Chapter 202

I Don’t Mind Running Away, Do You?

Clip, clop, clip, clop... Goes the carriage that carried Mia. The horse that pulled it walked in an unmotivated gait, as if reading the mood of its master, Mia.

Aaaah, I don’t really want to do this!

A deep sigh echoed inside the carriage. By the way, currently, there was only Mia and Anne inside the carriage. Ludwig went ahead of the others to prepare for Mia’s arrival; and Bel and Lynsha were acting separately. As a result, inside the narrow carriage, only Mia’s sighs could be heard, creating a subtly dull space.

In the first place, if he was Ludwig’s master, then it should be Ludwig doing the convincing. Ugh, maybe everything will have worked out by the time I arrived there...

It should be obvious by now that Mia is the kind of person that takes the easy way out if possible. For her, it would be best if a moon fairy comes while she was sleeping and solves all her problems. Ideally, Ludwig should arrive by now and report to her that everything has been solved.

...Of course, there is no such convenient story.

“Ugh... Phew”

Mia let out a sad sigh several times more.

“Milady, are you okay?”

Anne called out to her with a worried look on her face.

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“Well... I felt like you weren’t feeling well...”

“It’s nothing like that. Don’t worry.”

Saying that, Mia smiled. Then a second later, she let out a deep sigh again. Noticing this, Anne made a face as if she had just figured something out. She climbed towards the driver’s box and came back to Mia with a question.

“Umm... Milady, since we are on the road, would you like to do some horse-riding?”

“Huh...? Horse-riding?”

Anne gave a gentle smile to the confused Mia.

“Yes. I know milady enjoys long rides. I checked with Vanos earlier. He said that the roads here are well maintained, so it should be easy to ride horses.”

“Hmm, well, it might be good for a change of pace... Huh? But Anne what about you? Last time I know, you can’t ride horses.”

When Mia asked that, Anne fumbled for some reason and then said,Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

“Actually, I am now able to ride horses. I’ve been practicing in my free time.”

“Wow! Anne on a horse? That’s new to me. Why on earth would you do such a thing?”

Anne answered with a dignified face.

“Because I didn’t want to be a hindrance to Mia-sama.”

“Oh, I never thought you were a hindrance, Anne.”

“When you were in Remno Kingdom, you couldn’t take me with you. Even though you were in a dangerous situation, I couldn’t be there for you because I couldn’t ride a horse.”

Anne said in a frustrated, trembling voice.

“Anne...”

Mia soke the necessary steps in order to calm herself. Then exactly as she instructed herself, she tightened her grips on the reins... and pulled! But her efforts to remain calm wasn’t all that successful. Her nervousness caused her to pull the reins too strongly.

The horse did not appreciate the sudden yank on the reins. It reared violently.

“...Huh?”

With just this word, Mia once again became one with the wind. The difference was that time, the horse wasn’t with her. It’s retreating form was a dire reminder that she had been thrown from its back – at such a dangerous speed, no less.

Uh... oh? This seems to be really bad...

She felt weightless and started getting nauseous.

“Milady!”

She could hear Anne’s screams at the distance, but it was too late. Just when she was about to hit the ground, something thick and rigid wrapped around her stomach.

“Blech!”

A voice came out of her lips. Her nausea was taking over, and she swallowed hard barely managing to hold back from vomiting.

“Phew. I made it on time. Are you okay, Your Highness?”

She saw the face of Vanos smiling wryly. It was then that Mia finally noticed that she was held by Vanos’ thick arms.

“That was really dangerous. I’m glad I made it on time.”

Saying so, Vanos let Mia straddle his own horse. Mia obediently sits in front of Vanos and calms down, then turns her head again and looks at Vanos.

“Thank you Vanos. You saved me. I’m sorry to have put you through that. I got a little carried away there.”

“You sure did, Your Highness. If something happens to you, both Captain Dion and Ludwig will be disappointed. And not to mention your poor maid...”

When Mia looked behind her, she saw Anne with a deathly pale face, trying desperately to control her horse she urged it toward them.

“Ah, I made Anne worry too...” If, by any chance, she fell and got injured, Anne would have fainted. “I should have been careful.”

“I must say, I wasn’t expecting to hear that from you...”

“Oh? But you were right, and you saved me. Isn’t that natural?”

“Well, I agree with you. But I thought I would get an earful about being insolent and everything else. Most nobles would surely react like that.”

Vanos smiles wryly.

“That aside, Vanos, you are quite big, now that I see you up close.”

“Oh? Hehe, well, I’m proud of being one of the biggest in the empire. It’s not just my size though. I also am quite good at the sword. Though not as good as Captain Dion.” Vanos lets out a loud laugh with Gahaha. “There are imperial soldiers who are bigger than me, and there are imperial soldiers who are stronger than me, but I don’t think there are any imperial soldiers who are as big and strong as me. I make a great meatshield.”

“Now that is very reassuring, isn’t it? But please don’t call yourself a meatshield. You are now a member of the Princess Guard, so you should carry yourself with confidence and pride that befits a knight who protects me from harm.”

Mia said with a pleasant smile, to which Vanos grinned from ear to ear.

“Hehe, Your Highness, you’re really a likeable person. Makes me feel good to serve under you. Makes the whole job worth it.”

The two looked at each other and laughed. Mia gets along well with big men.

“Milady! Are you injured!?”

Anne finally caught up with them. Her face was pale with terror. Mia bowed her head to Anne in apology.