Flower of the Society
A while after Mitina returned to work. After finishing her hellish training with Zeffen, she was called by him the next day to tell him she had a new job.
“What’s your new job?”
“My lord has come to me with a request to provide security for the venue of the evening party tomorrow.”
“Security for the evening party? Isn’t that the Silver Knight’s responsibility?”
In places where nobles gather, it is customary for Silver Knights to act as guards or security.
Such places rarely experience disturbances that would require the use of Black Iron Knights, so it is best suited to nobles who have a deep understanding of such places. That is why it is treated as the job of a Silver Knight.
“Maybe they’ll have a magical beast show to celebrate?”
“I wouldn’t do something so dangerous just for fun. Magical beasts are rarely tamed.”
“Then why? I tell you, I have no manners suitable for such a place.”
Being a foundling, and coming from a poor area, she didn’t really like those places. It wasn’t that she had any particular grudge against the nobles, but she felt like she couldn’t understand people of a different social status.
Seeing Mitina’s obviously displeased expression, Zeffen smiled softly. It was a stark difference from the terrifying atmosphere of the training from yesterday.
“In fact, Lady Istaria will be attending the evening party.”
“Haa.”
“My lord has ordered that we meet at least once. So, the job of guard is merely a nominal one, and in reality I am more of an invited guest.”
“Lady Istaria, huh…?”
Although he wondered why she would say such a thing, it was certainly intriguing. She was Kyelse’s childhood friend, and apparently one of the few women who could possibly marry him. If asked if he was interested, the answer was obvious.
“I will also be attending the evening party for work, so it will be fine if Mitina stays by my side. Oh, and of course, Kyelse will be coming to the party as well.”
“Eh…”
It was as if Kyelse was there too, so it was fine. It was hard to understand, and Mitina’s face became even more displeased.
If he were to meet Kyelse in a place like that, she would definitely complain about his lack of manners. Since it was an evening party, he had thought he should at least enjoy the food, but it might be better not to eat anything.
“It’s not really work, but you’ll still get paid for it.”
“Let’s go! Yes! I’ll do anything!”
“That’s good. Well then, see you tomorrow. You can keep your uniform on.”
“I got it!”
Mitina responded cheerfully, and after hearing the details of the evening party from Zeffen, she decided to face the day without making any special preparations.
Even though it was supposed to be a security job, the ones actually doing it were the Silver Knights, who had been called in separately. King Regula had also told them that all they had to do was stay there.
Mitina was thinking about telling Kyelse about this, but she quickly shook her head. If she had told her that she was going to a party in advance, she would have been told things like, “It’s not suitable for you,” or, “The atmosphere will become unpleasant if a plain, ugly girl is there,” and so on.
(On that day too, I’ll make sure to only worship Lady Istaria, and try to avoid meeting Kyelse as much as possible.)
Then we spent the night at the mansion and morning came.
“I’ll be working late tonight. You’ll have to figure out how to make dinner yourself.”
“Got it.”
Mitina replied without seeming particularly surprised. For a moment, she thought that if she didn’t say she was going too, it might cause trouble later, but she made a firm promise to herself that she would skillfully avoid Kyelse at the venue.
“Just because I don’t have eyes, don’t eat a nutritionally unbalanced diet.”
“yes”
“It’s out of the question to eat cheap junk food just because you think it’s a waste of money.”
“yes……”
“And when you get back, make sure you take a proper bath, okay? Don’t forget to keep the mansion clean even when I’m not around.”
Mitina stared at him with dead eyes, thinking that he was just as troublesome as ever. Why did he have to complain so much about how he spent his days?
“Fu, with me gone tonight, you will come to understand for yourself just how much I have saved you through my kindness. With your body clean after a bath, I will allow you to touch my hand and express your gratitude.”
“Yes… thank you very much…”
Giving vague replies to the overly cheerful Kyelse, Mitina headed towards the royal castle with him as usual.
Maybe he’s in such a good mood because he can meet Istaria, or maybe because he doesn’t have to take care of Mitina anymore. I’m not sure, but it’s probably best not to mention it.
After that, I continued working without any incident, and around evening
“Well then, let’s go…what’s wrong?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t run into Kyelse-dono.”
Mitina crouched down a little before moving, trying to hide in Zeffen’s shadow as much as possible. Zeffen was quite tall, so it would be perfectly possible for her to hide.
“Yeah, but even though I dislike Commander Zeffen, Kyelse-san keeps coming at me…”
“Have you not told Kyelse that you’re going?”
“I thought that if I said anything, people would say things like my manners and appearance, so I didn’t say anything because it was too much trouble.”
If you say that, Zeffen will smile and say, “I see.” By the way, this is the kind of reply he gives when he’s feeling like it.
Hiding well, Mitina headed to the venue with Zeffen. They entered through a back door, separate from the entrance for invited guests, and blended right into the venue.
However, there was no way they could blend in with the chattering guests in flashy clothes, so the two men, ostensibly in charge of security, waited patiently in the corner of the venue.
“Commander Zeffen, do you know what kind of person Lady Istaria is?”
“Hmm, I might have seen your face before, but I don’t have much to do with places like this.”
“Even though he is the captain of the Black Iron Knights, who are the equal of the kingdom’s knights, he is being treated so cruelly.”
