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A Perujin Night
After Mia’s welcome dinner was over that night, King Yuhal and his wife went back to their chambers.
“Didn’t the fall of that poor merchant earlier make it hard to understand what was being discussed?” asked the worried queen. “Is everything going to be okay?”
Yuhal sighed and gave her a nod to make her feel better. “I believe it will. In fact, I think Princess Mia left things open on purpose so we could think about it
”
Shalloak’s fall was definitely a big problem, but there was no reason for her to follow him. After the initial disturbance stopped, she could have easily picked up where they left off and pushed him for an answer. She had instead left the party.
“I guess she is sure that her idea is the best
”
“No, I don’t think so, Dad.”
Yuhal turned around when he heard an unexpected voice and saw both of his daughters standing at the door.
“Arshia
 Rania
”
“Please excuse our sudden entrance.”
Even though they caught him off guard, Yuhal wasn’t too surprised by their look. He was sure that they would stop by before the night was over.
“Father, can we have a moment of your time?”
“Yes, you may. Maybe you’ve come at the right time. I’ve also been wanting to talk to you both.”
He told his girls to come in, and then he bent his head to look at them.
“
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the treaty with Tearmoon.”
The treaty between the two countries had been in place since the beginning of Perujin. As a reaction to the Tearmoon Empire taking over the Fertile Crescent, the Agricultural Country of Perujin was made. The tribe of hunters who had been living on the land took control of it, and the farmers whose houses and fields had been taken over became serfs. People who didn’t want to be ruled by the kingdom went south to live in more free places. There, they started the country of Perujin.
The people who started Perujin thought that Tearmoon would eventually try to take over their country if nothing was done to stop it. So, they tried to make a deal with Tearmoon before it did so. They asked that their authority be recognized in exchange for Tearmoon getting the right to a certain amount of their wheat every year. The deal was made when the first Tearmoon emperor agreed to their terms.
Yuhal couldn’t figure out what the emperor hoped to get out of this deal. He could have said no, but he chose instant annexation and slave labor instead. Even so, the deal was made, and Perujin was able to keep its freedom, but it had to give Tearmoon more power. In effect, the founders gave up one part of their sovereignty to keep the rest. Since then, Perujin had to depend on Tearmoon, which let Tearmoon keep getting cheap wheat from them, but never enough to leave them without food. It was a long-term form of exploitation, but both sides agreed to it.
This was always a closely guarded secret that only the royal family and a small group of close friends knew about. If the people’s anger toward the empire ever got bad enough to start a war, that would be the end of Perujin. The troops of the empire would march in. It would be a quick and decisive invasion. In the end, Tearmoon would have gotten bigger, and Perujin would be a relic of the past.
Those who knew or were told stories about being forced to leave the Fertile Crescent felt this fear the most. If the empire had just one reason to attack, everyone would wake up the next morning as serfs. Based on this idea, they moved very carefully and did everything they could to get things done without making the empire angry.
In the past, when Perujin kings wanted to get their country out of poverty, they didn’t try to renegotiate the treaty with Tearmoon. Instead, they focused on getting better at farming. In order to achieve this goal, this founding treaty was kept hidden. Every year, only a few members of the royal family and a small group of representatives met with the empire to negotiate a price. The price they finally agreed on was never made public. The two princesses were among the people who didn’t know what was going on. Yuhal had never talked about the treaty with them. Instead, he told them that the empire was a long-time and important customer whose business was very important for their agricultural industry.
In general, the statement wasn’t wrong. More than just wheat changed hands between the two countries. Tearmoon bought a lot of farming goods from Perujin every year. Those whose prices were not limited by the treaty made Tearmoon a lot of money. Given this situation, people’s feelings about Tearmoon were, to put it mildly, complex.
“Since your marriages will send you both abroad, I didn’t want to bother you with this information, but—”
With a shake of her head, Arshia stopped him.
“It has happened, so let’s leave it alone. I don’t have anything to say about this subject right now. I do want to know what you plan to do with the idea.”
“That’s a good question, and I’d like to know the answer myself.”
If they got rid of the contract with the empire, they could use a lot of their land to grow crops that would make them more money. That much was true. They could also keep growing wheat there and sell it to countries in other parts of the continent. Either way, the country’s policy would need to change in a big way.
“In exchange for being free of wheat obligations, we will no longer be able to depend on the imperial army for all of our defense. Most likely, our profits will go up, but some of them will have to go to war costs to protect our newfound wealth.”
They couldn’t fight as well as the empire, but they’d have to at least be as good as their neighbors. It made sense, even seemed normal, to think so. But

