The Choice of the Selfish Chicken-Hearted Princess
‘Huh? What? Abel… what do you mean?’
Mia was greatly confused by Abel’s sudden statement.
‘Well, with this, the issue is resolved. Now, all that’s left is to enjoy the incredibly delicious milk from the famous Daigo sheep, and if possible, arrange a deal for the dairy products with Mayun-san before heading home!’
At the peak of carelessness and preoccupied by such thoughts, Mia found Abel’s conduct to be beyond her expectations.
Mia was unsure about the reason, but she soon realised that Abel seemed to be worried about something.
‘Come to think of it, ever since I returned from my bath, I’ve noticed Abel looking a little dispirited. Initially, Malong-senpai was supposed to have spoken with him about this matter. I wonder what they discussed. I am a bit curious. Hmm.’
“Well then, Rafina-sama and Prince Abel, let us have a small discussion. Malong, please proceed with the selection of members from the clan who you want accompanying you. I will have you depart tomorrow.”
“Hey, wait… I haven’t agreed to this yet.”
Aima seemed to be mumbling something to that effect, but inevitably, she would be swept along with flow.
‘At first, Aima-san had taken the stance of not talking directly to anyone from the Equestrian Kingdom. But now, she talks quite normally. She is really easy. Hmm. She will definitely end up being swayed.’
If that were the case, then Mia had no role to play here.
Mia was told she could relax until the preparations for the Welcome Banquet were completed, so she left the tent with Bel and Citrina.
‘Hmm. Well, I am actually curious, but it doesn’t concern me.’
Mia was slightly concerned about Abel’s situation. Despite her reluctance, she no longer had a role to play in that place. On the contrary, if she stayed there any longer, she had a feeling that she would inevitably be dragged into something very troublesome.
‘I am worried, but I have no choice. I should just switch gears and take it easy.’
So, Mia tried to take it easy.
‘Well, for the moment maybe I should try counting some sheep.’
“One sheep, two sheep…”
Mia started counting absentmindedly, but…
“One thousand two hundred and three… Ah, I can’t do it anymore! I’m so worried about Abel that I can’t concentrate at all!”
Was that really so?
In any case, Mia broke free from her sheep-counting mode and stretched.
Immediately, she felt a lukewarm breeze against her nape.
“Hmm? What?”
Curious, Mia turned around and found the tip of a big snout entering her field of vision. It was the Moonhare that had appeared before, the one resembling Kuolan. It was moving rapidly and seemed ready to sneeze at any moment.
‘Ah, I wonder if this horse is a blood relative of Kuolan. They look remarkably similar.’
Achoo!
Just as she was about to escape, there was a thunderous sneeze. Mia instantly braced herself, however, strangely, neither the wind nor the sticky liquid affected her at all.
“…Huh?”
Mia looked up nervously and saw an unexpected sight!
The figure of a large horse was standing impassively between herself and the Kuolan look-alike. It was the same horse that ran away – or rather tried to run away – from the chasing bandits with Mia on its back.
It was a horse that appeared to be spacing out, much like Mia who had let her guard down.
“Ah… you are from the Imperial Guards… by any chance, were you protecting me?”
The horse gallantly protected the princess, like a highly skilled guard knight, yet its expression remained as blank as ever.
It turned its head towards the Kuolan-lookalike, stared at it for a while, let out a snort and watched it leave. Then, it turned its expressionless face towards Mia.
“You seem to have calmed down quite a bit.”
When Mia spoke, the horse stared at her with expressionless eyes, let out a snort and then slowly walked away.
It was headed in the direction where the Forest clan horses were munching on grass, probably intending to fill its belly by mingling with the grazing horses.
‘Well, I wonder if the horses of the Imperial Guards are tied somewhere. Mingling with the horses from the Equestrian Kingdom… hehe, quite the free spirit. Interesting.’
Mia laughed for a bit, then, as she leisurely stared at the horse, she suddenly realised something.
‘Ah, I see. That’s right. What was I even worried about?’
Mia suddenly remembered the nature of her true essence.
‘That’s right. I am not the wisdom of the Empire or anything like that. I am just a selfish princess of the Empire. I don’t need a particularly good reason. If I am concerned, I will go along. That should be good enough.’
Mia was worried about Abel’s slightly disheartened expression and wanted to cheer him up. She was also a little concerned as to whether Aima’s clan could truly be saved.
Mia’s chicken-heart warned her that if things did not go well, she would definitely end up feeling bad about it.
‘In that case, if you want to go… then go. Just say you want to go. There’s no need for a good reason.’
That was because Mia was in essence a selfish princess who put herself first.
But at the same time Mia had some conflicting thoughts.
‘However, since Dion-san is also present, it might be difficult to just declare that I want to go. In that case, I need to think of a good reason.’
The princess was also a little chicken-hearted.
Thus, Mia returned to the tent, struggling with how to present a good reason for her actions to Ludwig and the others.
‘For now, I will make it clear that I will also go along.’
“Nevertheless, I will not let the Forest clan warriors into our secret village…”
“But then, what about the escort guards for Rafina-sama?”
They seemed to be still arguing on that point and were surprised when Mia suddenly entered.
With everyone’s eyes on her, Mia haughtily declared,
“I will accompany you all to the secret village of the Fire clan. Is that fine?”
With the final word from the Wisdom of the Empire, Mia Luna Tearmoon, the course of action was decided.
Rafina’s escort duty would continue to be handled by the Imperial Guards and the number of Forest clan members accompanying them would be limited to the minimum required in order to transport the food supplies.
Not a single person objected to the compromise proposal that Mia had silently presented.
