Speaking of the "Twin Masters of the Knights," I meant the first Knight Order Captain Cyril, known as the "Dragon of the Kingdom," and the second Knight Order Captain Desmond, known as the "Tiger of the Kingdom."
So, who were we referring to when we said, "The King's Twin"?
――――They didn't have as much external exposure as the Knights, and many people were responsible for the King's duties such as diplomacy, domestic affairs, health, and agriculture. So, it's hard to narrow it down to just two people...Hardly anyone would answer that it was difficult.
Because everyone pointed to the same two people.
Speaking of the "The King's Twin", two of the three great dukes were Duke Lloyd Alcott and Duke Noel Balfoir. Those who knew the inner workings of the Kingdom in detail would probably answer that.
This was because King Laurence always had one of the two presented at important meetings.
And no matter which of them was present, they would advise the King very accurately.
"Your Majesty, this idea is wonderful."
Yes, he recommended one plan to the King so clearly that no one could misunderstand it, and the King obediently adopted that plan.
That was why the neighboring countries and the domestic nobility had a common opinion.
"Näv Kingdom is rock solid. Because there are two exceptionally talented aides on the King's side."
On top of that, he and his younger brother were building an impregnable country.
The king's younger brother held the highest rank in the Knight Order who controlled military affairs, and had the Duke of Sutherland, the first of the three great dukes, by his side.
The king reigned supreme in the country, with the remaining two of the three great dukes by his side.
——The arrangement was extremely well-balanced, and everyone was satisfied that it was the most beneficial arrangement for the country.
As a result, there were very few complaints about the king keeping a free-spirited court jester by his side for entertainment.
The clowns said crazy things in strange tones, but it couldn't be helped because they were weak-minded.
In the first place, they didn't even know the meaning of what they're saying.
And, taking advantage of this perception, the clowns said whatever they wanted, as if to vent their daily frustrations.
He was already extremely sophisticated, talking about things that only the very core of the country could know, but with a hint of sarcasm.
This was because out of the three clowns that the king had in attendance, one of them was the King himself, and the other two...
There were only three ducal houses in the Näv Kingdom.
Since each of these three ducal families held tremendous authority, their heads were called the "Three Great Dukes" with a sense of fear and reverence.
While the three great dukes were feared by the men, they were extremely popular with the women.
Of course, there was no doubt that their high status played a role in their popularity, but more than that, their external beauty were valued by women.
Duke Cyril Sutherland was a beautiful man with a gentle face and long gray hair tied back at his collar.
Duke Noel Balfoir was a handsome man with a fearless face and orange hair that reached his shoulders.
Duke Lloyd Alcott was a beautiful, handsome man with blue-silver hair that was neatly cut just below his collar and a refreshing look in his eyes.
"Each one is different, and each one is good," was the unanimous opinion of the women who held the paintings of the three dukes.
Well, that day, Duke Noel Balfoir and Duke Lloyd Alcott were walking together at the royal castle.
Those who noticed the two hurriedly moved out of the way and bowed deeply to show their respect.
However, the two, who were being treated in the best possible manner, seemed to be unconcerned about this and were absorbed in their conversation.
……They just saw it, but apparently, they were shrewdly paying attention to their surroundings, and when Duke Alcott narrowed his eyes, he pointed to a figure far away.
"Oh, isn't that Fia?"
"...It's too far away, so all I can tell is that it's a person."
Duke Balfoir looked in the direction Duke Alcott was pointing and tilted his head while narrowing his eyes.
On the other hand, Duke Olcott continued speaking with confidence.
"Uehehe, maybe you don't love her enough? That girl captivates me in just a few hours! By the time I realized it, I was so in love with that girl that I could tell her apart just by looking at her silhouette."
"Lloyd, your tone is disturbed."
"Oh, excuse me. I wasn't. This is rude."
Duke Alcott changed his high voice, which could be mistaken for a woman's, and switched to a low, masculine voice.
Then, he kept his voice low and continued.
"I like smart kids. Fia is probably smarter than any of us. I never thought someone would be able to figure out Cerulean's true identity, but she did it easily. And Fia gave a number of reasons, all of which were correct. That kid is really smart."
Duke Balfoir also answered in a low voice.
"However, the fact that Cerulean was affected by a curse and that the founder of the royal family had the blood of the Spirit King was a guess, wasn’t it?"
Duke Alcott looked at his friend mockingly.
"That can't be possible! How can she guess two such rare cases by chance? Fia was actually aware that Cerulean was affected by a curse and that the founder of the royal family was the Spirit King. It's just that I haven't been able to clearly grasp the basis for explaining it in words."
"……Is that so?"
Duke Balfoir's eyes widened in surprise, and Duke Alcott clearly nodded.
"Ah, definitely! Under the same conditions and the same situation, that child is probably able to read more things than us and draw accurate analogies from that. However, in this case, there were too few hints in the room, so I couldn't explain it in a coherent way. And everyone except her noticed that."
Duke Balfoir, who had finished listening to Duke Alcott's words, was astonished and repeated the same words.
"Is that so!?"
"Of course, that's right. Not to mention Cerulean...His Highness Savvis and the Duke of Sutherland. Why do you think these two sharp-witted people barely said anything at that time? It was because they didn't want Fia to notice anything unnecessary."
Duke Olcott casually changed his direction and started walking towards the figure who had clearly identified himself as Fia.
Duke Balfoir, on the other hand, didn't notice Duke Alcott's slight adjustment in direction, and looked at his friend's face and asked again.
"What does it mean?"
Duke Alcott waved his hand.
"My intuition is that Fia is a genius type. Rather than accumulating theories, she is the type who reads information that we cannot perceive and comes up with the truth. That type is a double-edged sword, so don't worry about it. While they provide us with a variety of useful information, they also read information that we don't want them to know."
Duke Alcott paused and looked at the other person with a hint of emotion in his eyes.
"As long as it's information that Cerulean is the true king, there's no big problem...but look, there are big restrictions on those two, right? Even though Cerulean is keeping it a secret, Because he has that kind of personality, he purposely said it until the very last minute."
Duke Balfoir, who had something in mind, nodded in agreement.
"Oh, 'How will I feel when I turn 30?' That line definitely made me nervous."
Duke Olcott spread his hands happily and began to talk.
"Yes, if you give hints like that, it’s only a matter of time before they notice. Furthermore, Fia is said to be a genius, so you never know which words will serve as a hint and reveal the secret. So, those two People just kept silent...Fortunately for both of them, Fia's thoughts seemed to go in a different direction, and she started saying things that didn't make sense, like 'the 30-year-old wall' so the conversation became confusing."
Then, Duke Olcott stared at the sky as if thinking.
"However, if things are going like that...maybe there have been some interesting phenomena happening around that child before? A drastic change that overturns conventional wisdom. That child... She's definitely the type of person who doesn't get boring when you're around her. That's why I really wanted to be her friend...but it seems like both His Royal Highness and the Duke of Sutherland don't want me to get close to her."
"That's a wise decision. If you pair it with the wrong person, you'll be in big trouble."
Duke Balfoir nodded with an extremely serious expression, but Duke Alcott snapped his fingers and let out an amused laugh.
"Hahahahaha, but it’s not like I’m a busy clown who has no freedom or rest everytime. I have the face of a nimbler duke. I can approach Fia on my own."
With that said, Duke Alcott walked straight towards the silhouette of the person who was clearly identified as Fia.