason—possibly due to how long it’d been since the last eruption—the sneeze was even more powerful than usual.

“All right, I’ll see you there in a bit...”

After a promise to reconvene, Mia began heading back to the dormitory to rid herself of horse slime. She strolled calmly out the stable, after which she sped up to a fast walk. A hundred paces later, she broke into a full-speed dash. Running like the wind, she made for the communal baths. While Anne was off getting her a change of clothes, she quickly slipped out of her current ones and jumped into the pool. Just as she worked up a good lather using the provided soap, Anne arrived with Mia’s beloved horse shampoo and promptly started washing her hair. Anne worked quickly but carefully, finishing as Mia concluded her own cleaning routine. Then, Mia swiftly redressed herself and returned to the riding ground.

Once again, she ran like the wind until she was only a few steps away, whereupon she hammered the brakes and came to a full stop. A moment later, she resumed forward at a leisurely stroll, allowing her breath to catch up to her.

“Hello, Abel.”

“Hey, that was fast.”

Upon seeing her return, Abel hopped off the fence he was sitting on. His lean, athletic frame was clothed in a brand-new shirt and black pants of somewhat casual design.

Hmm... It’s not exactly a princely getup, but this is pretty good too!

The gap between his usual appearance and this more laid-back attire was delightfully refreshing. He’d also washed his hair, allowing its clean black strands to flow freely in the breeze. The fresh fragrance of soap wafted from it and tickled her nose, eliciting a euphoric sigh from her.

As always, Abel’s so handsome...

“Hmm? What’s with the look?” Her prolonged gaze caused him to raise an eyebrow.

“Oh, it’s nothing. More importantly, let’s go into the riding ground.”

Inside, Bel and Citrina were already receiving lessons from Malong.

“Wow, the back of a horse is so high up. I didn’t notice before, but it’s really obvious now that I have the time to get a good look around.”

“Ha ha ha, it sure is. Galloping across a stretch of plains at this height feels real good. If you ever come by the Equestrian Kingdom, how about I take you for a long ride?”

“Yes, please! That sounds amazing!”

Bel seemed to be enjoying herself.

“You brought those two with you today, huh?” said Abel.

“Yes. Of course, I wanted to enjoy some riding myself too, but I’m mainly hoping to have Bel learn how to ride.”

“I see. Teaching Miss Bel horsemanship...”

Abel crossed his arms and watched as Malong began walking forward, pulling the horse along behind him. Bel teetered unsteadily on its back. The look of slightly-desperate concentration on Bel’s face as she tried hard to stay balanced reminded Mia of her past self. She smiled with fond nostalgia.

“That’s pretty good. She might be a natural,” commented Abel.

“She might indeed. Back during the Holy Eve Festival, she managed a pretty good riding form too. Who knows? Maybe she’ll surprise all of us with how quickly she takes to it.”

The two of them watched Bel’s efforts with equally tender expressions.

“Once she learns how to ride, a lot will open up to her. It’ll be easier to deal with all sorts of things. Not that I ever want to drag her into something like that again, but...” No matter how careful she was, Mia suspected that she’d expose Bel to danger again sooner or later. It didn’t seem avoidable. When that inevitably came to pass, horse riding should prove to be a very valuable skill to have.

These surprisingly serious thoughts occupied Mia’s mind until it occurred to her to consider her own position. Specifically, the position she currently occupied next to Abel and the atmosphere that surrounded them. Standing beside her beloved prince while watching her wobbly horse-riding granddaughter with a mix of fondness and concern, at times shouting a few words of encouragement...

It was...nice. There was no thrill or excitement, just a quiet happiness. An ordinary one, as common as a roadside pebble, but a happiness nonetheless. And she realized then that she’d never imagined a future like this—a future of such mundane happiness.

Thinking back... All this time, I’ve just been desperately trying to escape disastrous futures. It was all I could think about. But what if I married Abel? Would I...

What would happen in that case? It was a new thought to her. Something she’d never explored in earnest. What if she married this gentle, warmhearted boy standing beside her? Her imagination began to run wild. She envisioned a pleasant day like this, where they took their children on a long ride, after which they’d all share a picnic luncheon of horse-shaped mushroom sandwiches, then...

“Hm? What is it?”

She flashed back into reality to find Abel gazing curiously at her. He smiled gently. She choked back an enamored gasp.

“What? It’s, uh...nothing. Oho ho. Anyway, why don’t we go for a ride too?”

She quickly looked around. Coincidentally, Bel had finished her ride and was climbing off the horse. Having clearly enjoyed the experience, she ran toward them, all bubbly laughter and waving hands.

Mmm hm hm, look at her go. She’s so excited. It’s good to know she’s enjoying herself.

Just when Mia was savoring a fond moment of Bel-watching, her young granddaughter proceeded to trip and suffer a spectacular fall.

“Bel! Oh, this is what happens when you get too carried away.” Mia hurried over as Citrina helped Bel up. “Moons, are you okay, Bel?”

“Yes, I’m okay.” Bel let out an embarrassed giggle. “Wow, I took a big tumble there.”

“Hm. Well, if you can laugh about it, I guess you’re okay,” said Mia as she gave the girl a lookover.

As she shifted her gaze downward, she saw...the sight. The awful sight of Bel’s tender little knee covered in red, red blood!

“B-Bel... You’re...”

Those were the only words she got out before Bel’s body fell away from view. Except it was her body that toppled backward.

“O-Ooooh...”

“Mia!”

Abel’s panicked voice was the last thing she heard before the world went dark.

Mia was someone who could faint from the shock of seeing blood. Blood meant pain, and she could stand neither pain itself nor the sight of it.