A Selfish Explosion: Me First!
The discussion concluded with the decision that, for the time being, the top priority would be to focus on restoring the relationship between the twelve clans of the Equestrian Kingdom and the Fire Clan. The messenger from the Forest Clan would remain for a few more days before departing to contact Chief Mayun.
“Ah…” Once outside, Mia stretched and groaned. As she straightened her back, it made a popping noise. Her body had become completely stiff from the long meeting.
‘It’s not like my body is sluggish due to a lack of exercise.’
“Oof…”
Mia let out a strange sigh, but it definitely did not mean that she had grown sluggish or dull.
‘Well…anyway, this is quite a difficult problem. I don’t know what to do. Since Ludwig was also listening to the discussion with me, I don’t think there’s any need for me to explain anything to him this time. Someone needs to explain about the Chaos Serpents to Malong-senpai, but I’ll leave that to Rafina-sama. It might also be a good idea to talk to Rina-san a little bit about that. She probably knows a lot about the Serpents.’
As Mia thought about the problem, she noticed Abel cross the edge of her field of vision.
“Huh? Abel?”
With an extremely sad expression on his face, Abel headed straight towards his horse. Seeing that profile, alarm bells went off in Mia’s head.
Abel looked around and then called out to his vassal.
“Grammateus, come here.”
In response to the call, Grammateus approached Abel and asked, “Your Highness Abel, what’s wrong?”
“We’re leaving. Get ready immediately.”
“Prince Abel, wait a minute. Where are you going?”
Mia spoke out in panic. In response, Abel stared at her with a stern expression and said, “Mia, I’m sorry, but we have to say goodbye here. Grammateus and I are going to visit Sister Valentina.”
“Prince Abel. I know you’re worried, but I don’t think that just the two of you should go alone.”
Abel laughed abruptly. Then, with a self-derisive, forceful smile plastered on his face, he said, “Haha… worried? You’re wrong, Mia. That’s not it.”
Abel shook his head quietly and continued.
“If Elder Sister had been taken captive by the Chaos Serpents, then I would have followed your instructions, because that would have been the best possible way to help her. However…”
Abel gritted his teeth and averted his glance from Mia before continuing.
“But I was wrong. Elder Sister Valentina became the Serpent Priestess by choice. It’s not like she was influenced into becoming just a member. She became the head of the Chaos Serpents. Do you think I can forgive her? She tried to kill you, you know?”
When he said that, Mia recalled the Holy Eve day, when the man accompanied by a wolf came after her life.
‘If the man from that day was indeed Ka Maku, then there was a very high possibility that Sister-in-law Valentina was involved. However, I feel that it might have been Barbara-san’s arbitrary decision.’
“I understand that you are trying to prioritise the reconciliation between the Fire Clan and the twelve clans of the Equestrian Kingdom. That is probably the best way of doing things without spilling any blood. But I cannot leisurely wait for that. I will hold my sister responsible for what she has done. With these hands of mine, I will…”
Abel said everything through gritted teeth. However, the expression on his face was very sad, contrary to the words that overflowed with rage.
“Prince Abel…”
Mia was emotionally moved by Abel’s expression. That was because Abel was angry on behalf of none other than Mia herself.
‘Of course, that was not the only reason. I’m sure Abel is thinking of all the victims sacrificed at the hands of the Serpent Priestess. Despite knowing it might be a bit unscrupulous, his earnest anger on my behalf makes me feel a little happy. And that is the reason why,’
“Abel, I won’t let you kill your sister.”
The words came out of her mouth naturally.
‘I hate seeing Abel’s face distorted in agony. I can’t bear to see him in such distress and anger. Above all, I feel that if I let him go now, I probably would never see him again.’
The image of the blood stained diary, with tear-stained letters that she had once seen, flashed before Mia’s eyes.
‘I understand now. I know for sure that they were my tears. I definitely cried when I learned that Abel had been killed on the battlefield when he was trying to save me. I decided that I never want to experience those feelings ever again. So,’
“I will never forgive you if you go alone and try to resolve this matter by yourself or end up getting hurt.”
Mia then hugged Abel tightly from behind and held him as hard as she could, as if she would never let go.
Just a while ago, she had thought that he had transformed into a strong and reliable knight. However, at that moment he seemed like the same helpless young boy she had first met.
“Throw away all thoughts of whether you can or cannot set things right, whether you should resolve the matter with your own hands. Just for my sake don’t go.”
Mia was, after all, the ‘me-first’ Princess. She knew that there weren’t really any words that she could say to convince Abel when he was in that state. She knew that mere lip service would not reach the current Abel. That was why she would just force her will on him. She would selfishly foist her feelings onto him. That was the only thing that Mia could do.
