Chapter 19: Princess Mia, Innocent Seductress of the White Sandy Beach!

Abel stepped forward and stomped his foot, throwing up a ring of sand.

"Haa!"

His sword split the air with a piercing woosh and slammed into Sion's upheld blade with a deafening clang. Keithwood sighed as he observed from the sidelines.

Prince Abel's getting better and better...

The last time they crossed blades, Sion's superiority had been obvious and overwhelming. Now the skill gap was much smaller; Abel was closing in on Sion. Mastering his signature downward slash seemed to have improved Abel's skill in all other aspects as well, fundamentally making him a far stronger swordsman. That being said...

"I doubt either of them are going to settle for 'good enough.' Not after Remno."

During the Remno incident, all of them had borne direct witness to the empire's finest, Dion Alaia, and his peerless swordplay. They all remembered his duel with the Adamantine Spear, during which he'd sliced through a thick steel pole and chuckled while doing so. Ever since then Sion had redoubled his efforts to improve his own skill with the sword. Abel had clearly been doing the same, and lately the two had been training partners, each striving to outdo the other and themselves.

"It's nice that they're so motivated, but come on. There is a time and place for this kind of thing, and it's definitely not on a sweltering beach under a blazing sun... Hm?"

A figure in the distance had caught his eye. He squinted. A girl was running toward them, her bare feet leaving dainty little prints in the pristine white sand.

My oh my, now there's a sight for sore eyes.

He stared transfixed for a second before snapping out of it with a jerk of his head.

"Oh. Princess Mia."

"My, Keithwood. Good day to you."

She curtsied at him. When she looked back up, she wore a radiant smile that was every bit the equal of the glistening water and shimmering beach. It almost took his breath away, and he was forced to ponder.

Princess Mia... Is she doing this on purpose?

In that moment the sight of her really was that striking. The credit partly belonged to the backdrop; her appearance was simply a perfect fit for the lakeshore scenery. Her feet, delicate and bare, blended beautifully with the clean white sand. There was an innocence to her — like a blithe young girl sauntering along the shore or splashing around in the gentle tide — that tickled his paternal instincts, further accentuating her charm.

As a rule, princesses are supposed to avoid showing skin. Granted, her stunt at the ball was certainly effective, but taking off her shoes and walking around outside in her bare feet is another story entirely. This could easily be deemed unseemly behavior.

Commonly held notions of propriety, however, did not change the fact that she and the beach made an extremely picturesque pair.

"Hm? Is something the matter?"

She looked up at him with a pair of wide, quizzical eyes.

By the sun, it's a good thing I'm not into younger girls. Had I been Sion though, phew... Sensible as he is, he'd still probably reel from the sheer impact, he thought with a wince before replying.

"No. Just wondering what you're doing here of all places."

"Oh, there's something I want to speak to Sion about."

"With His Highness?"

"Yes. But, hmph, this is rather upsetting. I came all this way, and he's still not aware that I'm here," she said with a scowl at the pair of still-dueling princes. "Oh, I know what I'll do." Her scowl turned into a mischievous grin. "I'm going to sneak up and startle them."

Keithwood chewed on his lip.

Sacred sun high above... If she's doing this on purpose, then she's a devious little seductress. If not... Then, well, she's still a little seductress, and a natural one at that. Give her a few more years, and she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

He updated his mental profile of Mia, elevating her from "seductress" to "natural-born seductress." Little did he know, her choice to go barefoot was driven by neither design nor instinct, but something far less pleasant...

Mia skulked across the sandy beach. Both princes were focused on their practice duel and remained oblivious to her approach. Once she was close enough, she raised her voice and said, "You two sure like hitting each other with swords, don't you?"

"Wha— Huh? Mia? When did you..."

Abel reacted first and spun toward her. In the span of a few seconds, his expression blossomed into a bright smile before quickly wilting into a red-faced grimace, which he promptly hid by looking away.

My, what's the matter with him? wondered Mia as she, in accordance with Anne's teachings, handed him a towel.

"After he finishes exercising, always hand him a nicely scented towel for him to mop his brow with."

When it came to the things that truly mattered, Mia was a good student.

"Oh, uh, sorry— I mean, thanks."

Abel took the towel with almost comical meekness and nervously patted his face down. Sion, meanwhile, watched them with a sideward glance before turning and walking toward Keithwood. There was a hint of loneliness to his slow stride.

"Sion."

He turned to find Mia behind him, smiling as she held out a towel.

"You should dry yourself off too. You don't want to catch a cold now, do you?"

While such a gesture might seem strangely considerate — thoughtfulness was not usually part of her diplomatic playbook when it came to dealing with Sion — there was a good reason for the sudden shift in attitude. Mia, you see, was here to ask him a favor, and she was not above a little sweet-talking and boot-licking to get her way. The way she saw it, beggars could be choosers, so long as they begged well enough.

"Oh. I suppose not. Thank you," he said, somewhat taken aback, before recomposing himself and accepting the towel. "I'm surprised to see you here though. I didn't think your idea of a fun afternoon was watching two sweaty lads take swings at each other for a couple of hours."

"Ahaha, I wouldn't mind watching you two for a little longer, but that wasn't the original purpose of my visit."

"Oh? What was your original purpose then?"

"I came to ask you a favor."

"A favor? Of me?"

"That's right." She fixed him with a pointed gaze. "Sion, do you have any intention of running in the student council election?"

"Do I— What?!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking into a shrill falsetto in a rare display of genuine bewilderment.