Side Story: Mia's Life in Death Valley

Living in Death Valley was a delightful experience for Mia. For the first time in her life, she felt free from the constraints of rules that always enveloped her.

As a noble daughter, Mia had been educated since childhood to always act with the etiquette of nobility.

She also learned about the political relationships between the noble families of the Kingdom of Huntara and other renowned nobles in other kingdoms.

Mia was deeply interested in the knowledge imparted to her.

Truly, she studied almost all subjects, and they all fascinated the young girl's eyes, except for one—the teachings on how to behave as a wife or noblewoman.

The lessons that taught her how to conduct herself in front of her future husband and how to educate and care for the heir or her kids.

Just this one, made Mia to detested her noble title. She felt as if she would only be used as a tool by her future husband to bear a male heir. After that, she would be considered merely a caretaker.

Mia, who loved knowledge, despised this lesson. In her opinion, she would be reduced to the role of a nursemaid for her husband.

She understood why this happened. It was because she lacked the talent to become a mana wielder.

She doesn't have mana, which narrowed her path as a noble daughter to one thing—being an object for marriage.

Mia complained about this disliked lesson to her mother. However, her mother only laughed in response to her grievances. She even explained the important role of a woman in a noble family.

That role was to bear an heir and enjoy the wealth generated by her husband. As for love? There was none.

Almost all noble daughters married due to arranged marriages, not love, regardless of whether they possessed mana or not.

Love had become like a myth to them. What mattered most was finding a high-ranking husband and serving him. That way, their lives as women would be prosperous.

Young Mia pouted. She felt a lack of fondness for such a concept. Mia didn't care about love. She was still young, and she didn't even know what love was like.

The most important thing for Mia was knowledge! If she lived only to get married, have children, and stay silent at home all day, then what was the point of learning everything from a young age?

Mia firmly rejected the practice of arranged marriage.

To avoid such a fate and to apply all the knowledge she had learned to the real world, Mia decided to work as a servant in the palace.

Such a practice was not uncommon. Many noble children became palace servants as a means of learning and seeking connections.

Usually, they would work for about one to five years before returning to their respective families.

But for Mia, she had no intention of going back. She worked hard every year, steadily climbing up the ranks and becoming irreplaceable. Eventually, she became one of Princess Sravati's personal attendants.

With her current position, her parents were undoubtedly proud. Mia's voice now carried more influence than her parents'. She could refuse any arranged marriage proposal that came her way.

She had broken free from the constraints of being a noblewoman confined to the household. Mia had found her own path in life.

Or so she thought, until she learned that royal politics were far more complicated than she had imagined.

As a princess's attendant, Mia had to always maintain her composure and be keenly aware of the kingdom's dynamics.

Time passed, and Mia unknowingly found herself trapped in her own life.

She was oblivious to the monotony of her daily routine, not much different from the everyday life of a noblewoman confined to her house.

But everything changed the moment she met Cien.

The Shop Owner made her discard the status and rigid rules she had imposed on herself all this time.

During her time in Death Valley, Mia didn't need to maintain appearances or suspect everyone around her. There was no politics to be concerned about there.

Everyone had only one goal: to live. Nothing more, nothing less.

Money, of course, they worked for it. But that money would be spent on their livelihoods, not to show off or as a means to climb the ranks in government.

Who needed to show off there? No one.

If a noble were to come and act arrogantly, Mia was certain that Cien and even the residents of Death Valley would simply laugh.

Mia truly experienced the life she had always dreamed of. Free without constraints.

Knowledge? She learned every day from conversations and experiences in Death Valley. She also applied her abilities in leading the village development while Cien was away.

Indeed, Mia gained a lot of knowledge from the villagers. Their perspectives were vastly different from those of the nobility. As a result, she could see and learn many things from viewpoints she had never considered before.

Mia enjoyed her days immensely. Gossiping with Yelina made her understand the positions of the influential figures in the hearts of the people.

Cien called her lazy. But no, Mia was simply effectively indulging in laziness.

Just like today.

The sun's rays began to warm Mia's sleeping face, causing her eyes to brighten even though they were still closed.

Mia woke up and rubbed her eyes. She smiled as she saw that it was already daytime.

She stretched her neck and got out of bed, changing her clothes before heading to the bathroom to wash her face.

Her day had begun.

The first thing she did was approach Balmut, who was busy building a house.

"How's it going? Any problems this morning?"

"No, Aide Mia."

"Hey! Just call me Mia!"

"Um, it doesn't feel right to me, Aide—"

"Stop! Okay, just call me Miss Mia. It feels really weird to be called an aide when that position doesn't mean anything here."

Balmut, upon hearing that, smiled awkwardly. He himself never expected that high-ranking individuals like Mia and Veronica would be considered ordinary by the Shop Owner.

At first, he wondered if Cien was not afraid of angering Huntara, but his thoughts changed after observing Mia and the others in recent days.

