"Since they've come to the dining hall, does that mean they both are planning to eat?" (Fia)
"This is a dining hall reserved for knights only," I muttered, and Captain Desmond frowned.
"Definitely not. I guess he was looking for you because Lloyd wouldn't take his eyes off you." (Desmond)
"Oh, I see." (Fia)
When I visited the Duke of Alcott mansion the other day, I barely had a chance to talk to Priscilla.
That's why I was happy to think that I might have the opportunity to meet and talk with her face to face again.
I quickly got up from my seat and walked towards the two people at the entrance.
Then Captain Desmond, who was always polite, followed me from behind.
"Hello, Lloyd, Saint Priscilla." (Fia)
When I said that, Lloyd smiled.
"Hey, Fia, I hear today is your day off. I'm sorry to bother you on such a day, but I'm planning to visit the Saints in the royal castle with Priscilla. Saint Charlotte is also your friend, so I was wondering if you could come along." (Lloyd)
Upon hearing Lloyd's proposal, I answered enthusiastically and immediately.
"Of course, I'll join you!" (Fia)
Well, what a wonderful day today is, I get to meet the saints within the royal castle.
I smiled and turned to look at Captain Desmond who was standing behind me.
"Captain Desmond, I have accepted his invitation, so I will go to see the Saint." (Fia)
Since I had already eaten breakfast, I decided to head straight to the Saints, but he declined to leave.
Captain Desmond started to say something, but before he could, Lloyd asked again, looking interested.
"Desmond says he's not interested in women, but Fia is an exception. I've seen him and Fia eating alone together twice in such a short period of time. Do you eat together every day?" (Lloyd)
Even though it was clearly meant as a joke, Captain Desmond immediately retorted.
"That can't be true! In the first place, Fia wasn't just with me, last night too." (Desmond)
"Last night too?" (Lloyd)
Lloyd's eyes lit up with interest, expecting something interesting to come out of it, but Captain Desmond seemed taken aback, shut his mouth, and shook his head.
"No, it's nothing. Besides, if you're going to take Fia, wouldn't it be better to have her change into knight clothes?" (Desmond)
Seeing this, I thought to myself, it would probably be best to keep quiet about having dinner with Commander Savis.
In the first place, I probably wouldn't remember yesterday's conversation and wouldn't be able to answer if I was asked, "How was it?" so it would definitely be best to keep quiet.
As I came to terms with this, I looked down at my outfit and realized that since it was my day off, I was wearing casual clothes.
I was wondering if I should follow Captain Desmond's advice and change into my knight uniform, when Lloyd shook his hand.
"It's not a problem. I don't intend for Fia to escort me as a knight. But if you wear a white dress like today, you might be mistaken for a Saint." (Lloyd)
Lloyd laughed happily as he said this, and it seemed as if his strange witty side towards the Saint was coming into play... just like always.
It seemed like there were a lot of people like Captain Cyril and Lloyd who had complicated feelings about the Saint, so I prayed in my heart that at the very least, there wouldn't be any more people like this.
Well, Priscilla ended up joining us under these circumstances, but she was just as quiet today as ever.
I wondered if she was actually a quiet type, and as I nodded along to Lloyd's story, we soon arrived at the villa where the saints lived.
"Because the villa is located at the very back of the area, it's rare to encounter the Saints here, huh?" (Fia)
As I said this, Lloyd's lips lifted in a grin.
"I think that's the best kind of relationship. I think you can really appreciate the beauty of the Saints by admiring them from afar, rather than seeing them in person." (Lloyd)
Lloyd's sarcasm seemed to be alive and well even in front of the saint Priscilla.
Unable to reply, I stared silently at the villa before me, when Lloyd suddenly shrugged his shoulders.
He then approached the knights stationed at the entrance to the villa and told them something.
Then a man who seemed to be a butler appeared and immediately let us in.
As the three of us walked down a long corridor, led by the butler, Lloyd explained the purpose of our visit.
"Today, I wanted to see the Saints' usual behavior. To that end, I've used my authority a little to make it look like an official business, so please look like you're working." (Lloyd)
Wow, as expected of a duke. You have great power when you put your mind to it.
While I was admiring this, I was led into a sunny hall.
Looking around the room from behind Lloyd, I saw around ten Saints, all sitting on sofas placed around the room.
Some of them were reading books, others were gathered together talking.
The rest were busy doing whatever they wanted, looking at the bottles of herbs or gazing out the windows.
As I was looking around curiously, I heard a voice from far away.
"Fia!" (Charlotte)
When I looked over, I saw Charlotte running towards me looking happy.
"I had heard that the Duke would be bringing along a saint who was raised in the cathedral today, but I never expected Fia to come as well!" (Charlotte)
As she said this, Charlotte looked up at me with a smile, and I felt happy too.
"Today was my day off, so Lloyd called me." (Fia)
"Lloyd?" (Charlotte)
Lloyd waved one hand happily at Charlotte, who tilted her head.
Seeing this, Charlotte's eyes widen as she realizes that Lloyd must be Duke Alcott.
"Huh, Fia, are you calling the Duke by his first name? That wasn't the case the other day when you visited the Duke's mansion. Well, Fia is amazing. You can make friends with anyone in no time." (Charlotte)
Seeing Charlotte's admiring gaze, I tilted my head in a daze.
"Well, in this case, I think some strange coincidence was at work. To be more specific, after I became an apprentice to a clown, I became friends with Lloyd." (Fia)
"What?" (Charlotte)
When I saw Charlotte asking me again as if she didn't understand what I was saying, I thought so, maybe she didn't understand.
"So, doing completely different things can lead to unexpected results." (Fia)
"……I see" (Charlotte)
Maybe Charlotte was a good girl because she didn't ask any more questions even though she probably didn't understand anything at all.
As I was gently stroking her head, I saw a brown-haired saint in her early twenties approaching me.
She walked straight towards Lloyd and introduced herself as "Saint Dorothee Aubert."
"I am in charge of the saints in this villa."
With that, Dorothee began a brief explanation about the saint who lived in the villa.
"There are 20 Saints here. 10 of them are currently traveling with the knights to the Starry Forest."
"Oh, I see. So that's why the number was much smaller than I had heard." (Lloyd)
When Lloyd commented, Dorothee gave him a quick glance.
"I understand that you will be touring the villa today. Before I show you around, could I ask you to say a few words?"
"Oh, of course. As a gentleman, I have to introduce myself." (Lloyd)
Lloyd replied in a light tone and then looked around at the Saints present.
Before I knew it, they had stopped what they were doing and were looking at us.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Lloyd, Duke of Alcott. Recently, I gained a stepdaughter. Her name is Priscilla, who is here and I welcomed her from the Cathedral. My stepdaughter is also a Saint, so I thought she would like to learn from the Saints who accompany the Royal Castle, if it's alright with you, and so today I came to inspect the villa. And this is Fia." (Lloyd)
The saints stared at Priscilla, and then, for some reason, began to stare at me in the same way.
Perhaps that's why the saints living in the villa were so curious, I thought, greeting them with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Fia Ruud." (Fia)
However, a deep silence fell upon them, and not a single one of the Saints moved an inch.