“See, Zavilia? Captain Desmond isn’t that bad. He spouts a lot of nonsense because of his sleep deprivation, but he works really hard as a captain and is usually a lot better than we see him as.”
Zavilia scrunched up his nose. “Is that so? From my perspective he’s always been the same insufferable man. Also, he seemed to believe I wanted to eliminate him because he wasn’t respectful enough toward me, but it’s actually his disrespect toward you that I cannot stand.”
“Well, he praised me quite a bit today. He even praised you as the Black Dragon without even knowing you were the Black Dragon. He’s a big fan of yours, Zavilia!”
Zavilia gave me a sidelong look. “You’re really something, Fia, to say such a thing after witnessing all that. I hear people can’t help but use themselves as a benchmark when judging others. Heh. I think I know why you believe knights are so careless now.”
“Hm? What’s that mean?” Was Zavilia saying I was the careless one? No, he’d never do that.
We continued through the garden while chatting, but encountered no other knights. This was a problem. How was I supposed to test my theory if nobody came by? Eventually, however, I spotted a very familiar face—my father, Dolph Ruud.
Wow! I haven’t seen him since before the entrance ceremony! We couldn’t meet at all because he was vice-captain of the Fourteenth Knight Brigade, in charge of border patrol in the far west. Just what was he doing here?
He noticed me just as I noticed him, and he hurried over. “Is that you, Fia? I haven’t seen you since you got assigned to the First Knight Brigade! How have you been?”
Oh? Had he been worried?
“I’ve been well. My training period is over, so I’ve started guarding the royal family in earnest.” I covered my mouth like a high-class lady and offered a nonchalant response.
His eyebrows rose. “That so? You probably don’t know this, but the First Knight Brigade is full of nothing but elites! They’re all first-class with the sword and can read a room in a second. Can you really keep up with such incredible people?”
Come to think of it, the First Knight Brigade supposedly contained nothing but elite knights. I must have been quite something to be able to keep up! I tilted my chin up and said, “Of course I’m keeping up! Heh heh, I even fought Commander Saviz to a draw at the entrance ceremony!”
“That was only because your sword just so happened to be national-treasure class!”
Wow. He had a good memory.
“It’s not just that!” I said. “As someone born to a knight family, I grew up learning how to read a room! Guarding royalty is a piece of cake for me!”
“Really? But I could swear you’ve let snake oil salesmen into our house dozens of times. I can’t really see you reading the room that well.”
I scowled. His memory wasn’t usually this good. Why’d he have to have such perfect recall now of all times?
He ignored my frown and scanned our surroundings before leaning in and whispering, “More importantly, I’ve come by the royal castle today to gather information at my captain’s request. We only get bits and pieces of rumors out in the west, so we have to come all this way to hear what’s really going on. And believe it or not, apparently someone spotted the second coming of the Great Saint in Sutherland—and they’re not even a saint but a knight. How weird is that?”
“Guh?!”
Why did he know that?! It didn’t sound like he knew the important details at least. I just had to avoid saying anything silly.
“Oh… Yeah, I heard about that,” I said carefully.
“Have you ever met the knight in question? Which brigade do they belong to?” His eyes narrowed.
I smiled awkwardly under this rapid-fire barrage and searched for a suitably vague yet honest reply. “Uhh, I think she was in the same First Knight Brigade as me? I get the feeling I might’ve met her before. But, uh, she’s a woman overflowing with class and benevolence, so I can see why the people of Sutherland might mistake her for the Great Saint.”
I slipped up and started hyping myself up a bit too much. Maybe I’d gone too far, but my father simply grinned.
“Incredible! She’s that amazing? I’d love to meet her sometime!”
You’re meeting her right now.
“That might be a bit hard,” I said. “You can’t just meet with somebody said to be the second coming of the super holy and sacred Great Saint, you know.”
I was just riffing, but my father replied, “Ah, that’s true. And she’s in the First Knight Brigade.” He fell silent for a while before lifting his head and crossing his arms. “Actually, there’s another rumor I heard. Apparently, part of the royal castle grounds has been sealed off—and it’s the rose garden, of all places. I thought it was a bit strange that knights would protect that area around the clock, but…”
As red washed into his cheeks, a kernel of worry tickled my mind. Was he really here collecting information for his brigade? There had to be more important things to worry about, like the appearance of a demon, or the fact the king was disguising himself as a jester. It worried me that he’d show such concern over a rose garden. Maybe he wasn’t the right man for this job.
Or so I thought, but his next words elicited a yelp of surprise.
“Listen here, Fia. This stays between us, all right?” He cleared his throat. “I have it on good authority that this rose garden is a secret rendezvous spot for a couple’s tryst… That couple being none other than Commander Saviz and a female knight of the brigades!”
“Whaaaat?!”
I’d long dreamed of discovering a secret couple within the brigades before anyone else, but he beaten me to the punch, and the couple even involved a superior I knew well!
“Shush! Quiet down!” He flapped his hands at me.
“O-oh, sorry. Do you know who this female knight is?”
“I was hoping to ask you, actually. From what I hear, she’s short and has red hair, but…”
“Ah.”
Wasn’t that me? Come to think of it, I encountered Saviz in the garden once when I went to check on the Roses of the Great Saint. His love life must be really sad if people were misunderstanding a small thing like that for a tryst. No, wait, that was rude to think about a superior. All right, that thought never happened!
I tried to tell my father the truth. “You know, I kind of fit that description. And I’m pretty sure I’ve spoken to the commander in the rose garden before. Maybe people saw us and misunderstood?”
“Get real, as if the two of you would ever be alone together! Even if by some miracle you were, who would possibly misunderstand and think it was a lover’s tryst? They’d just assume he was lecturing you for screwing something up.”
It’s the truth, though, I thought with a pout. How else could such a rumor exist?
Suddenly remembering something, he said, “Oh, right. You’re of age now, huh? Have you found anyone you like yet? If they’re a knight, I can use my influence as vice-captain to pull some strings for you. Is there anyone you’re gunning for yet?”
There was that phrase again, “gunning for.” This was knight slang for “who do you think is the strongest knight?” Clarissa asked me the same thing a while back, so maybe this was a popular topic among knights.
“I’m gunning for Commander Saviz, of course!” I answered.
He choked and coughed. “Y-you’re what?! That’s…no, I can understand, I suppose. Even men would fall in love with someone like him, but still… Ah, wait! It must’ve hurt to hear me talk about his secret tryst then, huh? I’m sorry, Fia! Forget I said anything!”
I didn’t get it, but he seemed really worried about my feelings. He looked away, flustered, and finally noticed Zavilia on my shoulder.
“Eek! Th-that’s that blackish, dragonish creature from before!” He leaped backward, falling onto his behind like Desmond and staring wide-eyed at Zavilia. “Eeeeek! Y-you’re still with this terrifying thing?! L-Listen up, Fia! You gotta hide a creature this powerful! If it gets out that you’ve tamed this beast, I’ll be unfairly promoted and made a captain by extension! I don’t want to move up in such a dirty way!”
With that, he sped off.