Spark
As always, Mia never fails to impress… A very sad sigh came from Sion. Forget Count Lampron. She’s strong enough to stand up to my father. The gap in their skills only seemed to get bigger over time. The Great Wisdom of the Empire, huh?
“Hey Sion. It’s been a while.”
When he came out of his thinking, an old friend was staring at him. “Oh, Abel. Yes, for a long time. I had planned to say hello at school, but things don’t always work out that way.”
It was already the start of the semester at Saint-Noel. Sion should have been in Belluga by now, but he put off leaving to go to this party. There were times like this before, though, at the school. A lot of nobles went to Saint-Noel, and students often had to miss class because of big events at home. In these situations, longer absences were allowed.
“Don’t worry. Things like this do happen,” Abel said with a shrug. “Besides that, isn’t it interesting that the student council is meeting here in Sunkland? You didn’t need to come. The council came to you.”
Sion shook his head and smiled. “It’s interesting, but it’s also kind of embarrassing because I have to introduce you all to my family.”
Echard walked over and asked, “Sion? Who could this be?”
“Hm? You forget? I think you saw him before, but I guess you were too young. His name is Abel Remno. Second prince of the Kingdom of Remno, fellow member of the Saint-Noel student council, and my friend.”
Abel scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed by what he said.
“What, ‘friend’?” He asked, “To whom do I owe the honor?” He was kidding, but his discomfort was clear. After that, he spoke to Echard.
“Abel Remno. It’s great to meet you, Prince Echard. I’m here on behalf of my country to wish the best of luck with this engagement.
“Thank you very much, Prince Abel,” Echard replied. “I’m still a little shaken because it happened so quickly, but I’ll do my best for Sunkland’s sake.”
Abel looked at that with shock in his eyes. “For Sunkland’s sake? You’re a much better prince than I am. I surely wasn’t smart enough to think about my kingdom when I was your age.”
He laughed out loud. There was no sign of the haughty playboy from before.
You look very different now, don’t you?
Sion thought back to the first time he had been to Saint-Noel. At that time, Abel sometimes gave off an air of not caring, as if he had given up on himself. Not any longer. You’ve gotten over feeling bad about yourself around your brother. Now that it’s off of you, you’re a prouder man.
Sion looked at his sure-of-himself friend and admired his bravery, honesty, and slowly improving swordsmanship. After that, he looked at his own brother. He thought about whether Echard would one day turn into Abel. Could this meeting between them make things better? After that, he looked around. Not just Abel. Everyone around Mia was a good person, from her servants to her friends. He hoped Echard would catch their spirit. Their power over him could only be good.
If only they could do to Echard what they had done to him. Free him from the old, stuck-in-the-past beliefs that were holding him back.
“But I have to say, Mia is really unique.”
Abel’s statement woke him up from his thought. “Yes, she is… She never fails to amaze me.”
He agreed and looked at the girl, who was the same age as him but could handle her own in politics with his father.
“That vision she had is the stuff for history. It will change the future of this whole continent,” Sion said in a low voice.
It was more than just a way to stop hunger. Its real value lay in its power to change the way people thought. People would see the world differently after that.
Most of the continent followed the beliefs of the Central Orthodox Church. While the specifics were different from one country to the next, everyone generally agreed on what was right and wrong. As an example, most people agreed on basic morals like “help those in need” and “nobles have the power to keep the peace and safety of their people.”
But that agreement was mostly on the surface. Are the people who live in strange and faraway places really the same as us? What if they are terrible devils on the inside but only look alike?
People have always had these kinds of worries, even if they were vague. Since they had never met. Because they had never talked before. There was doubt all the time. It seemed like you couldn’t trust them. It was easy for people from other countries to look more and more like enemies because of this. Yes, they believed in the same god and fought for the same cause of justice. But they were the ones who said it. It was never easy to trust someone, even if they looked a lot alike.
If Mia’s dream came true, though, it would actually change the world. Both the amount and consistency of the flow of people and things would get better. As new trade routes between countries opened up, they also opened up new ways for people to talk to each other. There would be new bonds. A lot of people would see for themselves that those people who lived in strange and faraway places were really the same.
Then Sion said, “Mia could really afford to be a little more arrogant.”
“Just what do you mean?”
“Smoldering suns, she’s the Great Wisdom of the Empire! Could there be anyone better to lead that kind of organization than her?”
Abel said, “You make a good point. But…” and then laughed for a short time.
“Hm? What’s funny?”
“Oh, I just thought about what she said. Could have been nerves, but do you remember how she said ‘anno-arrogant’? It makes me laugh that even the Great Wisdom of the Empire can get tongue-tied from time to time.”
Sion pressed his lips together. That moment was sweet because it showed the girl behind the wisdom of the empire. That being said…
“Was it nerves…or tact?”
Echard, not Abel, was the one to answer this time.
“Tact?” He made a face. “Do you mean that she did that to make her more approachable? Because of that saying: Most people follow charismatic person, but no one follows a perfect person.”
“That’s correct. I thought, For someone as smart as Mia, maybe it’s possible to trip her up on purpose for effect.”
Echard made a bigger frown.
“Is that really something you can do on purpose?”
“I believe the answer is yes for her. When you think about some of the other things she’s done, it seems pretty easy,” Sion said, looking Echard in the eyes. “If Mia has that kind of vision in mind, then your marriage to Lady Esmeralda will likely be very important. As prince of Sunkland, you’ll have a role to play, so do your best to make everyone proud.”
He added hope to his voice because he knew how hard things were for Echard. He knew his pain, sweat, and hard work. Even though Echard worked hard to be a good prince, being compared to Sion all the time hurt him deeply.
He doesn’t need to try to be me, but he is. He is free to set his own goals. The way he lives.
Each person had their own unique skills and gifts. The same way that Sion had good and bad points, so did Echard. Echard was the only one who could do certain things. He prayed that Mia’s dream would give him ideas. Make him look at things differently. After that, maybe one day they can work on this big project together. How wonderful it would be if they could help her make her dream come true as brothers.
That was his true dream. And that’s what he wanted to say.
Sion said, “As a fellow prince of Sunkland, I’ll do my best to help Princess Mia too. Let’s both do our best.”
“Sure, of course.”
Echard’s answer was softer, and he said it with a sad face. The expression on his face was hidden.
