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Fun and Leisure Plans
“Okay, Rina, I brought a map.”
After Mia talked Rafina into giving her a map, she went straight to see Citrina in her room. This, of course, was so they could make plans for their big trip to look for mushrooms.
“Oh, Your Majesty. Greetings.”
The door was opened by Citrina’s helper. She was an older woman, probably between fifty and sixty years old. Her face was blank, but her eyes were very sharp. Her reputation was that of a long-time servant who knew what to do but was also very set in her ways.
“Yes, hello, um, was it Ms. Barbara?” Mia asked with a frown. The old servant curtsied out of respect.
“It makes me feel very special that Your Highness remembers my name.”
“Uh, that’s good. Even so, it’s not that big of a deal…”
In reality, Mia did not feel very comfortable around people with stern faces like Barbara.
This woman reminds me of Ludwig. She seems like the kind of person who would tell people off if she caught them slacking off.
Mia quickly walked past the old lady and into the room because she thought her presence was dangerous.
Miabel was doing her homework inside with the help of Citrina. Lynsha was not far away.
“Hello, Rina. Thank you for treating Bel so well.”
“Oh, Your Majesty. That’s nice of you to say. It’s not much to be thankful for. After all, Bel is a close friend of Rina’s,” said Citrina with a sweet smile.
Bel laughed shyly and scratched her head. “That’s so nice of you to say, Rina. Thank you.”
Mia’s grandmother really came out in that scene. She smiled calmly as she watched the two young girls. She was happy to see that her granddaughter was getting along well with her friend. A quick look at Lynsha was enough to get a small nod.
It seems like everything is okay here… It’s nice to know that Lynsha is watching over them.
She gave a sigh of relief and then changed the subject.
“All right, let’s get back to the student council trip we were talking about. I brought us a map.”
This was her main reason for coming. Citrina knew a lot about edible wild plants and herbs, but she also knew a lot about mushrooms, so Mia thought she would be the best person to talk to about making plans for mushroom hunting.
“Oh, thanks so much.Then let’s start figuring out how to get there,” Citrina said as she took the map.
On a side note, Citrina’s room was set up the same way as Mia’s. Only a writing desk and a bed, both of which were plain, were in the room. Even Mia, who was always trying to save money, had made her room feel less harsh.
“Well, Citrina, I have to say, you didn’t bring much from home, did you?”
“You’re right… Even though I was born to one of the Four Dukes, our house is known as the weakest and is only known for being the oldest. We can’t buy as many luxuries as we’d like, unfortunately.”
Citrina said with a sorry grimace, “I am sorry that my room is so boring.”
Mia moved around uncomfortably because she felt like she had just said something hurtful.
“Oh, well, don’t worry about it. To be honest, my room doesn’t look all that different. What are you having trouble with…? Even though I don’t have a lot of money to spend, I can buy your school books or some…”
“It’s enough just to think about it, Your Highness. I’m all right. Rina can always go to the library when she wants to find out something.”
Citrina pursed her lips in thought after putting Mia’s worries to rest.
“There’s no way we can put the map on the floor, so… It’s a little rude, but…”
She stuck her tongue out playfully and put the map on her bed.
“What do you think?”
“That looks like fun!”
Mia’s eyes lit up when she heard the idea. She liked that making plans while huddled on a bed made her feel like she was up to something. It felt like a secret conversation between girls, which she loved. Her excitement, though, was tempered by worry.
Won’t that Barbara woman scold us?
She looked toward the door and saw Barbara quietly watching them. The old woman didn’t try to get close.
Huh, I didn’t know that. I thought she would say at least one or two harsh words…
She gave the thought a quick raise of her eyebrow before turning around and jumping eagerly onto the bed.
On the east side of Saint-Noel Island was the forest where they planned to hunt.
“So, over there is a forest I’ve never been,” said Mia.
“It’s not a very big forest, but there are a lot of mushrooms there, so it should be fun. We’ll start looking for them as soon as we walk in, so everyone should have fun without going too far in.”
“Wow, that sounds great!”
She was happy that she could easily get to the mushrooms. Mia was a real slacker, as you all know, so the less work she had to do, the better.
“We’d also have to go deeper into the forest, but I know there’s a spot where a lot of Belluga mushrooms grow,” said Citrina.
“My, Belluga mushrooms! They also grow here? I read about them in books written by Chloe. They are said to be good for stews.”
“I’m impressed. Your Highness has read a lot, that’s for sure. They’re white mushrooms that taste very good, but…”
Citrina frowned as she seemed to lose interest.
“Is something wrong with them?”
“There is another kind of mushroom called False Belluga Mushrooms that looks a lot like them, but it is poisonous.”
“My, poisonous, you say…”
“However, the poison isn’t too strong. At worst, it could give you diarrhoea for three days and a bad stomachache, but it is said that even experts have trouble telling them apart.
“Hm… experts,” Mia said with her arms crossed and her mouth moving.
“That’s why we probably shouldn’t pick any Belluga mushrooms,” said Citrina as she pointed to the map and drew a path that went into the forest from the south and stayed close to the edge.
“I think a path like this, where we don’t go too far in, is a good idea. This way shouldn’t have much danger.”
“I see…”
Mia looked at the map for a while, then straightened up and said, “Hmm.”