Captain Curtis and I were unable to say any more, and as we stared at each other in silence, we heard a crash and the door to the dresser room opened.
"Sorry, I guess I made you wait." (Alcott)
Duke Alcott entered the room while saying that, and when he saw Captain Curtis and me staring at each other at close range, he stopped in his tracks as if he were surprised.
Then, he stepped back in a panic.
"Ah, excuse me! I guess I stumbled upon some kind of scene." (Alcott)
While saying this, the duke tried to retreat to the dressing room once again.
"If you're in the middle of proposing, you can continue as long as you like. I'll wait as long as you want." (Alcott)
"Huh?" (Fia)
Apparently, when I saw Captain Curtis kneeling in front of me with a serious look on his face, he had a huge misunderstanding.
"N-no! It's a misunderstanding!" (Fia)
When I was surprised and denied it, Captain Curtis also denied it with a serious look on his face.
"Lady Fi is right! There is no way I would behave in such a disrespectful manner towards the most revered Lady Fi!" (Curtis)
After hearing our words, Duke Alcott made an indescribable expression and entered the room once more.
"Well, I guess that was a mistake. I won't ask though, but your relationship is interesting. Your boss, Curtis, obviously respects you more." (Alcott)
Cerulean also entered the room following Duke Alcott, but both of them had taken off their clown costumes and changed into fresh shirts.
Dory took off her waist-length wig and removed his makeup, completely reverting to being "Duke Alcott."
Cerulean was also wearing a simple shirt, but his image was completely different from that of a clown, giving off the atmosphere of a good-natured monk.
As soon as they sat down on the sofa facing each other, the maids arrived with many plates in their arms.
When I was surprised at the number of plates being placed on the table one after another, Duke Alcott let out an apologetic voice.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't prepare anything big. If this was a duke's residence, I could have prepared a lot more things, but since it's a royal castle, I can't do it freely." (Alcott)
In front of the food lined up on the table, Duke Alcott tilted his head, wondering if he's being serious.
"No, it's big enough. I don't think I'll be able to eat it all..." (Fia)
While we were talking as usual, I remembered that the other person was not the clown Dory, but Duke Alcott.
"I think so." (Alcott)
Therefore, when I said it again without thinking, Duke Alcott frowned clearly.
"Fia, after being so close to you, are you planning on building a wall between you and me now? Before we talk about our status, we're friends, right? Oh, please stop saying things like 'master and disciple' that I don't understand, because it becomes too complicated." (Alcott)
Hearing the words of Duke Alcott, who had naturally insisted on being friends with me, I couldn't help but look at Captain Curtis.
I was wondering if this fell under what Captain Curtis called "deep dive".
Then, Captain had a difficult look on his face, so I remembered that yes, his standards were always strict, and opened my mouth to do as I was told.
"Well, even if you say that, there is still something called class and position…" (Fia)
"Fia!" (Alcott)
In the middle of my sentence, I was interrupted by a strong tone that was uncharacteristic of Duke Alcott, so I was surprised and froze.
Then the duke leaned over and grabbed one of my hands.
"Seriously! I'm impressed by you! I heard that you received the sacred stone from Sutherland. However, that stone is extremely valuable, so it's so amazing that it's unlikely that it will ever be used. I thought that unless there was an extreme situation, such as a dying knight, the use of this wonderful stone would be postponed." (Alcott)
Duke Alcott's tone was more passionate than ever before, so I nodded sharply under pressure.
"I see" (Fia)
"But you're so easy to help people! It may be disrespectful because you put on a normal face and try to save everyone, but I saw the Great Saint from 300 years ago in your actions!" (Alcott)
"…………" (Fia)
Since something so outrageous came up, I fell silent, unable to respond in a clumsy way.
Then, the duke continued in an enthusiastic tone.
"That's why I'm moved by you, and I respect you! I want to be close to you, so I want to be your friend! If there's something I'm lacking in, I'll try my best to be worthy of being your friend. So please be my friend!" (Alcott)
He honestly asked me to be friends with him, and I nodded silently, thinking that I had no choice but to accept.
