"Hello, welcome. It's nice of you to come."
The person who welcomed us at the entrance of Duke Alcott's residence was Duke Alcott himself.
If he was a duke, it wouldn't be strange for him to be hunched over in the back of the room, but my eyes widened in surprise at how casually he came to greet us.
However, perhaps this was Duke Alcott's usual style, Captain Cyril greeted with his usual smile without making any particular mention of it.
"Lloyd, thank you for inviting me today." (Cyril)
On the other hand, in front of the smiling Captain Cyril, Duke Alcott just looked as if he had swallowed a bitter worm and did not reply.
As someone who didn't remember inviting him, that's probably how he would react.
Having said that, Duke Alcott, who was a noble to the core of his bones, led us to the drawing room with a graceful gesture.
The distance and splendor from the main gate to the mansion, the size and luxury of the mansion, the softness of the carpet in the hallway, and the brightness of the frames of the paintings on display all indicate Duke Alcott's financial strength.
While I was admiring the Duke, I was taken to the reception room, which was a sunny room with a large window.
Looking at the large room with high-quality yet elegant furniture, I thought to myself, "It's normal," as I imagined the room to be as unique as the person himself.
As I looked around the room, feeling surprised, I noticed a girl sitting on a dark green sofa.
The girl was a rare beauty with deep pink hair that reached her waist and seemed to be a little older than me.
"Let me introduce you to my adopted daughter Priscilla. ...She is also a saint."
Even after he introduced Priscilla's name, she didn't show any signs of getting up from the sofa, so he added the information that Duke Alcott was a saint.
Then, Priscilla seemed to be satisfied and got up from the sofa without saying a word.
Cyril smiled and began to introduce the visitors to Priscilla.
"Nice to meet you, Saint Priscilla. My name is Cyril Sutherland, and I am the first knight captain. And this is Desmond Ronan, the second knight captain." (Cyril)
Although Priscilla was silent, her gaze shifted from Captain Cyril to Captain Desmond as the introductions were made.
It seemed that the reason why she remained silent was not because she was not interested.
"Then, Fabian Weiner and Fia Ruud, knights of my First Order; and finally Saint Charlotte, who works at the royal castle." (Cyril)
When Priscilla was introduced to Charlotte, she ran her gaze from the top of her head to the tips of her feet, as if appreciating Charlotte.
Charlotte, unable to bear the gaze, murmured a small "Um, thank you," and Priscilla looked at Charlotte's orange hair and narrowed her eyes as if thinking about it.
"Hehehe, apparently my daughter is shy. She doesn't talk much. But please think that this is part of her personality, so please ignore her."
Although she was silent, Priscilla looked directly at each person with a strong gaze, and she never looked shy, but if her adoptive father, the Duke, said so, then that would be the case.
After each introduction was finished, Duke Alcott urged us to sit on the sofa.
At the same time, fragrant tea and strawberry tarts were brought out.
For some reason, only my plate contained three pieces of tart.
"Huh?" (Fia)
As I was wondering around and looking around, my eyes met with Duke Alcott's.
The duke put one hand over his mouth, leaned towards me, and spoke in a quieter voice than usual.
"It's a special kind of favoritism that only happens to friends. I want to please Fia."
Although the voice was quieter than usual, everyone in the room could hear it.
I was wondering what the Duke wanted to do... and the answer came right away.
Because Captain Cyril echoed the Duke's words.
"It's a cheap bribe offered by Lloyd, who has always been treated like a stranger by Fia who wants to get rid of him." (Cyril)
……ah I see. Duke Alcott wants to make fun of Captain Cyril.
Even though he was fully aware of this, Captain Cyril responded with dignity every time.
Well, these two were really good friends.
Thinking so, I ate the tart with my big mouth.
"Wow, it's delicious! This tart is really delicious! The crispy crust, creamy cream, and the sourness of the strawberries make it so delicious!!" (Fia)
It was really delicious, so when I honestly told him what I thought, the duke was smiling happily.
However, the rest of the participants remained silent, and none of them dared to touch the tart.
"Why doesn't anyone eat it? It's delicious." (Fia)
When I asked this question, Captain Desmond frowned in disbelief.
"Fia, you really have a heart of steel! How can food go down your throat in this situation? Don’t you get nervous and your chest gets tight?" (Desmond)
"Huh?" (Fia)
I'm nervous and my chest is tight...
I put my fork back on the plate, put one hand over my mouth, and lowered my gaze.
"I'm sorry. I was so excited at the honor of being invited to the Duke's house that it seems like my nervousness was acting in a weird way. ...Well, I'm feeling stuffy in my chest and it hurts." (Fia)
Everyone looked at me with blank eyes, but I didn't change my melancholy expression.
It's important to get everything done.
Then, Duke Alcott let out a happy laugh.
