Situation to be Selfish
While walking through the garrison and smiling and thanking the soldiers, Mia continued to think.
A reason to withdraw the soldiers…
A battle that is directly linked to her being sent to the guillotine is about to begin. In this situation where the crisis is burning like a flame, Mia’s brain was on full throttle. She could almost hear the whistle of an overheated steam engine.
Mia was thinking too hard that her gaze wandered around aimlessly. Whenever a soldier appeared in her view, she would smile reflexively before moving on.
The soldiers took a breath. From their point of view, it looks different. What they saw was her smooth, glowing skin (all thanks to the care by Anne), her beautiful hair (all thanks to the horse shampoo), and her riding outfit. It is an outfit that plebians wear, not nobles. However, this gave Mia a fresh look from their eyes. She was the kind of princess that is in the imagination of every soldier. None of Dion’s training prepared them for this.
“Oh wow, how beautiful … is that Princess Mia?”
“And she came here to personally meet with foot soldiers like us. It must be true what they are saying… that she is a saint.”
Such whispers could be heard throughout the camp. These are the sighs of the soldiers that were captured by Mia’s beauty. Mia, however, did not notice this as she was still in deep thought.
There is a trump card that Mia can use. The privilege to be selfish. Most of the time, Mia’s selfish wants are granted. Although it is an order of the Black Moon Ministry, which is the military department of the empire, it can be overturned by the selfishness of the imperial family.
In the past timeline, this selfishness of hers caused fatal tragedies and many deaths. But at the moment, it is a powerful trump card.
But it’s not that easy to be selfish…
She needs to meet the conditions on which she can be selfish.
Easier said than done.
It is different to use her selfishness to get a present compared to selfishly withdrawing the soldiers. If she withdraws the soldiers without warning, should she just walk up to Dion and say it? And will Dion just follow her selfishness without question?
The answer is probably no. And the vice- captain would probably say, “Hahaha, are you pretending to be a general, Your Highness? You’re pretty brave.” It will be over with a laugh, and they will think of it as nothing more than a child’s babbling.
Mia needs to create or find a situation where it is perfectly acceptable to be selfish.
I wish there was a good way to do it…
Then, Mia suddenly noticed. Somehow, the scenery around her seemed to have changed slightly. Looking up, she can see big, tall trees. And it seems like there are just trees everywhere. She was in a deep forest, like in the story of Anne’s sister, Elise. Before her, there seems to be a narrow trail made by animals, though she cannot see where it leads or ends.
“That … where are we?”
“Hmm? As I have said earlier that we are entering the forest. So, now we are in the forest.”
“…………What?”
Mia opened her mouth in total shock.
“So, this is the front line.”
“Woa… what? The front line!?”
“That’s right, but the battle hasn’t started yet. If you don’t do anything, you won’t be attacked suddenly.”
Dion added, but Mia didn’t hear at all.
How in the heavenly moons can he bring me to a place like this?! Just because I was deep in thought doesn’t mean you can lead me to danger!
Even though it was an inspection visit, Mia didn’t really want to see the forest. In fact, she didn’t even want to come to the garrison in the first place! Mia just came to stop the conflict. That’s it!
Dion then whispered in a low voice to Mia who was about to complain.
“Oh, let me tell you first, Your Highness, please, don’t carelessly touch the things in the forest.”
“Huh?”
“For the Lulus, this whole forest is an important treasure given by God. If you treat it poorly, you can’t complain if an arrow flies, right?”
Of course, I will complain! And what do you mean an arrow will fly?!
Mia was scared and looked at the trees around her. She felt like she could see the men holding the arrows in the darkness. Her chicken heart started squawking.
“Ah… ah… I guess I have seen enough. I’d like to go back to the town quickly ple…Fugya!”
Mia fell down with a loud noise. She tripped by a protruding root.
“Your Highness, are you okay !?”
“Are you injured anywhere!?”
Her guards raised a worried voice while dashing to her side. In contrast, Dion sighed but with a frightened face.
“Be careful, Your Highness Princess. It’s not the imperial capital.”
Still, he reaches out to Mia to help her up. Mia takes that hand while…
“Why are the roots in such a place? This tree is … oh.”
Suddenly, Mia had a flash of inspiration…
“Yes, that’s right … This tree is bad!”
Mia looked up to the tree with an evil grin.
