Mia Pandemic – Monica Realizes the Terrible Truth
“Let’s get back to what we were talking about,” said Monica. “Citrina Yellowmoon, her attendant Barbara, and the man who controls wolves planned together to kill Princess Mia. We heard that they tried to run away toward Sunkland, but they ran into a patrolling Sunkland cavalry.”
“Ah. So they tried to cross the border into my country. But what is this about patrolling Sunkland cavalry?”
Sion asked, raising an eyebrow. Monica smiled and said, “Ludwig told us ahead of time that the wolf assassin was involved.”
Ludwig? Mia thought back to a message she had gotten. Oh, now that she says it, I do remember that Ludwig said someone had tried to kill him back in Tearmoon.
Ludwig’s neat handwriting came back to her mind. The letter did talk about a killer who used wolves. Which was old news by now, but all through the fall, Mia had been thinking about how she was going to be killed on the night of the Holy Eve Festival. She didn’t have much extra brainpower to think about all the letter’s details.
Oops, that was a mistake. If I had known the enemy would bring wolves, I would have brought a meaty bone with me. “Keep your eyes on the bone, dogs. Now, go get it!”
It was a pleasant vision, so she stayed with it a little longer, only stopping when the conversation caught her attention again.
“Also, the day before the festival, Ludwig sent us an urgent message telling us that the killer with wolves would travel through Belluga and get close to the border with Sunkland.”
“Oh? I wasn’t aware of that,” Mia said. “I did ask Ludwig to look into what the House of Yellowmoon had to do with the Chaos Serpents. If he found something while doing that, I wouldn’t have much say in how he handled it.”
“I see. The information might have been so important that it needed to be sent right away. We got a letter from a messenger pigeon that was very short and to the point. It told how the wolf-man could get away and where guards should be put.”
The Tearmoon Empire and the Holy Principality of Belluga were not too far away from each other. Even so, regular mail, which Mia often sent by horse, took days to get to its destination. On the other hand, messenger pigeons could do the same thing in much less time.
Monica was basically giving Mia an excuse for why she knew something that Mia didn’t. In reality, though, Mia had given Ludwig free reign over his investigation and wasn’t the least bit bothered by it. Ludwig was the best vassal for someone like her who believed that she could answer all of his reports with “Yes!” She would never dare criticize the way he handled things.
I have to say, though, that Ludwig is so reliable. As usual, if I leave it up to him, everything works out fine.
Mia smiled at that thought.
Princess Mia is quite a character. I’d always known it, but…
As Monica gave her report, she grew to admire the princess more and more.
Usually, the smarter a powerful person was, the more they micromanaged the people who worked for them. At the very least, they would keep an eye on everything. When subordinates did things without consulting their bosses first, they usually got in trouble. Mia’s response, on the other hand, went against all logic.
She didn’t look anything but happy. In a way, it was a subtle but deep show of faith, one that could not have been done by someone who didn’t have complete faith in her subordinates. She had confidence in her subjects, because she knew they would do the right thing, and confidence in her own ability to follow up on them if they fail.
Monica looked at Mia and saw her in a new way before saying, “We contacted Sunkland after Ludwig’s report.”
Officially, Sunkland’s spy agency, the Wind Crows, hadn’t been working since the Remno incident. They got rid of all the White Crows who worked for them and were in the process of reorganizing. Realistically, the Kingdom of Sunkland couldn’t afford to shut down their entire intelligence network all at once.
A small group of people stayed on call and ready to help in case of an emergency. Monica sent a message, hoping it would be picked up by a Wind Crow agent. It was, and they responded right away. Without asking for more information, they sent out their fastest cavalry right away.
Following Ludwig’s orders, they set up camp in the places he told them to and waited. The plan worked out well. The enemy fell for the trap.”
“Really? Does that mean…” Bel’s eyes lit up with excitement.
But Monica’s shake of the head put out her fire, “Unfortunately, the enemy got away. The wolf-man got through our lines and went away. The carriage carrying the young lady of Yellowmoon and her servant Barbara turned around and headed for Belluga. We think they are going to the Tearmoon Empire. In particular, the Yellowmoon domain.”
“They went back home? Seriously? That seems…well, kind of dumb. Are you sure that’s what they’d do? Abel asked.
“They were led to do so. Ludwig told us not to completely encircle the enemy because an enemy who is trapped is a more dangerous enemy. Instead, we did what he told us to do and left a gap toward Tearmoon as our forces closed in.”
Abel nodded, showing that he understood. “I see. Makes sense. I wouldn’t want to force that man to make a last stand either.”
“I agree. Soldiers who have nowhere to go and nothing to lose can sometimes do a lot of damage before they die. If that assassin is a good fighter, it would be dangerous to corner him without being well-prepared. The cavalry we had on patrol didn’t even manage to corner him in the first place.”
It was still worth it, though, because it meant that the wolfmaster could escape on his own. This turned out to be important because it split up the enemy and put Citrina, the one they wanted to get back, back in reach.
As Monica thought through the logic, she suddenly had a chilling realization…
It’s like…I’m having déjà vu. This is happening exactly the same way as that time in Remno.
When she worked in Remno for the White Crow, Graham, she saw how the Great Wisdom of the Empire took apart the White Crows’ plan piece by piece; all the while putting it back together in a way that worked better for her. It was like watching a sleight-of-hand trick on the scale of a whole kingdom.
She couldn’t believe how everything just fit together in the end. For example, Ludwig’s instructions would not have worked if the assassination attempt hadn’t happened. Without a successful encirclement, it would have been easy for the assassins from Tearmoon to get away. But that wasn’t what happened.
The assassination attempt happened, and the blockade had worked. In the end, Mia got exactly what she had hoped for. Was this an example of careful planning?
Monica didn’t think it was anything else. Of course, a part of her mind begged for reason.
She didn’t think it was possible for someone to have control over so many different factors. That kind of calculation just couldn’t be done. At the same time, she couldn’t deny that the facts in front of her showed otherwise.
Mia had been acting nervously lately. That was a pretty clear sign that she knew about the plot against her.
Then, the way she showed Citrina how the smoke-making bath herbs worked in the public baths showed that she had already figured out that her fellow countrywoman was involved. Still, she hadn’t tried to stop their plan right then, probably out of concern for Citrina. It was her way of giving her a chance to change her mind and win back her loyalty.
And now, no matter how unlikely it all seemed, the truth was that Mia had stopped Citrina from being taken far away and instead put her in a place that was easy to reach. After that, it should be said that Citrina’s actions showed that she wanted to make amends.
“Everything Miss Mia did, she did to save Rina. I’m positive!”
Bel’s sure statement played over and over inside Monica’s head. She found it hard to argue with the girl.
It would take a little too much willful ignorance to think that all of this was just a coincidence.
She slowly turned her gaze towards Mia with a look of respect.
“…Princess Mia, how many steps ahead do you think?”
Mia didn’t answer, and all she did was smile.
I should ask Rafina what she thinks about it later… Maybe she’ll be able to judge the princess’s actions with more objectivity.
Monica did talk about it with Rafina afterward, but it only made bolstered her respect for Mia even more. In other words, it was business as usual.
