A week later, the day of the First-ranked Saint selection meeting finally arrived.
Honestly, this week had been tough. After parting ways in Commander Savis's office, Captain Cyril and Cerulean seemed to have reflected on their actions and showed deep remorse. It seemed they had belatedly realized that their request had placed a huge burden on me, and they were overcome with guilt.
Therefore, in order to avoid embarrassing myself at the selection meeting, they tried to make sure I had the minimum amount of knowledge.
Specifically, I was called into the First Knight Captain's room and Captain Cyril made the proposal with a serious look on his face.
"Fia, if you lack knowledge about saints and blurt out something strange and embarrass yourself, it is all my fault. As an aristocrat, I have been taught all the basics about saints since I was a child. I will give you a lecture if you are willing." (Cyril)
No way. Studying one-on-one with Captain Cyril is just a punishment game.
Moreover, since I knew quite a lot about saints, I could only see myself answering too many questions and arousing suspicion.
"Hohoho, I'm the type of person who gets the most out of studying on my own. Please keep watching over me from far, far away, Captain Cyril." (Fia)
"Fia……" (Cyril)
He looked at me with a worried expression, but I smiled brightly, not wanting to lose now.
"It'll be fine, you know! I'm the type of person who can show my strength when pushed into a corner." (Fia)
"In my opinion, you are already in a corner. The problem is that you are not even aware of this situation." (Cyril)
"Ahh, that may be true for Captain Cyril, but I still have plenty of room to maneuver. Ha ha, I guess it's just the difference in the number of close calls I've survived, right?" (Fia)
"Fia……" (Cyril)
Captain Cyril looked at me as if I was a pitiful person, but since Captain didn't know everything about my life, I decided to maintain my confident attitude, knowing that it was important to speak up. Besides, I had a lot of combat experience in my previous life, so it's not a lie.
"Don't worry! Leave it to me! Captain's subordinates are surprisingly capable." (Fia)
My confident attitude must have worked, because Captain Cyril reluctantly backed away, though he looked a bit worried.
Just when I had finally managed to repel Captain Cyril, Cerulean showed up the next day.
"Fia, I've brought you books about saints from the royal castle library! These are all forbidden books, so only members of the royal family can get their hands on them. Read these books and set yourself apart from the other saints." (Cerulean)
Cerulean tottered over to me with about ten books in each hand and placed them on the desk in front of me.
Hmm, I was enjoying some quiet reading in the study room, but you brought a bunch of books I don't understand.
I cautiously pick up the top book and scan the title. On the cover of the old-fashioned book, written in decorative letters was, "The Truth: The Knight Captains Saw It! The Great Saint's Dangerous Tea Party."
"No, this is a completely useless book! The organizer may be the Great Saint, but what knowledge could you possibly gain from reading about the tea party?"
Wondering what book Cerulean had brought, I picked up another one.
"The next book is... 'The Great Saint's Dreaming Poetry Collection'. Hohoho, I wonder why the Great Saint's dark history has been banned and carefully stored away! Isn't there at least one decent book?" (Fia)
Although I knew it was an important enough book to be banned, I tossed the book onto the table and picked up another one.
"Oh, this book has a beautiful binding... 'An Elegant Day for the Handsome First Duke'. This isn't even a book about saints! Sirius... it's a humorous book about a Captain, a knight of the royal guard from 300 years ago!!" (Fia)
Cerulean's eyes widened as he noticed the pile of shockingly useless books, and he shrugged in confusion.
"Well, you may say that, but the Great Saint is the most important matter in this country. So, when it comes to forbidden books related to saints, they are all about the Great Saint." (Cerulean)
That's ridiculous. Are you saying that the Great Saint's tea party and poetry information are important matters for this country? What's more, even a book based on _SIRUISU_, who was the captain of the great saint's royal guard, is banned? Instead of things like that, wouldn't it be better to preserve a 300-year-old medicinal herb encyclopedia?
"Cerulean, I'm sorry you had to go to all the trouble to bring these books, but it seems there aren't any books here that I need." (Fia)
"Fia, in a world full of women like the saints, it's important to get the upper hand first. If you suddenly start talking about the Great Saint who no one knows, other Saints will definitely be frightened!" (Cerulean)
"If they get scared, their magic might not be able to be used to its full potential. I want to see saints' amazing magic, you know." (Fia)
Hearing those words, Cerulean finally seemed to remember my purpose in participating in the selection meeting.
