Chapter 7: A Furious Mia’s Carriage Trip

At Ludwig's request, a special unit was formed within the Tearmoon imperial guard. Known as the "Princess Guard," its members were handpicked by Ludwig for their loyalty and adaptability, for they were an emergency response team. Their job: be on constant standby to comply with Mia's every whim, and to follow and protect her wherever she went.

Flanked by her new squad of faithful guardians, Mia boarded her carriage and set out for Viscount Berman's domain.

"My," said Mia as she sat down in her seat. "It's been barely an hour since I gave the order and we're already on the road. Very impressive, Ludwig."

"Not at all, Your Highness. It's natural to learn from past experiences, and your unplanned visit to the slums the other day was a particularly pedagogical one," he said, the edge in his remark tempered by the knowing grin on his usually stern face.

Ludwig had faith that everything Mia did was, by and large, correct, for he trusted that her actions were driven by wisdom and virtue. Being a capable government official, he had long since caught wind of the trouble that was brewing within the Berman viscounty. Therefore, when he'd heard that the viscount had requested an audience, he immediately suspected that something unforeseen might happen and preemptively began preparations.

Still, I wish she'd give the rest of us a little bit more to work with. It was fine this time because I had prior information, but... Then again, I suppose it's our duty as her subjects to accurately grasp Her Highness's intentions.

At times, he noticed that, in her genius, Mia's logic took leaps so vast that he had trouble keeping up. The sheer speed at which her mind worked blinded her to the clefts of reasoning that she'd cleared with ease but others struggled to cross. She was always thinking two or three steps ahead of everyone else. That, however, was likely a sign that she was still young. Should she continue to grow and mature, she would surely become a most sagacious monarch. He regarded her, his sense of loyalty toward the princess he'd devoted himself to deepening... What was left of his good sense struggled in vain to contain his ballooning expectations.

"Well then, Ludwig, I'd very much appreciate it if you could tell me more about this Viscount Berman and his domain," Mia said, smiling.

Hmm. Knowing Her Highness, she likely knows everything there is to know already. And yet, she still asks to hear it from me...

There yet remained a childlike innocence to her smile — the kind that was at once endearing and suggestive of an absence of thought — that almost seemed genuine. Which made it all the more jarring to imagine the dizzying kaleidoscope of thoughts that it undoubtedly hid.

Ludwig shook his head. He had every intention of correctly parsing Mia's intentions and acting accordingly, but the bitter truth was that he likely couldn't understand even half of what she was thinking.

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say she probably wants to verify the accuracy of her information against mine. Other than that, maybe she wishes to sort out her thoughts by talking through them as she contemplates how best to solve this issue...

"In that case, allow me to explain. Currently, Viscount Berman is..."

Mia could feel a drop of cold sweat roll down her back as she listened to Ludwig divulge the information he held.

"And that is more or less the extent of my knowledge on the matter..." he said as he concluded.

Freaking hell! she mouthed silently, too shaken to mind the appropriateness of her vocabulary. That was way too close for comfort!

The jitters she felt were well-warranted. The events Ludwig described were riddled with red flags, each more guillotine-y than the last. Cutting down the Sealence Forest would require the forceful expulsion of the local tribe. The local tribe was the Lulus. The Lulus and their forest happened to be right next door to the Rudolvons. Worst of all, it would all happen with her explicit and public approval...

She'd read and reread the passage in her diary, but she simply had no recollection of the event. It was bewildering to think that so much had been brewing under her nose, and she'd been completely clueless until now.

I see... Well, this certainly explains why my relationship with Tiona turned sour.

The previous timeline was one thing, but the diary continued to foretell the dissolution of their friendship in the current timeline. She'd seen no signs of such a thing happening during their time at school, so she had been thoroughly baffled...

I've cracked the case... and it's all Viscount Berman's fault! Unforgivable!

A wave of roiling anger began to rise from within her. Ludwig might have glanced at her, and he might have said something to the effect of, "I've always believed in her... but it's good to see that she's someone who can feel righteous anger in the face of aristocratic tyranny..." but she was too busy seething with her ostensibly righteous anger to hear. She only zoned back in when Ludwig tapped her to get her attention.

"That just about sums up what I know. Currently, it seems clear that Viscount Berman is at fault, but..." he said, trailing off without finishing his sentence.

The fact of the matter was that recognizing the problem was only the beginning. What came next was the hard part. It was actually sort of difficult to claim that what the viscount was trying to do was wrong. Cutting down forest to create more land wasn't inherently a bad thing, and so long as he was doing it in his own domain, it was technically none of their business.

While the exact location of the border between his and Rudolvon's domains was indeed rather vague, that wasn't sufficient reason to stop him from proceeding with his plan. Though the Lulus were protesting, between a minority tribe and the viscount, the empire's central government would surely side with the Viscount. Furthermore, the military had already dispatched a unit of soldiers to the area. Having them withdraw would require a good reason, such as tangible evidence of peace having been restored.

Ludwig hadn't been able to come up with a solution to all these problems, and it wasn't for lack of trying.

"So, Your Highness, what do we do now?" he asked with a troubled look on his face.

He'd wracked his brains trying to find an answer, but to no avail. Mia however, showed no signs of such distress.

"What do we do? We teach 'em a damn lesson, obviously!" she declared, her nostrils flaring in anger.

When it came to the Princess of the Tearmoon Empire, Mia Luna Tearmoon, it was widely known that she had two archenemies. One was Sion Sol Sunkland. The other was Tiona Rudolvon. However, neither of them stood at the guillotine on the final day of her life. Her execution itself was carried out by someone else.

