"Protect Commander Savis from the Queen Dowager?" (Fia)
No matter how you looked at it, Commander Savis was stronger than Chief Saint Hyacinth.
As I tilted my head, wondering what this meant, Commander spoke up.
"Fia, you seem to forget everything you say when you're drunk, but I remember it." (Savis)
"What!?" (Fia)
Commander Savis was suddenly and unexpectedly talking incoherently, which was unusual for him, and I blinked repeatedly in confusion.
"That's an impressive memory. By the way, I'd like to say that it would be misleading to say that I have forgotten all of the valuable conversations I had with Commander Savis. Rather, I would say that I have a strong desire not to share the many wise words of wisdom that Commander gave me with anyone else..." (Fia)
It was impossible to accept that I had occupied the time of the head of the Knights' Order and then forgotten everything that had been said during that time. I was about to deny what the commander said, saying that this would turn all the knights who were devoted to the commander into enemies, but Captain Cyril casually interjected.
"That's right. When Fia drinks alcohol, she completely forgets the conversation she just had, to an amazing extent." (Cyril)
"Hohoho, Captain Cyril. Even though you are my direct superior, it is by no means the case that you know everything about me." (Fia)
While I was wondering why Captain Cyril was going out of his way to say something unnecessary and trying to avoid the question, Commander Savis asked me a funny question.
"So, Fia, who was my first love?" (Savis)
"What!??" (Fia)
Oh my goodness, I had such an interesting conversation over drinks with Commander Savis.
Argh, and yet I don't remember anything at all. How embarrassing!!
After some hesitation, my desire to find out who Commander's first love was won out over my desire to get out of the situation by deceiving others.
"…………As you two have said, it seems that sometimes my memory fails me. However, I will be ashamed for the rest of my life for having forgotten such an important conversation! I am ashamed, but I think it would be extremely rude of me to not remember something that was taught to me, and I will never forget it again, so please tell me again!!" (Fia)
I pleaded frantically, and Commander Savis chuckled.
"Haha, I can't tell something that doesn't exist." (Savis)
"What!?" (Fia)
The amused look on Commander Savis's face made me wonder if we had a similar conversation at dinner the other day.
Or perhaps we never had this conversation and the commander tricked me.
...Judging by the amused look on the commander's face, it's probably the latter.
I was frustrated that I'd fallen for it so easily, and made a gurgling noise like a squashed frog, at which point Commander grinned.
"It seems you've realised that you yourself have forgotten the conversations you had while drunk." (Savis)
This is no good. It's the other person's fault.
I felt that if I argued, I would just be drawn into a further trap, so I simply nodded.
"Yes" (Fia)
"But since I remember, I will speak to you as if you remember too." (Savis)
As expected of the king's younger brother and the leader of the knights.
Doing things in a way that suits one's own convenience was a perfect tactic used by those in power.
...or so I thought, but Commander kindly repeated the words I had forgotten.
"I told you at the dinner table that the Saint is selfish, self-righteous, and has a strong desire for self-expression." (Savis)
"What?! That's an unbecoming statement from a Commander! N-No, just because they're Saints doesn't mean they all have the same traits, and at the very least Charlotte is a good girl." (Fia)
Wondering what he was trying to say, I tried to argue back, but Commander Savis quirked up the corners of his lips in a funny manner.
"Drunk or not, your mindset is always the same." (Savis)
"What?" (Fia)
The look on Commander Savis's face made me wonder if we had a similar conversation at dinner the other day.
Or perhaps I was once again tricked into making some unnecessary remarks.
...Judging from what Commander said and the amused look on his face, it's probably the former.
"Well, so what I'm saying is that Commander doesn't have very good feelings about the Saintess." (Fia)
Judging from the Commander's cheerful expression, I couldn't tell how serious he was about what he was saying, so I stared at him for confirmation.
It seemed that the commander did not have good feelings towards the Saint, but both his mother and his future wife were Saints, weren't they?
Do people really hate their own family that much?
Such doubts arose in my mind, but...I was also hated by my brothers in my previous life, so it's not an impossible story.
"That's right, and just as you think, the only women around me are saints." (Savis)
As I expected, the commander confirmed that not only his mother but also his future wife were saints.
"So, drinking tea with the Chief Saint is nothing but hardship for me. So, I thought that by taking you along, who has the appearance that the Saints yearn for, but has no saintly qualities whatsoever, I would use you as my charm." (Savis)
Well, I thought what was about to take place was a "Tea party for parents and children," but I wondered if for Commander Savis it was a "Tea party with the saint."
Apparently, Commander Savis saw the Queen Mother as more of a "saint" than a "mother."
Hmm, I guessed that might be the case since royals had little ties to their families to begin with.
Captain Cyril said that the Chief Saint had always been busy, so it might be that the Queen Mother didn't feel like she was a mother very much because she didn't have much time for the two of them.
