"Captain Cyril, excuse me!" (Fia)
I knocked and entered the First Knight Captain's room, where Captain Cyril greeted me with a smile.
"Fia, we've been waiting for you." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril had a harmless smile on his face, but his past experiences made me unconsciously take a step back.
...This wasn't a good sign.
Generally speaking, the more Captain Cyril had something up his sleeve, the more cheerful his expression became.
And since he dropped the bomb when I let my guard down, having been the captain's subordinate for over half a year, I could completely predict what was waiting to happen.
So I kept my guard down and put on a serious expression.
Then Captain Cyril, who was supposed to be very sharp, asked a silly question.
"What's the matter, Fia? Do you have a toothache?" (Cyril)
Of course not. I was not twisting my face in pain from a toothache, but I was sporting a determined, dignified expression.
And I was ready for Captain Cyril's bomb.
"No, I'm fine. How can I help you today?" (Fia)
When I asked why I had been called, pretending that it was nothing, Captain Cyril looked puzzled, but answered honestly.
"I apologize for calling you all here. In fact, I'd like to have Fia guard Commander Savis with me this afternoon." (Cyril)
Oh, I was supposed to have been in Cerulean's care for a while, so I wondered what's going on.
"Where is Commander going?" (Fia)
Perhaps the Commander was going somewhere dangerous and he desperately needed my help as a capable knight.
I asked, not entirely opposed, if that was the case then I'd try to be of some help, but was met with a blunt no.
"No, Commander Savis will be spending the day at the royal castle. In the afternoon, he will be attending a tea party with Her Majesty the Queen Mother, but that is all that is planned for today." (Cyril)
There was only a brief moment of hesitation, but when Captain Cyril mentioned the word Queen Dowager, I stopped moving for half a second, so I stared at him, trying to figure out what was going on.
"...Chief Saint Hyacinth?" (Fia)
"Yes, the Queen Mother is Commander Savis' mother. Incidentally, Cerulean is also planning to attend." (Cyril)
Queen Hyacinthe, Cerulean, and Commander Savis were having tea together. In other words...
"It's just a parent-child tea party, right?" (Fia)
I stared intently at Captain Cyril.
Captain Cyril, who had a heart of steel, seemed slightly nervous, and I was curious as to why.
But before the reply came, I found the answer myself.
"M-maybe it's love?!" (Fia)
Maybe, just maybe, Captain Cyril had feelings for Chief Saint Hyacinth, and that's why he's so nervous about meeting her.
Ah, you can't stay calm so you always need my help in keeping you calm.
As I was coming to terms with this, I heard a gloomy voice.
"...who am I in love with?" (Cyril)
Captain Cyril asked the question with a twitching cheek, looking just like usual.
Therefore, I threw away the guess that came to mind 10 seconds ago.
"Oh, the tension was relieved? So, it's not love? Well, I suppose so. You're related after all." (Fia)
Chief Saint Hyacinth was Captain Cyril's mother's older sister.
In other words, Chief Saint was Captain Cyril's aunt.
Since they were too close by blood to marry, they would be unsuitable as love interests.
"Fia, your guesses are always outlandish, so you should stop thinking of silly things. As you say, this is just a parent-child tea party, so we can't bring along many knights as escorts. You don't look like a knight, so I thought I'd have you accompany us." (Cyril)
"I see." (Fia)
I felt like I was being subtly insulted, but being open-minded, I decided to just let it go.
"Besides, it is the wishes of Commander Savis and Cerulean to have you as their guard." (Cyril)
Well, the number one and number two in this country, your direct hopes?
"Huh? Has it finally been revealed that I am an excellent knight?!" (Fia)
Captain Cyril was surprised at what had happened and his eyes were half-closed.
"...Not yet. It's a very secret, so no one knows it yet." (Cyril)
"Oh, I see." (Fia)
I had mixed feelings about that; it's a shame, but at the same time, I wanted to keep it a very special secret.
As I was feeling something that could be described as neither disappointment nor relief, I noticed that Captain Cyril himself had a complicated look on his face.
So, I wondered what was bothering Captain Cyril and asked him a harmless question.
