He only hoped their malice wouldn’t reach his older sister across the nation.
Altina spoke up.
“M-My apologies. I was just startled by a bug in my wardrobe! A big one!”
“A’ight! We’ll kill it!”
“You’ll do no such thing! I’m in the middle of changing—yes, right now—so if you dare come in, I’ll have you all for indecency, trespassing and lèse-majesté!”
“C-Changing... A’ight! We won’t come in!”
“Please allow us to stand guard outside!”
“It’s fine! I’m fine! This is just embarrassing, please return to your stations this instant!”
“...Yes, ma’am.”
“C-Changing, huh.”
“Let’s hurry back.”
“A’ight.”
Their slow footsteps gradually became more distant.
Regis had journeyed from shock to despair only for something even less comprehensible to happen, further paralyzing his ability to think. He could do nothing but stare at her blankly.
“...W-Why?”
“Idiot! Don’t look at me!”
“Ah, sorry.”
He quickly turned his back. His hand reached for the doorknob, then froze—perhaps some soldiers were still about.
“I went and screamed, but... thinking back, I was the one who asked for help without checking who was at the door,” Altina mumbled in self-reflection.
“It never occurred to me that you would be changing.”
“I’m sorry... Did you need me for something?”
“Ms. Clarisse told me to wake you.”
“Kuh... That little... She knows I often ask her to help me change...”
“You do?”
“From time to time. Like when I’m in a rush, or the corset is— Ah, it’s nothing! These are women’s secrets!”
“...Oh, right, you did say something about gaining weight...”
“Should I call back the guards?”
“Eeh!?”
“Erase everything you heard from your memory or face the consequences.”
“Ah, um— What are you talking about? I didn’t hear a thing.”
“Good!”
Altina wasn’t one to readily wield her authority over personal matters, but it seemed this matter was something else entirely—women’s secrets were indeed something to be feared.
Altina wrapped her arms around her figure in an attempt to conceal her chest and hips, her cheeks growing redder with every passing second.
“Why are you looking this way!?”
“Oh, no, no, I’m sorry! While we were talking, I just wound up...”
“You really entered unaware, correct!?”
“Swear to God.”
“You haven’t been to mass once since you came to this fort.”
“...I did give my passing regards to the priest one time.”
“To swear to someone you have such a loose connection to... Just turn around this instant. Comprendre?”
“Compris.”
Regis focused hard on the knotted grain of the wooden door. From behind, he could hear the sound of soft breathing and the rustling of fabric.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
Soon the somewhat pained breaths disappeared, replaced by the swishes of frenzied dressing. The occasional clink of metal on metal told him she had equipped her arm and shoulder protectors, too.
“All right. You can look now.”
“Phew~”
Regis wiped the cold sweat from his temple.
Altina was wearing her usual armor over a dress.
And yet, Regis’s face still grew hot, the sight of her undergarments and dazzling white skin burned into his mind.
While her expression was a composed and dignified one, she quickly turned red to the ears.
“Urgh...”
“Wh-What is it, Altina? What’s wrong?”
“This is just getting stupid.”
“I didn’t peek on purpose. It was one of those so-called accidents.”
“I know that. If you had done so intentionally, my Grand Tonnerre Quatre would have cleaved you in twain!”
“That would surely be history’s least worthy use of the treasured sword. I humbly decline.”
“Hah... I thought I’d finally be able to have a serious consultation with you today. Now you’ve made it so I can barely look you in the eye.”
“Did you want to discuss something embarrassing?”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“It seems this is something we’re both better off forgetting.”
“...I probably won’t forget this for as long as I live.”
“...I’m sorry.”
Once the blush eventually drained from her face, Altina decided that, while she was a little behind schedule, she would head for the dining hall. She made the first check outside before Regis stealthily made his exit.
How very adulterous, he thought.
The two were now finally walking down the corridor.
“Hey, what did you want to discuss? You don’t have to look me in the eye, just speak your mind.”
“All right... You saw how urgently they came to save me just then, right?”
“Hm? Oh, the soldiers?”
“They all treasure me. But only as a princess.”
“That much is clear.”
“As I told you that night, unless I obtain command rights, I can’t call myself a real commander.”
“Sad but true.”
Altina turned to face straight ahead. It was true she was too embarrassed to look at him, but that wasn’t her only reason for doing so. Her steadfast gaze was metaphoric of something greater—her unwavering course toward a particular goal.
“To be accepted as the commander of this border regiment, I need to be more trustworthy than the Black Knight Jerome. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah... Hey, what exactly are you planning to do? I can’t seem to shake this terrible premonition coming over me...”
She said nothing, and instead walked for a moment in thought.
“If I told you, you’d advise against it. So I won’t say.”
“Altina... Are you going to do something I’d object to? I must advise against that.”
“See? But it’ll definitely be effective. I mean, you already guaranteed it’d work.”
“Did I run my stupid mouth again?”
Without answering his question, Altina flashed him an undaunted smile. She no longer turned red when she looked at him.
✧ ✧ ✧
When they reached the dining hall, Clarisse was sitting in a chair, lounging around. A majority of the seats were empty. The place was practically vacant.
Regis double-checked the clock on the wall.
“It’s breakfast time... isn’t it?”
Unless there was a fault with its mechanism, that was definitely the case. The room would be packed full with officers under normal circumstances.
Clarisse rose from her chair and curtseyed.
“Good morning, Princess.”
“Yes, good morning, Clarisse. You sure pulled a fast one on me.”
“I heard that cute scream of yours... What happened? Please don’t spare me any details.”
“Erk... N-Nothing at all.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Altina quickly changed the subject. Clarisse could easily gain the upper hand in a war of words.