Chapter 420

Like a Thorn Stuck in the Heart

“Your Majesty, I have to thank you again for setting up such a wonderful dinner banquet,” Mia said. She was ready to fight now that her stomach was full. It was time to get in the ring, and she couldn’t have been more ready to give a show that would knock everyone out. She also had her trusted helpers Ludwig and Anne with her. If it came down to it, Rania would probably side with her too. Then, on top of everything else, she had Tatiana as her ace in the hole.

Even the queen consort and her young son liked her after seeing how fiercely she attacked her food.

I’ve got this in the bag! I can’t possibly lose!

She thought she was a great general who had circled a force of 10,000 with a force of 100,000. Moments away from destroying the enemy totally, she looked at Yuhal with the confidence of someone who was sure she would win.

“You are too kind,” said Yuhal. “This is the least we can do to thank you for coming to see us during the Thanksharvest Festival.”

Mia said with a smile to the always humble king. “You are too modest. Like Princess Rania and I, Tearmoon and Perujin have a connection. I also owe a lot to Princess Arshia. I’ve always known I’d attend. I only hope that my visit will make the mutual trust we already have in each other even stronger.”

She used a bit of charm in her small talk, bringing up how friendly the two countries have been so far. It also made to coax the king not to work with Shalloak. She had hoped that her comment would do just that.

“Mutual trust, you say... Indeed, mutual trust...” The king, however, scowled.

Mia didn’t like the way he looked, but she couldn’t stop now.Explore new novels on novelbin(.)com

“Yes, that’s the basis of our friendly relations. But I have to say that I’ve heard some bad rumors lately that have made me very worried. There are rumors that the price of wheat sold to Tearmoon could go up because of a famine.”

She chewed on it. If that’s the case, it would be an extreme case of being too sure of yourself. The war was not won by making optimistic assumptions. Her band of 100,000 people turned out to be mostly new recruits and inexperienced first-timers. There were only a few real troops, about the same number as her enemy. They were about the same when it came to fighting power.

Worse still, she had ridden to this fight with no more of a plan than, “I’ll just swoop in and grab victory.”

What a terrible mistake! This isn’t a good sign!

She tried to think of a way out of this mess, but Yuhal didn’t give her enough time to come up with a plan.

“Trust? For the people? There’s no need to talk like this. If you want to make me do what you want, go ahead and try. Bring your army and make us do what you want. We both know Perujin isn’t strong enough to stand up to you.”

Ah, but that would be missing the point. If I use force to hold someone down, as soon as I let go, they will turn on me. They’ll turn against me when I’m at my weakest, which is the worst thing that could happen. Grrr... Stupid Tearmoon lords. I’ve always known they were jerks, but I didn’t think they’d do this much damage!

When she was suddenly put in a bad position, she quietly cursed her fellow aristocrats and worried about how their bad behavior had hurt her.

“That’s not true, father.”

Just then, reinforcements came from the last place she expected them to come from. At the entry to the banquet hall, a woman’s voice could be heard.

“Arshia? Are you back?”

The second princess of Perujin, Arshia Tafrif Perujin, stood in the doorway.