The one who had the grisly honor of lopping off the young lady's head was a man by the name of Dion Alaia. He'd been an officer in the imperial army, but as soon as the revolution began, he joined the revolutionary army. Many prominent imperial generals fell by his blade, and he was a pivotal factor in the imperial army's eventual downfall. As one of the leading contributors to the revolutionary army's victory, he claimed his reward in the form of a request: to personally behead Princess Mia.

At first, Sion was perplexed by this. After hearing the man's story, however, his motivation became much clearer. The Battle of Sealence Forest — a conflict caused by Mia's selfishness — had claimed the lives of all his men. Every last one of his soldiers had died, leaving him to walk out of that forest alone and full of bitterness. Vengeance for his fallen comrades was what had pushed him into the loving arms of the revolutionary army.

"Why do I still not hear the sounds of battle? Did the army send a bunch of loafers in place of soldiers?"

Dion Alaia, centurion of the hundred soldiers dispatched to the Berman domain, stood before the viscount in his guest room, his face locked into a businesslike smile. He gave Berman the same response as last time.

"As I've said before, my lord, our mission here is simply to keep the peace. To that end, I believe there is no need to engage in any unnecessary hostilities..."

He bowed his head politely, feeling rather proud of himself for not asking the Viscount if he was going senile, considering Dion had said the same thing only a few days ago. Granted, he wasn't sure how much longer his better judgment would last if the viscount kept this up, but that was a problem for future Dion. At the moment, he was totally nailing the whole "being a responsible adult" thing. In fact, he was feeling so reasonable that he even explained his rationale.

"That forest is Lulu territory," he added. "In the event of a battle, we'll doubtlessly suffer significant casualties."

The way he saw it, he was confident that he could make it out alive himself, but bringing all his men back unharmed was going to be a tall order.

"Aren't soldiers meant to risk their lives for their lord? What do you think I'm paying you for?"

"Are you quite all right, my lord? We are His Majesty's soldiers, not yours. Is your mind growing dull?"

His better judgment had called it quits. In response, the viscount gave him a furious glare, but Dion shrugged it off and continued.

"We are here under orders from the Ebony Moon Ministry, which His Majesty has entrusted with authority over military affairs. The mission we were given is to keep the peace. Recklessly engaging in battle would run counter to His Majesty's—"

"Pah! Enough! Begone already!"

The viscount waved him away in exasperation.

"Bloody nobles, I swear... They just tell you to go and kill each other like it's all fun and games."

Dion stepped out of the viscount's manor and let out a sigh.

"Hey, Captain, you're done?"

Upon seeing him come out, a large man who'd been waiting near the gate rushed over. Everything about the man from his imposing figure to his burly beard gave the impression that he was a bandit of some sort. Everything except for his eyes, which had the sharpness of a trained soldier.

"How'd it go?"

"Same old. I told him it's too dangerous to be fighting in that forest. The two of us are probably the only ones who would make it out alive."

"Gahaha, we damn well are. But we can't have that, now can we? It's gonna be a bad look if the captain and vice-captain are the only survivors," said the large man with a hearty chuckle.

Dion shrugged.

"Gotta say, though, considering he went so far as to pay a personal visit to the capital, I was expecting him to come back with a direct order from His Majesty or something. Looks like my concern was unwarranted."

"Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Captain."

"Hm? What do you—"

Dion's question was cut short at the sight of a group of people approaching them. They were clearly soldiers, but the armor they wore was far more ceremonial than what was typical of the imperial army. There was only one group in the army who would don such impractically adorned armor, and it was a collection of its most loyal soldiers — those charged with protecting the emperor and his family.

"The imperial guard..."

"Sure is," whispered the larger man. "Rumors are that Her Highness is coming here personally on an inspection visit."

"Well, well, now isn't that just marvelous." said Dion, his voice dripping with bitter sarcasm.

His vice-captain grimaced at his reaction.

"Better turn that frown upside down, Captain. Her Highness came all this way to see us, after all. We can't be acting rude."

"Sorry, but I've been through too much shit to get all excited about princesses and princes and all that jazz. Besides..."

"Yeah, I know. Smells a little fishy, don't it?"

"The timing's too bloody perfect. Berman just came back from his trip to the capital, and now she shows up? I'll bet he's the one who brought her here. Now all we have to do is wait and find out what kind of nonsense he filled her ears with..."

"Yeah... Then again," said the vice-captain as he scratched his bushy beard. "Don't they say that Her Highness is some sort of sage? That she's real smart in the head?"

"Here's a saying for you. Nothing in life is ever the way you hope it will be."

"Now that's a real pessimistic take on things, ain't it? Which philosopher was it who said that?"

"I did. Wishful thinking almost always ends in disappointment. That said, it's also how I got so good with a sword, so I guess there's something to be said for it."

"You mean your disappointments made you decide that the solution is to get good enough so you can handle whatever happens?"

"In a word, yes."

The large man broke into a loud bout of laughter.

"That's exactly the kind of philosophy I'd expect to hear from Dion-nedes."

Just then, a young girl appeared at the front of the group, closely flanked by guards.

Huhhhh... So that's her, huh... Princess Mia...

She looked up. Their eyes met.

"Eeeeeeeek!"

And she promptly fainted. Everyone looked at each other.

"...So, what do we do now, Captain?"

"I don't know." Dion shrugged. "Scream and fall over ourselves, I guess."