"...I see. Does Fia have any hope about saints?" (Cerulean)
"Of course!" (Fia)
After I answered confidently, Cerulean seemed at a loss for words.
"I see. ...Well, that was a hindrance, huh?" (Cerulean)
An indescribable look appeared on his face, he picked up the books on his desk once more, and staggered off.
"...That's just what happened over the past week, so I've had to reaffirm that I'm a sensible person, right?" (Fia)
Coming back from my reminiscence, I muttered to myself and looked around the room where the opening ceremony of the First-ranked Saint selection committee was being held.
I was in the royal castle's hall, a dazzling space that looked like it was used for ceremonial occasions. The room was spacious with a high ceiling, and what's more, the entire ceiling was covered with paintings depicting the legends and history of the kingdom. Marble columns were lined up at equal intervals on the left and right walls, with gold ornaments set into their capitals. Even though it was daylight, all the chandeliers were lit, creating a space that fully demonstrated the authority and splendor of the royal castle.
There was a raised area at the very back of the hall, so I assumed that some important person was coming there, and walked towards the ten or so chairs lined up in front of it. As I got closer, I saw that the saints were already sitting in the chairs, wearing very saintly white and red clothing.
"Oh, thank goodness. I was right to wear the clothes Dory gave me! With these, I won't feel out of place blending in with the other girls." (Fia)
I was so pleased that I had worn the makeshift Saint's outfit instead of my own clothes, I thought to myself as I sat down in an empty seat, but—a Saint sitting next to me glared at me.
However, that couldn't be helped. Because today I was wearing a pure white veil that covered my entire face. I myself didn't know why, but Captain Cyril gave me this veil to wear at the selection meeting.
Being the meticulous Captain Cyril, he would definitely come and check if I was following his orders. In anticipation of this, I had been wearing a veil of extreme obedience, but I wondered what this is all about. The other saints weren't wearing anything, so I wondered if it would be okay to take it off—and I was about to remove my veil, but the next moment, I hastily pulled the veil back over my face again. The central door was opened, and about 20 knights entered the room with regular footsteps.
"Huh, knights? Surely that means you know someone there... e-everyone is wearing white knight uniforms?!" (Fia)
In our Black Dragon Knights, only vice captains and above were allowed to wear white knight uniforms—but when I checked, everyone was wearing a sash. What's scary was that they all seem to be Captain Knights.
That's bad, that means there are a lot of people involved! If I get found out, it'll probably cause a lot of trouble, so I can't reveal my real face!!
Holding the veil with both hands, I glanced nervously out of the corner of her eye, and unfortunately for me, all of the captain knights I knew were there, and although none of them moved their heads or eyes, I could clearly tell they were observing me.
Scary. Captain Knight is scary.
I never noticed it when he was a fellow knight, but when I saw him like this, I realized that the captains were capable knights with no weaknesses.
I felt terrified, as if I was being observed in every way, so I removed the ribbon from around my neck, tied my hair up, and tucked it into the veil. Red hair was my symbol, so I thought that if I exposed it, there would be a higher risk of being recognized.
I mean, it's fine that Captain Cyril trusts me to be a good subordinate who follows orders, but I think he should have explained things to me more beforehand. If I'd known there would be familiar faces there, I would have been a bit more careful.
As I was thinking that, I looked around again and noticed that there were many captains I had never seen before. There were only seven captains living in the royal capital, so about twenty or so gathered here must have come from all over the country.
Knight Captains were tasked with the important task of national defense in various regions. The fact that they were able to gather all of those people together showed how much importance they placed on this selection committee. As I was thinking this, the door right next to us opened, and Queen Dowager and people who appeared to be church members came in.
Once everyone was seated, the door to the side opened again and King Laurence (Doppelganger) and Commander Savis entered. It had been a while since I last saw King Laurence's Doppelganger, a young man with luxurious blonde hair, which when placed next to the black-haired Commander Savis created a mysterious effect that made both of them stand out. As I was entranced, I saw the King sitting on a chair placed on a higher level, with the Commander standing diagonally behind him.
King Laurence remained seated, looked around at the saints seated in the chairs lined up in front of him, and announced the opening of the selection meeting.
"I am pleased that all of our nation's honored saints have gathered together today. We will now hold the First-ranked Saint selection meeting to select a saint who will lead our nation in the future!"
At that moment, the atmosphere in the venue felt tense.