Setting aside all logic and reason, Mia made her wish clear, “I don’t want you to go for my sake.”
“Your Highness, Princess Mia. Could you please not trouble His Highness Abel too much?”
The one who had called out to Mia was Grammateus. He had been listening from the side. Even though the voice of the Sword Saint of Remno was calm and quiet, it carried the pressure of a tidal wave.
However, before Mia could buckle under its intensity, a different voice reverberated.
“Hahaha. I think that’s a bit tactless, Lord Grammateus.”
The strongest knight of the Empire, Dion Alaia, stood in front of Grammateus as if to protect Mia and Abel. Then, he turned his gaze towards Abel.
“Your Highness, Prince Abel. I think that it is your loss. You got angry for the sake of the Princess and wanted to go, but if the Princess in question herself requests you to not go, then you can’t, right? Besides, I believe I’ve told you this before: don’t make our Princess cry. You do know that this Princess has such a personality that if you leave, she will get on a horse and follow you, right? Even then, do you plan to go?”
“I…”
Dion smiled wryly at Abel’s hesitation.
“Can you bear with it for now?”
“But.. Lord Dion…”
“Maybe it’s a good idea to calm down a little.”
At that moment there were some more intruders. It was Citrina Etoile Yellowmoon who spoke up with a prim look on her face.
“Your Highness, Prince Abel, you seem to have lost your composure. Let’s have some tea and take a break. I have prepared a tea table over there.”
Mia suddenly sensed something in Citrina’s sweet, flower-like smile and smoothly approached her in a nonchalant manner.
“Rina-san, I wonder if, by any chance, did you put something in the tea? Medicine that could put someone to sleep or make the body go numb?”
Citrina looked a little hurt by the question.
“That’s terrible. Of course not. Halfway through the conversation, I realised that everything was going to be fine, so I changed it to something to help relax. So, it’s alright even if Mia-sama drinks it.”
“Is that so? In that case, I apologise for suspecting you. Wait, what do you mean by ‘changed it’?”
“Hehehe…”
Citrina had a smile on her face, so Mia realised that it was probably better not to probe farther and instead turned to look at Abel.
“Well, in any case, it is fine. Prince Abel, I will definitely bring back your sister.”
Grammateus watched the exchange between them in silence. Having been interrupted by Dion, he quietly observed Abel.
‘Bringing back Abel’s sister’ — It would be a while before Mia realised the weight of her choice and the meaning of those words.
A Selfish Explosion: Me First!
The discussion concluded with the decision that, for the time being, the top priority would be to focus on restoring the relationship between the twelve clans of the Equestrian Kingdom and the Fire Clan. The messenger from the Forest Clan would remain for a few more days before departing to contact Chief Mayun.
“Ah…” Once outside, Mia stretched and groaned. As she straightened her back, it made a popping noise. Her body had become completely stiff from the long meeting.
‘It’s not like my body is sluggish due to a lack of exercise.’
“Oof…”
Mia let out a strange sigh, but it definitely did not mean that she had grown sluggish or dull.
‘Well…anyway, this is quite a difficult problem. I don’t know what to do. Since Ludwig was also listening to the discussion with me, I don’t think there’s any need for me to explain anything to him this time. Someone needs to explain about the Chaos Serpents to Malong-senpai, but I’ll leave that to Rafina-sama. It might also be a good idea to talk to Rina-san a little bit about that. She probably knows a lot about the Serpents.’
As Mia thought about the problem, she noticed Abel cross the edge of her field of vision.
“Huh? Abel?”
With an extremely sad expression on his face, Abel headed straight towards his horse. Seeing that profile, alarm bells went off in Mia’s head.
Abel looked around and then called out to his vassal.
“Grammateus, come here.”
In response to the call, Grammateus approached Abel and asked, “Your Highness Abel, what’s wrong?”
“We’re leaving. Get ready immediately.”
“Prince Abel, wait a minute. Where are you going?”
Mia spoke out in panic. In response, Abel stared at her with a stern expression and said, “Mia, I’m sorry, but we have to say goodbye here. Grammateus and I are going to visit Sister Valentina.”
“Prince Abel. I know you’re worried, but I don’t think that just the two of you should go alone.”
Abel laughed abruptly. Then, with a self-derisive, forceful smile plastered on his face, he said, “Haha… worried? You’re wrong, Mia. That’s not it.”
Abel shook his head quietly and continued.
“If Elder Sister had been taken captive by the Chaos Serpents, then I would have followed your instructions, because that would have been the best possible way to help her. However…”
Abel gritted his teeth and averted his glance from Mia before continuing.
“But I was wrong. Elder Sister Valentina became the Serpent Priestess by choice. It’s not like she was influenced into becoming just a member. She became the head of the Chaos Serpents. Do you think I can forgive her? She tried to kill you, you know?”
