Regis winced. “N-No... I’m a civil officer, so swords and spears are a bit beyond me... But, that aside, you’re the knight who saved us yesterday, aren’t you?”
The man eagerly nodded in response.
“Indeed. I am Everard de Blanchard, first-grade combat officer. Knight captain of the Beilschmidt border regiment!”
“Regis Aurick, fifth-grade administrative officer. You have my deepest gratitude... You really saved us out there.”
“Wa-hahah! Just when I thought I hadn’t seen the princess in a while, I discover she’d gone off to town dressed as a cab driver. And with all the recent bandit attacks, too! Shaved a few years off my life, that did.”
“Hahaha... You’re telling me.”
To think the coachman would be the imperial princess and his commander.
“Of course, our princess would wipe out any bandits who dared cross her path.”
“Yeah... She’s strong.”
“She’s our goddess!”
Once Everard had finished, his men nodded, ringing out an enthusiastic, “Yep! She’s a goddess!” in response. Regis had no idea what was going on.
“I’m pretty sure she’s a princess...?”
“She’s a goddess!”
“...Oh, come to think of it, I remember reading about those in the north who believe in the Goddess of Victory, La Victoire.”
“Yes! Truly a goddess!”
“I see...”
Idolatry was strictly prohibited by the church, so such notions could only be entertained far out on the border. Perhaps the strict teachings of the holy church were unable to endure the 100 lieue (444 km) trek.
It certainly wasn’t surprising for the soldiers on the battlefield to see her small arms swinging that massive sword and conclude that something divine was at play.
“I hear she scattered a pack of gray wolves with a single swing! Splendid, splendid! Waah-hahah... Cough, hack hack!”
Everard laughed so hard he choked, his young subordinates showing off jovial smiles of their own.
“Wa-hahah!” they followed in a heroic chorus.
Thankful as he was, Regis wasn’t particularly comfortable with such brazen displays of masculinity.
“Haha... Well, then, I’ll just be off...” He attempted retreat when—
“Hold up!” Everard called him to a stop. His large polearm against his shoulder, he slowly lumbered his way over. His breath grew rough as his face closed in.
“I’ll ask just in case.”
“What could it be?”
“You haven’t done anything strange to the princess, have you?”
The look in his subordinates’ eyes suddenly changed. A blood vessel surfaced atop Everard’s bald head.
“Strange?” Regis stepped back.
“She was acting funny yesterday. No funny business, eh!?”
“I didn’t do anything... Just a bit of chit-chat.”
“What kinda chit-chat are we talking here!?”
“Well, just some rumors from the capital and such...”
Bothered exchanges could be heard among the young men.
“Rumors of the capital, ‘e says.”
“Got to be rumors about that social world or whatnot.”
“Out here, the only rumors I get are about ‘ow many potaters were pulled and ‘ow the old cow ‘ad a calf...”
“That ain’t no rumor.”
“God dammit, those city slickers really piss me off!”
“The capital can go suck it!”
He felt as though his wellbeing was suddenly in great danger. Everard was growing ever so slightly closer, almost a hair’s breadth away from being close enough to plant a kiss.
“Hmm! She was acting as merry as my daughter after her first date! What did you do!?”
“Hold on, hold on! I just told her about Fourth Princess Marie Quatre’s reputation in the capital and the politics surrounding it. Like hell I’m going to hit on a child in the first place... I mean, I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve never even held a girl’s hand before!”
Silence.
The noise was gone. Nothing remained. It was all over.
Everard’s lips twisted into a serene smile, like that of a saint from a painting. His trainees followed suit, bearing the faces of angels about to preach the sanctity of love.
“Stay strong, young man.”
“It’ll all work out someday.”
“Keep fighting the good fight.”
I don’t need your sympathy, thought Regis. Turning his back to the unwarranted gentle encouragement, he felt for some reason like the remnant of a defeated army as he left the suffocating courtyard behind him.
Regis returned to the corridor, this time proceeding to the right of his bedroom.
✧ ✧ ✧
There was humming in the air.
“Hmm~♪ Hm, hmm~♪”
“Huh?”
The door leading to the noise had been left wide open. He peeked in to find quite a spacious room. There were eight long tables lined with roughly fifty seats.
“Is this the officers’ dining room...?”
The rustic feeling of the stone walls remained, but there were vases in the corners decorated with fresh flowers giving him a sense of some consideration for elegance.
A lone maid wiped down one table with a rag. She was the one who was humming.
She was wearing a rouge maid dress with a white apron, and her brown hair bundled behind her head swung to the rhythm of the tune. She was around the same age as Regis; a charming woman whose hazel eyes left a lasting impression.
Both her hair and skin seemed a little too glossy for someone tasked to do the dirty work.
“Mmm~♪ Hm-hmm~♪ La, lalalaaa~♪ The maid in cinders told the mice~♪ The castle has a ball tonight~♪”
She had broken into song, though it was obvious to the ears that she was more than a little off key.
She twirled, knocking food scraps off the table. It was hard to determine whether she was actually cleaning or just dancing.
Their eyes met. Upon noticing Regis standing in the doorway, she froze.
The song had stopped. Regis could feel the awkwardness building.
“H-Hey... That was a nice song...”
“Huh? Are you for real!? So it moved your very heart and soul!?”
“Wait, I never said it moved me—”
“It’s a huge hit. It’s really been gaining popularity lately.”
“Has it really? I’ve never heard it before... Where is it popular? In the town of Theonveil, or just this fort?”
“Eh? It’s popular in my heart!”
“So just with you!”
“I made it up just now.”
“Is this really what you’d call the latest trend!?”
Ignoring Regis’s retort, the maid started to explain the song with a smile.
✦ ✦ ✦