Captain Curtis probably didn't like it, but it hurted my heart to turn down an offer so passionately made, and I didn't think we'd really gotten into it just because we're friends.
Duke Alcott's face suddenly lit up, even though he had thought of this in his response.
"Thank you, Fia! I know that I am sometimes cowardly and sometimes wrong. However, if I'm always by your side as you put your ideals into practice, things might become a little better, so I'm really happy!" (Alcott)
"It-it's not that big of a deal." (Fia)
As I said that, I lowered my gaze.
Seeing how happy Duke Alcott was, I was glad that we became friends, but at the same time I was worried about Captain Curtis's reaction, wondering if I had done something that would make the duke so happy.
However, the duke, who didn't know my feelings, made a reproachful voice even though he's in a good mood.
"Fia, friends don't talk to each other in such a formal tone. I'm not your boss or anything, so could you please speak in a more casual tone? Dory's time is broken anyway, so it will be easier for you if you keep your tone consistent." (Alcott)
"W-Well, that's true." (Fia)
That's true, so I agreed.
Then, Duke Olcott took a step further.
"Also, please call me Lloyd. If you call me 'Duke Alcott' out of spite, it would be extremely unbalanced." (Alcott)
"Eh! T-That's just as expected..."
When I raised my voice that I should refuse, Duke Alcott interjected.
"The other day, when you came to my house, you called the eldest son of the Marquis Weiner family by his name." (Alcott)
"......"
I was calling. Or rather, that's what I usually call him.
However, Fabian was a member of the Knights...
"But, if I call the duke by his name, I’ll definitely get scolded by the people around you who think it’s impertinent or disrespectful!" (Fia)
I couldn't think of anything else, so I said this as my last excuse, and Duke Alcott smiled.
"That's fine! I'm good at organizing the environment. Even if I'm rotten, I'm still a duke, so I'm good at making the people around me do what I want." (Alcott)
"...I understand." (Fia)
Whatever I said would be immediately refuted, so I decided to accept the duke's request, thinking that it would be a waste of time to resist any longer.
Ugh, somehow I feel like I'm compromising everything.
While I was looking disappointed, Lloyd, now known as Duke Alcott, raised his glass in good spirits.
"Okay, then today let's toast to the new friendship between me and Fia!" (Alcott)
Then Cerulean, who had been silently watching the proceedings, interjected.
"Please let me in too. If 'calling someone's name on their lips' is a sign of a friend, then me and Fia have been like that for a long time." (Cerulean)
I'd gotten into a lot of trouble, so I decided to accept everything.
"Okay! Now let's toast to everyone's friendship! And let's start eating quickly!" (Fia)
...I didn't agree because I wanted to eat the feast laid out in front of me.
But whatever the beginning, the meal proceeded peacefully.
We talked moderately while poking at the plates that were lined up.
During the conversation, we talked about how Captain Cyril was angry when I declared that I would take me with me in my saintly form, and how I happened to run into Captain Cyril afterwards, so I thought the captain was loved, and I was so happy about it.
However, throughout the meal, Lloyd seemed to be straining himself, although he was always smiling.
The same was true of Cerulean, and the reason why I thought so was because he was selective in his conversations.
He didn't try to talk about Count Peiz or pathophobia, and only chooses topics that will make him laugh.
I, and probably Captain Curtis, were aware of this as well, but as we pretended not to know and talked about the topics we had chosen, Lloyd started talking about the Great Saint.
"I have thoroughly read all kinds of books about the Great Saint. Of course, I am aware that there are many things that have been exaggerated or misrepresented, but her desire to save everyone equally is the same thing that all books have in common." (Alcott)
As I was listening to this in general terms, Lloyd paused and looked at me.
"You, on the other hand, easily use sacred stones on people without getting anything in return, so I was taught that this is how a saint should be." (Alcott)
"Huh?" (Fia)
Lloyd said earlier, "I saw the Great Saint in my actions," but I felt troubled, wondering if he's trying to associate me with the Great Saint again.
As I stared at him, Lloyd nervously ran his fingers through his hair and let out a troubled sigh.
