"I see. So, your sister is called Elise?" asked Mia as she followed Anne up to the second floor.
"Yes. She's the same age as you, Princess Mia, but she has always been a little sickly... I only wish she were as healthy as you..."
Anne gave a sad smile.
"...I'm sorry to hear that she's in such poor health."
"Oh, but she's not actually ill or anything. Just sort of weak. Plus, thanks to you, my salary has gone up. Now, I can afford to have her eat lots of nutritious things, and she's starting to look more and more healthy," she said as she knocked on the door in front of them. "Elise, are you up?"
"Yes, I am. Is that you, Anne? You can come in," replied a quiet voice.
Anne opened the door to a small room. Its modest furnishings — nothing more than a wooden desk and a bed — were in stark contrast to Mia's own chamber, which was filled with all manner of things. On the desk was a row of books, all of which showed signs of considerable use. Books were costly items, so it was common for them to be reread more than a few times. What was not common was for them to be reread to the point of falling apart. Even less common was for every single book a person owned to be in such a state.
"I'm sorry I couldn't go down for the greeting, Sis..."
A young girl sat on the bed rubbing her eyes. She shared a lot of Anne's features, including a mop of messy red hair that was currently sticking out in all directions. Evidently, she'd just woken up.
"I guess the Princess left already... Oh, I wish I could have gotten a look at her..." she said before reaching for her glasses beside her pillow. As she put them on and looked through their somewhat comically large lenses, she froze.
"...Huh?"
She stared, mouth agape, at the person standing beside her sister.
"Hello. My name is Mia Luna Tearmoon, and I'm glad to be meeting the sister of my wonderful maid, Anne."
"Wh-Wha— But, um... H-Hello. I'm sorry, I'm not even dressed... Your Highness, I..."
"It's quite all right. Your name is Elise, right? I've heard about you. Please, relax."
Mia smiled as she placed a hand on Elise's shoulder and stopped her from trying to get up.
"B-But..."
"Didn't you hear her, Elise? Just stay put. Princess Mia has a heart of gold. She won't be bothered by a few lapses in protocol."
"Indeed. In fact, was there something amiss? I didn't even notice," said Mia, not missing a beat. After all, receiving praise was her forte.
For a while, they engaged in some enjoyable banter. She was particularly delighted when Elise declined the ice candy and said with a look of sincere apology, "It pains me to have to turn down such a generous offer from Your Highness, but I'm afraid of giving myself a chill."
As soon as she heard that, Mia immediately decided that she liked this girl. Not because of any particular trait, of course, but because she got her ice candy back. Beaming at the delicate treat returned to her, she was so happy that she almost started bouncing up and down.
"Isn't this great, Elise? I know you said how much you wanted to meet Princess Mia," said Anne, watching her sister with a gentle smile.
"My, you wished to meet me that much?"
"Yes! I, um... You see, I'm writing a story and..." Elise said, excitement creeping into her voice. She brought a bundle of papers over from her desk. Written across the very top page was a title. It read, "The Poor Prince and the Golden Dragon."
My, I remember seeing this title somewhere...
As she stared at the row of words, she slowly lost herself in her memories.
Her days in the dungeon were filled with tedium. There was, after all, very little to do there. Being dragged out to a kangaroo court where everyone showered her with insults was, of course, a harrowing experience, but being stuck in a cell with nothing to do was equally agonizing.
One day, to help pass the time, Anne started telling her a story titled "The Poor Prince and the Golden Dragon." It began with a prince who shared his wealth with the poor and needy, only to find himself in poverty after giving too much away. The prince then saved a dragon from a debilitating injury, and the two of them then went off on a series of exciting adventures.
It was a story unlike anything she had heard before. Fantasy novels were rare in the Tearmoon Empire, and Mia immediately took a liking to it. Ultimately, however, she never got to hear its ending, and the reason wasn't because she was executed before she had a chance to.
It was because it didn't have one.
The author — Anne's sister — died in the famine before she could finish writing it.
When Mia stepped up to the guillotine, one of the deepest regrets she had was the fact that the story's ending would forever elude her.
I'd almost forgotten.
Mia was immersed in her thoughts. Slowly but surely, her fate was changing. She didn't know whether the famine would still strike. If it did, with Ludwig's efforts, its effects might not be as devastating. Even so...
After leafing through the bundle of papers, she looked at Elise.
"This is a terribly interesting story. I like it very much."
"Huh?"
Elise looked taken aback. She didn't think Mia could have read through it so quickly.
"Elise," Mia continued, paying no mind to the look of surprise on the girl, "I'd like you to become my court artist."
"...Huh?!"