“Do you have any ideas...?” asked Orania. Still, Mia provided no answer, and on second thought, Orania found this natural. As a princess, I need to think for myself first before asking someone else for the answers.
Mia wasn’t a fountain of knowledge she’d always be able to access, and Mia would never accept Orania relying on her as such. This was the Great Sage of the Empire that Orania was dealing with—a genius who had solved countless problems and dangers facing her nation using nothing but her own wisdom.
Her vassal’s name was Ludwig, right...? Master Mia said she relies on him a lot, but... She inwardly giggled. She must be overselling it if she’s claiming that half of her feats can be attributed to him... She secretly snickered. But she’s probably not just being humble... She’s trying to teach me that I need to rely on my vassals.
Not everyone can be Mia Luna Tearmoon. Very few can put together perfect plans to solve anything like the Great Sage of the Empire could, and it was hard to find any among their numbers just lying about.
Well, Mia could often be found lying around in bed, but anyways...
Maybe she’s trying to tell me that I’m only human, so there’s no way I can do everything on my own...? She’s saying that since I have so little power, I’ll only fail if I try to accomplish things all by myself, so I need to gather some trusty vassals... Orania continued down this line of thinking. Or maybe, these are words of warning, and she’s saying that even if I’m certain I’ve thought up the perfect plan on my own, I still need to listen to advice from my vassals...?
Perhaps what truly made the Great Sage of the Empire deserving of that title was the fact she was never satisfied with her own ideas, and Orania’s very own Master Mia was trying to impart on her that her plans needed to be reworked and further polished with the opinions of her vassals. That’s what she was trying to say, right?
And just as those waves of delusion were growing larger and larger...
“I truly believe that there’s something more important than the methods we choose, and that’s what you want to do. How should we treat the Visalians? What is the right thing to do? You’re the one who should answer those questions, as you’re the princess of Ganudos.”
Mia’s words came crashing down, completely enveloping her! Their weight—the height of these nascent waves—was monstrous, and they easily pulled Orania’s heart straight out to sea!
What I want to do...? Orania pondered this matter. What did she want to do, and what should she do? As the princess of Ganudos, I...
That was it! She had found her answer!
Did she have hopes Mia would just cough up the answer? No, of course not! Hadn’t she been the one to ask Mia to teach her the proper path to walk as a princess? That was exactly why she had asked Orania to consider this matter from the perspective of the princess of Ganudos that she was.
Mia’s presence had led Orania to let down her guard, as she was expecting Mia to solve things for her. But that wasn’t right! Mia had only come here to help Orania take action.
“I don’t think it’s right to persecute the Visalians...” she said, coming face-to-face with what lay deep in her heart. Then, she put her encounters at Saint-Noel Academy and her feelings into words...and delivered them with princessly resolve. “...And I want to do something about it!”
Just as Orania was feeling disappointed in the banality and clumsiness of her words, Mia offered a helping hand. “Then you want to fix the injustices in your country, right?” She looked straight into Orania’s eyes as she spoke, and Orania naturally nodded.
“That’s right. I don’t want any kids to have to suffer what Yanna and Kiryl did, and I want to do something about it. That’s why I asked for your help, Master Mia!”
Mia seemed very pleased with this answer, and spoke with an expression that embodied the praise she had for her young disciple. “I see. Then I will do everything in my power to help you.”
She promised to support Orania in the first decision she had ever made as a proper princess, and to Orania, those words were like a guiding beacon. Master Mia is like a guiding light. She’s like... A certain foreboding image had popped into her mind! Like a lighthouse!
That image firmly took root in her mind, and not only that, she found it to be the perfect likeness of Mia! She was perfectly hooked on the idea!
That’s right, Mia’s words were the beacon of a lighthouse that illuminated the path forward to guide ships to shore.
Or maybe, hmm... Sailors often use the light of the stars to guide them, but Master Mia’s light is even brighter. She’s like the sun or the moon... That’s it! A moon lighthouse...
Orania giggled to herself and nodded, proud she had thought of such an amazing image. Unfortunately, this image would be etched vividly into her conscience.