"Um, Duke Alcott, could you please let go of your arm?" (Fia)
Even though we had never met before, I looked up at the person who suddenly grabbed my arm and made the most obvious statement.
However, Duke Alcott only gave me a faint smile and did not let go of my arm.
On the contrary, they said things that I didn't understand.
"As I said earlier, it's Lloyd. If you call someone like me by an honorific title, you might be accused of insulting the royal family by calling Cerulean."
The person himself told me to call Cerulean, so that couldn't be true.
No, the problem right now is...
I stared at my arm in disbelief as Duke Alcott grabbed me.
That's strange, that's strange.
Even though I was a full-fledged knight, why can't I shake off the thin arms of a nobleman who only does paperwork??
Wondering from the bottom of my heart, I put in one more effort to tear Duke Alcott's arm away from his grip on my wrist.
However, the Duke's hand, which was smiling happily, did not show any sign of leaving my wrist.
I looked up at Duke Alcott with a feeling of despair.
...In the first place, who is Duke Alcott?
While I was picking medicinal herbs in the garden of the royal castle, he suddenly spoke to me in a friendly manner.
I was sure this was the first time we've met, but he seemed too friendly for that.
That's what I thought, but I didn't know the Duke, so maybe this was just his usual sense of distance.
"By the way, what was Fia doing? I wonder if weed picking is popular among knights?"
"Weed...well, that's about it." (Fia)
I was actually picking medicinal herbs, but to people who didn't know the difference, they probably look like weeds.
Desiring to be freed as soon as possible, I agreed with the Duke's words that the medicinal herb was a weed.
Then, Duke Alcott nodded in agreement.
"I see. It's true that all kinds of flowers are beautiful, so it's hard to choose one. I see. If you think about it in terms of plants, weeds and flowers are in the same group, so if you decide to take the plunge and decorate with grass, you won't have to take the time to make a selection."
Faced with Duke Alcott's extremely serious expression, I wondered if he was sane.
He seemed to be the type to come to a conclusion and make a lot of guesses, but his guesses were unusual.
Even though Captain Cyril was a proper duke, I thought that this duke was a tough one and said with a friendly smile that I shouldn't get closer than necessary.
Then, by bad timing, the voice of Charlotte, who was picking medicinal herbs in a distant place, echoed.
"Fia, there were a lot of Raina leaves over there!" (Charlotte)
Then, I thought I heard the sound of Charlotte's footsteps running towards me, but she was already standing right in front of me.
Charlotte looked up at me with a smile, but when she noticed Duke Alcott grabbing my arm, she smiled and tilted her head.
"Are you Fia's acquaintance?" (Charlotte)
I was about to say, "No, I don't know him at all," but before I could say that, the duke interjected.
"No way! I'm not just an acquaintance, I'm Fia's friend. If possible, I'd like to be her best friend, but maybe we're just not aware of it already."
"Charlotte, this is the Duke's noble wit. Unfortunately, I'm not a noble, so I don't interested at all." (Fia)
"Ah, that's right! That's why I don't interested either." (Charlotte)
Seeing Charlotte answering with an extremely serious expression, Duke Alcott had a disappointed expression on his face.
Meanwhile, a man who appeared to be his friend, who was standing nearby, began to gush.
When I saw that, my intuition clicked.
It dawned on me! The Duke's neighbor must be a commoner to find our conversation interesting!
As expected, the two of them started introducing themselves to Charlotte again...
"Nice to meet you, little saint. I'm Lloyd, the head of the Duke Alcott family."
"I'm Noel, Duke Balfour."
"Ah!"
Oh my god! It came off.
When I looked again, I saw that the man who called himself Duke Balfour was wearing expensive-looking noble clothes.
...Yeah, he's definitely a noble.
That's right, that's right. Unless I thought about it very seriously, my intuition would be wrong.
I was disappointed, but tried to walk away from them, thinking that the duke was just an existence above the clouds and had nothing to do with my life anyway.
"Well then, thank you for speaking to me. Goodbye." (Fia)
However, Duke Alcott still did not let go of my arm.
As a result, I was stopped and glared at him, but the duke didn't seem to mind and switched to a new topic.
"I recently had a daughter. She's about the same age as Fia, so you should get along well."
