In the middle of all the kingdoms and empires was a small country known as
the Holy Principality of Belluga. Its holy nature came from the fact that it was
the home country of the Central Orthodox Church, the religion which had been
observed across the entire continent from days of old. Though it had no military
power whatsoever, it nonetheless possessed an unparalleled amount of
influence. The existence of a certain school within its borders was, in a way, a
testament to its power.
Saint-Noel Academy was an elite school that gathered children of nobility and
royalty from all across the land. Future rulers of neighboring kingdoms, who
one would assume would be raised with the utmost care in their ivory towers,
were instead all sent to one place where they received six long years of
education. From this fact alone, the authority that the principality commanded
was obvious.
And that was exactly where Mia was headed this spring.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
As Saint-Noel Academy came into view, Anne let out a cry of excitement.
After a week of bumpy roads in the carriage, they were finally here. Mia wore a
tired smile as she watched Anne marvel at the sights outside, her face pressed
to the window.
"You're not going to last very long if you keep that up, Anne. Don't wear
yourself out now."
"But, but, Milady! It's amazing! Look! The sea! It's the sea!"
"Actually, that would be a lake," corrected Mia as she followed Anne's gaze.
The small forest they were currently passing through was beginning to thin.
Up ahead, the fresh green of their wooded road gave way to the shimmering
surface of a vast lake. Known for its abundant natural beauty, over a third of the
principality was taken up by the Noelige Lake. At its center was a large island,
upon which stood the academy. With its beautiful white walls and castle-like
appearance, the building looked like it had popped straight out of a fairy tale.
While she could understand Anne's delight at the sight...
I must admit, after seeing it every day for almost five years, it gets a little old.
After all, she'd already attended this school in her previous timeline. While
she had no complaints about the academy's environment, it no longer roused
any excitement in her.
"Wow..." said Anne as she let out a deep breath. "I'm honestly impressed by
how calm you are about all this, Princess Mia."
Mia made no comment. She merely smiled back and then closed her eyes.
These next six years are going to be crucial.
Before coming to the academy, she'd carefully scrutinized her diary and
contemplated how she was going to spend her time here. In the end, she
decided to give herself two rules that she had to follow.
Rule number one: avoid danger at all costs. In particular, she was going to
stay the hell away from anyone who'd had anything to do with sending her to
the guillotine.
Rule number two: in the hopefully unlikely event that her attempted reforms
in the Empire failed and that tragic revolution repeated itself, she was going to
require a lot of help, which meant connections. To that end, she needed to
make as many useful friends as possible.
She had it all figured out.
The most important thing is to stay away from dangerous people. Like the old
saying goes: discretion is the better part of valor.
In her mind, she recalled the faces of her mortal enemies — those two hated
people who'd brought about her ruin...
And thought nothing in particular of them. She didn't want to fight them, and
it wasn't like she craved the sweet taste of revenge or anything. In fact, revenge
didn't sound very sweet at all. It sounded like a lot of pain and suffering. Mia,
being the lazy pacifist that she was, found neither of those appealing. This was a
case in which her first rule applied: don't get close to anything dangerous. After
all, if they never got to know her, they wouldn't have any reason to hate her,
either.
With that said, to be completely unprepared would have been extremely
foolish. If push comes to shove, I want to be ready. Which means I'll need
connections, and I'll have to make them as inconspicuously as possible. Who,
then, should I approach first...?
Just as Mia was losing herself in her thoughts, the carriage came to a stop.
"Ah, bugger..." muttered the driver in a bitter tone.
"...Hm? Is something the matter?"
"Ah, Your Highness, my apologies. You see, I was about to move our carriage
onto the boat that will get us to the island, but some other kingdom got in front
of us and took our spot."
"Huh... And?"
"Normally, they should be allowing us from the Empire to go first. Allow me
to go and put them in their place," said the driver as he rolled up his sleeves.
Mia sighed softly.
"...It's fine. I don't mind."
"B-But, what of the Empire's image..."
"I'm sure the Empire's image would be far better served by not squabbling
over such trifling matters as the order in which we board a boat. Regardless,
there's room for us both," said Mia, a hint of ire entering her voice.
The driver's attitude made her want to squeeze her own head in frustration.
He'd intended to make a huge fuss over who reached the island first. It was so
petty and frivolous and, honestly, embarrassing. But the most embarrassing
part was the fact that in the previous timeline, Mia had done just that. To make
matters worse, the affair had ended with her whole carriage falling into the
lake. She couldn't help but cringe at the memory. All in all, it had been a terrible
experience. She'd been wearing a stately dress that she was particularly fond
of. Being stately, it had a lot of fabric, which soaked up a lot of water, which got
very heavy, which meant she almost drowned... Even after she'd somehow
struggled her way onto shore, she still had to endure a round of riotous
laughter from all the onlooking students.
Remembering it was pretty painful, but watching her own humiliating actions
being replayed before her was even worse.
How terribly embarrassing... If I could, I'd go and slap some sense into my
stupid past self!
"A-Are you okay, Milady?"
"Oh, yes, don't mind me. I'm simply a little tired from our long journey,"
replied Mia as she opened the window.
The cool lake breeze felt good on her flushed cheeks.