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No Sweets, Only Jelly
Mia had just a few days ago thought, “Really, Esmeralda? You didn’t even ask where your possible husband’s family is from, did you? How scatterbrained can you be?”
Even if she was sure she was going to turn down the offer, she still had to do some research. Definitely, knowing the guy’s name was a part of that. This carelessness was embarrassing for a young woman who had been raised in a noble family.
Now, this thought was coming back at her like a boomerang.
“Y-You want to know what father said? Uh…”
Even though Esmeralda made mistakes, she was still a proud Etoile. It was a big deal for her to be asked to marry. It was right and likely that the emperor had already been asked for his opinion and given it. On the other hand, if the ruler didn’t know, that would throw a lot of doubt on the whole thing. In the same way, before turning down such an offer, one should also talk to the emperor.
In fact, Mia had not talked to the emperor. In her defense, she had been fighting hard against his stubborn desire to go on the trip with her, so she didn’t have much time or brain power to think about other things.
That’s no good reason! I can’t believe I was so careless.
She realized that this was her own fault, so she thought about what she could do. It was a big no-no to lie to Ludwig. At the same time, she couldn’t just say that she hadn’t told the emperor about the problem.
“I, uh, wasn’t able to get that information out of him.”
Her answer was right on the line between saying she was wrong and saying she was right. It could mean “because I didn’t ask” or “I asked, but I still couldn’t.” At least, it wasn’t a straight-up lie. She stole a look at Ludwig while feeling safe behind a wall of possible lies.
“Which could mean that His Imperial Majesty wasn’t told,” he mumbled with his arms folded. “Or…the emperor doesn’t want Your Highness to become empress himself? No, that’s impossible… He dotes on you so much. Why would he fight against his own child? Unless…this love is stronger. As a dad, he doesn’t want his dear daughter to walk the same thorny path to power that he did.”
Mia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Ludwig was no longer interested in her.
“But what did you mean when you said, ‘That may be hard,’ Ludwig?”
…Esmeralda brought the conversation right back on track.
I couldn’t believe she knew his name. Does that mean she thinks he’s pretty enough for her to notice?
It wasn’t a secret that Esmeralda liked pretty boys a lot. Even her usually huge ego shrank a little when she was with them.
I mean, Ludwig isn’t that bad-looking, but she really should be more picky.
Mia frowned at her friend and then looked at Ludwig, who was still looking sad.
“A wedding between an Etoiline and the second prince is important for the whole nation. You can’t say enough about how important this union would be for international relations. It means that Tearmoon and Sunkland are getting closer to each other.”
In other words, the size of the problem made it so that Esmeralda’s feelings and Mia’s political views didn’t matter.
“And, as I’m sure Your Highness already knows, our enemies plan to use this to their advantage. The fact that they picked this moment to reveal the identity of the suitor is enough proof. Given our situation, it’s hard to say no to this marriage offer now,” Ludwig said before turning to Mia. “I think you asked me to look into Prince Echard because of this, right?”
Mia knew it wasn’t, but she still agreed.
“Pretty much, yes.”
Mia’s inner jellyfish was smart enough to see that a wave was coming and decide to ride it. As much as a jellyfish could ride, in any case. Most of the time, it was just going with the flow.
Ludwig didn’t know that Mia’s answer was made of gelatin, so he took it at face value.
“It goes without saying that, as things are now, letting this marriage happen would deal a major, if not fatal, blow to our empress group. How Lady Esmeralda feels about Your Highness is very important.” He turned toward her. “I believe we can put all of our faith in you, Lady Esmeralda.”
“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t betray Mia-sama. That would never happen!” she said, putting her hand on her chest and tilting her chin up.
If this was the old Esmeralda, Mia would have taken what she said with a grain of salt, but lately, she had been starting to trust her friend more. Enough to make her stop and think about the possibility of putting a lot of her hopes on Esmeralda.
“Even if I do get married, I’ll do my best to influence my father and brother, but I can’t promise they’ll listen.”
“Then we should try to stop the marriage talks from going any further. We’ll need to make a plan. And since Your Highness asked me to look into Prince Echard, I’m guessing you already have one in mind,” Ludwig said as he turned back to Mia.
“Oh, really? Mia-sama, you do?”
“Uh huh… Well, kind of…”
With so many people looking at her, Mia had no choice but to be a jellyfish.
“That’s great. If that’s the case, I’ll try to find out as much as I can about Prince Echard. Your Highness can move forward with your plan as you see fit in the meantime.”
Ludwig’s eyes shone with a respect that was almost awe, while Esmeralda’s shone with a deep confidence. Mia looked at each of them for a split second.
“All right. Then I’ll leave you to your work,” she said with a slow nod before adding, “I think I’ll go for a quick walk…”
After saying that, she quietly left the room.
What–what should I do now? I told them that I had a plan, but I don’t have one. I really need to clear my head, but I don’t have any sweets! I need sweets!
She started to walk slowly down the hall because she was too tired to think during the long talk.
“Oh, Your Majesty…”
She looked up when she heard a voice.
“My, you’re awake, Tiona. How did your nap go?”
Most of the time, the Rudolvons worked like laborers. They got up early in the morning and went to the fields with their farmers, where they oversaw the work and sometimes did it themselves. Then they’d take a short nap in the middle of the day. Even after she started at Saint-Noel, Tiona stuck to this routine and took naps every day at noon.
“It was good, thank you. I got a lot of sleep.”
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
“Well, that’s good to hear. Oh, well, if that’s the case, do you happen to have some time to spare? I’m thinking about going to town to clear my head, and I’d love for you to come with me.”
So, Mia took Tiona and Liora with her to look for sweets, which are good for the brain.