CH 48

Review with the Assistant Knight Commander

Fiell Eva, the Knight Commander’s assistant, is a knight of commoner origin, a loving husband, and a doting father to his daughter.

Today, he informed his family that he would be returning the next day at noon due to a night shift mission and was on his way to the Knights’ Corps dormitory, considering taking a nap until the mission starts.

That day, a ball was held after the coronation ceremony, and the Commander and Vice Commander were on duty. Fiell was scheduled to take over in the evening, but it wasn’t yet time.

However, despite the time still being early, the figure of the young and respected Commander rushing towards the dormitory with great haste made Fiell tilt his head in confusion.

“Commander? Is something the matter?”

Alberto, the Knight Commander known for his composed demeanor and is over a decade younger than Fiell, usually excels at his duties. However, at this moment, there’s no sign of his usual composure in him.

His face, while running with the speed and vigor of a galloping horse, was surprisingly flushed red.

“Eh, have you been drinking? We’re on duty, you know.”

Fiell said, intending to tease Alberto, who turns red immediately after drinking alcohol, but for some reason, Alberto grabbed both his shoulders.

“I messed up…!”

With a voice filled with intense regret, the Commander sank down. Heavily.

There are two more hours until his assignment starts. Fiell decided to accompany the Commander.

“Huh? Did you propose?”

In a room at the  Knights’ Corps dormitory, with the door locked, Eva asked what had happened and listened to the account of the incident from Alberto. Though his face remained flushed, Alberto, with his eyes averted, nodded faintly. Even his ears are red.

“I didn’t mean to say it, and why did I even say such a thing in that kind of situation…”

Alberto usually uses ‘watashi‘ to refer to himself, but the fact that he slipped and said ‘ore‘ indicates how confused he must be[1].

Even without asking, Fiell knew who he had proposed to.

Marie Edigma, a baron’s daughter who once worked as a maid of the Knights’ Corps.

She was one of the women called upon for the recent selection of Crown Prince Risel’s fiancée, but for some reason, she suddenly chose to work as a maid in the Corps, showing no interest in the prince.

Fiell had a friendly chat with a young lady named Niki, who came along with her, and had heard that Miss Marie was apparently fond of Alberto.

However, when actually observing her, he didn’t really sense such behavior from her.

Certainly, he could feel that Marie had some kind of affection for Alberto, but it didn’t seem like romantic love.

On the contrary, it seemed like Alberto was the one who had a favorable impression of Marie, who worked diligently and seriously.

Then, suddenly, Alberto’s emotions undergo a significant fluctuation.

Firstly, it seems that Prince Risel often approached Marie, but this information is merely a rumor within the Knights’ Corps, so it has little credibility. However, around that time, Alberto’s behavior started to change.

He began to display a stronger attachment to Marie than before.

At first glance, it might seem like a friendly master-servant relationship, but Fiell, who has known Alberto for a long time, could sense that something was different.

Commander Alberto is in love with Miss Marie, isn’t he?!

This topic is still a hot topic within the Knights’ Corps.

A short time later, Marie went to work as a maid in the Rose territory, and it was obvious to anyone, not just Fiell, at that time how depressed Alberto was.

However, during that time, the country’s politics were even more turbulent, and on top of that, it was known that the Commander was involved with Lord Reynaldo Rose, so some knights thought that his emotional turmoil might be due to that.

Incidentally, Fiell also cooperated with Alberto and was complicit in the downfall of King Gray.

He was happy to cooperate when consulted, believing the future of his beloved daughter and wife’s lives should be bright.

Thanks to that, now there’s a new king, and furthermore, the Knight Commander has also been granted a noble title.

The world has become a joyful place. So, the Commander should be even happier.

Even so.

“Commander, you really are clueless when it comes to romance, aren’t you….?”

“…..”

There was no reply.

“You may be popular with women, but you’re bad at dealing with them, and it’s common for you to misunderstand that someone is just playing around when they’re actually serious.”

Having known Alberto since he was a young knight in the Corps, Fiell is aware of his earnest way of living since his youth.

As Alberto grew up and became an adult, the number of women approaching him increased. However, his responses to their advances have been awkward, to say the least.

He has had cases where women misunderstood the nature of their relationship and showed up at his house uninvited, and there were situations where he thought of it as a casual fling, but the women wanted to be treated as his mistress.

After experiencing such painful incidents, recently, there hasn’t been a trace of women around him. Thus, when he fell in love seemingly out of the blue, it surprised the other members of the Knights’ Corps. Of course, Fiell was the most surprised of all.

“Wait, did you propose without even confessing?”

“I wish I could turn back time…”

Gradually, this sturdy boss of his became pitiful.

“I understand! Commander, please leave it to me!”

“Huh?”

“I won’t do anything to harm the Commander! I’ve also wanted you to get married for a long time!”

Witnessing his subordinate’s enthusiastic declaration, Alberto finally realized the gravity of his actions Perhaps he had chosen the wrong person to consult due to his excessive fluster.

However, being aware of Fiell’s reportedly passionate marriage, Alberto realized that he didn’t have many options when it came to seeking advice, as Fiell’s reputation as a loving husband was well-known.

Moreover, there shouldn’t be any worse consequences than his foolish actions earlier.

Alberto let out a deep sigh.

The image of Marie remained burned in his mind.

A woman who emitted the beauty of an enchanting fairy in a beautifully adorned evening gown. The reincarnation of Rosemary and the only woman Alberto wanted to pledge his loyalty to.

Driven by jealousy when she mentioned marriage to another man, he made such remarks without thinking.

Alberto was unaware that his emotions were so uncontrollable.

His flushed cheeks didn’t calm down, and his emotions remained unsettled even after the mission ended that day.

Translator Notes:

1. ‘Watashi’ is a very formal term used to refer to oneself. On the other hand, ‘Ore’ is a not-so-formal term. ↵