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Individual Ranking Up

Mia went back to her room after her bath in the pond. She left Tatiana with Bel, who wanted to see the sights, and asked Ludwig to take them on a tour. Being Mia, she also told them to look up the local specialties and report back to her.

It’s important to know which ones I can take back home and which ones I need to try while I’m here.

She had already gotten over the shock of being told she ate too much. For the record, Mia was someone who would take advice that was honest and true. Tatiana was right when she said that she had eaten too much on this trip. She agreed with that. It was bad for her health and made her upper arm feel soft in a way that she didn’t like. She humbly agreed with all of this. That’s why she decided to make things better…when this trip was over.

You only go on trips once in a while, and you can only eat certain sweets or have certain experiences here in Perujin. It would be silly not to enjoy them now.

That was the best she could do. During this trip, she would shut off her feeling of guilt. For something that was supposed to make her more determined, it sounded a lot like the usual “I’ll do it tomorrow” excuse that lazy people use, but it did make her more determined.

Before she could go any further, she had one more thing to take care of.

“Anne, do you have a moment?”

“…Yes? What’s up, milady?”

Anne looked at her with interest as she combed her wet hair. Anne hadn’t looked like herself at the pond, though it wasn’t as obvious. Now seemed like a good time to ask if something was bugging her, but a happier mood might be better for a heartfelt conversation. Mia thought about what she could do.

“Would you mind if we went shopping for a while? Before the dinner in the evening?”

“No, that won’t work! Your feet are still hurt. Please stay here and rest until it’s time to go.”

“Huh?”

Anne’s refusal was unusually firm, which surprised Mia.

“Ah—”Anne seemed just as surprised by her own outburst. Both of them stopped moving for a second. Then, after Anne’s lips quivered, her head dropped in shame, pulling her upper body down with it. “I-I’m so sorry!”

She spun on her heels and made to leave the room.

“Wait, Anne! Stop!”

In a hurry, Mia grabbed Anne’s arm.

“You can’t just leave on your own.”

“I…”

This wasn’t Saint-Noel or Lunatear. They were strange people in a different country. She knew that if she went out on her own, she would get lost and get stuck. She looked back at Mia with wide eyes, and Mia gave her a soft giggle and a small smile.

“You’ve been so reliable lately, I almost forgot that you’re clumsy at heart. You were very reckless to do that, you know?” said Mia. She shut her eyes before she went on. “But, well, you make a good point. If you tell me to take a break here, I will take a break here. Could you finish styling my hair?”

“Of course, that’s right…” Anne bowed again and said, “I’m sorry.”

Her voice went back to being blue again.

“Tell me, Anne. Are you upset about something? You’ve been looking down for a while.”

This made Anne stop breathing. A few seconds later, she slowly started to speak.

“When you started walking on the wheat, I couldn’t stop you. Because of this, your feet are… And I didn’t even notice…”

“Oh, that’s, uh, true. I’m very sorry if I made you worry too much. I’ve thought about what I’ve done, and I do admit that I’ve been a little too careless this time.”

“That’s…not all…” Anne’s voice also started to shake. “That’s what Miss Tatiana told you… I should have said something about it. It’s my job to keep Milady from eating too much. But I didn’t. I didn’t do what I was supposed to do.” Her eyes started to fill with tears. “I need to do better… I should be like Miss Tatiana and take care of your health.”

Mia put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

This is not a good thing!

Inside, fear was starting to set in. It took everything she had not to dig her fingers into Anne’s skin.

If Anne starts comparing herself to Tatiana, she might stop letting me have any sweets. That would be the worst thing ever!

Mia knew it could be dangerous to hang out with people who only told her what she wanted to hear. She wanted Anne to say what was on her mind and, if necessary, be honest with her. But she also wanted Anne to treat her a little bit like a princess. The perfect Anne would be brave enough to warn her when she needed to, but in all other cases, she would be nice and understanding when it came to Mia’s habits. Anne’s thoughts were going in a very bad way. She had to get Anne to stop thinking about becoming like Tatiana, so Mia racked her brain for ideas.

She soon began to smile. It was the same smile she always put on when she was trying to get out of a tough situation.

“Thank you, Anne, for telling me what you think. I’m so glad you care so much about me. Even so, there’s something I have to say.”

Her brain was working at full speed as she tried desperately to put together what she had to say. “Tell me something, Anne. You…who are you?”

“Huh? I… I’m…”

“You’re yourself. You’re neither Tatiana nor Ludwig. You are Anne. Anne my right hand, my confidant, and the person I trust more than any other.”

Anne was not Tatiana; they were different. So Anne shouldn’t have been so strict about eating sweets. Mia really wanted to get this point across.

“I want you to be yourself and stand by my side like you always have.” I won’t stop you from getting better at math, cooking, riding horses, or anything else. But there’s no reason for you to change.”

“Milady…”

Anne’s eyes blinked a few times, letting out the tears that had been building up inside. Mia softly brushed them off her cheeks.

“Just be yourself, Anne. Nothing could make me happier.”

“Yes… Yes, milady! “Thank you very much,” Anne said, her voice shaking with emotion.

Mia sighed to herself, thinking her job was done.

