Chapter 10: Lunatear’s Shadow

Where there is light, it must surely give birth to shadow...

Even within Lunatear, the glorious capital of the mighty Tearmoon Empire, there was a place from which people averted their eyes. Overlooked by a stretch of the city walls was the Newmoon District, the slums of the imperial capital. There lived the poorest of the poor, for whom food was scarce and illness fast and fatal. Those who fell sick could often be found abandoned on the streets. It was a place where the workings of civilised society had all but vanished, save for a small church and an orphanage.

A young girl walked through the forsaken district, her beautiful dress almost comically out of place among the broken roads and crumbling buildings. She was none other than Mia Luna Tearmoon, the beloved daughter of the Tearmoon Emperor. With a slight spring in her step, she hopped from place to place, gazing curiously around at her surroundings.

"Your Highness, it is dangerous for you to be too far ahead. I must ask that you remain behind us..."

Beside the young girl were four armed guards; along with her maid-in-waiting, Anne, and her newly-persuaded ally, Ludwig. In order to explain why such an eye-catching group of people was in a place like this, the narrative clock would need to be rewound a few hours back.

"Well then... it would appear that this problem... is indeed one that needs to be solved."

Thanks to the sweets that Anne brought, Mia's mind was sharper than ever. After reading over her diary again, she'd found an entry that caught her eye.

"The plague... I remember having eggs thrown at me because of this."

A few years from now, the capital would be devastated by an outbreak of disease. It was a terrible incident that even Ludwig wasn't able to predict. Ultimately, ten percent of the population would succumb to the epidemic. According to the rewritten diary, the empire's finances — which were just beginning to improve after Ludwig's efforts — would be dealt a crippling blow by this disaster and would spiral ever downwards thereafter.

"Hmmm, I know that we can't simply ignore it... but how does one go about preventing a plague?"

As a rule, Mia was not a fan of hard work. When push came to shove, she could shut herself into the Grand Library, but that never lasted long. Plus, she fundamentally hated the thought of studying and looking things up. What should she do, then?

"Well, let's keep things simple for now — when in doubt, ask for help."

The solution was easy; if she didn't have the answer, she'd just ask someone to give it to her. After all, she now had access to a convenient source of knowledge.

"Miss Anne, we are heading out."

"Where are we going, Princess Mia?"

"To speak with the stupid four— I mean, Ludwig."

"Ah, the gentleman from the other day... In that case, we'd better get you fixed up and looking nice and pretty."

Anne's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm all of a sudden.

"Is that so? I personally think I look quite nice as is..."

Mia was currently clothed in a chic black dress that she often wore in her room. While it might be a tad bland for the ballroom floor, she considered it perfectly suitable for a casual meeting.

"That won't do at all! This is the perfect chance to catch his eye and leave an impression! We can't have you passing it up! Now, come on, Princess Mia. Off to the dressing room we go."

Grudgingly, Mia allowed herself to be dragged into the dressing room, where Anne promptly enlisted the help of a nearby veteran maid to coordinate Mia's clothes. They decided upon a light blue dress embellished with blossoms of ashmoon cherry. Its skirt was trimmed relatively short in a design that simultaneously emphasized the charms of the wearer and allowed for freedom of movement.

"My, I've never seen this dress before."

Considering the fact that Mia owned enough dresses to fill five rooms, there was no way she could keep track of every single one. Inevitably, there were plenty of dresses that she outgrew without ever wearing.

"You look great, Princess Mia," said Anne with a smile before starting to tend to Mia's hair. She ran a comb through the lustrous argent strands over and over until they were smooth as silk. Then, she held them in place with a hairpin adorned with a rainbow-colored gem.

When Mia looked in the mirror and saw the hairpin, her eyes narrowed a little, and she whispered, "My, that's..."

"What's the matter, Princess Mia?"

It wasn't Mia but a veteran maid in charge of the dressing room who answered.

"That was an offering from a certain wealthy merchant last year. Her Highness was most pleased by the gift."

Anne laughed cheerfully after hearing the wardrobe maid's story.

"So that's where this came from. It's perfect for this occasion, then."

"I suppose so..." replied Mia, a hint of sorrow creeping into her voice.

To be honest, I don't really like this...

It wasn't the hairpin's design that she minded. She was actually quite fond of how it looked. However, due to a certain reason, she couldn't wholeheartedly appreciate wearing it. For a while, she debated whether she should refuse the ornament.

But for going to see the stupid four-eyes, I suppose this is enough?

In the end, she chose silence.