Nostalgic Memories of a Loyal Retainer (Damned Glasses)
“I’m moved to tears. Your service to the people… Not just Tearmoon’s, but everyone on this land… It’s truly amazing. I really hope that the new relationship you’ve made with Sunkland will help your efforts a lot.” Rafina spoke after Ludwig, and her excitement was just as strong, if not stronger than Ludwig’s.
And it’s not her fault. After all, she had been pretty much ignored during the whole thing. Even though she was her friend—no, because she was her friend—Mia hadn’t asked her for help. She was very upset that she couldn’t help Mia, and now was her chance to make up for it. She was eager to go!
“You’ve done so great,” Rafina told Mia, taking her hand in hers. “And so should you. In the history books, this is an important event. You only need to ask Belluga what we can do to help you.”
Because she couldn’t hold back her praise, Sunkland’s lords started to panic. The Holy was known for not liking being favored or to favor. That person wasn’t someone they could buy or sweet talk, or so they thought. But she was willing and eager to help her friends in a very biased way.
Right now, Rafina, who was hard to convince, was praising Mia for how great she was. That is very important and cannot be stressed enough. On a basic level, the Holy Lady was agreeing with Mia’s judgment that she was right.
I’m not sure what’s going on…
Mia didn’t know what to do. Based on how well Ludwig and Rafina worked together, this was probably part of their plan. It was a problem that Mia had already stopped helping. She thought she could take a step (or three) back and let Esmeralda finish the heavy work. Instead, she was back at the center of the situation. She was scared at first, but as she thought about what was going on, she became confused. She didn’t understand why this group thing was even being brought up. She knew she had to tell Sunkland’s nobles why she had gone to Perujin, but what did that have to do with this marriage engagement and how it would affect her political opposition?
Why is this all happening? What is Ludwig doing?
That’s when it hit her.
I see what you mean now… Is this plan B?
It dawned on her that not even Ludwig could find a way to back out of this engagement. He chose to make the most of the situation instead and find some new talent for their new organization
I’m sure he has plans to get Sunkland to provide some useful staff for the organization!
She couldn’t be more wrong.
That’s why he joined forces with Rafina. He asked her to help him pressure Sunkland.
Not only Sunkland lords were with them, but also many important people from other countries. It was a big deal to have Rafina promise her support in front of so many people. This made Sunkland feel like she had to give help too.
But I have to say, I’m pleased. Ludwig was building an organization like that behind the scenes, I didn’t know.
She pursed her lips and thought.
A mutual network of people with food banks that works across nations, huh? I never even thought about that. It’s true that group like that would be very helpful for the empire during the famine, now that I think about it. People won’t likely put me to death as long as there is food for everyone. Hm… At first, I was scared because I had no idea what he was talking about, but wow, this is all really well thought out.
She looked at Ludwig with increased respect, and he proudly said, “For the sake of convenience, we’ve decided to name this organization after the person who first came up with the idea. I’m officially announcing that the Mianet has been set up.”
I also didn’t know that Ludwig was coming up with such bad names behind the scenes. “Mianet”? That’s it?
She thought she was getting a headache.
Okay, so let’s say I tell him to change the name later… Still, this is pretty good. He really should be praised for making the best of a bad situation.
The fight might not go their way, but the war could still be won. Though this time, their enemies would win, but Mia still had Esmeralda, and what she did next could change things in her favor.
That’s why I wanted to leave it to Esmeralda at first, but Ludwig was able to use it to our advantage and get some points. Hey, good job, you not-so-stupid four-eyes! That’s why you were able to keep an empire that was falling apart going for so long.
She thought back to the last days of the empire that was falling apart, almost with fondness. Ludwig told her to spend most of her time on the road, desperately going from place to place to try to keep the empire from falling. He had been with her the whole time. He and those silly glasses. Every step of the way to the guillotine.
Good job. I’ll play his part again. A pawn in his plan. When it comes to losing fights, this is nothing. Especially when compared to that time.
Mia stepped forward with more energy, enjoying the short wave of memories.
“Thank you very much, Ludwig. That was an incredibly clear explanation. It must have made things much clearer for everyone.”
After that, she gave Rafina a smile. It was both a performance (to make it look like they were close) and an act of thanks. No matter what the situation was, Rafina’s act of support was appreciated.
She stressed her name again to make the point clear: “I’ve always meant to talk to you about the effort at some point and ask for your help, Rafina-sama. But…I didn’t expect you to agree so quickly. Still, I’m glad you did. Thank you.”
Finally, she spoke to the people in the hall.
“As you heard from my retainer, I think it’s best for the continent to set up a way to fight famine, and I plan to ask every country to work with me on this.” Of course, that includes your great kingdom of Sunkland…”
Mia did her best to help Ludwig with his staffing problems once she got the main idea of his plan. Even though they were looking for helpful people to work on the definitely-yet-to-be-officially-named Mianet, accepting help from anyone could have caused chaos within the organization. She didn’t have to worry about that with this source, though, and Rafina was the reason for that. Her impact was felt all over the continent, but it may have been strongest here in Sunkland, where the Holy Book of the Central Orthodox Church was the basis for its government. What would happen if the staff given by a Sunkland noble turned out to be a problem?
Mia would definitely tell on them! There was no way she wasn’t going to have Rafina scold them. That would probably make the noble look bad. Not having bad thoughts should be easy for them since the Holy Lady is always ready to punish them.
That’s why he asked Rafina for help! That was smart, Ludwig!
So, the princess and the subject worked together, with their efforts lined up on everything except for the most important parts. Their diversely united show was cut short, though, by someone who couldn’t stand it.
“With all due respect, Princess Mia, I must protest!”
