Princess Mia’s High Kick!
Mia was watching the interaction between Abel and Sion from a distance. It seems that Abel has forgiven Sion.
I’m glad it all turned out well. As expected of Abel.
She was a little happy that Abel made the same decision as her.
Even so, it seems that Sion won’t be going around with walking around with his nose in the air for the time being.
Mia walked up to Sion, feeling smug.
“I’m glad to see you have been forgiven.”
“Yes. All thanks to you, Mia”
Sion turns his face to Mia and gently bows. Next to that, Abel shrugged her shoulders with a smile.
“Well, to be honest, I can’t say my father is totally innocent. I can’t just blame Sunkland.”
Mia knew how true Abel’s words were. He cannot impose all responsibility with the one who hatched the plot. In her previous timeline, Tearmoon empire was certainly rotten. Its reckoning was inevitable. That’s why she’d put her grievances aside except for one thing…
“Sion, you finally know the taste of failure.”
At Mia’s words, Sion was taken aback.
“You may not know this since you are always so perfect, but humans fail. No one can live perfectly. That’s why we forgive, so that we may give them the opportunity to start over.”
Especially me! Mia added in my heart. After all, in the previous timeline she wasn’t given that opportunity at all…
“But… when I think about it… hmmm?”
Calming down a little, Mia folded her arms in deep thought.
If what happened here in Remno is the same as the revolution in Tearmoon, then that holier-than-thou attitude of Sion was not really justified! When I think more about it… this actually makes me angry!
Looking at Sion with an apologetic face… Evil Mia whispered in Mia’s ear.
Now is the perfect time to teach him a lesson. No pain, no gain, right? Besides, it will be for his own good.
…Mia waited for the Good Mia to argue against Evil Mia, but none came. Good Mia sometimes slacks off her job, this is why Mia gets herself into trouble sometimes.
“Sion, I believe that you need a permanent reminder of what happened today. That way, you will never forget that you also failed once.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
To Sion’s question, Mia answers in a deliberate and heavy tone.
“Crime and punishment go hand in hand. Crime is considered finish once punishment starts. Prince Abel seems to have forgiven you, but is your conscience really satisfied?”
“Punishment? Hey, Princess Mia!”
Keithwood hurried to stop Mia, but Sion stopped him with an outstretched arm.
“No… she is right. I shall gladly accept your punishment. What shall it be?”
“Hmm, your courage is commendable! Sion, stand over there.”
Sion closed his eyes and Mia slowly circled around him with a pompous air as if judging him. She then positioned herself behind him. Like Abel, who stubbornly continued to train that one sword, Mia also had been polishing something of her own. From the day that Anne told her that it didn’t hurt, she trained hard so that when she gets to use it someday, its power has increased. Well, that day has arrived. She was ready to deliver her signature kick!
I’ll make sure to give you a pain!
She was so determined to inflict pain on Sion that she was willing to endure the pain in her leg. This is something, since Mia is known to hate pain.
She planted her feet firmly to get ready. Then she kicked as high as she could. It was as perfect as Mia could ever do. She was aiming for Sion’s head. Except that it fell short of its target. It did not reach Sion’s head… not even his shoulders… nor his waist… it barely reached above his thighs.
Flank…
It was his butt that she hit with a satisfying sound of impact.
“Engrave this pain in your heart Sion, that you may forever remember what happened here.”
Mia said with a triumphant face.
It wasn’t as painful as Sion was preparing for. In fact, the kick was so weak that Sion was baffled by it. He looked to Mia in confusion…
“Shining sun, what was that?”
However, he realized something immediately.
No way. It has to be on purpose…?
Crime ends where punishment begins. The Wisdom of the Empire did ask him, “Is Abel’s forgiveness enough for you to move on?” Crime requires punishment, and ends with a punishment. That’s why Mia did not spare him. To the onlookers, his punishment had already been carried out. So no one will punish Sion after this.
However, Sion himself knows that it did not really end. His crime, the guilt, and the pain with it would never disappear. From now on, Sion will always remember today’s failure whenever he will try to act in the name of justice. He will ask himself again and again if what he is doing is really right? And after overcoming doubts, then he would remember to forgive. Just as he had once been forgiven. With the events that happened this day, he will remember to show mercy to anyone who had done wrong.
Engrave this pain in your heart Sion, that you may forever remember what happened here… This pain of guilt will always be my constant reminder. So that’s what she was saying, huh?
Judgment fairly and act justly. This had been ingrained into Sion since childhood. But it is only now that he truly understood the weight and the difficulty of what it means.
Later, Sion Sol Sunkland, would be praised for the way he balances justice and mercy; and he would acquire the title “Balance King.” He told his loyal retainer Keithwood with a nostalgic smile.
“That day was a crossroad for me. If I hadn’t tasted that pain, I would surely have lost my head to my own people due to their wrath. And if I had tasted that pain later, I would have been too stubborn to be able to admit my mistake.”
Author’s Note:
The extra edition “King of Condemnation and the loyal retainer of Mia” has been uploaded.
It’s an episode on the previous timeline, and it’s just a bittersweet episode like a deep roasted bitter blend, so if you don’t like that, you shouldn’t read it.
Which sounds better? Balance King or Libra King? Or Equal King?
Anyway, tomorrow we will be having the side story that the author mentioned. So, a trip back to the previous timeline.
Also, I am not sure if the thing that Mia was talking about (crime and punishment) is a reference to Dostoevsky’s book, Crime and Punishment. Probably it is. But I haven’t read that book.
