After leaving the queen dowager's tea party, I was taken directly to Commander Savis's office.
Alongside the commander himself, there were Cerulean, Captain Cyril, and Captain Curtis.
The five of us were left alone in the study, and the knights who had been whisked away left the room, slamming the door behind them.
Captain Cyril, myself, and Captain Curtis sat side by side on the bench, with Commander Savis and Cerulean sitting across from us.
Well, I was on guard, wondering if some kind of inappropriate confession session was about to take place, when Cerulean bowed his head and apologized right away.
"Fia, I'm sorry! I knew Savis had taken you as a charm, but I ended up using you as a shield against the queen dowager." (Cerulean)
Oh thank goodness, Cerulean is calm now.
It looked like his blood had calmed down in his head, I thought to myself, nodding in relief.
"Cerulean, you must have had a temper. You just seemed to be thinking about beating up the queen dowager." (Fia)
Cerulean blushed in embarrassment upon hearing my words.
"That's very accurate. I have a lot of hatred for the queen dowager built up inside me all the time, so on the rare occasion that we meet, it all erupts at once. That being said, I am aware that it is a very childish thing to do, so whenever I calm down like this, I reflect on it and think, 'What an embarrassing thing to do.'" (Cerulean)
To some extent, I could understand why Cerulean was angry.
He cared deeply for his lover Colette, and his feelings were so deep that he was willing to risk his own life to save her.
However, as mentioned earlier, the queen dowager was present at a moment where she could have saved Colette, but as a saint, she did not use her magic, and Cerulean found this unforgivable.
Perhaps the queen dowager had circumstances that prevented her from reaching out to Colette, or perhaps she determined at first glance that she could not save Colette and chose not to take action in order to protect the reputation of Chief Saint.
But either way, it's inevitable that Cerulean would think, "If there was a chance to save Colette, I should have done my best as Chief Saint."
However... if I might speak from the perspective of a saint, I thought the queen dowager must had also suffered a great deal as she was unable to save the injured and sick people right in front of her eyes.
As I was thinking this, Cerulean clasped his hands together in front of me.
"Fia, I know that getting this far is a big deal in itself, and I'm not in a position to ask for any further favors, but... if you don't mind, could you please listen to me what happened ten years ago?" (Cerulean)
"Huh" (Fia)
I stared at Cerulean in shock.
As I gazed upon him, Cerulean's expression took on a determined look, but the color quickly faded.
Apparently, just remembering the events of 10 years ago was stressful.
"Cerulean, there's no need to force yourself to talk." (Fia)
As I said this while studying his expression, he distorted his face.
"I want you to listen. However, it's been 10 years and I still haven't sorted out my emotions, so it may be difficult to explain it in a way that the listener can understand." (Cerulean)
"I see. In that case, how about I ask Commander Savis or Captain Cyril to speak for you?" (Fia)
I offered an alternative, but Cerulean shook his head.
"Of all the people here, I'm the only one who was present at the scene ten years ago." (Cerulean)
"I suppose so" (Fia)
It was clearly an important topic, but I was worried as to whether it was good for me to ask, so I looked over at Commander Savis, who looked back at me with a straight face.
"Fia, if it's not too much for you, please listen to what Cerulean has to say." (Savis)
"Oh, yes, there's no cost." (Fia)
As I replied, Cerulean looked up and furrowed his brow as if remembering something.
Then he muttered to himself.
"On that day ten years ago, the queen dowager did not reach out to help the dying Colette. But now, looking back, that was the opportunity given to the queen dowager to choose. To choose whether to live as my mother, or to live as a saint that everyone longed for. In the end... the queen dowager chose to be the Chief Saint." (Cerulean)
Maybe the reason Cerulean and Commander Savis hate the saints was because they felt lonely because the queen dowager chose to be a aaint over being a mother.
It's true that Cerulean was willing to sacrifice his life for his lover, so he did value emotions, and it's possible that he missed his mother in the past... but Commander Savis didn't seem to be the type to be swayed by emotions, including the affection between parent and child.
Or maybe he's just really affectionate.
Hmm, hmm, unsolvable questions started to pop into my head.
Standing in front of me, Cerulean swallowed hard and placed his clenched hands on his forehead as if deep in thought.
Then he started talking about something that happened ten years ago.