But it wasn’t that easy.

“Your Highness, we have finished our trip.”

Ludwig came back with Bel and Tatiana under a red sky.

“Oh, you’re all back. Did you have fun?”

Bel waved her arms around excitedly and said, “It was so much fun, Mia-neesama! I’ve never had anything so good before. I’m so full.”

“Oh, really? What about the dinner tonight?”

“What about it?” Bel asked as if it were the weirdest thing in the world. “Oh, you mean my tummy? Come on, Mia-neesama, everybody knows there’s always room for dinner.”

Mia instinctively pinched the underside of Bel’s upper arm and pulled at the soft skin with her fingers.

“Eeek! That’s ticklish!”

“This makes no sense… Is it because she keeps moving her arms back and forth? Ugh, this is so sad,” she said under her breath. Then she turned to Ludwig and asked, “So, you went to check on the crops, right? What happened?”

“Very well. As I expected Perujin to do, I found a lot of things I’d never seen before,” Ludwig said with a grimace on his face. “I also learned a lot of things that I didn’t know before. My master was right when he said that there are many things in the world that you can’t understand unless you see them for yourself. I…have a long way to go.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry for how I was acting earlier, Your Highness. I didn’t know what the characteristics of wheat was like.”

He hung his head, which made Mia jump back a little. “Moons, what’s going on?” Now you, after Anne?

“…Oh, I’m sorry.”

Mia shook her head and said, “Uh, never mind.”

Then she let out a long, thoughtful hmph.

Huh. A dejected Ludwig. That’s a rare thing to see. It’s kind of funny to watch him beat himself up, but I do need him to get involved in what comes next. More importantly, she stole a look at him as a feeling of dread crept up on her. I have a bad feeling about all of this for some reason.

Ludwig was always interested in learning. Even though he did a great job as a government official, he was really a scholar who loved to learn. In and of itself, that wasn’t a worry. The problem was that he also liked to teach others, and Mia knew who he usually taught when he chose to play teacher.

What happened before wouldn’t have been possible if anyone had known what wheat was like. Oh, no! I already know how this will turn out. He is going to make me learn a lot of different things so I don’t take another risk like this. I need to stop him from thinking in that way!

“Ludwig, I think it’s impossible for a normal person to know everything there is to know about the world.”

“Yes, I know that even someone as wise as you has some things you don’t know. I also know it’s my job to fill those gaps, but…”

“Listen to me, Ludwig. I came to you to learn from you. That’s right. But I’ve never asked you to become a person who can see everything. I know there’s not much I can do by myself.”

Mia put her hand on her chest and said, “Of course, I don’t expect you to be able to do everything, nor would I ever ask that of you. Of course, I won’t stop you from learning more because you love it. I, on the other hand… My goal has never been to become a being that knows everything and can do everything. I don’t mind relying on other people to make up for my own flaws. Do you get what I’m trying to tell you?”

In Mia-speak, she was basically telling Ludwig that he could hide himself in books and study himself to death if that’s what he wanted to do. She, on the other hand, was just going to save herself some trouble and take other people’s advice.

It was a bold statement, and she made it with style.

It took Ludwig a few seconds to come back to himself. Mia’s comment hit him like a ton of bricks. It made him think about something he had never thought about before. He had always thought that it didn’t matter what he did as long as he could work for Mia. If it would help Mia, he would do anything, no matter how small or hard it was. That was and was still how he did things. He had made himself her all-around helper by running back and forth to help with whatever needed his attention at the time. But…

Is Her Highness saying that the job she wants me to do isn’t as an all-around assistant?

Mia instead hinted at someone who didn’t want specialized knowledge but wanted to be able to gather and handle people who did have it, like a conductor of a group of experts with their own skills.

In other words, she wants me to take on a more powerful role. To take charge of something. That of chancellor, for instance…

Ludwig had spent so much time thinking about how to help Mia become queen that it sounded like she wanted a promise. It was a “are you with me?” moment. She seemed to be asking him if he was ready to become someone who depended on other people to make up for his flaws. Not one of the empire’s many smart and skilled experts or officials, but the one in charge?

Traditionally, only people with peerage could be Chancellor of the Empire.

Even with Mia’s help, it would be very hard for a commoner like Ludwig to get the title. Also, he would have to first prove to the group of students he had gathered that he was the right person to lead them. They did not put up with failure from those in charge. If he wanted to be in charge of them, he would have to show that he was worth it.

That might have been even harder than being Mia’s hands and feet. No longer would hard work and determination be enough. He had to be good with people, show leadership, and deal with his subordinates with kindness and tolerance.

I asked Sir Dion to rank up. To climb higher the dangerous steps to power. Maybe it’s time for me to do the same.

Future historians will look back on this as the time when Ludwig Hewitt, the famous Chancellor of the Empire, first set his sights on the job.

So, after many choice words, Mia was able to increase Anne’s loyalty, Ludwig’s determination, and her own hunger.

Ugh, there goes my chance to go on a shopping and snacking spree… Now I can only do one thing. I’ll make up for it by eating enough at the welcome dinner.

Mia got ready (stomach wise) to go to a fateful banquet.