When he said that, Mia recalled the Holy Eve day, when the man accompanied by a wolf came after her life.
‘If the man from that day was indeed Ka Maku, then there was a very high possibility that Sister-in-law Valentina was involved. However, I feel that it might have been Barbara-san’s arbitrary decision.’
“I understand that you are trying to prioritise the reconciliation between the Fire Clan and the twelve clans of the Equestrian Kingdom. That is probably the best way of doing things without spilling any blood. But I cannot leisurely wait for that. I will hold my sister responsible for what she has done. With these hands of mine, I will…”
Abel said everything through gritted teeth. However, the expression on his face was very sad, contrary to the words that overflowed with rage.
“Prince Abel…”
Mia was emotionally moved by Abel’s expression. That was because Abel was angry on behalf of none other than Mia herself.
‘Of course, that was not the only reason. I’m sure Abel is thinking of all the victims sacrificed at the hands of the Serpent Priestess. Despite knowing it might be a bit unscrupulous, his earnest anger on my behalf makes me feel a little happy. And that is the reason why,’
“Abel, I won’t let you kill your sister.”
The words came out of her mouth naturally.
‘I hate seeing Abel’s face distorted in agony. I can’t bear to see him in such distress and anger. Above all, I feel that if I let him go now, I probably would never see him again.’
The image of the blood stained diary, with tear-stained letters that she had once seen, flashed before Mia’s eyes.
‘I understand now. I know for sure that they were my tears. I definitely cried when I learned that Abel had been killed on the battlefield when he was trying to save me. I decided that I never want to experience those feelings ever again. So,’
“I will never forgive you if you go alone and try to resolve this matter by yourself or end up getting hurt.”
Mia then hugged Abel tightly from behind and held him as hard as she could, as if she would never let go.
Just a while ago, she had thought that he had transformed into a strong and reliable knight. However, at that moment he seemed like the same helpless young boy she had first met.
“Throw away all thoughts of whether you can or cannot set things right, whether you should resolve the matter with your own hands. Just for my sake don’t go.”
Mia was, after all, the ‘me-first’ Princess. She knew that there weren’t really any words that she could say to convince Abel when he was in that state. She knew that mere lip service would not reach the current Abel. That was why she would just force her will on him. She would selfishly foist her feelings onto him. That was the only thing that Mia could do.
Setting aside all logic and reason, Mia made her wish clear, “I don’t want you to go for my sake.”
“Your Highness, Princess Mia. Could you please not trouble His Highness Abel too much?”
The one who had called out to Mia was Grammateus. He had been listening from the side. Even though the voice of the Sword Saint of Remno was calm and quiet, it carried the pressure of a tidal wave.
However, before Mia could buckle under its intensity, a different voice reverberated.
“Hahaha. I think that’s a bit tactless, Lord Grammateus.”
The strongest knight of the Empire, Dion Alaia, stood in front of Grammateus as if to protect Mia and Abel. Then, he turned his gaze towards Abel.
“Your Highness, Prince Abel. I think that it is your loss. You got angry for the sake of the Princess and wanted to go, but if the Princess in question herself requests you to not go, then you can’t, right? Besides, I believe I’ve told you this before: don’t make our Princess cry. You do know that this Princess has such a personality that if you leave, she will get on a horse and follow you, right? Even then, do you plan to go?”
“I…”
Dion smiled wryly at Abel’s hesitation.
“Can you bear with it for now?”
“But.. Lord Dion…”
“Maybe it’s a good idea to calm down a little.”
At that moment there were some more intruders. It was Citrina Etoile Yellowmoon who spoke up with a prim look on her face.
“Your Highness, Prince Abel, you seem to have lost your composure. Let’s have some tea and take a break. I have prepared a tea table over there.”
Mia suddenly sensed something in Citrina’s sweet, flower-like smile and smoothly approached her in a nonchalant manner.
“Rina-san, I wonder if, by any chance, did you put something in the tea? Medicine that could put someone to sleep or make the body go numb?”
Citrina looked a little hurt by the question.
“That’s terrible. Of course not. Halfway through the conversation, I realised that everything was going to be fine, so I changed it to something to help relax. So, it’s alright even if Mia-sama drinks it.”
“Is that so? In that case, I apologise for suspecting you. Wait, what do you mean by ‘changed it’?”
“Hehehe…”
Citrina had a smile on her face, so Mia realised that it was probably better not to probe farther and instead turned to look at Abel.
“Well, in any case, it is fine. Prince Abel, I will definitely bring back your sister.”
Grammateus watched the exchange between them in silence. Having been interrupted by Dion, he quietly observed Abel.
‘Bringing back Abel’s sister’ — It would be a while before Mia realised the weight of her choice and the meaning of those words.