"Huh? Congratulations on that. However, I'm only 15 and I don't think I'm the same age as the baby." (Fia)
I had thought that Duke Alcott might be insane based on his arrogant remarks earlier, but it seemed like his thinking was not normal after all.
Or maybe he was just the type of person who thought that all ages 15 and under were the same.
Or maybe it's the second installment of noble wit, which wasn't interesting at all.
As I stared at the duke, unsure of his true intentions, he fluttered his free hand.
"Ah, even though I call her a daughter, she's an adopted daughter. So, she's 16 years old now. She's also a saint, so she might be able to talk to Saint Charlotte, who works at the royal castle. That's right, would you two come to my house next time? My daughter-in-law, Priscilla, has lived in the east for many years, so she doesn't have any friends in the capital. I'd be happy if you could get along."
"Oh dear"
When I heard that she was a saint, my cheeks twitched.
When I glanced at Charlotte, she just nodded and said, "If Fia wants to go, that's fine."
Therefore, I was about to reply that I would really like to meet the saint of the Duke's family, but a familiar voice rang out from behind me.
"Fia, what’s wrong?"
When I turned around, Captain Cyril was walking towards me with Captain Desmond.
Oh, it's rare to have both of them together.
In fact, as I was looking at them, I thought that they were the two great knights, and they looked impressive together, when Captain Cyril walked up to us and put his hand on Duke Alcott's arm.
What, Captain Cyril twisted Duke Alcott's arm? The moment I thought that, the duke suddenly let go of my arm.
"F-finally!" (Fia)
I panicked and hid my arm behind my back.
However, Captain Cyril extended his arm, and this time Captain took my hand.
"Cyril Captain?" (Fia)
As I looked up at Captain, wondering what he was up to, I heard Duke Alcott's dissatisfied voice from next to me.
"Fia, Cyril is holding my hand, do I have to tell you to let go?"
Then, Captain Cyril looked at the Duke with a triumphant expression.
"For her, I'm a friend she can feel safe with. It's only natural that she would react differently to someone like you, who has to show their vigilance." (Cyril)
Duke Alcott raised his voice as if he was surprised.
"What are you talking about? Fia has seen everything about me, both the front and the back! Fia understands everything about me now, so there's no need to be wary."
"It's the opposite. After seeing everything, didn't you decide that you were someone she couldn't trust?"
I was surprised and opened my eyes when I saw the two of them suddenly starting to argue.
"Well, you two are good friends!" (Fia)
Then, the two of them immediately objected.
"Fia, what did you see in us that made you think we were good friends?" (Cyril)
"That's right, Fia! Whenever Cyril stands next to me, I feel faint. There's no way I would ever try to get along with someone like that."
"See, that's how you say the same thing at the same time. That's the point." (Fia)
I asked Captain Cyril, who was shocked, thinking it was just a child's fight, but was just fine.
"By the way, Captain Cyril, Charlotte and I have been invited by Duke Alcott. Can we go to the Duke's residence?" (Fia)
Captain Cyril's reply was unexpected.
"...You guys won't be able to do it alone, so Desmond and I will accompany you." (Cyril)
Duke Alcott, who heard Captain Cyril's answer, looked at Captain in shock.
"What, I didn’t invite Cyril!?"
However, Captain Cyril didn't seem to mind and smiled calmly.
"Horizontal connections are everything in noble society. I don't think Lloyd would refuse my visit." (Cyril)
Duke Alcott frowned in disgust.
"Wow, this is a clear threat from the great duke! Fia, are you okay with being forced to work under such a dictatorial man?" (Cyril)
"...I think I'm happy to be able to work under Captain Cyril." (Fia)
After thinking about it for a while, I answered honestly, thinking it would cause the least amount of damage.
Then, Duke Alcott looked dissatisfied, and Captain Cyril looked at him with a smile.
"Oh, you seem to be dissatisfied. After all, you, whose behavior is hated by Fia, must be given a chance to observe my behavior as an example as soon as possible." (Cyril)
"Huh?"
Captain Cyril showed a beautiful smile to Duke Alcott, who asked back without understanding what was being said.
"Goodness says hurry. Tomorrow morning, the four of us here… no, five of us, including Fabian from the Marquis Weiner family, will visit Duke Olcott’s residence.… Ah, Fia likes Strawberry, so please have a strawberry tart for tea." (Cyril)