As I nodded thinking that, Cerulean, who had been listening in silence up until then, took this opportunity to speak up.
"It's hard work for me too! I hate saints more than Savis, and I hate tea even more!" (Cerulean)
Well, this was turning into a royal selfishness contest, I thought as I took a sideways glance at Captain Cyril who was joined by the royal family.
They were acting cautiously, wondering if Captain Cyril might start being selfish, but he didn't say a word and just looked at the two of them with a slightly furrowed brow.
That's why, Captain Cyril would always take the saint's side no matter what, he muttered to himself.
I was sure she was unhappy with Commander Savis and Cerulean for openly criticizing the Saint.
Or so I thought, but Captain Cyril, as if reading my mind, shook his head at me.
"I understand and accept that you two feel disgust for the Saint." (Cyril)
"What!" (Fia)
Captain Cyril always defended the Saint, but when it came to Commander Savis and Cerulean, he prioritized them.
It seemed the three of them were childhood friends, so perhaps they had a bond that went beyond the feelings Captain Cyril had for the Saint.
As I was thinking this, Captain Curtis, who had been waiting silently in the corner of the room, suddenly took a step forward.
It happened that Captain Curtis was guarding Commander Savis that day, and he was already inside the Commander's room when Captain Cyril and I entered.
Captain Curtis always carried out his duties with utmost seriousness and never talked privately while on duty, but for some reason he opened his mouth with a pleading look on his face.
"Commander Savis, would it be okay if I continued guarding the Commander for the rest of the day?" (Curtis)
The commander looked over at Captain Curtis as if to confirm something, and the captain simply stared back at him in silence, with a strong gaze.
"...Very well. Then, the three guards who will accompany you to the tea party will be Cyril, Curtis, and Fia." (Savis)
As the commander replied, a knight entered the room and handed him a message card from the Queen Mother.
Apparently, the Queen Mother had been exhausted from using her Saint's powers in the morning and had requested that the tea ceremony be delayed.
Commander Savis looked at the card he picked up and raised an eyebrow.
"I have some free time... I think I'll go hunt monsters in the forest." (Savis)
"Huh, start now?" (Fia)
He might have a little time to spare, but I doubted Commander would change into fine clothes for the upcoming tea party with the Queen Dowager.
Rather, considering he was willing to put himself in a situation where he might be covered in the blood of a monster without any hesitation, he didn't seem mentally prepared to attend a tea party with a woman.
While I was thinking about this, Commander Savis grabbed Cerulean by the scruff of the neck as he took advantage of the situation and tried to run out of the room, and warned him to come back exactly in three hours.
Then the commander stood up and replaced his sword, and it looked like he was really going out into the forest.
It seemed an extremely impulsive move for the head of a knight order, but since no one said anything, maybe it's just normal for the commander.
And it might be necessary.
For example, when I was feeling down, I practiced casting healing spells by carefully chanting incantations that I didn't usually do.
Doing so helped me to calm down, but perhaps for Commander Savis, hunting monsters in the forest was the same thing.
If so, perhaps he had some troubles that he was trying to clear up.
"What's the matter?" (Savis)
My eyes met with Commander Savis and he asked me what was going on, but I didn't feel like asking him a direct question, so I thought I'd make a joke out of it and blurted out what I'd been thinking earlier.
"No, Commander Savis said earlier, 'You seem to forget all the conversations we have when you're drunk, but I remember, so I'll talk to you as if you remembered.' Your way of doing things only for your own convenience is just like Cerulean's, so I was thinking that you must be of royal blood after all." (Fia)
Cerulean frowned in displeasure at what I said, while Commander's lips quirked up in a humorous manner.
"You really don’t remember anything. At that time, I had said to you, ‘If you don’t remember any of our conversation here, then I’ll tell you what I really think.’ Those words were only for that moment, and I never intended to let anyone, including you, know my true feelings permanently." (Savis)
"Well, then why did you express your thoughts about the Saintess earlier?" (Fia)
I was surprised and asked him if he had just kept quiet. He spoke while still gazing at the national flag hanging on the wall—a flag that was the same red as my hair.
"You are the cause of it all. You tell me stories that are like dreams... I want to see the rest of the dream, and I don't want to pretend that night never happened." (Savis)
"Huh, what did I say?" (Fia)
By "dream-like story", I meant that I had been telling Commander endless delusional tales.
...Hmm, that sounds plausible.
Suddenly, an unpleasant sweat began to run down my back and I was overcome with the urge to hold my head in my hands.
Ah, I didn't remember anything from when I was drunk so I had nothing to regret or feel ashamed about, yet here I was being forced to remember it.
As I was confronted with a past I wanted to forget and broke out into a sweat, Commander looked at me with a meaningful look.
"That's something you need to remember." (Savis)
Author's Note
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