“Would you like to say something? Go ahead and tell me what you think,” Yuhal said when he saw that Rania’s face showed a bit of disagreement.
He didn’t realize he had asked his daughter for her view until after he had asked her. He had never even thought about it before.
So Princess Mia has even influenced me

It got to him. At the same time, it caught his attention. The Great Wisdom of the Empire had talked to him about the future of his country over a single meal. So, what could his girls, who had spent so much time with her, say about the situation? Could they also surprise him with an answer he didn’t expect? He had to know.
Rania paused because her father’s sudden interest in what she thought was new to her. She shook her head to calm down and then said, “That’s not how our ancestors thought when they built this “cake-shaped castle, in my opinion.”
She was telling a fairy tale that only kids could enjoy. It made one think of a world without war, with buildings that weren’t made for fighting. It was a dream that would always be far in the future. Even though what she said was silly, her voice was steady and calm. Yuhal understood why.
It was because of the Great Wisdom of the Empire. Rania had talked so seriously about a fantasy future because she couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, it could happen with Princess Mia in charge.
It was crazy. Or maybe not. What if she was right and a world like that was actually possible? Then, what should the people of Perujin do to move forward?
“We are a people of the land,” Rania said. “We work it, farm it, and give its fruit to other people as a gift. We see ourselves like this. It’s who we are and makes us proud. Isn’t it important to keep that in mind?”
Her words had a sense of honor. A self-assurance that was more than just pride. It was a strong sense of self-worth that came from the Perujin people, their generations of hard work, and the clear worth of what they had done.
Yuhal blinked. He couldn’t help but feel that Rania was giving off a faint glow. There was, in a way. Rania got some of the Great Wisdom of the Empire’s brightness as they walked up that golden slope together. Now, even when Mia wasn’t there, it still gave off a lasting glow.
Yuhal stared at her for a long time with his eyes wide open. Then, he smiled just a little bit.
My girls are all grown up now

He retreated into his thoughts. As princesses of Perujin, Rania and Arshia were both doing a great job of doing what they were supposed to do. His girls did their fair share. What about him?
Rania asked her father, “Father, do you know what Princess Mia said at the opening ceremony for Saint-Noel Academy?”
Yuhal gave her a quizical look. The Bread-Cake Declaration was what she was talking about, and he knew about it.
“I do. She talked about how nations help each other out when there is a famine. To be honest, if it came from anyone else, I’d worry about how real they were,” he said.
Arshia continued Rania’s point by saying, “Princess Mia is a rule-breaker in every sense of the word. It’s like we all think in a box, but she thinks outside of it. She wants to help people. Not just her own, but everyone on the continent, and everyone the same. I was going to say no when she first asked me to teach at her school. I agreed because I understood that my dream had never been to keep people from starving in Perujin. That would never be enough
”
When Arshia looked him in the eye, he couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was seeing her for the first time. Gone was the young girl who tried hard to hide her desire to be rebellious. The person in front of him was a researcher who, despite being young, carried the weight of her big task with confidence.
Arshia went on, “I still remember the day Princess Mia became a light for me. And when I heard about her Bread-Cake Declaration, I felt her light again. Her leading light helped me figure out what my real dream should be.”
“The Bread-Cake Declaration
 The need for cold-resistant wheat and a spokesperson
 The emancipation of Perujin as a country
” Yuhal spoke in a thoughtful way. “Huh, a new way to go
 I finally think I get what Princess Mia wants from us and what you two are trying to say.”
He laughed then. It wasn’t his normal laugh because it didn’t sound forced or weak like it usually did. This one came from the heart and was full of the joy of a child.
“Interesting. It’s a lot of fun.”
Getting involved with Mia when he could have freed his country from Tearmoon’s control seemed a little backwards. But

“Nope, that’s not it
 We’ll be free, for real. Both from problems in the present and from things left over from the past. No matter what, we must change the way things are. So, putting our faith in Princess Mia should be
well, to say the least, interesting.”
He felt something in his heart that he hadn’t felt in a long time: excitement. Soon after, hope and expectation came. He felt like a kid making plans for a joke.
“All right. Then I have to ask Princess Mia to do something for me in return
”
His girls looked at each other puzzled, not sure what he meant.