"Fia is interesting. And calling me a 'duke' is always a stranger's behavior. Even though I've asked her to call me by my name many times, she still only calls me 'Duke Alcott.' You’re too formal."
Fabian smiled and agreed with the duke, who seemed to be disappointed.
"Fia has that kind of thing. When I introduced myself to Fia, I asked her to call me by my nickname, but she simply ignored me. As a result, my wish was not accepted, and I have never been called by nickname." (Fabian)
Come to think of it, something like that happened.
I wonder how Fabian remembered things from the past and showed off at this timing.
Thinking of this, I looked down with an embarrassed expression on my face.
"Even though I look like this, I’m modest. I don’t do things like that." (Fia)
"I won't do anything that's too friendly." (Cyril, Desmond)
Captain Cyril and Captain Desmond murmured the same words at the same time, but I chose to believe that there was no deep meaning behind their murmurs.
...That being said, I picked up my fork again and looked around at everyone.
Thinking about it again, I wondered what the gathering was about today?
According to Duke Alcott, he had recently adopted a daughter, and he wanted us to get along well since she was close to my age.
If she's a saint, she's my friend, and since I wanted to meet her in the first place, I'd like to talk to Saint Priscilla if possible... but she's been drinking tea in silence since a while ago.
Hmm, I wondered what was wrong, and when I looked at Charlotte, she was fidgeting with her skirt.
If that's the case, I looked at Captain Cyril, Captain Desmond, and Fabian, and they looked aloof, as if waiting to see what the other party would do.
Well, these three people rushed into the Duke's mansion without being invited.
So, at least Captain Cyril, who instigated it, must have had something to do?
Even so, when I was wondering why he didn't change his wait-and-see attitude, Duke Alcott spoke happily.
"Fia has a lot of facial expressions. Even if she doesn't say anything, it's fun just to look at her. On the other hand, my Saint's expression doesn't change. I guess you could say she's serious. So she's the exact opposite type. Maybe you can become friends."
Then, Priscilla, who had been silent until then, looked at Duke Alcott with cold eyes.
"I don't think so. There is no contact between a saint and a knight, so it would be impossible to have a conversation." (Fia)
"I don't know about that. When you become the First-class Saint, you'll be accompanying the knights in their quest to subjugate monsters, and the knights will become familiar to you. So, let's get along well from now on. I guess that's a good thing."
Duke Alcott suggested with a smile, but it didn't seem to be what Priscilla wanted to hear, and she reached for the tea cup again without replying.
Then, Priscilla's hair fell over her face as she leans forward, blocking her vision.
Priscilla's bangs and back hair were all waist-length, and because it wasn't tied with ribbons, her hair fell over her face every time she moved.
It seemed like it would get in the way, but since she has beautiful pink hair, I understood that she probably wanted to let it grow as long as possible, and that she didn't want to tie it up with ribbons or pins.
"Saint Priscilla grows her hair all the way down to her waist, including her bangs. She has beautiful hair, so she might be hesitant to cut it." (Fia)
When I said what I was thinking, there was a moment of silence.
So, I was starting to worry, wondering if I had said something strange, when Priscillia opened her mouth.
"Well, you don't know." (Priscilla)
"Huh?" (Fia)
What do I not know?
As I blinked, Captain Cyril, who was sitting next to me, gave me a detailed explanation.
"Many saints, like Saint Priscilla, grow their bangs long without cutting them. This is because there is a "First-class Saint's hairstyle," which is a style that covers one eye with the hair. It's probably a hairstyle that has been passed down from generation to generation to emphasize the beautiful hair color of a saint." (Cyril)
Well, such hairstyle rules didn't exist 300 years ago.
"Therefore, when the First-class Saint is selected, many of the saints grow their bangs so that whoever is selected will be chosen. As a side note, next month, the First-class Saint will be selected. is scheduled to take place." (Cyril)
"That's right" (Fia)
While nodding, I glance at Charlotte to confirm.
Then, just as I remembered, Charlotte's bangs were cut so that they just fell over her eyes.
...Charlotte hasn't grown her bangs long, but what will she do if she is chosen as the First-class Saint?
As I tilted my head to the side and thought about it, Charlotte shook her head in a panic.
"I feel like I know what Fia is thinking, but it’s okay because that will never happen!" (Charlotte)
"Oh?" (Fia)
Maybe Charlotte was quite an excellent saint...but that's true. She's still a child.
I might not be able to compete with the experienced saint who had been training for many years.
As I was nodding my head in agreement, Captain Desmond, who was calmly drinking tea, spoke up in a panic.
Then drop the cup on the carpet.
The cup that fell onto the fluffy carpet somehow broke in two.
...Well, that's a rare failure for Captain Desmond.
That's what I thought as I watched Captain hurriedly reaching for the cup.