As I watched Captain Desmond, Captain Cyril, Fabian, and Duke Alcott said whatever they wanted based on their own ideas, I reached to the point of giving up.
It was because everyone's statements were so far removed from my true intentions that I thought it would be a challenge to explain them one by one in detail and make them understand.
That's fine. I was a knight with a big heart, so I would overlook all the terrible misunderstandings.
Thinking so, I quickly shifted my gaze from them and saw Priscilla staring at Charlotte with a strong gaze.
...Ah, maybe you're thinking that you should have healed yourself.
If that's the case, Priscilla was also a fine saint.
When I suddenly smiled in happiness, Priscilla glared at me for some reason.
Then she let out a gruff sound.
"It's easy for me to heal myself! Once a month, I go out to the city and try to heal three injured people, and I've never failed once." (Priscilla)
"I see" (Fia)
While replying, I ran my eyes over Priscilla's entire body.
As expected, it was impossible to measure Priscilla's abilities as she had never used magic, but if she was able to heal three injured people who were selected without any intentionality every time, then she must be an excellent saint.
That's right. She was a saint who was raised by the cathedral without letting go and was worthy of being adopted by a duke, so she must be extremely talented.
When I thought of that and smiled happily, Priscilla glared at me again.
"You have red hair, and you're a knight? You're a treasure trove! There was a girl with red hair who worked as a servant in the cathedral, but she couldn't use magic at all. And yet... It was extremely unpleasant because he pretended to know everything and kept saying things about the Saint!!" (Priscilla)
I didn't understand what Priscilla wanted to say, so I asked again.
"Um, so Saint Priscilla is dissatisfied that I don’t understand?" (Fia)
That's when it suddenly dawned on me.
"Ah, excuse me! Are you dissatisfied with the fact that I tried to share the tart only with Charlotte? I understand. There are exactly two slices left, so let's share one slice each between Charlotte and Saint Priscilla." (Fia)
"What, what were you listening to when you heard that I wanted a tart! That’s not it!!" (Priscilla)
Even though it was a kind offer, for some reason Priscilla stood up with a red face.
Then, she stomped her feet.
When Duke Alcott saw this, he bursted out laughing.
Priscilla glared at the Duke with a bright red face, but the Duke didn't care and started laughing.
"Ahahahaha, Priscilla, you're so cute! You're always so excited without showing any emotion, but today you're 16 years old again. Hahahahaha, Fia was able to bring out such an expression from Priscilla. That’s amazing."
"Oh, really?" (Fia)
Since I was praised, I became happy and asked back, but Priscilla, not Duke Alcott, answered.
"It's not amazing at all! This girl is so crazy that I'm just teaching her!" (Priscilla)
"Yeah, but no matter how strange the girl is, up until now she's just pretended not to know and didn't want to get involved. Still, you can't leave Fia alone, so I guess she stimulates your desire for protection."
When Priscilla heard Duke Alcott's words, she looked at me as if I was a snake.
"Are you saying this girl arouses my desire for protection?" (Priscilla)
Then Priscilla sat back down on the couch and turned away.
"That's outrageous! I just wanted to make sure you didn't get me wrong because you have a little bit of red hair!" (Priscilla)
Well, as I was tilting my head wondering what I was misunderstanding, Captain Cyril spoke up.
"Oh, it's true that Fia has gorgeous red hair. I'm often fascinated by her hair, too." (Cyril)
Hearing those words, I immediately took precautions.
Captain Cyril admires my hair?
Of course, such a fact had never happened before.
But what on earth did Captain say?
Captain Cyril smiled innocently as I gazed at him.
"I have heard that Saint Priscilla is a very talented saint. If you are willing, I would like to ask such a high-ranking saint what her thoughts are as a saint. For example, if the knight who served the Saint had red hair like Fia, how would you feel about that?" (Cyril)
Priscilla narrowed her eyes as if searching, so Captain Desmond added some information.
"For a long time, the church has respected people with red hair. For that reason, both the church and the saint wanted a red-haired knight to follow the First-class Saint for generations. However, as Saint Priscilla noticed, Fia's hair is of a rare kind of vibrancy. It's a scary thing, but for some people, Fia's hair seems to remind them of the legendary Great Saint, who is sacred and inviolable." (Desmond)
Priscilla raised one eyebrow in annoyance.
"That question itself is probably the wrong one. I don't care whether my knight has red hair or black hair. Saints can only be compared among saints. They aren't even comparable in the first place." (Priscilla)
"...I see. Thank you for your valuable opinion." (Cyril)
Priscilla's answer clearly indicated her intention, so Captain Cyril ended the question with a smile on his face.
Then Captain Cyril added, "Oh," as if he had just thought of it.
"By the way, I hear that Saint Priscilla has recently come to the royal capital. If you have any troubles, please feel free to let us know. Desmond here is Earl Ronan, who has a territory near the royal capital, and the royal capital is like his garden." (Cyril)
"Glug!" (Desmond)
Captain Cyril raised one eyebrow when he saw Captain Desmond suddenly choked up.
"Oh, hey, Desmond. Did you choke on the tart? Rather than that, it seems like you've got some leeway now that you're getting your hands on dessert. As expected of the Kingdom's proud Second Knight Brigade Captain." (Cyril)
Captain Desmond, on the other hand, let out a dry laugh with a strained face.
"Haha, ha, Cyril, leave your jokes at that. Compared to your prestige, I'm like a candle in a corner shop." (Desmond)
In front of Captain Cyril and Captain Desmond, who started a humility tournament in front of me, I tilted my head to the side, wondering what had started.
I thought he suddenly asked me what he thought of me as a knight, but now the two of us are complimenting each other.
I didn't know what they were aiming for, but I'd like to talk about Priscilla and the saints.
While I was thinking about this, Duke Alcott was talking to Charlotte.
"By the way, Saint Charlotte works at the royal castle, right? I'm planning to take Priscilla with me to say hello once, so please take care of me."
"Ah, yes. Please take care of me too." (Charlotte)
Charlotte straightened her back and answered.
Priscilla pretended to be ignorant and was drinking tea, but suddenly she interrupted the conversation, not liking the way the two seemed to be getting along.
"Ah, now that I think about it, there is something I would like to ask the Duke."
"Yeah, something?"
Duke Alcott had a calm expression on his face, and Priscilla put her hand on her chin as if thinking about it.
"Who is the girl in the portrait hanging in your room? Judging by her clothes, she is a saint. I have never heard of you adopting a saint other than me. If she has silver hair, don't you think her power as a saint is weak?" (Priscilla)
Duke Alcott looked straight at Priscilla and answered her question with a question.
"...Priscilla, did you come into my room?"
Priscilla looked back at the duke and gave a small nod.
"Yes, I had something to ask you, so I went to your room. You weren't home, but that's when I saw her portrait." (Priscilla)
"...I may not have noticed it, but my room has various devices to keep out burglars, so it's dangerous. From now on, you should stop entering my room when I'm not here …For your safety."
When Duke Alcott said that, he still had a gentle smile on his face and his tone was soft, but for some reason I got the impression that he was being warned.
Then, the duke smiled coldly and answered Priscilla's question.
"The girl in the portrait is certainly a saint. However, she is not my adopted daughter. She is ...my sister. She died ten years ago."
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
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