Reincarnated Princess Wishes To Avoid Death
chapter-20

To New Lands

There was a small country in the middle of all the kingdoms and empires. It was known as the Holy Principality of Belluga. It is the home of the Central Orthodox Church, the religion which had been observed by the continent since ancient times. Though it had no military power, it possessed an unparalleled amount of influence. To prove this, a certain school exist within its borders.

Saint Noel Academy was a super-elite school that gathered noble and royal children from the land. Future rulers of kingdoms, which should’ve been hidden in an ivory tower, are instead sent into this academy to receive six years of education. From this fact alone, the authority that the Principality commanded was obvious.

And it was to this academy that Mia is headed to this spring.

“Wow! This is great!” Anne cheered when St. Noel finally came into view after a week of bumpy ride in the carriage.

Mia smiled as she sees Anne marvel at the sights with her face pressed on the window.

“Don’t wear yourself out, Anne.”

“But, Mia-sama, it’s amazing! The sea, you see, the sea …”

“That is a lake.”

While correcting Anne, Mia also turned her attention to the scenery outside the window. After passing through a small forest, the road was filled with lush trees which opens up to a huge lake. Known as Lake Noelige, it occupies more than a third of the Principality and is well-known for its abundant natural beauty.

At the center of the lake was a large island, on which a beautiful white, castle-like school building stood. It was almost like straight out of a fairy tale. Mia understood Anne’s excitement upon such a sight.

As expected, after seeing it everyday for almost five years, it gets a little old.

After all, she already attended this academy in the previous timeline. While she has no complaints about the academy’s environment, it also no longer roused any excitement in her.

“I’m really impressed how calm Mia-sama is.” Anne whispered with a sigh.

Mia did not comment. She just smiled and closed her eyes.

These next six years are going to be crucial.

Before coming to this academy, Mia scrutinized her dairy to figure out the best way to spend her time here.

As a result, she decided to impose two rules on herself.

First, avoid any danger. In particular, try not to associate with people who had anything to do with her being sent to the guillotine.

Second, in the unlikely event that the reform of the empire fails and an unfortunate revolution occurs, then build a network of connections. To that end, she needed as many useful friends as possible.

That’s it.

The most important thing is to stay away from danger. As the old saying goes: prevention is better than cure.

In her mind, she recalled the faces of the two persons that lead her to the guillotine. She didn’t really think of anything in particular with them. She didn’t want revenge nor fight them. Mia is, after all, a lazy pacifist. So she plans to stick to her first rule. Stay away from danger. If she doesn’t get acquainted with the two, then they wouldn’t have any reasons to hate her as well.

However, it is foolish to not prepare for an emergency. In that case, it is necessary to make connections inconspicuously. Who should I approach?

Just as Mia was sinking into her thoughts, the carriage suddenly stopped.

“Hey!”

Mia can hear the bitter voice of her coach driver in the front.

“Is something wrong?” Mia called from the inside.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Your Highness. Actually, I was about to move our carriage onto the boat to get us into the island. But some other kingdom got in front of us and took our spot.”

“Hmm… so?”

“Normally, they should give way for the empire. Allow me to go and put them in their place.”

Mia sighs a little to the coach driver who was getting ready for a fight.

“…I don’t mind, really.”

“But then, the prestige of the empire…”

“The prestige of the empire would be better served if we don’t go squabbling on such trifling matters such as the order of going into the boat.” Mia said with a hint of irritation.

The coach driver’s words and actions hurt really frustrated Mia. It is unsightly to making a fuss on the order of who gets to be on the island first. But what really irritates Mia was that she did the exact thing in the previous timeline.

Furthermore, after all the commotion, her carriage fell into the lake. She remembered it now with frustration. It had been a terrible experience. She had been wearing her favorite heavy dress. So when it got wet, it was very heavy. She almost drowned. After she managed to reach the shore, she had to endure to laughter of the students looking at her.

Remembering it was painful, but watching her own humiliating actions being replayed before her was even worse.

How terribly embarrassing… If I could, I’ll get rid of that past self!

“Well, are you okay, Mia-sama”

“Don’t worry about me. It was a long trip, so I’m just a little tired.”

With that said, Mia opened a window. The lakeside breeze was refreshing and seemed to comfort Mia.