"Huh, Duke Alcott?" (Fia)
The person in front of me was the clown Dolly, but I felt a sense of déjà vu in what he said, so I asked him, feeling suspicious.
Because Duke Alcott had said something similar before.
Dory and Duke Alcott had completely different hair lengths, appearances, and voices, but there's something that caught my attention, so I stared intently at the feminine clown in front of me.
...Dory was wearing a lot of clown makeup, so it's hard to tell what his facial features were.
So, when I removed the flashy yellow eyeshadow and the bird feather-like pattern under his eyes and cut his hair short... Oh!?
Unbelievably, as I mentally removed Dory's makeup and changed his hairstyle, Duke Alcott appeared.
As a result, I got surprised and yelled louder than usual.
"Oh, you're Duke Alcott! What are you doing!?" (Fia)
For His Excellency the Duke, the highest-ranking aristocrat, to imitate a clown was nothing short of common sense.
That's why, even though I asked the question out loud, Dory put one hand over his mouth and frowned in disgust.
"Wow, that reaction! Did you really notice me just now?" (Alcott)
Then Dory shook his head in shock, but of course he must have realized it now.
Common sense would have it impossible for His Excellency the Duke, the kingpin of the kingdom, to dress up as a clown, so I would never think of such a possibility, and he would never notice it.
However, what was actually going on in this country where not only His Majesty the King but also His Excellency the Duke is dressed up as a clown?
"Oh, is this country okay?" (Fia)
Involuntarily, my true feelings spilled out.
Then, Dory said in a cheerful voice, "Of course it's okay."
"There's no one in this world that's absolutely necessary! In other words, while I'm not working as a duke, someone else is taking over the duke's duties, so it's okay!" (Alcott)
Yeah, I wondered if it's okay for His Excellency the Duke of the great nation of Näv Kingdom to be so light. When I looked at the Duke's superior, King Cerulean, he had a resigned look on his face.
No, Cerulean, please don't give up!
That's what I thought, but Cerulean didn't seem interested in this topic, and said, "By the way," and moved on to another topic. I meant, he asked me questions.
"Fia hated it so much the other day, so how dare she says she wants to become a clown’s apprentice?" (Cerulean)
Ah, that's right! I had almost forgotten due to the shock of Dory being Duke Alcott, but I originally visited Cerulean because I wanted to become a clown's apprentice.
And I was in the middle of asking for that.
Remembering the main topic, I put Dory aside and answered Cerulean's question.
"Well, last time Cerulean said they were elites of clowns..." (Fia)
However, he didn't listen to my words until the end and interrupted me.
"I didn't say that. I said, 'Clowns are a super elite group,' and I didn't say, 'We are an elite group of clowns.'" (Cerulean)
"Isn't it the same thing?" (Fia)
The wording was slightly different, but the message seemed to be the same.
Even so, Cerulean shook his head.
"No, that's not true at all! What I said was that the three clowns are all high-ranking people in this country." (Cerulean)
"Huh? All three? Then, not only Cerulean and Dory, but Ron too..." (Fia)
While thinking about how stupid I was, I tried my best to picture Ron in my head.
Then, when I took the cat ears off Ron's head and erased the ☆ marks under his eyes and on his nose... Aaaaaah!
"I-I can't believe it! Isn't that the serious-looking Duke Balfour?!" (Fia)
Yes, the face that appeared in my head was that of Duke Balfour, who was supposed to be a common-sense person.
No, it's just my imagination that he's a commonsense person, but I wonder if he's actually a playboy who spent most of his time dressing up as a clown.
Shocked, I covered my mouth with both hands and imagine two dukes and two clowns in my head.
However, even after knowing the correct answer and comparing them, Duke Alcott and Dory, Duke Balfour and Ron had almost no similarities, and they did not seem to be the same person in the slightest.
Both dukes' everyday gestures, atmosphere, voice, and tone were completely different, so it was difficult to match them with their clown appearances.
There's no doubt that they put in a lot of effort to become someone else to this extent, but I had to say that the Dukes' actions showed that they focused their passion on the wrong place. Ah, anyway...
"Can something like this ever happen!? A country where the king and two dukes dress up as clowns is one of the largest countries on the continent!!" (Fia)
No, there can't be!
Even if such a country existed, it would have perished long ago.
"Aaah, I can see the fate of this country!" (Fia)
I was no prophet, but I could see a catastrophic future! As I was holding his head, Cerulean spoke in a leisurely voice.
"It's okay, it's okay! Even if we tilt the country a little, Savis and Cyril will rebuild it properly." (Cerulean)
"Yeah!" (Dory)
It's about as light as Dory from earlier.
I thought Commander Savis and Captain Cyril were supporting the Knights, but maybe it's a little too harsh that they're expected to support the kingdom instead of that.
Thinking so, I complained to Cerulean.
"Cerulean, you are the older brother, so I don't think you should cause any trouble to your younger brother. Originally, Cerulean was in the position of protecting Commander Savis." (Fia)
When Cerulean heard my words, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Huh, me?" (Cerulean)
That's why I was surprised by Cerulean.
