Bad News! The Deadly Plan is Finally Set in Motion!
Now that the horsemanship tournament was over, autumn was in full swing. It was the time of year when there were lots of good things to eat. This would normally be Mia’s favourite time of year.
“Oh, woe is me…”
Instead, she was letting out a sad sigh at the moment.
You might think that another episode of F.A.T. was keeping her from eating a whole bunch of sweets, but if you did, you’d be…wrong!
The Chronicles of Saint Princess Mia was the cause of all of her trouble. Her brain had a tendency to forget bad memories, which was usually a good thing, but it wasn’t going to forget that winter was coming, and with it, her predicted death.
The Princess Chronicles, on the other hand, wouldn’t get back to its original size, even though it had an updated passage about how she won the horsemanship tournament. It even talked about how, during her victory lap, she “flew around the spectator stands like a fairy.”
What kind of nonsense was Anne telling Elise?
Mia said, “Hmm,” and her brows furrowed. “I think I’ll have to ask for help from everyone…”
The horsemanship tournament taught her how important it is to ask for help when you need it.
“Of course, I can’t just tell them about the Princess Chronicles, but… Maybe I can say I heard about a plan to kill me?”
She could ask for help from one of the boys. She thought about Abel’s face first, then Sion’s and Keithwood’s. They were all capable fighters. If she had them take turns guarding her around the clock, wouldn’t she be able to fend off any attempts on her life?
Even though the plan made sense, it would not work out. The next morning, she decided to tell them about her plan. Before she left, she checked the Princess Chronicles and saw that it had been updated to include both the talk she was about to have with them and how she’d die afterward. The book says that Abel would keep a close eye on her as her bodyguard, but she managed to get away from him and sneak out of Saint-Noel.
“Gah! What in the moons was this future me thinking?”
She screamed and held her head in anger. She couldn’t help but feel uneasy at the same time.
“The way things keep happening in the book makes me feel like I’m being led to my own death. It’s almost as if someone is controlling me.”
She tried to picture herself leaving the academy without thinking, drawn away by the Serpents. She did well. Way too simple. The face she saw made her shiver. It was empty and clueless.
“Also, now that I think about it, even if I make it through the night of the Holy Eve Festival, it won’t matter if they go ahead with their plan to kill me soon after. This brings up another question. Are they really going to kill me?”
It was theoretically possible for her to surround herself with guards to ward off assassins, but that was neither feasible in the long term nor did it solve the fundamental problem. As long as she didn’t know who the killers were, she could only treat the symptoms and not the disease.
The fact that she didn’t even know what would happen was especially frustrating. She was the only witness, but she had been killed, so there were very few details. She had looked through the Princess Chronicles, but all it told her was that she would die.
“Well, it looks like I did learn something. I know now that I try to sneak past my own guards so I can die. So, hmm… Maybe I should tie myself to a pillar or lock myself in a dungeon for that one day. But that still feels like it’s just delaying the inevitable. Hmm,” she said as she walked past the library.
Chloe, who happened to be at the door, said, “Ah, Princess Mia!”
“My, Chloe. I guess you’re looking for more books?”
“Yes. People do say that fall is the best time to read.”
She smiled and showed Mia the books in her hands.
“Well, it’s a nice time, for sure. It’s neither too hot nor too cold. Great for getting lost in a book, don’t you think?”
Mia agreed, but a dull thought kept her from being as excited as Chloe.
If I die in the winter, I won’t be able to finish reading Elise’s book. I do wonder what will happen to the prince and the dragon… The end of that story hadn’t been told yet.
She had heard the beginning of the story in the underground dungeon and wanted to read the rest.
Even so, I heard it at a time that is technically three years from now, and it won’t be finished until then, so I guess I’m out of luck.
For book lovers, not being able to finish a good story was one of the worst things that could happen. She couldn’t stop thinking about this sad thing until…
“Oh?”
Chloe handed her a book. The name of the book was Exotic Gastronomy 2.
Oh, I see now what’s going on. So, you’ve been reading things like that. I see that you are also a fellow cravings soldier!
Harvest time was in the fall. Unavoidably, it was also a time when people wanted to eat more.
Mia said, “Isn’t that a book that looks pretty tasty?”
“Yes, it is. The first volume of Exotic Gastronomy talked about tasty foods from all over the world, and now the second volume is out. This one focuses on seasonal dishes and… Look! Here, it says that mushroom stew is especially good right now.”
“You don’t say…”
Mia’s eyes were sparkling.
“Mushroom stew… How awfully appealing. Okay, I’ll read this book all the way through!”
Keithwood was about to have more bad things happen in the kitchen.
