While Mia was busy being flummoxed, Orania turned her attention to the children. “Oh, Yanna and Kiryl are here too...” she said affectionately as she approached the two young Visalians. They had grown close after the fishing tournament—actually, that wasn’t quite right. Orania put in all the effort, making sure to take frequent visits to check in on them. Perhaps Orania’s awareness of her people had changed, which in itself was a good thing.
Once Orania had arrived beside them, she began to pat their heads. Kiryl looked quite pleased, but Yanna’s face was twisted in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Patty retreated silently, clearly wanting nothing to do with this. Apparently, she wasn’t a fan of such overly familiar treatment.
“Would it be all right to ask that you fill us in, Princess Orania?” asked Ludwig, getting the conversation back on track and clearing his throat. “I hear you have requested Princess Mia’s help.”
“Oh, um...” Orania tilted her head. “I’m not too familiar with the details myself...” Still, she began to explain the current situation faced by the Visalians. According to her, they weren’t given freedom in Ganudos, and were instead forced to live in a Ghetto where they had to build ships without pay.
“Whenever Visalians are found out, they’re immediately captured and sent to the Ghetto, so...” Orania brushed Yanna’s forehead. “You can’t let anyone see the tattoo on your forehead like you were just doing now, okay?”
“Ah! Hey, don’t...” Yanna squeezed her lips into a frown as her bangs were thoroughly rustled. Her pouting face stared right into Orania’s, but the anger she expressed wasn’t the biting ire meant to keep others at bay. Instead, it was more the expression of a teased child.
Mia was pleased at the sight. When Yanna had first arrived at Saint-Noel, she had yet to find the peace of mind that allowed for affectionate touches and teasing.
“I’m sorry... You were just too cute, Yanna,” said Orania, completely unashamed. “They’re not so strict with sending everyone to the Ghetto anymore, so they might let the children go free. But still...” She breathed a heavy sigh. “Until recently, even I thought all Visalians were scary pirates since that’s all anyone ever told me... I never even questioned them being forced to live away from everyone else...”
I get exactly how you feel, Orania!
Mia identified with Orania from the very depths of her heart. Princesses tended to have little interest in their subjects unless they were directly connected. Just as Mia was ignorant about the Lulus and the struggles of her people, Orania was ignorant of the Visalians.
“Terrifying pirates, huh?” Mia quipped. “Treating them like the subject of ghost stories discourages anyone from trying to learn more... It’s the same strategy that was used with House Clausius.”
“House Clausius...?” asked Orania, flashing Mia an inquisitive look.
Mia filled her in on the story of the cursed House Clausius and the Chaos Serpents. At first, she wasn’t quite sure if she should divulge the latter, but she thought it best in the end. At this point, it was highly unlikely that Orania had ties with the Serpents, and Mia felt guilty hiding things from a girl who looked up to her as a “master.”
“There’s really such a terrifying group out there...?”
“There is. They’re drawn to the rot in nations, and work to amplify latent hatred. That turns into internal struggles and wars, which uproots order and leads the world toward chaos. They’re an incredibly crafty and slimy bunch,” responded Mia. But as she spoke these words, a certain thought occurred to her. Could the Serpents be involved in the king’s assassination as well?
All Mia had heard from Orania was the story of the Visalian Ghetto and the slave labor that was carried out there. Mia had inferred that this had been the root cause for the attempt on the king’s life and the internal struggles that would ensue, but she had yet to find any concrete evidence that the Serpents were moving behind the scenes as well.
The thing that really makes the Serpents so scary is that they incite incidents that could have occurred without their interference anyway.
“To return to the matter at hand, I believe our basic plan of action should be for Abel or me to see the state of the Visalians for ourselves and then air our grievances with the king,” said Mia, checking the expression on the source of her knowledge (Ludwig) as she spoke.
Ludwig seemed to notice this, as he first glanced at Orania before dramatically nodding his head.
“I see... The Visalian Ghetto...” For some reason, Orania seemed quite glum.
“My, is there a problem?”
“Well, going there might be difficult...”
“And why is that?”
Mia wasn’t doubting Orania’s words, but seeing the state of the Ghetto for themselves was clearly the best course of action. Not to mention, Orania didn’t seem too well-versed in the matter either given her earlier testimony. With that in mind, visiting really did seem necessary.
“Well, the Ghetto”—she pointed out the window, toward the blue, glistening water—“is on the other side of the sea.”