The week after my visit to Duke Alcott's home, I spoke to Fabian after a morning training session.
"Fabian, it's been a while! I visited the Duke's house the other day, but weren't you nervous because it was a rare visit with other members? I guess I was nervous, and the night of my visit I had a stomachache and couldn't sleep well." (Fia)
However, Captain Cyril and Captain Desmond, who were visiting the duke's house together, seemed to have been drinking with the other captains until late that night, so I continued saying that they must be tough, and they shook their heads.
"I think Fia's stomach ache is a different story from nervousness. You said you ate half of the tart that Duke Alcott gave you that night. You ate the whole thing, didn't you? If you ate that huge dinner and also ate half a tart, wouldn't that mean you ate too much?" (Fabian)
My eyes widened in surprise at Fabian's point.
Well, Fabian looked at me a lot.
I also had good reasoning skills.
"Now that you say that, I'm starting to feel that way. I thought I was nervous at the Duke's mansion and had a stomachache, but maybe I ate too much?" (Fia)
"My impression is that Fia wasn't nervous at all at the Duke's residence." (Fabian)
"R-Really? Well, if that's the case, then it means that something happened and I couldn't sleep." (Fia)
That's strange. I wonder how Fabian knows more about me than I am.
I thought it would be a good idea to change the subject, so I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind for the past week.
"By the way, regarding that visit to the Duke's residence, do you know why Captain Cyril and Captain Desmond visited together? I thought it might be something important, but neither of them seemed like that, and I don't know why." (Fia)
Fabian let out an amused laugh.
"Didn't they want to spend some time with Fia? Maybe they were keeping an eye on you to make sure you didn't get too friendly with Duke Alcott." (Fabian)
"Fabian, you just say what you believe!" (Fia)
I glared at Fabian.
"You know something about trying to mislead like that. This is just my intuition, but I think the Duke hates the Saint. Do you know why?" (Fia)
When Fabian heard my words, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Fia is amazing. In such a short visit, what's more, she was able to guess what's inside the mind of Duke Alcott, who is always aloof and doesn't let anyone peek into his thoughts." (Fabian)
"Well, I guess Fabian knows something after all!" (Fia)
He always treated me with ease, but he was the legitimate son of a high-ranking aristocrat.
There was no doubt that he had a lot of information about Duke Alcott, who was also a high-ranking aristocrat.
When I approacheded him, Fabian raised his hands in confusion.
"Everything I know is just speculation. The Duke is probably concerned about an incident from 10 years ago. On top of that, all of them are high-ranking people who are reluctant to ask questions, so we can't even do a thorough investigation." (Fabian)
Fabian paused, then continued as if trying to convince me.
"When you tell a story without proof, it's just a rumor. That's why I don't like it." (Fabian)
"Yeah, so?" (Fia)
When I asked him to continue with a nod, Fabian looked up at the sky in shock, then gave up and opened his mouth.
"Yeah, so... Duke Alcott had a younger sister. Her name was Lady Colette, and she was a saint who was one year younger than the Duke. Lady Colette passed away ten years ago, but... Since there were other saints present, the duke seems to think that depending on how he did it, he might have been able to help Lady Colette." (Fabian)
"Ah……" (Fia)
"Look, I heard that some of the saints try to conserve their magical power as much as possible, and they don't use recovery magic except for their duties. So, if they don't hesitate to use your magical power, The Duke thought that Lady Colette could have been saved. And I think that bad feeling continues towards the saints in general... and it continues to this day." (Fabian)
"Well, that's a shame." (Fia)
I felt sad imagining how Duke Alcott felt at the time.
And maybe I understood the duke's feelings a little bit.
——The saint's recovery magic healed injuries and illnesses without leaving a trace, so its power could be seen as nothing short of a miracle.
Therefore, we tended to have the illusion that a saint could do anything, but of course they were not omnipotent and there were things they could not do.
For example, just as I couldn't lift the Cerulean curse, some saints couldn't heal major injuries or illnesses.
Especially if it was a serious injury or illness that could lead to death, there were probably only a few saints who could heal it now that recovery magic had deteriorated.
With that in mind, I continued speaking.
"I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure, but the saints can't heal all injuries and illnesses." (Fia)
That's why the saint who was there might have tried her best, but nothing could be done.
If that's the case, it must be painful for a saint to be criticized for saying, "Why couldn't you do it!"
On the other hand, I could understand Duke Alcott's feeling that he could have done something more.
Fabian fell silent with a troubled look on his face, and continued to intercede.
"Yes, that's right. Only the people involved know what actually happened, and each person has a different way of interpreting it, so each person may have a different opinion. Duke Alcott and Lady Colette were good friends, the Duke may have a hard time facing Lady Colette's death and wants to blame someone else." (Fabian)
"……I see" (Fia)
However, Duke Alcott seemed to be smart, and I thought he was the type to look straight at the truth even if reality was painful.
As I was thinking about this, Fabian answered another question.
"Also, the reason why Captain Cyril and Captain Desmond visited the Duke’s house, I think they were trying to identify Saint Priscilla." (Fabian)
"Well, what are they looking for?" (Fia)
"It's almost time to reselect the First-class Saint. And Saint Priscilla is the most likely candidate, so I guess they wanted to see what kind of person she is." (Fabian)
Well, Priscilla was a powerful saint.
Ah, but the reselection meant that the current First-class Saint was a different person.
"Who is the current First-class Saint?" (Fia)
When I asked with a tilt of my head, Fabian gave me a shocked look.
"Of course, that is Her Majesty Queen Hyacinthe. She is the mother of His Majesty the King and Commander Savis." (Fabian)
"Oh, uh, so that's it!" (Fia)
Come to think of it, I heard that the royal family marries a saint.
Well, Cerulean's and Commander Savis' mother was a saint!
In contrast to my surprised face, Fabian had a dreamy look on his face.
"In the Näv Kingdom, there is this healing flower, a song sung by minstrels all over the world. She is a saint that our country is proud of and is loved by everyone. She is beautiful, kind, and known for her healing power. It is said that everyone will be healed." (Fabian)
I see, the king is so twisted that I don't really understand...
"Commander Savis is noble and admirable! I always wondered how he would have been raised to become like that, and I see, the answer was a 'healing flower'!" (Fia)
Actually, that name was good.
I wondered if they didn't even have such a nice name.
Even though I was just thinking that in my heart, Fabian spoke as if he had read my thoughts.
"Fia also had two great names. 'Chubby Savior' seems like she could do something even more amazing than 'Healing Flower.'"
"Fabian!" (Fia)
Realizing that I was being made a complete fool of, I glared at him.
Then he let out a happy laugh.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But it's true that I admire Fia, who is nicknamed 'savior' by her colleagues. Fia is more capable of saving people than a 'healing flower' who lives in a faraway place. I wonder what can be done?" (Fabian)
Then Fabian looked at me with a mischievous look on his face.
"In any case, we might be able to serve the new 'Healing Flower' nearby. Me and Fia too." (Fabian)
"Huh?" (Fia)
I tilted my head wondering what that meant, and Fabian gave me a wry smile.
"Really, there is a huge difference between being interested in Fia and not being interested in it. I have never thought about why you and I were assigned to the First Knight Order, where only those with over 10 years of knight experience are assigned, right?" (Fabian)
"Of course, that's because you did well on the entrance exam!" (Fia)
There's nothing else, I answered proudly, and Fabian blinked in surprise.
"...I see, that's how it happened. But I wonder how good a result is, enough to make up for 10 years' worth of experience as a knight. It's really amazing to think that Fia was able to achieve that." (Fabian)