The First Loyal Subject and a New Friend
Anne was taking boxes to the cathedral because she was asked to help get ready for the Holy Eve Festival.
I need to finish this quickly so I can get back to my lady, but good grief, there’s still so much to do!
Belluga was in charge of Saint-Noel, so it was rare for her, a Tearmoon maid who worked for Mia, to be asked to do things for the academy as a whole.
I mean, I can see how they might be short-handed since it was the Holy Eve Festival, but…
She thought that Mia and the student council had done a great job getting ready for the day. So, it seemed strange that people needed her help so quickly. Furthermore…
“Ugh, what bad luck. It’s crazy that we have to do things like this on the day of the festival. Hey, did you hear? Someone broke the candle stands in the cathedral, so we have to bring in new ones.”
One of the other maids who worked with her grumbled, which made her worry even more.
Wrecking in the cathedral? Who in the school would do something like that?
The more she thought about it, the more nervous she got.
No matter what, let’s finish this quickly…
Just as she picked up her pace, she saw someone she knew.
“Huh? Is that…Milady?”
She saw Mia, who had left the dorm and for some reason seemed to be going to the stables. Even though she only saw her face for a second, the look on it was clear: she was upset.
“What could possibly be bothering her?”
Even though she was Mia’s maid, they didn’t spend every minute of the day together. Anne was often doing something, and Mia was often out with her classmates. Saint-Noel Island was a place where people felt safe enough to do these things.
Also, Mia was one of the few powerful princesses who also had common sense. She could do things like go shopping on her own. She would sneak away to town on her own to buy snacks when she didn’t want Anne to watch her. Anne knew this, but she didn’t care because she thought the number of times was low enough to let it go.
Because of this, there was no real reason to worry when Mia went to town by herself. It was possible that all she wanted to do was a quick trip to the store.
But what didn’t make sense was the clothes.
“…why is she dressed for riding?”
Since she looked like she was going to the stables, her clothes did make sense. The timing didn’t make any sense.
Soon it would be night, and the candlelight mass was about to begin. Students were supposed to prepare and put on their special clothes and meet at the cathedral. Mia was doing neither of those things.
“There’s no way she’s going far away. That’s too late now…”
Anne kept walking towards the cathedral, but she was getting more and more nervous. Mia had refused to promise that she would take Anne with her if she ever got into trouble. She thought of Mia riding away into the distance and never coming back.
“That’s not going to happen. It can’t.”
By any sensible standard, the idea was nonsense. Mia wouldn’t just go away. Still, something about this didn’t feel right. She had been filled with a strange aura for the past few days.
On top of that, she had abruptly thanked Anne for her all her services yesterday… Even though it was a Holy Eve tradition to thank people who had helped you in your daily life, the act itself was not a reason to be suspicious. However, when looking at the whole story…
“Milady…”
Anne’s heart started to feel full of a dark fear. She ran to the cathedral, put the box down, and ran straight to the stable.
“Milady…”
She kept saying her mistress’s name quietly, but it soon turned into a frantic cry.
“Milady! Mia! Where did you go?!”
“Wow, we’re running so late.”
Tiona hurriedly walked to her dorm. After she was done practising archery, she didn’t have much time to get ready for the ceremony.
“At this rate, we won’t get there in time for mass. Let’s run.”
“Okay.” Liora nodded. “Let’s—”
In spite of what she said, she stopped in her tracks.
“Liora? What’s up?”
“A voice…”
“What?”
“I can hear…a voice…” Liora looked around her. “That way.”
She started running.
“Wait! Liora! What’s happening?”
Tiona quickly followed her servant convinced of the urgency.
Soon, they found Anne, who was about to run out the gate of the academy.
“Anne? “Where are you going?”
“Miss Tiona!” Anne yelled, “Miss Liora!” as she ran towards them.
Tiona stiffened. Anne’s face was so pale and her eyes were filled with tears.
“Did either of you see milady? She should have been here… With a horse, probably…” she asked, holding out her hands and sounding like she was about to panic.
The sight also made Tiona feel uneasy. She had been feeling this way ever since she had a dream in which she regretted not talking to Mia before it was too late. Over the past few days, it had been slowly dying down, but now it started to burn again. She told herself to calm down and wait until the festival was over because they would have a lot of time to talk afterward… If she really couldn’t wait, she could do it tonight at the student council’s stew party.
Why the rush? Asked her mind.
This is why, her heart replied.
Reason gave way to unease, and she acted on the latter.
“Come on, Anne. We’ll both look for her. Liora, go tell Miss Rafina. She might be busy, though. Then, Princes Abel and Sion. Even Keithwood. Whoever’s free. Grab as many people as you can.”
“Got it… You should be careful, too, Miss Tiona,” Liora said as she ran away.
Tiona looked at Anne again.
“Okay, then. We need to get going.”
She led the way, but in her hurry, she forgot to take her quiver and bow off.
