Woosh!
Sion was shocked and asked, “Uh… Me?”
Why in the suns would she think that?
The way Mia smiled at him made him feel like she was rooting for him. As he looked at her face, something clicked.
I see… She’s giving me the chance I’ve been looking for… To earn my redemption.
He found Bisset, the lost Wind Crow agent, in Tearmoon, but he didn’t really think that was enough to make up for what he had done. Despite his continued search for a way to make things right, he had not anticipated to discover it in this state. He had a flashback to what happened in Remno.
“No one lives a perfect life. So, we forgive so that everyone has a chance to make things right.”
He could still hear what Mia had said before. With that kick, she gave him one. The thought of failing had driven through his body and into his heart.
Justice and fairness, huh? How simple it was to say them and how hard it was to keep them…
“Father,” he asked, looking straight at the king, “if I may be so bold, I ask that you give me the job of deciding Echard’s case.”
Abram looked at his older son in silence and then nodded.
“All right. I’m going to leave this up to you, Sion.”
Sion closed his eyes and let out a breath. He turned back to Mia and her friends.
“I need information. You said earlier, Miss Citrina, that you know where the poison came from. Could you explain this more fully?”
Oh? He starts by asking other people for help. That’s interesting.
In private, Mia raised an eyebrow at Sion. She thought he would start telling everyone what he thought right away. Instead, he was moving much more carefully.
Not too bad. He made a good move there.
Mia tried to be the perfect “yes” girl, so Sion’s eagerness to know more struck a chord with her. She gave a haughty nod of approval.
Citrina looked at Mia and asked, “May I?”
Mia thought about what her request meant.
I see. She is worried about people who might be Serpents among us.
In addition to her friends, King Abram, Echard, Count Lampron, and the chancellor were also there… A fair question was how much she could say about the Chaos Serpents without being too dangerous. She did not know the answer to this question. She then looked directly at Rafina, which was like doing a diverting twirl that sent the question flying off in a different direction.
Woosh! Question redirected.
“Good question… How about using what happened to the Wind Crows as an example to explain?” Rafina asked after a moment of thought.
Mia struck her hand to show that she agreed. The royal family of Sunkland knew that the Wind Crows had been partly taken over during the Remno incident. Putting the current event in the same light seemed like a safe way to share information without giving away anything important to any snake-like ears that might be listening.
“But just to be safe…” In prayer, Rafina closed her eyes and put her hands together in front of her chest.
Her voice was sweet and clear as she read a verse from the Holy Book.
Blessings be upon you, blessings upon you. Glory to God on this earth.
God’s wisdom to the sword-bearing king.
Blessings be upon you, blessings upon you. Glory to God on this earth.
Rule the people with just judgment and establish peace in the land.
The room was stunned for a second by the Saint of Belluga’s sudden prayer. Soon, everyone’s eyes were shut.
“Excuse me, Lady Rafina, but may I ask what that was for?” Lampron asked her gently after her voice had died down.
“A calm heart is needed to make important choices. To be with the Lord, is to find wisdom and truth. So, I read a text from the Holy Book. I pray that my prayer helps us make the right choice.”
She smiled at him. But her eyes stayed sharp as she carefully observed everyone in the room. She looked at each person and then said, “I think we should be fine as long as we speak carefully.”
“I see…” Mia gave Citrina a sharp look as she nodded. “All right, that’s it.”
Twirl and deflect. Woosh!
Mia skillfully deflected the messages back and forth, being careful not to get involved in the chat while she did it. After hearing the message and telling someone else about it, she shut up. Her only bravery was her discretion.
“I get it,” Citrina said, moving forward. “Let Rina—No, let me explain. As I’m sure you know, people with bad intentions have been inside Sunkland’s intelligence service, the Wind Crows. We think that the person who gave the poison to His Highness Prince Echard has ties to those infiltrators.
“What?!”
The news made many people in the room stunned.
“From what I’ve learned,” she went on, “a suspicious person with traits similar to those of the Equestrian Kingdom was seen at the open market quite often. We think this person is the criminal we’re looking for because someone tried to kill me while I was investigating.”
“No! In the capital?”
“An Equesttri, you say?”
Count Lampron and the chancellor both said, shocked. Abram, on the other hand, did not move. He kept his eyes and ears open.
“Miss Citrina Yellowmoon, are you sure that the criminal is from the Equestrian Kingdom?”
