: Nozomu Mochitsuki
: Tearmoon Empire: Volume 2
: J-Novel Heart
: 9781718371507
: 1
: CHF 6.00
:
: Fantasy
: English
: 367
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

It's the summer holidays, and Mia's on a roll.
Ever since the spoiled princess of Tearmoon leapt through time and restarted life as a twelve-year-old, everything has been going her way. Leveraging her memory of future events and - unwittingly - the delusions of those around her, she secures a source of wheat for the coming famine and prevents a civil war from breaking out.
And then, at last, she manages to avert her own grisly death by guillotine, erasing from existence the very diary that foretold her doom! Things are going so well that she can't help but erupt into song and dance...
...Only to slam into a proverbial brick wall. And have the rug pulled out from under her. Just for good measure.
That dreaded word - revolution - once again reaches her ears, only this time, it's not in Tearmoon. She is horrified to learn that a popular uprising in Remno is threatening the stability of the entire kingdom. To make matters worse, her princely sweetheart, Abel, has gone home for the holidays, trapping him at the center of the chaos. To go, or not to go? That is the question. Should she brave danger to mount a rescue, or sit safe in the comfort of her own castle? Freed from the curse of the guillotine and faced with an uncertain future, what choice will Mia make?

Chapter 4: The Unicorn Hairpin


A week after closing the deal with Chloe’s father, Mia went to the Newmoon District to inspect the situation in the infamous slums of the imperial capital. The visit was Mia’s own idea, and her sudden proposal had forced Ludwig to hastily put together a small escort of imperial guards. Having been pulled from their regular duties without any prior warning, a couple of the newer guards were grumbling to each other under their breath as they gathered for their assignment.

“I swear, Her Highness can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. Like, seriously, the slums? That place is a shithole. Why does she want to go there, of all places?”

“Yeah, I don’t get what there is to see. Unless you just want to watch crime happen, of course. Oh, I guess she wants to go take a look at that hospital she built. Makes it seem less like a popularity stunt, probably. You have to give her some points for giving enough of a damn to actually bother. That’s the Great Sage of the Empire for you.”

Considering that heads would roll if anything happened to the princess, the guards would much rather have her stay in the castle and mind her own business. It was a lot easier to protect someone who didn’t go looking for trouble. The complaining soldiers were admonished, however, by one of the veteran guards who’d accompanied Mia on her first trip to the Newmoon District.

“Hey, quit grumbling, you rookies. And show the princess some respect. I know what you think of them nobles, and you’re not wrong, but Her Highness is... different. She’s not like them. There’ll be no badmouthing her under my watch, got it?”

The veteran guard turned and gazed off into the distance, remembering his first encounter with the princess. In her he saw the courage to step boldly toward wherever duty led, even if it meant entering places where crime ran rampant. He saw in her the compassion to help the children of the street, running her hand through their dirty hair and picking them up despite their sullied clothes. And he saw in her the wisdom to build a hospital in a poor district that so desperately needed it. In other words, his opinion of Mia had suffered the same hyperinflation that Ludwig’s had.

Then, as if on cue, Mia arrived on the scene.

“Good day everyone. I very much appreciate your timely arrival on such