"Chief Saint is also a your relative, right? Do you get along well?" (Fia)
Captain Cyril casually lowered his eyes after hearing my question.
"...the other person is the Chief Saint. She is not someone you can meet easily." (Cyril)
That was a very reasonable thing to say.
"It's certainly true what Captain Cyril said. Chief Saint is in high demand from all over the place and must be very busy." (Fia)
I remembered how busy I was as the Great Saint 300 years ago and nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Captain Cyril smiled slightly, as if he had remembered something.
"That's true, she has always been busy. But in exchange, she have become close friends with His Majesty Laurence and Commander Savis." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril and Commander Savis were the same age, with Cerulean two years older.
They were close in age, so they might have played together when they were young.
"As I told you before, when I was little, I wanted a younger brother. However, my mother flatly refused, saying that a duke family like me had no need for a spare." (Cyril)
Ah, that's right. I had heard stories about his childhood from Captain Cyril in Sutherland.
"On the other hand, the Näv family is a royal family, so the situation is different from that of the duke family, but I still felt envious of His Majesty Laurence and Commander Savis, who have siblings. And I thought Queen Hyacinthe was a great person, being the Chief Saint and yet giving birth to two children." (Cyril)
"It seems like childbirth is really hard!" (Fia)
I agreed, remembering Captain Quentin, who had recently declared that he was going to become a mother.
His familiar had laid an egg, but showed no signs of warming it, so Captain Quentin warmed it instead, and was proud to become the mother of the monsters.
"Even when giving birth to a human child, in rare cases the mother will die during childbirth. That's how difficult it is to become a mother!!"
The image of Captain Quentin with a bulging belly and a serious face as he spoke came to mind, so I added to Captain Cyril.
"Captain Quentin was saying the other day how difficult childbirth is." (Fia)
"…I understand that you are speaking seriously, but why is the atmosphere suddenly becoming so joking?" (Cyril)
Maybe it's a matter of how I interpreted Captain Cyril.
I couldn't say it so clearly, so I remained silent. Captain Cyril seemed to read my mind, and shrugged his shoulders tiredly.
"Well, that's fine. Now, Fia, we will head to Commander Savis's office. Is that okay?" (Cyril)
"Yes!" (Fia)
I replied cheerfully, and then Captain Cyril and I set off to Commander Savis.
When Captain Cyril and I went to Commander Savis's office, Cerulean was already there.
However, today he wasn't dressed as a clown, but rather in a simple shirt like he used to.
He was sitting lazily on the sofa.
"Savis, maybe because I've become a child's body, my sense of taste has reverted to that of a child's. So, I don't find tea any good at all." (Cerulean)
"In that case, I'll order some orange juice." (Savis)
Glancing at Commander Savis, who answered matter-of-factly, Cerulean pouted in dissatisfaction.
"That's not what I'm trying to say." (Cerulean)
Then Cerulean jumped to his feet.
"I'll be absent after all! There's no place for a child at a tea party with Chief Saint! Savis, I'll leave it to you." (Cerulean)
He then took off at high speed, but before he could take even a few steps, Commander Savis, who had quickly gotten there, grabbed him by the collar.
"Hey, Savis, your esteemed brother is being strangled!" (Cerulean)
Cerulean was waving his hands around in a panic, but Commander Savis didn't seem to mind and didn't let go of his collar.
"I'm just trying to be considerate and say that if you don't want tea that much, it might be a good idea to be a little choked up." (Savis)
"Such consideration is unnecessary... ugh." (Cerulean)
Cerulean's thrashing seemed to have tightened the grip around his neck even more, and he made a noise that sounded like a squashed frog.
Hmm, this is the second time we've seen these two together, and they seem to get on really well.
I was sure Captain Cyril would be jealous of having a brother.
As I nodded in understanding, Commander Savis turned his gaze to me.
"You're here, Fia. You're my charm today." (Savis)
"Charm?" (Fia)
Did that have any effect on me?
As I stared in confusion, Commander Savis quirked his lip sarcastically.
"Oh, protect me from the Queen Mother." (Savis)
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
Let me make one announcement.
...
Thank you very much for your support.