“To be more specific, it was someone who looked like they came from the Equestrian Kingdom. It is a bit odd for someone to wear something so noticeable, but that person was seen going in and out of the open market,” Citrina answered, quickly adding, “Our enemies are very good at tricks. For example, they could put the poison in an envelope and slip it into the pocket of their coat without being seen. Or, they could slip it into a bag of groceries. They can get the poison to people in a lot of different ways. They probably would have tried to talk to the prince even if he was never left alone.”
My, Rina looks a little scared. What the heck is wrong with her? Mia tilted her head in confusion.
“We are dealing with master manipulators,” Citrina said. “I’m sure it would be easy for them to use any worries Prince Echard might have to get him to poison Prince Sion. For the same reason I already said, they could have given you something without even telling you it was poison.”
She finished on a strong note and took a step back, but she stopped to make one more point.
“Sorry for the long speech, but I also think it’s important to point out that our enemies have probably thought about Prince Echard’s sentence when they used him as a tool. In Sunkland, if we decide this case exactly according to Sunkland rules, we might be giving them what they want. That’s all.”
After saying that, she withdrew, but not before giving Echard a small, sad look.
Rina… She must see the old her in him. As Mia thought about it, Prince Echard’s situation might have been too close to home for young Yellowmoon.
Sion did not speak at all during Citrina’s speech. He kept thinking quietly with his eyes closed for a long time after she was done. At last, he turned to look at Rafina.
“Lady Rafina… Could I hear what you have to say?” He asked the Holy Lady for advice.
Almost every country on the continent agreed with the Central Orthodox Church’s morals. Since everyone used the Holy Book to decide what was good and bad, it made sense to ask Rafina what she thought.
“These are my thoughts…”
Her eyes became farther away, as if she were looking through thick fog and mist to find some truth far away. In a quiet, thought-filled voice, she said after a long pause, “Those who have power must use it right. Because of this, the strong should be judged by a higher and stricter standard than the weak.”
Rafina would not stand for cruelty as the Holy Lady. God had given those people power, and they had to live up to that gift through their actions. She could not and would never change her mind about this.
“However, this case is not about power being abused. The victim is also the father of the person who hurt him. So, I think we should look at this not through the lens of high duty but through the lens of what is right and wrong for people in general. We learned from the Holy Book that since the beginning of time, justice should be based on the concept of reciprocity. Those who robs an arm will have it cut off, and those who steal an eye will have it gouged out.” She took a moment to look slowly from face to face, then said in a serious voice, “And suffer no more. The concept says what the limit and the extent are.”
The old saying “an eye for an eye” means that someone should get the same amount of harm in return. Not less, not more. After making her point, Rafina quietly turned to face Abram.
“So, if I were to judge the fairness of the decision that was about to be given, I would only look at one question. Did His Majesty die?”
That is, she came to the conclusion that putting Echard to death would be too harsh a sentence if the event was only judged by what the facts showed.
“That being said,” she went on, “my criticism is only about whether the punishment was fair. No one is not guilty because of it. It doesn’t matter at all what His Majesty talked about. Additionally, I believe we should also think about the reason for the poisoning. But…”
At this point, Rafina wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. In a past life, she would have definitely thought that Echard should have been put to death for what he did. He had acted in a way that was blatantly inappropriate for a member of the royal family, showing that he lacked the basic traits needed to properly use power. The Rafina of now put her hand over her chest quietly.
“Prince Echard is still pretty young. It’s understandable that he has a hard time with his bigger brother, if not admirable. It’s a very normal flaw. I can’t help but wonder if we would be better off if he got better instead of dead, so that he could one day learn the wisdom and discipline that are right for his job.”
As she talked, she thought back to the amazing day in Saint-Noel when Mia swung the hammer of justice. To give the Tearmoon lords who had done wrong a chance to make things right, she didn’t kill them. Instead, she propped them up. She helped them grow, and they did.
It must be the same this time. It’s for Prince Echard that she does this. I think I finally understand a little of how she feels now.
She felt good because she knew she could relate to her friend. Her deepest and strongest wish was for Echard to be given a chance to make things right.
Mia kept sneaking glances at King Abram while she was waiting for Citrina and Rafina to answer the questions she had wooshed to them. During the whole conversation, she thought his face was always very serious.
He’s a tough nut to crack, isn’t he? I was sure he’d be ready to forgive Echard after hearing them talk… He likely only needs one more push. If only there is another wave…
As if to answer her call, someone knocked on the door.
