Chapter 458

Chapter 458

Two Scents

“Hmm...” Mia asked, “Rafina-sama, do you mind if I ask your opinion on the matter?”

She had just thought of a question. DiiScôver new stories on no/v/e()/lbin(.)com

“Do you see things the same way as Count Lampron? That crooked nobles should be taken out, even if it means using force?”

Rafina’s head was tilted in thought. She was about to answer, but changed her mind and averted her gaze. She finally spoke after a short pause.

“Once,” she said. After another pause, she added, “And still do sometimes, if I’m being honest.”

S-Seriously?!

Mia’s hands went to her head to make sure it was still there.

Most of the time, Mia saw Rafina as a friend. In fact, this was a fairly recent change. It took her a long time to get over the pain from her past. She liked not having to worry all the time about being found out and put to death. That relief didn’t last nearly long enough.

Oh, moons... Rafina-sama’s wrath is still incurable. I should be careful not to hurt anyone by accident... I could die with the smallest mistake...

Friends can forgive each other, but they can only do so much. A few jokes could be laughed off, but what if you broke something important to them? Like getting in the way of them eating a cake? Yes, some things can just go too far.

In the case of Rafina, her anger was caused by selfish or cruel actions by the nobles. She was also often irritated by being too lazy. Mia had already figured out that this was a part of her own personality. Mia also knew that she herself could be a little self-centered at times. Also bossy, which was like a mild form of control. As for being lazy... Maybe just a little bit of that, too. Because of this, Rafina’s confession made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Even so...

“But, Mia, ever since we became friends, I’ve noticed that I’ve changed. Tiona, you too. Since I’ve known you, I’ve started to see things differently.”

Tiona was surprised and said, “...Huh?”

She didn’t think that the talk would suddenly turn to her.

“I heard that during the race for student council, you forgave the people that harassed you. Not only forgave them, but also worked with them to help Mia.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, I guess that really did happen...” Mia muttered as she thought about what had happened in class that day.

Mia thought about what Bel had told her about the future. In it, Rafina was the Empress Prelate and terrorized the whole world. She had said that all enemies should be killed, and her emphasis on this extreme solution was almost obsessive. Even though her unchecked anger worked against the Serpents, she ran the risk of being used by them in return. While this was going on, the dead just kept piling up.

Mia thought Rafina’s guess was right, even though it was just a gut feeling.

“Oh bother. I was just about to... But I can see you’re already very busy,” Rafina said with a sigh of disappointment.”

“Huh? What would you do if I wasn’t busy?”

“Well, you see, I didn’t come to Sunkland just for the ball. I heard some...bad news about the Equestrian Kingdom from Malong a few days ago, and I’m here to talk to the king about it.”

“Oh, the Equestrian Kingdom...”

“To tell you the truth, I really hoped you could help me, but I guess there’s nothing I can do. After all, you already have a lot on your plate.”

Hmm, am I the only one who...

Mia smelled two different scents. The first was a sense of danger, which was everywhere. Rafina had made the trip to Sunkland on her own. That alone told a lot about how worried she was. No matter what the problem was, it was bad news.

As if Sion being killed and Esmeralda asking to get married weren’t bad enough. She didn’t want to give herself another problem. Mia usually tried to stay out of danger as much as possible.

Is this something I should never, ever touch...? Yes, this is not the time to be curious. As the saying goes, ‘curiosity killed the princess.’

It didn’t take her long to decide that the best thing to do was to stay out of it.

We all know she would get involved in the end anyway, because she wouldn’t be Mia otherwise. But for now, just let her have this.

The second scent is...

“It looks like our food is coming, so let’s eat first and talk more afterward.”

It had to do with food. When an earthenware pot was put on the table in front of her, she let out a happy gasp.

“My! This must be the matsutake cooked in a pot! Aaah... What a wonderful smell...”

So, after eating a delicious meal of foods that Rafina approved of, Mia went back to Count Lampron’s house, full in both body and mind.

What happened? You might ask, “What about Esmeralda’s wedding?” And what’s the truth about Sion’s planned murder?

Well, let’s just say that “eat first and talk more later” put more stress on eating than talking.