Mia’s Entrance : A Grand Foreshadowing?
On that day, the Southern Capital of the Equestrian Kingdom was enveloped in a quiet atmosphere of tension. It was inevitable that tensions would rise, as the lost Fire Clan members had been invited to a Special Council of Chiefs meeting.
“Moreover, it seems that the Saint and the Princess of the Empire will also be present, you know?”
“The Princess of the Empire? Why would someone like her be there?”
“It seems she is friends with the daughter of the Fire Clan.”
Since such rumours were floating in the air, it wasn’t strange that the atmosphere was different from usual.
Incidentally, the person who leaked that information was none other than Chief Mayun of the Forest Clan. He was also the mastermind behind Mia’s dramatic entrance into the castle on horseback. It was all part of Mayun’s elaborate scheme. The long-lost Fire Clan members were returning to the Equestrian Kingdom. The idea was to create a favourable and advantageous atmosphere, making it seem natural for a special event to occur, which they could then use to their advantage.
Now, as the group entered, they attracted the attention of everyone present. Leading them was Kouma, the Chief of the Wind Clan and the most senior of the Chiefs of the Twelve Clans.
The Wind Clan was known for being the most nomadic of the nomads. They strictly adhered to and continued the traditions passed down from their ancestor, Ka Seima, to this day.
They absolutely despised permanent settlements and chose to roam freely across the Great Plains. In times of peace, they were as gentle as a spring breeze, but if someone ever looked down on them, they would strike back with the ferocity of a blizzard. They truly lived up to the name of the Wind Clan.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})People tilted their heads to look at the girl who had entered, escorted by the Elder Kouma.
She was dressed in unfamiliar foreign attire. Although, strictly speaking, it shouldn’t have been that unfamiliar, since most of the residents of the Southern Capital were accustomed to seeing the people of the Remno Kingdom, including nobles.
So, it was not like they had never seen anything like it before.
However, precisely because of that, they could not hide their surprise. After all, they knew that noble young ladies did not usually ride horses.
They had dealings in the Remno Kingdom and the Principality of Belluga, where it was considered a matter of common sense to not ride. In fact, the daughters of the nobles in those regions disliked the smell of horses, and certain sections even considered riding a horse to be barbaric.
However, they wondered why the Princess from the Empire was riding a horse instead of using a carriage. It was not hard to imagine that due that single act, they felt a sense of affection towards Mia.
However, their excitement dampened a little after seeing the horse she was riding.
It was not their ideal horse, a Moonhare. Its legs were not as long and supple as those of a Moonhare. Rather, they were short, thick, and gave the impression of being sturdy.
Its mane was longer than that of a Moonhare and looked bushy. Its eyes looked absent-minded and sleepy. It appeared to be more suited to lounge leisurely in a grassland than to gallop swiftly.
According to the people of the Equestrian Kingdom, the status of the Chief was determined by the horse that they rode. Based on their standards of judgement, Mia was definitely not someone they would show respect to.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Of course, since the person in question was not a princess of the Equestrian Kingdom, they would normally not particularly care what kind of horse she rode. However, since Mia had dared to enter the castle on horseback, the people gathered there misunderstood and thought that she was someone who lived by the same values as them.
However, their attention quickly shifted to something else. They were captivated by the horse ridden by Aima, the sister of the Fire Clan Chief, which was diagonally behind Mia.
“What a wonderful horse!”
Just by looking at the horse, they were convinced that Aima was their blood relative.
They could tell from the horse she rode, Keirai, that Aima was protecting the bloodline of the legendary horse inherited from their ancestor Ka Seima, to this day, and had not let it die out.
It had a spectacular glossy coat, beautifully toned muscles, clear eyes, straight snout and an elegant face. They could see the care with which the horse had undoubtedly been raised. They could immediately sense that the rider of this horse loved horses immensely.
“Indeed, she is definitely a distant relative of ours and shares the same ancestor.”
The people were concerned about what the return of the lost clan, their siblings, would bring.
Meanwhile, as usual, Mia was preoccupied with her own thoughts.
‘Oh, that’s good. Their attention is diverted. I feel a little relieved!’
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})“Wouldn’t it be great to enter the castle on horseback?” Mia had been persuaded by some smooth talk into riding a horse to make a grand entrance.
However, as she saw Elder Kouma riding ahead of her, Mia suddenly realised something.
‘Was it really a good idea to showcase my mediocre riding skills?’
Despite her doubts in that moment, Mia certainly thought of herself as a skilled rider. Among the young ladies who attended Saint Noel and even throughout the Empire, there were few who could ride horses as well as Mia.
However, this was the Equestrian Kingdom, a country where everyone, young and old, men and women alike, rode horses. That fact became blatantly obvious to Mia as she saw Elder Kouma, who had volunteered to escort her.
‘In a country where even such an old man can easily ride a horse, my riding techniques are like that of a child. Ugh, I am so embarrassed that I got carried away.’
Once she realised that, she couldn’t help but worry, leading to a vicious cycle that caused her body to become even stiffer.
Mia was well aware that she was exposing her lack of skill, and when the attention had diverted from her, she felt as if her wish had been fulfilled.
Thus, despite being burdened by people’s speculations and expectations, Mia and her group successfully entered the Southern Capital.
However, at that moment, the people were still unaware that this entrance would later prove to be a grand foreshadowing of the Wisdom of the Empire.