His question shouldn't be about Cien's fear or lack of respect towards Huntara. Rather, it should be whether Huntara dared to confront Cien in Death Valley.

The answer didn't need to be pondered. No, they won't dare.

Not because Cien is strong, but because Death Valley is terrifying.

Bringing troops here will only invite horrifying monsters to them. In the end, only death will befall them.

Balmut never expected to live in a place where the influence of the world was completely irrelevant.

After receiving a report from Balmut about the ongoing development and giving some instructions to start logging trees due to dwindling supplies, Mia went to her favorite place. Yelina's Restaurant.

As she entered the restaurant, Yelina, who was cleaning the table, greeted her.

"Ah, good morning, Mia."

"Hah, is that sarcasm? It's already noon, Lina. What have you been up to today?"

"Terrion managed to hunt a Rank 4 bird monster. I was going to make soup out of it, it tasted good even though it was lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. How about it, want some?"

Mia smiled widely, not needing to think twice, of course she wanted it.

"Give me two bowls!"

"I knew you would say that," Yelina went to the kitchen to prepare the order.

Mia sat humming while watching the children playing on the restaurant terrace. She then shouted to them.

"Hey, remember after lunchtime, okay?"

"YESS!!"

The children enthusiastically responded. What would they do after lunchtime?

Study.

After Cien's departure. Mia, who became increasingly lazy, was warned by Veronica. She said that she had become a bad example for the children.

Waking up late, eating, and then sleeping again. What would happen if the children followed her habits?

After receiving the warning, Mia finally had to do something.

Leading a construction project wasn't difficult, it wasn't a major construction project after all. She could finish inspecting and giving instructions in just a few minutes.

Helping the workers? Impossible. Mia's physical strength was too weak for that.

Cooking? Mia's cooking skills were below average.

So there was only one thing she could do. Teach.

After lunchtime, Mia invited all the children to study. She would teach them basic mathematics and the history of the Kastia Continent.

Currently, Mia's title has changed in the eyes of the children. She was no longer Ms. Mia or Aide Mia. She became Teacher Mia.

It didn't take long until Yelina brought her lunch. Mia was happy to see the food she had never tasted before. Without wasting time, she immediately devoured her meal.

For the first bowl, Mia always ate in silence. Savoring and enjoying every taste that visited her tongue.

By the time the second bowl came, Mia would eat leisurely. She even invited Yelina, who had become a close friend in the past few days, to gossip.

"Hey, Lina... what do you think about the Second Prince?"

"Prince Fritz? Ugh, to be honest, I don't want to meet him. There are many rumors that he... blah blah blah..."

Like that, their conversation began, and it would become more exciting as time went on.

Although it was just gossip, the topics brought up by Mia always revolved around the kingdom's dignitaries.

She wanted to know how they were perceived by the people. Who are the figures that had a good reputation in the eyes of the public? Who should she approach when she returns to Huntara?

Mia loved gossip, especially when it was useful to her and Princess Sravati.

Mia chatted until lunchtime passed. The impatient children waited beside the table, waiting for their teacher to finish talking.

Seeing the pure gaze of the children, Mia had to end her favorite activity and start preparing for the teaching session.

Mia instructed the children to quickly slide four tables together and merge them into one. Then, she told them to sit down and show their homework.

Mia corrected each homework assignment one by one. After finishing and noticing that there was one topic that was difficult for all the children to solve, Mia began the lesson by discussing that topic, which happened to be subtraction.

Mia would teach until dusk. As the sun began to show its orange hues, Mia assigned homework and instructed the children to return all the tables and chairs to their original positions.

Night fell. Dinner time arrived. The workers crowded into the dining hall. Mia sat at a table that was later joined by several people.

Balmut, Terrion, Sella, Veronica, and Padi.

As for Padi, he was one of the heads of the families who came to Death Valley. His responsibility was taking care of the gardens, and this time, Mia designated him as a representative for those who worked as gardeners or farmers.

While having dinner, Mia would inquire about the progress of each person's work.

Padi would definitely still be helping with the house construction, but because it would be completed within a few days. Therefore, Mia instructed him to prepare for the establishment of a field.

Balmut was responsible not only for the construction but also for the operational animal husbandry.

Sella would report on the transactions that occurred at the shop and provide data on the materials used during that day's construction.

Lastly, Terrion and Veronica would report on the situation in the surrounding area of the settlement.

After all the reports were completed and they were satiated from dinner, everyone started to rest.

Mia returned to her accommodation. There, she lay on her bed, waiting for the voices that would come to her mind.

<Good evening, Mia. Are you awake?>

"I am awake! Don't assume I'm always asleep!"

<Oh, in that case, how about we change our communication time to the morning?>

"...please don't."

<...hahaha, so how did today's progress go? Any problems?>

With that, Mia began reporting what she had seen and heard earlier.

With the report finished, the day was over. Mia went to take a shower and prepared to end the day with a smile.

"Sigh... this is the best!"