Side Story:
Serafina Corrects Misconceptions of Sirius
RECENTLY, I’d come to an important decision: I needed to clear up some misconceptions regarding my wonderful knight, Sirius. This all started because I overheard an unexpected conversation between some members of the Saint Knight Brigade while Mirach and I were out at a restaurant together.
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“By the way, what do you think of Vice-Commander Sirius? His ‘eternally icy’ demeanor seems to have thawed a little bit. He might actually thaw out in a thousand years.”
“No way. More like nine thousand, if you ask me. He’s just as demanding of us saints as ever. It’s easy enough for him to say things like, ‘just take two more steps forward,’ but that’s the difference between us being walloped by a monster or not!”
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The saints had even more to say about Sirius after that, but it had all been based on misunderstandings. I knew I had to be the one to take a stand against the rumors. When I returned to my room at the castle, I was probably acting a bit odd since I was so preoccupied in thought. The knights who were guarding me became concerned, assuming that something was wrong.
I was about to tell them all about what happened at the restaurant, when I recalled a certain phrase from the saints’ conversation that I hadn’t really understood. I asked Scheat about the precise meaning of an “‘eternally icy’ demeanor,” but his response completely threw me for a loop.
“You want to know why people would say someone has an ‘eternally icy’ demeanor? Well…let’s see, it would be used for someone who’s ruthless and unfeeling, like a demon without a human heart.”
I was so surprised that I asked Scheat again for confirmation, just to make sure I’d heard right.
“I-It’s that bad?! So…saying their icy demeanor would thaw out in nine thousand years means their personality has gotten much better?”
Nine thousand years was obviously less than an eternity, so I expected that to mean a big change, but Miaplacidus, who’d been standing next to me, shook his head.
“Princess Serafina, how many years do you think people live? Maybe one hundred years or so, right? Whether it be an eternity or nine thousand years, that’s much longer than the human life span. When you think of it from that perspective, both phrases essentially describe the same thing: someone who’s ruthless and unfeeling, like a demon without a human heart.”
“Oh nooo!”
Here Sirius was, so kind and warmhearted, yet the saints completely misunderstood him, thinking he was cold and unfeeling!
“This is horrible! I have to do something about this!” I uttered with firm resolution as the knight’s expressions gave way to wariness.
Fackt seemed to act as their representative as he pushed his glasses a little further up on his nose and queried, “Princess Serafina, I don’t really want to press the matter any further, but I predict our future selves will end up suffering if we try and sweep this problem under the rug. So, with that in mind, may I ask what it is you wish to do?”
“Well, I know you’re not going to believe this, but the person that they were saying had an ‘eternally icy’ demeanor that would ‘thaw out in nine thousand years’ was Sirius!”
I just hope they wouldn’t be too surprised, I thought, as I revealed the top-secret information. But for some reason, all the knights just nodded like they completely understood.
“Ah, I see. That’s a very accurate depiction! Whoever came up with it has quite a way with words.”
“Right? It’s the perfect way to describe the vice-commander’s unyielding coldness!! That phrasing makes it crystal clear who they’re speaking about!”
Oh dear, it seemed that both the knights and the saints held the same misconceptions. In that case, it was even more imperative that I set things straight!!
When the knights noticed how my eyes were twinkling, they immediately seemed to realize that their choice of words was mistaken.
“Oh! Uh, I mean…wh-what a shock! To think that someone would say that Vice-Commander Sirius has an ‘eternally icy’ demeanor.”
“I imagine that ice that never thaws would be quite shiny. Since the vice-commander is a very handsome man, perhaps they meant to say they want to see his beautiful face reflected in it. Yes, that seems quite believable.”
The knights spoke in a frantic rush, but everything they said felt forced or off-topic. I paused and thought for a moment, “Even though you’re around him all the time, I guess these types of misunderstandings can still happen. I want you all to know that Sirius is incredibly kind.”
Even though what I’d said was the absolute truth, all four of my knights—Mirach, Scheat, Fackt, and Miaplacidus—shook their heads.
“That’s only when it comes to you, Princess.”
“He’s kind to us, sure, but what he puts us through is ten times tougher! For instance, if we get injured by a monster, he trains us ten times harder to make sure it doesn’t happen again! Ten times, I say! That’s beyond ordinary reason!!”
“If we happen to be in trouble when a monster attacks us again, the vice-commander will come to our aid without hesitation. So yes, you can say that he’s kind. But the training before that is so intense that the feeling of being pushed to our limits is what sticks with us.”
“I’ve seriously thought the training grounds would be my final resting place at least ten times!”
“Oh, that’s what you mean, huh?”
Sirius was deliberately hardening his heart and training his knights rigorously so they wouldn’t be caught off guard if anything ever happened to them. Since all the knights could process was how intense their training was, they couldn’t understand how Sirius felt. That meant their feelings of frustration outweighed their gratitude.
Ding! Suddenly, a light bulb went off on in my mind.
“Aha! I’ve got it! Sirius is worried about all of you, which is why he’s so strict, you know. If you don’t want him to be so tough on you, all you need to do is get stronger. That way he won’t have any reason to be concerned!”
It was a brilliant flash of inspiration. But when I presented the knights with my idea, their faces began to slightly twitch.
“You want us to become so strong that Vice-Commander Sirius won’t worry anymore?”
“What would the measuring stick even be? Strong enough to defeat a dragon on your own? Or perhaps strong enough to land a single blow on the vice-commander himself?”
The knights bombarded me with questions, but they already jumped to their own conclusions before I even had time to answer.
“There’s no doubt about it! Being put through the wringer by the vice-commander would be ten times better than training to do that!”
“Whether it’s training to defeat a dragon on my own or being drilled by the vice-commander, either way, the training grounds will be my final resting place!”
Uh-oh, my knights still completely misunderstood Sirius. It looked like I’d need to clear up their misconceptions first before I could do the same for the saints. Still, it didn’t seem like it’d be easy to change their minds. I couldn’t figure out how to do it on my own, so I’d have to rely on a friend for help. With that in mind, I headed to the garden I’d recreated to resemble the Forest of Lent.