Princess Mia Sympathizes with the Cowardly
Phew… That was a close one.
After successfully presenting the vegetable cake, Mia was ready to take a sip from her tea… but…
“Well… then, Mia. Shall we get to the main topic…”
Rafina poured cold water to Mia’s expectant tea and cookies time.
Main topic? There is more?!
Mia was clearly confused. The same could also be said for Sion, Abel, and Sapphias. It seemed that only Tiona and Chloe knew what was coming.
Rafina, who received everyone’s gaze, took out a book slowly.
“This a manuscript of The Book of Those Who Slither… It’s the scripture of the secret society, Chaos Serpent.”
“Wha…”
Mia was clearly shocked. She immediately looked at Sapphias.
“Miss Rafina… you know… Are you sure it’s okay to discuss that here?” She sent Rafina a high-powered gaze that pointed out to Sapphias.
Rafina-sama, what are you doing? There’s a Chaos Serpent right there!
It seemed that Rafina got the message. She nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, it’s okay, Mia-san.” Mia was relieved for a moment at that answer, but… “Since it has come to this, let us ask Sapphias to join our cause.”
Dark moons! She doesn’t know! She didn’t understand at all!
Mia screamed within her heart.
“Sapphias worked hard while you were away, Mia-san. Of course he still some ways to go, but at this point, I think it is fair to grant him our trust. After all, we can never guarantee that a person is not a Serpent, so we will just have to work with that uncertainty.”
“That’s… well, I guess that is true…”
“Rafina-sama… You… You’ll trust me?” Sapphias was so moved that he started tearing up. Then a thought occurred to him. “Hmm… secret society? Would that be connected with the thick volumes of Holy Book that you had me transcribe lately? And the regular lectures that you give me every morning, noon, and evening? The one where you had me join with a study group of mysterious men?”
Rafina looked at him quietly. Then she smiled. It was pure smile like an early spring breeze, crisp but cutting.
“I’m trusting you Sapphias.”
“Oh… r-right…”
Mia, who was watching from the side, trembled at Rafina’s smile.
Moons! Rafina is scary! So all this time, she has been secretly testing him. I won’t be surprised if she did a full background check on him too.
The more she thought about it, the more Mia thought that Rafina was the villain.
“So what is there in the manuscript?” It was Sion who was eager to bring back to conversation on track.
“Yes, well… To put it simply, it describes how to destroy a country. What procedure, how to manipulate people’s minds, and how to increase the damage…”
“What a dreadful book…” Mia said with a trembling voice.
In fact, for Mia, the victim, it’s a book that can’t be taken lightly. The culprit behind the empire’s hopeless situation was right in front of them.
“And this seems to be just a part of the manuscript. It’s a copy of the chapter called ‘Kingdombane’, and it seems that there are many other manuscripts. Because this is different from the copy that Belluga had previously obtained.”
Rafina held out the book. Sion took it and flipped through the pages.
“If we can obtain all of them, we may be able to see clearly the identity of the Chaos Serpents, huh?”
On the other hand, Sapphias was receiving a quick explanation from Abel and Tiona. He was in shock and looked at the book with a face of disbelief.
“Chaos Serpent… such a thing is also lurking in our empire…?”
Originally, it was the kind of information that he would probably laugh at. It was way too far-fetched and too dangerous to be taken seriously.
But… this is the student council.
What is said at the St. Noel Academy Student Council can sometimes have the weight of destroying a small country. Topics discussed here can never be laughed off.
Still, Sapphias smiled as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Ha, ha ha… You’re all trying to trick me, aren’t you?”
Mia was relieved to see Sapphias who looked terribly frightened.
That’s right. This is the normal reaction. Somehow, everyone seemed to be calm and natural, so I started to think that I was the crazy one. But no. It is the reaction of the rest of the people here that is strange.
Mia felt a bit of growing empathy for Sapphias. Probably best described by the saying: Birds of the same feather… or chicken of the same feather, in this case.
“If you feel that this is too much, Sapphias, I won’t mind if you back away. I can’t anymore, but you can still run away from this…”
She was, after all, the one who brought him into the Student Council in the belief that he was one of the Chaos Serpent. So she really wasn’t expecting anything from him to begin with. If he really wanted to run, then he was free to do so.
She wouldn’t stop him. Nor would she stop her beloved prince, nor her loyal maid, not even her reliable-but-nosy-four-eyes…. She wouldn’t stop any of them! In fact, she would be right there with them, running as fast as she could!
Ugh! I want to run away as well…
Her empathy for his cowardice ended up draining her courage. But…
“Run away? It seems that I have been underestimated.” Saying that, Sapphias gave a small smile.
“…Huh?”
Mia was confused at his reaction, and even more when Sapphias stood up and took a knee before her.
“Her Highness Princess Mia is trying to take the lead in fighting, holding the flag and trying to inspire the people. I am of the Bluemoon family, one of the four great dukes. I cannot afford to be running away while you are fighting. As long as your banner waves, I shall stand by your side. For you, and for my beloved, who surely cannot sleep easily knowing such evil abounds. Please, Your Highness, I implore you to add me in your ranks to battle.”
It was a solemn pledge of allegiance. It was a declaration to join Mia’s camp. The eldest son of the Bluemoon family, one of the four great dukes of the Empire, was finally joining Mia’s faction. One of the four great pillars of Tearmoon nobility has allied himself with Mia.
It was such a historic moment!
But Mia…
Ah… so this is it. I am now the one holding the banner leading the fight, huh? I wonder if will die by an arrow this time… ugh, that sounds painful.
…she stood there as hope drained from her eyes.
