Chapter 7
Princess Mia is Motivated
The Grand Library at the Whitemoon Palace housed the knowledge gathered throughout the empire. Sitting at one of the wooden desk was Mia. She had her chin in her palm, and she let out a dejected sigh.
“Hmm, This has been most unfruitful…”
Mia has been in the library for the past few days. After the memory of Anne came back to her, she spent the following week reviewing her diary and organizing her memories. As a result, she finally understood that it wasn’t a dream, but something that actually happened…well, to be exact… something that is about to happen in the future. And as a result…
“No! No! No! I am not going through that again!”
Mia screamed.
She couldn’t take being up at that guillotine again. So, she was looking for a way to escape that future. This is why she is now at the library, looking up at the current state of the Tearmoon Empire.
Mia remembers that the empire’s finances will deteriorate. Then a famine will come. It will be followed by plague. Finally, a revolution will happen to which foreign kingdoms will assist the revolutionaries.
Mia believes that’s how things will play out. And by cross-referencing her past(future) knowledge with the books in the library, her only conclusion was that…
“It’s all too complicated!”
This wasn’t very surprising. She was spoiled since she was childhood. There was no way she could understand politics or economies after just leafing through some books. Mia was frustrated. She knew what was going to happen, but she didn’t know what she could do about it. No matter how many sweets she ate, she still could not come up with a good idea. But at least now she understands why it is bad for one of her meals to cost as much as one month’s salary of a common person.
“It seems I have no choice but to find that man…”
When she remembered Anne, she also remembered another of her loyal subjects. An excellent young civilian who worked really hard to rebuild a declining empire and so, by extension, helped Mia and imperial family. Even when Mia had lost everything, that person never abandoned her and tried his best to help her. Still…
His name isn’t written anywhere here. All I can remember is that he was a terribly rude person…
“Four eyes,” “stupid four eyes” and “crappy four eyes.” Those were what she called him. She is just realizing now that she never really called him by his name.
“I can’t do anything if I don’t know his name. I wonder if I can find clues here…”
She flipped her diary again back to the first time that they met. “A fool kicked from the Central and was sent to the countryside” She found that small line that described him.
“That’s right, I think he held office here in the capital for awhile… I wonder if I should go look for him.”
She was thinking that maybe he was still in the imperial capital. Thinking it would be better if she acts immediately, Mia got on her feet and had Anne make arrangements for going out.
Lunatear, the imperial capital of the Tearmoon Empire, was home to the five ministries that helped the emperor in governance.
The Blue Moon Ministry was the administrative agency for the capital city. The Gold Moon Ministry handled taxes. The Red Moon Ministry was the administrative agency for the rural areas. The Green Moon Ministry handled diplomatic affairs. Finally, the Black Moon Ministry commanded the seven armies of the empire.
Mia headed to the Gold Moon Ministry, which was the closest to Whitemoon Palace. She didn’t have any particular reason. After all, she wasn’t thinking properly because she was in a bit of pressure trying to rebuild the empire’s finances. So she was just going out following her hunch.
“Uhm, Mia-sama, what are we doing here?” Anne asked with a puzzled frown.
“There is someone that I wish to meet.” Mia’s answer was short and simple.
“Someone… you wish to meet? You mean.. No way…” Anne covers her mouth as she gasped. Then she nodded as if she understood.
“If you say so, then this Anne will do her best to be of help.”
“Hm? Well, if you insist, I would certainly appreciate it.” Mia couldn’t understand why Anne suddenly got excited, but she didn’t put too much thought on her maid’s behavior.
“I do hope he is here… Oh?”
As they were walking, they heard people arguing.
“Why is this waste going on? This will cause the empire’s finances to collapse in the near future. You should know.”
“You’re very noisy”
“However…”
“Shut up! Why are you fussing on the details?”
“They are not trivial details. The empire is…”
“Oh?”
Mia smiles as she hears a familiar, nostalgic voice.
“It seems spending all that time in the library finally paid off!” The knowledge she gained at the library has absolutely nothing to do with it. All that can be said is that Mia was a very lucky person with good fortune.