Chapter 1: The Great Sage of the Empire and Her Spring Break of Elegance

The titular Great Sage of the Empire, Mia Luna Tearmoon, was currently enjoying her spring break in a most elegant fashion. In her room in the female dormitory of Saint-Noel Academy, she was elegantly sprawled across her enormous bed. Every so often, she would elegantly roll from one side to the other, going all the way until she was at the very edge. Then, as if to flaunt its sheer size, she would roll — again, elegantly — back in the other direction. For a bit of variety, she would occasionally rotate herself and roll — repeat after me, elegantly — lengthwise instead of side to side. Sometimes, she would even hug her pillow and roll it with her.

"Ahh! I'm so bored," she whined as she idled her time away elegantly.

Elegantly was, of course, a euphemism for like a lazy degenerate.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She had intended to spend her spring break in the empire indulging in all sorts of fun activities until school started. Circumstances, however, had confined her to Saint-Noel. After departing safely from the Kingdom of Remno, rather than stopping over at home, she'd gone straight back to Saint-Noel, where she remained until the winter holidays. That turned out to be a very bad idea. Her extended absence from the empire meant that when she did actually return, she was greeted by a teary-eyed and excessively hug-prone Emperor.

"Ohhh! Mia! My dear daughter Mia! What in the moons have you been doing out there?! And why haven't you come back home sooner?!"

After thoroughly assaulting her personal space, he inflicted upon her a cruel and unusual punishment for her recklessness. It was the kind of deeply humiliating penalty that dealt a devastating blow to her pride. Specifically...

"Until next winter, you are to call me Dad. No other forms of address shall be permitted."

Cruel and unusual indeed.

"Y-You can't! Th-That's— But, Father!"

"Dad, I said! Dad! I'm not going to respond to anything else!"

The light faded from Mia's eyes as she watched her dear father turn his face away with a pouty hmph. For a long time, she stood there like a ceramic doll, her expression devoid of life. Eventually, the full implications of her situation dawned on her, and she pressed her fingers to her temples.

Ugh, I feel a headache coming on.

She later discovered that things only got worse after she abided by his decree. Exuberant that his dear daughter was finally calling him "Dad," the Emperor started paying her visits with increasing frequency, which she found to be profoundly annoying. Mia, you see, was at that age where she didn't get along very well with her parents — her previous life notwithstanding.

As for the others who were implicated in the Remno incident, they all got off scot-free. No charges were pressed against Ludwig, Dion, Tiona, or Anne. Instead, they were commended for trying their best to protect the rampaging Mia as she dragged them along on her crazy adventure. At least, that was how she decided to frame their involvement. Anything even remotely close to the truth would end with their heads rolling, so she didn't have much choice. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little peeved by the fact that she was the only one who had to suffer a penalty.

After a thoroughly disagreeable winter vacation, Mia returned to school determined to stay the hell away from home until the decree became null and void. When spring rolled around, she deliberately stayed at Saint-Noel in order to avoid another trip to the empire. Which felt great for all of two days before boredom started to sink in.

"Ahhh, I'm so terribly bored. There's nothing to do. Chloe's not here. Abel's not here either..."

The friends she usually spent her time with were all absent from the academy. Rafina was still here, of course, but she wasn't exactly that kind of friend; while Mia was willing to attend any gatherings Rafina invited her to, she didn't feel like seeking the girl out otherwise. As a result, her activities were limited to strolling with Anne around the island town sampling the various sweets on offer, occasional horse-back riding, and overdosing on sleep.

In other words, she lived the life of a self-indulgent layabout.

"Milady..."

Anne stepped into the room and, upon witnessing the awful sight of her egregiously indolent mistress, responded with... neither disappointment nor disgust. Instead, she gazed at Mia with a tender expression, as though she were looking at an adorable little sister.

Lately, Anne had come to a realization — Mia was not particularly fond of studying. Having helped her study for her finals just a few days ago, Anne had seen firsthand how hard she had to work to learn the material. She had watched Mia, tears of frustration in her eyes, desperately scribble down notes as she combed through textbooks. In the end, she was rewarded for her efforts by placing among the top twenty in her grade. For reference, there were only about eighty students in her grade, but still, being in the top quarter was a brilliant achievement for Mia that would have been wholly unthinkable in the previous timeline. The cause of her desperation was, of course, the classic culprit — procrastination. After neglecting to study properly until the finals were upon her, she crammed her heart out and was now totally spent. The rebound lethargy on display reminded Anne of her younger sisters, and she couldn't help but smile fondly at the sight.

I see that studying for tests really isn't Mia's forte.

Despite this new discovery, Anne's respect for Mia didn't waver in the slightest. In fact...

She's barely older than my little sisters... but those tiny shoulders of hers are saddled with so much responsibility...

...Her reverence for Mia only deepened. There was something stirring to the knowledge that her dear mistress's wisdom was not a natural gift but the result of honest effort, and she was capsized by a wave of emotion.

That's why... I have to make sure I do everything I can to support her.

Quietly, she made her new school year's resolution.

When she can afford to unwind, I need to help her relax, and when it's time to shape up, I need to get tough on her. She's the kind of person who will understand as long as I explain myself properly, so I need to think about what things I can do to lighten her load.

Unbeknownst to Mia, her maid-in-waiting was about to become her manager as well.

Seeing as it was spring break, Anne had every intention of letting Mia lounge around to her heart's content, but that wouldn't do for today.

"Milady," she said as she approached the bed.

One of Mia's eyelids lifted slowly in a lazy acknowledgment.

"Mmmmm... Anne. Nice timing... Would you mind sitting down and singing a lullaby for—"

"My deepest apologies, milady, but you may wish to reconsider your nap. Miss Rafina has invited you to her afternoon tea party."

"My? Miss Rafina? But didn't I just attend one yesterday—"

"According to the invitation, Prince Abel will be arriving today, so she hoped you would join them for the afternoon."

"My! Is that so?" Mia's other eye snapped open as well, and her expression brightened immediately. She sat up in her bed, and her voice lost its sleepy drawl. "I thought he was coming back later. Oh, could it be that he heard I'm staying at the academy, so he came back early for me?"

Anne watched fondly as Mia morphed from lazy bed-roller to the capable princess she knew and loved.

"Anne, pick out a dress for me! There's no time to lose!"

The Great Sage of the Empire had returned in all her commanding glory — from the neck up, at least. The rest of her was clothed in wrinkly pajamas that had endured significant abuse.