Chapter 68
“It’s been a long time, Commander Cyril. I’m sorry to have made you come all this way.”
The tall knight who seemed to be the commander of the Thirteenth Knight Order bowed deeply as he greeted Commander Cyril.
Commander Cyril, in turn, let out an exasperated sigh.
“Still on that, Curtis? You’re a knight commander, so we’re colleagues. Just call me Cyril.”
“Then please stop speaking so formally to me as well, Commander Cyril.”
“It’s a habit of mine, so it would take a great deal of effort to break it...”
“It’s the same for me. Having served you for many years, Commander Cyril, treating you as an equal would take tremendous effort—and cause me considerable pain.”
Commander Curtis appealed to Commander Cyril, his expression earnest.
Commander Cyril gave a small sigh, then motioned for Commander Curtis to turn toward the rest of us.
“Some of you from the First Knight Order may be meeting him for the first time, so allow me to introduce him. This is Commander Curtis of the Thirteenth Knight Order.”
Now formally introduced, Commander Curtis was a tall knight in his early thirties, with sun-darkened skin and light blue hair that reached his shoulders.
When he smiled, his white teeth looked especially clean against his tanned skin.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’m Curtis Bannister, commander of the Thirteenth Knight Order.”
His calm greeting and handsome features gave me the impression of a well-built civil official.
Somehow, unlike the knight commanders I’d met so far, he had no presence at all.
Seeing them all together like this, I realized once again what fine knight commanders Commander Cyril of the First Knight Order, Commander Desmond of the Second, Commander Quentin of the Fourth Monster Knight Order, and Commander Zachary of the Sixth were.
They all had a force that seemed to well up from within, along with the ability to command others.
But Commander Curtis looked modest, seemed unlikely to assert himself, and even had a quiet voice.
I wondered how someone like that could keep knights, who favored strength, under control.
As I stared at him, Commander Curtis met my gaze.
In that instant, Commander Curtis’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Duchess!”
“Huh?”
I let out a strange squeak, but Commander Curtis kept staring with wide eyes, as if he hadn’t heard me at all.
“Huh? Duchess? Do you mean me? ...Does that mean I’m as refined and elegant as a duchess?”
Since I didn’t understand what he meant, I asked Fabian, who was standing beside me. He answered with a straight face.
“No, I’m sure that’s not it. I really admire how you jumped to that conclusion, Fia. ...Maybe he literally mistook you for a duchess?”
“What?! So there’s a duke in this land?”
My voice rose in surprise, and all the other knights turned to look at me.
W-Was that a strange thing to say?
Feeling the knights’ exasperated gazes, I reflexively took a step back and bumped into someone.
I turned around in a panic and found Commander Cyril looking down at me.
Commander Cyril stared at me in silence for several seconds, then pasted on a beautiful smile that was clearly fake.
“Good afternoon, Lady Fia. I’m Cyril, Duke of Sutherland.”
As he spoke, Commander Cyril stepped back with his left foot, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed lightly in a gentleman’s salute.
Grr...
I knew he was making fun of me, but faced with such a perfect display of an upper nobleman, I couldn’t come up with a reply.
While I stood there speechless, Commander Cyril straightened and gave a slight shake of his head.
“Honestly, it’s astonishing how little interest you have in me, Fia. The fact that I’m a duke is as widely known as the fact that I’m commander of the First Knight Order. So you’ve never once asked anyone about me.”
“...Ugh. I-I don’t rely on rumors to find things out. I’m the type who prefers to see for myself.”
“That is an admirable attitude. But with your investigative skills, I expect you’d wait forever and still know nothing about me. ...The other day, I explained that my father was granted this land of Sutherland. More specifically, it happened when he renounced his royal status and became one of the king’s subjects. My father was the younger brother of the previous king.”
“You’re descended from the previous king’s younger brother?!”
I stared at him in astonishment.
...H-How could this be? Commander Cyril was descended from the royal family.
But now that he’d said it, it made sense.
I’d wondered what reason there could have been for such a vast, fertile land as Sutherland to be granted to him, but it made sense if his father had left the royal family to become a subject.
And if he was part of the royal family, it wasn’t strange for him to act as the King’s representative.
“I-I did think you must be a high-ranking noble to have been granted such a fine domain, but I never imagined you were a duke...”
As I stared at Commander Cyril in utter surprise, he raised one hand as though giving up.
“To think you’re surprised by something everyone knows... Since we’re at it, Fia, ask me whatever you’re wondering about. If I leave you to your own devices, I’m afraid you’ll make all sorts of mistaken assumptions.”
I swallowed and asked the question that had been on my mind ever since Commander Curtis called out to me.
“Um, then... if he mistook me for the Duchess, does that mean I look like your wife, Commander Cyril?”
...
Commander Cyril’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at me in silence. I began to worry that I’d asked something strange.
“A-A-Ah! I-I’m not asking whether I might be your type or anything like that!”
As I hurriedly added that, Commander Cyril let out an exaggerated sigh.
“You’re only asking about that now, Fia? You really have no interest in me at all.”
“Huh? Um...”
“I’m unmarried. Cyril Sutherland. Twenty-seven years old. 187 centimeters tall. My parents are deceased, and I have no siblings. I’m second in line to the throne, hold the title of duke, and serve as commander of the First Knight Order.”
“Y-You’re second in line to the throne...!”
“...You didn’t know that either? Then what do you know about me?”
“Huh? O-Of course I know you’re a knight with gray hair and blue eyes!”
“Anyone could tell that one second after meeting me. ...I was a fool to expect anything from you.”
Commander Cyril let out a deep sigh and spoke in a tired voice.
“Curtis was referring to my mother, who died ten years ago. She had red hair just like yours. Most of the people here come from a remote island and have deep blue hair, so red hair—which isn’t unusual in the royal capital—looks exceedingly rare here. ...Curtis probably mistook you for my mother based on your hair color alone.”
Commander Cyril went on to say that even in his dreams, he wouldn’t want to imagine me as his mother, but I ignored him and turned back to Commander Curtis.
“C-Commander Curtis, I’m fifteen. Did I really look like I had a child this big? ...Commander Cyril as my son? ...N-No, thank you! I refuse to have such a capable, flawless son!”
“I-I’m terribly sorry.”
Commander Curtis hurried over and took my hand.
“My eyesight isn’t very good. From a distance, I could only make out your red hair clearly, and I hadn’t seen red hair in this land for ten years, so I made a completely mistaken remark. ...Yes, up close, I can see you’re a pretty, poised young knight. I must have mistaken your composed bearing for the Duchess’s dignified air.”
“H-Hahaha... I-Is that so?”
After hearing Commander Curtis’s explanation, I grinned and turned to Fabian.
“Fabian, did you hear that? It seems my natural elegance gave him the wrong impression.”
“...You believe that? Like I said before, you’re amazing, Fia. You can always find a way to enjoy yourself, no matter who you’re with.”
Fabian shrugged, looking exasperated.
H-Huh? He said something similar earlier, but this time it feels like he meant something a little different...
Fa... Fabian.
I’m allowed to be happy when someone compliments me once in a while, aren’t I?