"Huh, why are you surprised!? Cerulean is Commander Savis' older brother, right? I don't think it's strange for an older brother to take care of his younger brother." (Fia)
That's just a generalization, though.
And my two older brothers didn't take care of me at all.
But it's nice for an older brother to take care of his younger brother, I thought to myself, and Cerulean thought for a moment before nodding.
"...That's right." (Cerulean)
However, the look on his face seemed to indicate that he had just understood, so I thought that maybe Cerulean hadn't done much of a brotherly thing up until now, so I glared at him.
Unfortunately, my prediction turned out to be correct, and Cerulean began to make excuses in a panic.
"No, Fia, I act in important situations so as not to cause trouble for Savis! However, Savis is many times more solid than me. Or maybe I was depending on him." (Cerulean)
"Certainly, Commander Savis is solid." (Fia)
When Cerulean nodded in understanding, his expression suddenly darkened.
"Yeah, but as we talked, I remembered that the old Savis wasn't like that. He laughed more, got angry more, showed more emotion, was all alone, did everything in one hand. He wasn't the type to take it on." (Cerulean)
"That's right" (Fia)
Commander Savis had always had the image of being solid, but if he had been like that since he was a kid, he was probably too good to be true and scary.
"Well, Fia...I'm going to confess my dark history at this time, but when I started getting younger, I lost my motivation. I hated everything, so I temporarily threw it all away. When my head finally cooled down and I was able to see my surroundings, Savis had taken care of everything I had thrown away. However, perhaps as a compensation, Savis doesn't show much emotion and has a grave appearance." (Cerulean)
Well, if that's the case, Commander Savis might have changed his ways because he wanted to help the Ceruleans and thought he had to be strong.
Commander Savis cared about his knights, so he must care for his older brother as well.
When I looked at Cerulean with this in mind, his lips twisted as if he were mocking himself.
"At that time, I guess Savis decided to take over the future of this country in place of me, a worthless person. It is in times like these that a person's true nature is revealed. I chose to 'run away', but Savis chose to 'accept' it." (Cerulean)
From Cerulean's tone, it seemed like he was talking about something important, so I listened to him in silence.
Then Cerulean looked up and looked straight at me.
"If I were to run away, the only person who would be able to catch me was Savis. And since he has the personality to stand up to everything, I should have understood that he would naturally take over for me. However, I wasn't that careful at the time, and as a result, I ended up putting a huge burden on him. ...What can I do against Savis?" (Cerulean)
What Cerulean was hinting at seemed like royal business.
Cerulean probably got desperate and gave up his duties for a while, so Commander Savis took over all of his duties.
However, the phrase "decided to take on the future of this country" seemed to be a bit more significant...For example, it seemed like the story was about the Commander taking over as the king for the future.
Staring at Cerulean, he suddenly let out a sigh.
"Well, this is my homework. There's still time, so before I force everything on Savis, I'll try to do something that will benefit him. That said, I think he has a lot of things to do. Since I have the talented Cyril with me, I might not have to do anything." (Cerulean)
As I nodded, thinking that Captain Cyril was certainly very capable, Cerulean started praising his aides as if competing with each other.
"But I also have Dory and Ron! They're both very talented and kind. They're so worried about me that they'll even turn into clowns to be by my side." (Cerulean)
"Huh, is that why they both became clowns?" (Fia)
When I asked the question in surprise, Cerulean just nodded as if it was natural.
"Yes, they are my childhood friends. I guess they didn't leave me alone as I was getting younger." (Cerulean)
Cerulean said it casually, but a duke dressing up as a clown was not a normal situation.
Therefore, the fact that the two of them were dressed up as clowns probably showed that they cared about Cerulean enough to do so.
If that's the case, that's a really good story, I was impressed, and Cerulean shifted uncomfortably.
Then, as if to change the mood, he clapped his hands playfully.
"Fia, we talked for a long time, but I wanted to say that the court clowns of the Näv Kingdom are made up of the king and the duke. So, welcome to the super elite group! What do you want to do?" (Cerulean)
I could tell that Cerulean wanted a change of atmosphere, so I opened my mouth to speak in a normal tone.
"Of course, since I'm going to become a clown's apprentice, I want to hone my skills! My ultimate goal is to perform an amazing performance that will amaze everyone at the celebration of Commander Savis' engagement!" (Fia)
I wasn't expecting a group of clowns made up only of kings and dukes, but what I wanted to do was already decided from the beginning.
Therefore, when I clearly expressed their wishes, Dory and Cerulean looked surprised.
"...Oh, that's how you came. I wasn't expecting that answer because of what you did to me. Even though Fia is a member of the Royal Knights, which everyone admires, she still thinks of interesting things."
"That's right. I understand that Fia admires Savis, but don't put your body on the line. I can't believe you're trying to put on a show in front of so many knights."
Hearing Cerulean's impressed tone, I felt happy that he seemed to be impressed by my precious desire to celebrate the Commander.
Therefore, I came up with the idea of inviting Cerulean to join my team.
Commander Savis must love his brother, so he would be happy to see Cerulean congratulating him.
"Cerulean, if you'd like, would you like to come and perform with me?" (Fia)
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
...
Thank you very much for your support (❁ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)⁾⁾⁾