"Ah, no. It’s not like I wanted to talk about this… Fia, I said there was something I wanted you to hear. I wonder if you don’t mind starting that now. Now that the meal is completely finished, it’s time to calm down a little more. I wanted to start this conversation in a relaxed atmosphere, but somehow the conversation started to turn in that direction. If you say I'm not patient enough or don't have enough training, then that's it." (Alcott)
I knew from Lloyd's and Cerulean's restlessness that something was bothering them.
Therefore, when I replied, "Of course, it's okay," Lloyd let out a sigh of relief.
Then, Lloyd looked down at his folded hands and let out a quiet voice.
"One thing before we start: Fia, the reason I wanted to be friends with you was because I was moved by what you did. There was pure respect, no ulterior motives... ...If you don't call it an ulterior motive for thinking that being by my side might make me better. So... please don't take our relationship into account at all in what I'm about to say." (Alcott)
"I understand." (Fia)
While answering that, I suddenly remembered the time when I became friends with Captain Cyril.
At that time, as soon as we became friends, he made me accompany him to Sutherland, the captain's territory.
I was bracing myself, thinking that I wouldn't be asked to do something big this time, when Lloyd opened his mouth right in front of me.
"Going back to your story...You did the right thing in saving his daughter at Count Peiz's house. My act in leaving her alone and trying to go home was wrong. I felt angry, but it had nothing to do with his daughter. I knew it in my head, but I just couldn't control my emotions and couldn't help myself. That's when you saved his daughter, I felt relieved." (Alcott)
I was confused by the sudden compliment and mumbled meaningless words like, "Oh, no, yes."
Lloyd looked at me with admiration.
"Fia, you're amazing. I really admire you because you always choose the best move. I felt that vividly when you saved the Count's daughter. As you said, healing a sick person requires several times more magical power than healing an injured person, because the body part affected by the disease is unknown, so recovery magic must be applied to the entire body." (Alcott)
Lloyd brings up the topic I explained to Estelle earlier.
"Therefore, the recommended method is for the Saint and a doctor to team up and apply healing magic to suspicious areas that the doctor has examined in advance, but the Saint does not like that method. They simply don't like following other people's advice. For that reason, I had given up on the idea that the only way to heal the sick was by using a large amount of healing magic, but now you have proposed a new method." (Alcott)
"N-no, that's..." (Fia)
Lloyd seemed impressed, but if you thought about it, it's doubtful that I knew so much about recovery magic since I was not a saint.
Thinking of this, I was about to make an excuse, but Lloyd smiled at me reassuringly.
"It's okay, I understand. You're not a saint in the first place, so there's no way you could find a new method on your own. I'm sure you got the information from somewhere...for example, from Saint Charlotte? But that's not the point; what surprised me is that you, who are not a saint, obtained this information in advance even though it was of no use to you." (Alcott)
After hearing Lloyd's words, I was convinced.
That's right, considering what I heard from Charlotte, it certainly made sense.
Actually, Lloyd seemed to be better at making excuses than I was.
While he was so impressed, Lloyd put strength into his joined hands.
"The incident of curing the Count's daughter occurred suddenly and could not have been predicted in advance. Despite this, you had the necessary information and used it correctly in the first situation. It is your talent to choose the best move without a doubt. That's why..." (Alcott)
Lloyd was at a loss for words for the first time, and his face contorted as if it was difficult to say.
Then, after opening and closing his mouth several times, he looked at my head on, as if he had made up his mind.
"Fia, I have a favor to ask of you. I want to borrow your power to choose the best move! Of course, you have the freedom to refuse...but please, please, please accept." (Alcott)
Then, Lloyd awkwardly grabbed both of my hands and lowered his head so that they were touching each other.
"Please, please choose 'Great Saint's Rose' for my sister." (Alcott)
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
Volume 7 of the comic was released today.
In addition to featuring the tearful and funny Sutherland episode from 300 years ago, it also includes Sirius's first appearance scene, which is not available in the web version.
I hope you will pick it up, so please give it a try (*ᴗˬᴗ)⁾⁾