Chapter 10: Schadenfreude

"All right, people. I'd like you to keep what happened in that forest a secret. If anyone asks, I tripped on a tree root and ended up a little jumbled from the fall. Okay?" said Mia to her four escorts as they arrived back at the viscounty town. Then she promptly rendezvoused with Ludwig.

Dion, meanwhile, ended up handling the lion's share of work that followed. After all, he'd just moved a full hundred-man squad back to the city without a single casualty. He needed to find accommodations for all one hundred people. This wouldn't have been much of an issue in the imperial capital, but trying to suddenly squeeze so many soldiers into one town in a viscounty proved impossible and he had no choice but to spread his men out and have them stay in a number of neighboring villages. By the time he'd figured all this out, spoken with all the villagers whose houses he was commandeering, and got himself back to the viscounty town, he had to admit that even he was feeling a little tired.

"That was one hell of a job..." said his vice-captain.

"We're lucky I only command a hundred men. If it were a thousand or ten thousand, we'd run ourselves into the ground trying to find enough beds and food. I swear, if there's another round of promotions coming up, I sure hope they leave me out of it."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're the least ambitious person I've ever met, Captain." The large man let out a hearty bout of laughter. "Speaking of which, I guess that saying of yours was dead-on."

"Hm? What saying?"

"About how nothing in life works out the way you want. After hearing all those rumors about how the princess is the 'Great Sage of the Empire' and everything, I was hoping she'd turn out to be a little better than the rest of them. Like you said, I guess it was all just wishful thinking on my part. At the end of the day, them nobles are all the same."

He idly scratched his bushy beard as he talked, but when Dion gave no reply, he frowned. Eventually, the captain let out a deep breath and shook his head.

"That princess... is no pushover. I'd tread carefully around her."

"Huh? But, I mean, she..."

"Make no mistake, she's one of them mastermind types. Sit her in a war room and give her command, and she'll make it look like she's losing until she snatches victory from you in the final moment."

Seeing the dubious frown on the large man's face, he added, "Mark my words, that girl knows what she's doing."

The two men made their way to the local tavern, where upon entering they were greeted by some familiar faces.

"Ah, Captain Dion..."

"Greetings, Captain. Are you done with all the arrangements?"

The two imperial guards who had accompanied Mia quickly rose and straightened themselves.

"Yeah," he answered, returning the greeting with a casual wave of his hand. "Are you two here for a drink, too?"

The two guards, however, lowered their heads.

"Please accept our deepest apologies for the trouble Her Highness has caused..."

"Hm? Trouble?"

"Normally, she never acts so arrogantly... This time, I can only assume that she was shaken by such a close brush with danger. If at all possible, please overlook her behavior today."

Ah, bloody hell. Them too? I swear, it's not really my job to be doing this, but...

Dion pursed his lips for a few seconds before letting out a resigned sigh.

"Okay, listen. It wasn't any trouble and I don't mind. If anything, I need to thank Her Highness for her help."

"Huh? Her... help? What do you mean?"

Both guards blinked at him in surprise, clearly baffled by his words. He smiled wryly at the clueless pair.

"You still don't get it? That was all an act."

He pressed the guards back into their seats and sat himself down at their table. With a snap, he caught the attention of a nearby server and motioned for a drink. After a short wait, a mug of ale appeared on the table. He grabbed the wooden cup, downed half of it in one big gulp, let out a satisfied sigh, and leaned back in his chair. At this point the guards' patience finally failed them and one spoke up.

"So, Captain Dion... you said something about it all being an act?"

Dion set the mug back on the table and leaned forward.

"Tell me, have the two of you ever been on a battlefield? A real one?"

The guards looked at each other. Their frowns told him more than enough.

"No real experience, huh. See, the thing about armies is that they apply pressure by just being there. If anyone's planning any mischief, then just having an army nearby is an effective deterrence. Now, this works great against bandits and the like, but against determined warriors who are braced for war, it might just end up provoking needless violence."

When two people are both pointing their unsheathed swords at each other, the slightest trigger can lead to swinging. To stare down the blade of an opponent's sword is to stare death in the face, and the fear and anxiety that comes with that can easily morph into a desire to kill — to eliminate the threat at hand.

"Her Rather Perceptive Highness felt the dangerous tension in the air, and rather than watch from the sidelines, she decided to do something about it. The Lulu tribe isn't going to come out of the forest and raid us. They never were a threat to begin with. As long as we leave the forest alone, we can avoid any needless violence. The problem is that these nuances of the battlefield are subtle things, and the higher-ups are very bad at subtlety. Your dear princess probably knew getting our bosses to understand was a lost cause, so she took things into her own hands. And boy, what a power play it was."

She may have managed to ease tensions by forcing the army to pull back. However, that was ultimately just a temporary solution.

So, what are you planning now, princess? What's your next move...

It occurred to him that he was taking pleasure in — even looking forward to — Mia's plans, and he couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"And that's why it's up to you two," he said to the guards. "You get what I mean?"

"Huh?"

"Everything Her Highness has done will all be for naught if you two go blabbing about how the Lulus tried to shoot her with an arrow. If His Majesty hears about it, you think he's going to let that slide? Why do you think she told you to keep quiet about what happened in the forest? It's critical that no one finds out."

"I... I get it now! My lips are sealed!"

The two guards saluted him. He looked from one to the other, then sighed.

Bloody hell... Why am I of all people going around defending the princess?

