Chapter 223

Esmeralda’s Plot

Esmeralda Etoile Greenmoon left for Ganudos Port Country early in the morning and got there before Mia’s group.

After being annoyed by the boring greetings with the country’s dignitaries, she spent the rest of her time waiting in refined luxury. Ganudos was a minor power, so it didn’t have nearly as much money as Tearmoon, and it couldn’t even match the financial power of one of the Four Dukes.

It did have one thing worth mentioning, though: shipyards. People in this nation knew how to make boats. In fact, Ganudos shipwrights made the sailboat that the Greenmoons used.

It was built with great skill and was very beautiful. It spent most of the year at the dock, where people could see how well it was made. Yet, the only time it was used was when Esmeralda took it out for a cruise in the summer.

Even picky Esmeralda, who was sitting in the captain’s cabin and humming to herself, was impressed by the ship’s beauty. It had a bright green hull, two tall masts, and an artistic figurehead at the front.

“Oh no, Miss Mia, it looks like you fell right into my trap.”

She couldn’t have been happier with how well her plan was going. So happy was she that even the boat’s unsteady rocking felt like fun instead of making her sick, and she couldn’t help but laugh to show how happy she was.

She was about to have another fit of boisterous laughter, but a girl stopped her.

“Excuse me, milady.”

The girl was two years older than Esmeralda, and she had been taking care of her since they were both young children.

“Oh? Is there something wrong, uh...”

“It’s Nina, madam,” the girl said quickly, giving her name again without batting an eye.

“Ah. What is this time?” Esmeralda said, “Excuse me, but I don’t walk around remembering the names of all my servants.” She didn’t even try to sound sorry.

She gave a grin.

“I’m very interested to see how that turns out. Oh, that will be such a treat...”

So, Mia steadily walked toward the terrible trap Esmeralda had set for her. In fact, the trap was even worse than it seemed because it had two parts.

Before she humiliated Mia in front of everyone, Esmeralda had planned to do it in private.

First, she was going to laugh as she watched Mia flail around in the water. She wouldn’t let her risk drowning, but Mia probably wouldn’t even put her head under the water because she didn’t know how to swim. The idea of seeing Mia flailing around in the water because she was scared was so funny that she had to see it for herself.

The second part came next. As Mia struggled, Esmeralda would jump in like the big sister she was and teach the poor princess how to swim.

It was both a joke and a game, so it was a great plan.

She’d get even with Mia for putting her down the other day, and they’d play in the water together. Esmeralda, you see, thought of herself as one of Mia’s best friends most of the time.

Even though Mia sinks like a rock, she could still do something like submerge her head. She loved taking baths so much that she often gave in to the urge to stick her head down into the warm water. She was an expert at tub diving. Even if there was nothing else...

“Oh my, this is so exciting! What a wonderful thrill!”

Esmeralda walked out of the cabin with a spring in her step, leaving only the sound of her deep laugh behind.

As a second side note, Esmeralda made sure to bring a swimsuit for Mia because she was a thoughtful and caring friend. Expert tailors made it to fit the latest fashion, and it was one of the “terribly indecent” styles that showed the whole stomach.

Also, it was made to go with the other one, which was for Esmeralda. They’d both wear the same swimsuit.

Mia’s only reaction to this would be a mix of confusion and horror, but believe it or not, it was done in good faith.

Esmeralda just wanted to help out her friend.