Princess Mia’s Debauchery Festival 1: I’m not a Glutton, It’s Just Appreciation
After the events at the Yellowmoon mansion, Mia was in a hurry to return to the capital, Lunatear.
Clip, clop, clip, clop…
Mia sat in her carriage with her chin in her hand and her elbow on the sill as it moved slowly toward Lunatear, the imperial capital.
She had a serious face.
“Oh, look, milady.”
Anne, who hadn’t been back in a long time, was excited to see Lunatear coming into view.
Mia smiled at her excitement, but she was still thinking about Lorenz said.
At the end of the day, it looks like we’re still a long way from finding out what’s going on.
He had said that the Serpents had a high priestess, and it was likely that she had their holy book, The Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth. That was it, though. In the end, all they really learned was that these things were real. That wasn’t much of a step forward. Lorenz might have been able to get more information from the Serpents if he had been more involved with them. However, he admitted that he had been questionably cooperative from the start, so he never got to meet the high priestess in person.
“Moons,” Mia said in sorrow. “I wonder how long it will take for us to make real progress against the Serpents…”
“Milady?” When Mia looked up, Anne’s worried face was only a few inches away. “Is there something bothering you?”
“Oh, uh… No. Mia quickly smiled and said, “I’m fine. Nothing’s bothering me.”
Then she changed her thoughts.
In fact, I’ve been giving Anne a lot of reasons to worry lately, haven’t I? Maybe I should tell her the truth…
She couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she had done something wrong, so she decided to say what was in her thoughts.
“Actually, Lord Yellowmoon told us some troubling things that showed how big and mysterious our enemy was, but he didn’t tell us anything else that would help. We got a better idea of how hard this is going to be, but we didn’t get any closer to solving it. It’s sad, to say the least.”
“Milady…” Anne was quiet for a moment, but she quickly shook her head and gave Mia a thumbs-up sign with her fists.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, milady.”
She said with confidence, “Miss Citrina is safe and sound now. Neither Miss Citrina nor Lord Yellowmoon would have been saved if it weren’t for you. So, please, be happy about what you’ve done. You are allowed to be.”
Mia couldn’t help but look at the two carriages that were behind hers. Citrina and Bel rode in one. The first woman was completely worn out from her fight with Barbara. Bel, who was always kind, offered to ride in the same carriage with her tired friend to keep her company.
Hm… I see. She is right. Maybe I’m being too negative about how things are going. Just getting Rina out of danger should be enough of a victory. In fact, that was the goal from the beginning, so I should probably just think of the information we got as a bonus.
She saved her friend from dying. The two of them had become close over foals and mushrooms. She also had Duke Yellowmoon on her side. He had also been secretly sending talented Tearmoon nobles abroad, and if they could be called back, it would be a great help. Considering that the time of the great famine was coming up quickly, these were very good signs.
And I got to eat some tasty tarts and cookies, though I would have liked a couple more cookies. Nope, forget that. at least five or six more.
As soon as she started to think along these lines, her worries went away and her mood got better. If anyone has forgotten, one of Mia’s strengths was that she didn’t linger for too long.
“You’re right… Yes, it doesn’t help to worry about it.” Mia gave Anne another smile, but this time it was sincere. “Many thanks, Anne. I’m starting to feel better.”
“Any time, milady. After all, you don’t look good with such a long face.”
“Then, all that’s left is to see if Rafina can get Barbara to tell her something when she gets there… Oh no, sermons every day… I can only imagine how much she will dislike her—Hm?”
The familiar cityscape of the capital jumped into view all at once, but this time it was buzzing with energy. Along the main street, there were stands with goods for sale. Buildings had been decorated. Also, there were more people out and about. Even more than usual, the capital city was always busy.
“Ah, I see that plans are already being made.”
The Tearmoon Empire’s winter is marked by Princess Mia’s Birthday Festival, which takes place at the end of the year. In the days before Christmas, work had always gone smoothly, and this year didn’t seem to be any different. The main part of the festival would last five days, and it would be a very fancy party to which many nobles from other kingdoms were invited. Mia would have to meet and talk to a lot of these people in person. She was always busy because she was the clear star of the festival.
This part of the experience had always bothered her a little. It was kind of a pain to run from noble to noble and listen to all their wishes and blessings. At least, that’s what she used to think. Now she knew what a special treat it was to be treated this way. To have so many people come to her birthday party and feed her so much delicious food… It was pure, pure happiness. And it was something she would never have noticed back when she took it for granted that high-quality food would always be delivered right to her fingertips.
So, Mia’s habit of stuffing her face with food wasn’t really a sign of gluttony. Not at all. What she did was nothing more than an appreciation! How could she not eat the food when she knew how important it was? In fact, she ate everything on her plate not because she was hungry but because she thought it was the right thing to do. As a true follower of F.A.T., she gave all of her foods the highest level of respect by eating them with gratitude.
As a strict follower of non-leftoverism, her own birthday festival was a happy event for which she should be thankful, but there was also something about it that made her feel bad.
It’s a terrible waste of food…Mia knew that everywhere she went during her birthday festival, she would see mountains of food, most of which would be thrown away after she left. As she went from place to place to accept her many invitations, she would leave behind a trail of wasted food.
What went wrong? Because nobles were full of themselves. They thought that the amount of food they gave her to welcome her and, by extension, the amount they wasted after that showed how powerful and kind they were. During this time, every Tearmoon noble would try to be the best at this stupid game. They would try to outdo each other with extravagant feasts and banquets. Everyone wanted to celebrate her birthday, but everyone also wanted to show the emperor and Mia that they had the best party.
Speaking of which, I can’t remember how many times I wished back then that we could have found a way to get back all the food we wasted at these festivals. There are definitely too many…
She was greeted by a memory from the previous timeline. It was like seeing an old friend. She let it fill her mind, and it took her back to a year and a half before she was taken by the revolutionary army.