Just then, he remembered the young official who was always by her side. Given how quickly Mia's mind worked, it seemed likely that she often neglected to fully explain her thoughts to her aides. Those who assisted her — the wiser, the worse for wear, probably — must have it pretty rough. Figuring it must be hell for that fellow with the glasses, he raised his mug in a silent salute. His lips curled into a grin.

Cheers, you poor bastard. I'm sure glad we're not in the same boat.

As he downed the rest of his ale and savored the sweet taste of schadenfreude...

"Captain Dion, may I have a moment with you?"

...The man whom he'd just toasted appeared behind him. Suddenly, he had a very bad feeling, as if his metaphorical boat was looking suspiciously similar to someone else's. Something told him the man he just mocked might not be the only poor bastard in this tavern...

By the time Mia arrived at the viscounty town, she'd fallen into a comfortable stupor of triumphant exhaustion.

Ahh, I want a bed. Being in bed sounds terribly appealing right now.

Of course, she couldn't afford to fall asleep right away. First, she had to remind Dion and the three others who were with her in the forest to keep quiet about what had happened.

I can't have people finding out I threw a tantrum and took it out on a tree for tripping me.

Literally no one would be surprised to hear of her doing something like that, but this time Mia actually found her own actions rather embarrassing. Getting angry at a tree for tripping her and making a scene was bad enough, but she'd almost earned herself an arrow in the head for it. That thought alone was enough to make her squeal in shame.

Mia wasn't shameless. Her sense of shame was just a little weird.

Upon returning to the Berman manor, she immediately agreed to an audience with the viscount. Normally, as the princess, she would be under no obligation to do so, but she just so happened to have something to say to him as well.

"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this? You can't just do something like that... That place is dangerous. If there was any confusion, things could have..."

In the middle of the large guest room was Berman, who was waiting for her with an expression of great displeasure.

"Oh? Are you proposing, then, that a mere handful of men would have been sufficient to ensure my safety? Knowing the area is dangerous — as you said yourself — you would have me return with no more than two of my guards?"

"I... W-Well, no, that's not... What I mean is that it's a problem for Your Highness to have gone to such a dangerous place without informing me..."

"All the empire's lands are the imperial family's lands. As the emperor's daughter, if it is my wish, there is nowhere I cannot go and no one who can stop me. Am I wrong?"

Mia presented an impeccable image of the arrogant, selfish princess. After all, she had plenty of experience. In the previous timeline, that had been her modus operandi.

My, this reminds me of the good old days. How refreshingly thrilling this feels!

It had been a long time since she'd had a chance to work the Mia Specialty on someone, and she glowed with delight.

"Ah, that reminds me. I have developed an interest in those forested lands, and I wish to discuss it with Father. I will need you to refrain from any clearing or military operations in the meantime."

"Nonse— Uh, I mean, beg your pardon, but that is much too dangerous. Without the army in the area, how will we keep those vicious tribesmen from committing any atrocities?"

"I see no reason to worry so long as this town is sufficiently fortified. If something were to happen to the villages nearby, well... Just leave them to sort it out for themselves. Why concern yourself with such petty matters?"

She tilted her head to the side and held her hands out in a perplexed fashion. Her lips, however, were curled up ever so slightly in a devious grin. What she'd described was exactly how the Viscount would normally solve this himself. It was also the prevailing attitude of the majority of nobles. To refute that would be to go against the norm, thus revealing he had some undisclosed interest in the matter. He had no choice but to remain quiet.

"Well then. I believe that settles that. I trust you'll make the necessary arrangements."

With that, Mia tugged at the hem of her shorts in a perfunctory curtsy, and left the room.

Only after concluding her talk with the Viscount and returning to her guest chamber did Mia come to an important realization.

"Hm? Milady, where is your hairpin?" asked Anne as she was helping her change.

Mia's hand shot to the side of her head, where she felt nothing but her own hair.

"My, how odd... It's not there, is it?"

She hadn't taken off any clothes since returning to the viscounty town, and she certainly hadn't had any time to change when she was in the garrison. She also had no recollection of ever taking the hairpin itself off. Scratching her head, she slowly sorted through her memories of the day until one particular scene made her go pale.

That's it... That must be when it happened... It came out when they shot those arrows at me...

She also could have lost it when she tripped over the tree, but either way, the hairpin was currently in the middle of that forest.

U-U-Uh oh... That's not good!

Mia began to panic. She was pretty sure she'd managed to prevent the conflict that would have broken out here. However, that hairpin had come from the forest... Which meant it was inextricably connected to this whole event. Losing something like that seemed like a terrible omen. The situation was still strained, and the slightest thing could reignite the conflict. Soon the wildfire of revolution would consume her. What lay down that path, she knew well. The swoosh of a falling blade, and the thud of a severed head...

N-No way... I refuse to go through that again!

There was also another motive behind her desire to retrieve the hairpin. She wanted it back for the sake of that child who'd given it to her. Had it been a regular present, she wouldn't have cared as much, but she couldn't simply put it out of her mind knowing it was his late mother's keepsake. He'd given her something terribly precious, and he'd undoubtedly be saddened if he found out that she'd lost it. While she definitely didn't want to make the child mad at her, even if he didn't feel any anger the thought of disappointing or discouraging him didn't sit well with her.

Nothing good comes of treating kindness with contempt.

With her mind made up, she knew what she had to do.

"I have to go and find it. I need it back."

"Milady? What do you mean?"

"Anne, could you please ask Ludwig to attend me?"