Chapter 477

Chapter 477

The Secret of That Dress...

Mia was getting ready for the party in Count Lampron’s guest room, which was her temporary home in the Kingdom of Sunkland. Anne was helping her put on a dress that wasn’t quite fitting right around the waist. She took a quick breath to clear her mind. The tightening of her stomach made it easy for the dress to fit perfectly. After putting on her clothes, she closed her eyes to get her thoughts in order.

I thought a lot about things while I was in bed yesterday, and I have to say that things are pretty difficult right now.

Thinker-in-bed Mia then went to her favorite place to think and lowered herself. She started going through the huge amount of information she had just discovered while her eyes were still closed. She put them back together in her mind one piece at a time so she could think about them more.

To add on to that, it seems that brains order the memories while asleep. This might have something to do with Mia’s chosen way of thinking, but it’s not clear.

In any case, she came to a decision after going over everything she knew and giving it a lot of thought: This time, it seems like the easiest thing to do would be to tell Sion about it and have him fix it. And he has Keithwood too. Even if both of them are looking out for it, they won’t be able to poison Sion...

Mia’s understanding of what was going on was no longer limited to what she had read in the Chronicles. She also had access to Citrina’s research results, which made it pretty clear that Echard had been in touch with the Serpents and might have been planning to poison someone. Sion and Keithwood would definitely come to the same conclusion and take steps to stop the plan if they had the same facts.

Mia didn’t want to go through with the plan, though, for some reason. How strange... Maybe it’s because I don’t want to do what I know is the best thing to do... Like if I do that, something bad will happen... I wonder why?

“Uh, milady?”

Anne’s voice woke her up from her thoughts. When she turned around, Anne had already stepped back, her job done. She got up and walked over to a mirror.

“Hmm...” She turned around in a circle to look at herself and nodded happily. It’s perfect.

Mia wore the same simple dress to the new students dance party at St. Noel’s. That dress was too short for her now that she had grown a little. But that wasn’t all. She was really going this time in full gear. She had a bow on her head. A chain with a pendant around her neck and small earrings sparkled on her ears. Lastly, a scarf that was see-through added an extra touch of class.

“Thank you, Anne. Great job on your work.”

“Milady, it’s always an honor.” Anne bowed her head politely.

Mia laughed. “Look at you now, all grown up and in charge. You look like a maid who knows what she is doing.”

“That’s great that you think that, milady. I learned how to bake bread and ride a horse. Now, I’m not sure if riding horses is usually part of a maid’s job, though.”

They laughed and gave each other a knowing look. After that, Anne’s face showed a hint of worry upon seeing Mia’s face.

“I’m sorry, milady. Is something on your mind?”

“Oh? Why do you ask?”

“The whole time you’ve been looking down. I can tell because I’m a good maid who knows what she is doing,” Anne said with a wry grin. “And the person they serve is the one thing maids know better than anyone else.”

“Wow, you’ve really learned how to talk.” I guess you’re right, though. I can’t keep anything from you.

“That’s correct. Since I’m your maid, you can’t hide anything from me. That’s why I know you’ll be okay too. Don’t worry, I’ll always be here for you if something goes wrong. Do what you believe is right and give it your all.” Anne clenched her hands and huffed to cheer her on. “I will always have your back, no matter what!”

“Anne...” Mia smiled when she saw her maid’s touching act of love.

“I see... I see!”

Even harder to explain was his happiness afterward.

“So you wore that dress, right?” He said, “My dear little Mia, wearing that dress...” with the funniest grin ever.

What in the moons? He chose the dress, so I thought he would get mad that I didn’t wear it... All of this makes no sense...

What’s more, when she told him that she’d grown out of the dress a bit (vertically, in case anyone was asking), he had it resized right away so she could wear it whenever she wanted. Besides that...

“Since we’re already replacing the dress, why not add some accessories that go with it? Cost doesn’t matter. We will have the best on the continent—”

“No, no, dad. Do not do that. That would be a waste—um... Oh! They wouldn’t go with the dress. I’d rather the dress stand out, so let’s wear some accents that aren’t too flashy. The best ones would be the ones without any gems!”

“Really then? But—”

“Yes! Yeah, I’ll pick out the extras, so you don’t have to worry about that, okay?”

“Oh, I see... If you say so... By the way, Mia, there’s something about that dress that you should know, uh...” the emperor said in a mumbled voice.

“Hm?”

When Mia raised an eyebrow at her dad, he slowly shook his head.

“...No. Don’t worry. It’s great that you like the dress. Please take good care of it, okay?”

“Huh? Yes, of course I will. After all, I like it.”

—

“Silly dad... He could have told me...” Mia whispered. “He had to feel embarassed about it. He acts like a child sometimes...”

She shook her head, but it was more of a fond gesture than frustrations. Then she slowly closed her eyes. She didn’t remember much about her mother. Still, the soft, delicate grain of the fabric made her feel very nostalgic.

“Thank you, mom... Please keep an eye on me, okay?”

Something flashed in front of her eyes as she breathed the words. It looked like a faint image of her mother’s face with the look mothers would wear when they loved their kids but thought they needed too much help from them. Because she was being gently told off, Mia could feel her back straighten. She looked more serious and focused in her eyes.

“Okay then. Time to leave. Look alive now. Mom is watching.”

Her voice had a new sense of purpose in it.

Author’s Note:

The comicalized SS received good reviews.

I was so happy that I couldn’t help but write about it... I have no regrets....

And yesterday, I updated the activity report.

I’m sure there are some surprising images, but please don’t jump to conclusions.