The achievements that Zeffen has made so far are unparalleled. Even so, he is still treated as a knight who does odd jobs.
After I gave him that harsh criticism, Zeffen laughed with amusement.
“That’s not what I meant, I–“
“Oh, Zeffen!”
However, he was interrupted by an elderly man who seemed to be one of the guests. When he saw Zeffen, he walked over with a smile on his face.
“It’s been a while. How many years has it been since I’ve seen you in a place like this?”
“Lord Westial, it’s been a while.”
Zeffen greeted her with a beautiful bow and a smile. His appearance seemed somewhat different from the calm captain that Mitina usually saw.
Apparently Zeffen’s presence had caused a buzz, as several guests came to greet him afterwards. Judging from this, Zeffen, despite being a Black Iron Knight, appears to be quite popular among the upper class.
“You’re really popular, Captain Zeffen. I mean, did you often come to places like this in the past? I heard you were actually a former Silver Knight.”
“No, I’ve been affiliated with Kurogane since the beginning. I just used to drop in often for family reasons.”
“Family circumstances…? Then, Captain Zeffen.”
“Yeah. I don’t talk about this kind of thing very often, but I guess you could say I come from a distinguished family.”
Mitina was stunned and frozen, not knowing that Zeffen was a nobleman. However, the Black Iron Knight’s nature probably played a large role in not revealing that Zeffen was of noble descent.
“It’s true that there are a lot of people in our household who dislike nobles…”
“That’s right. I’m not hiding it or anything, but I’m not going to spread the word about it either. If people knew that the captain of the Black Iron Knights was a noble, more people would come at me.”
However, he said with a gentle smile that he would just discipline anyone who bit him. Seeing this, Mitina thought that maybe it wasn’t something worth hiding.
“But it’s fine if it’s a noble like Commander Zeffen. Kyelse-san, aside from her aspirations as a knight, is someone who seems to have all the unpleasant parts of a noble packed into her.”
When Kyelse immediately complained, Zeffen gave a meaningful grin. When I asked him what it was, he replied with a look of affection.
“It seems like you and Kyelse have become quite close.”
“…I have absolutely no idea what part of that statement made you think that. There’s no way we could be friends, with such a foul-tempered narcissist.”
“I can’t ignore that.”
Hearing the voice, Mitina’s shoulders involuntarily shook. She awkwardly turned her gaze towards the source of the voice and, of course, it was Kyelse standing there.
“Hey, Kyelse. How are you?”
“Shut up, Zeffen. And you plain, ugly, filthy woman, why are you here…!”
“You found it…”
Mitina sighed deeply and held her head. She had been trying to avoid seeing him as much as possible, but she had been so engrossed in the conversation that she hadn’t noticed.
“I’m at work right now, I’m not here to play or anything.”
“The security at the evening party is the job of the Silver Knights. Why is the Black Iron Knight here?”
“It’s not like he’s trying to get me a job. I think he’s just doing me a favor and letting me experience a more relaxed environment.”
Zeffen explained calmly, but Kyelse’s expression remained grim.
Of course, he hadn’t expected that someone like him would be there, two knights who could even be described as his arch enemy, had infiltrated his workplace.
“It is the king’s command, please forgive me.”
“If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me beforehand? Could it be that you were mocking me for being such a kind person and caring about you…?!”
“That’s not what I meant. I just couldn’t be bothered to say it.”
“What a hassle! Here you go again, causing trouble!”
“n/a”
Seeing the two of them arguing, Zeffen laughed gently. At the same time, Mitina and Kyelse glared at him and raised their hands in surrender.
“No, I thought Kyelse worrying about Mitina was just like a mother.”
“! Y-You, that’s…!”
Hearing Zeffen speak, Kyelse raised her voice as if she had heard a taboo word.
However, Mitina didn’t notice this and just shrugged her shoulders in exasperation, waving her hand away at Kyelse.
“Please stop, I don’t want to have a nagging mother like Kyelse-dono.”
“…”
“I guess so. I think Mitina needs someone like that.”
“Commander, what are you thinking? I can take care of myself, I’m not a child.”
“Hmm…?”
“Stop looking at me like that.”
”You fought without any regard for yourself and nearly died,” he said with a gaze that made Mitina’s face turn pale. She felt weak when he said that to her.
Kyelse, who had been watching the conversation between the two of them, took a small sigh and turned to face Mitina again. Then, for some reason, she touched Mitina’s bangs.
“If you’re coming to a place like this, dress a little better. Look, your hair is tied up crookedly.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to touch me, I’ll do it myself.”
“Shut up. I can do it more accurately than you, you clumsy guy.”
Kyelse said as she re-tied her hair, making her look troubled. Although Kyelse was certainly patient outside, she felt bad making her go to such lengths.
“Besides, what a boring outfit. You’ll never have the chance to be in a place like this again, so you should dress up a bit.”
“Even Kyelse-dono is still in her uniform, isn’t she?”
“As long as I am a knight, this is the only attire that suits me.”
“I see… but it’s work, so I can’t dress up in anything else. I’m not dancing, and I don’t know how to dance.”
Even though I tried to retort like that, Kyelse didn’t bite back, which was unusual for her. I wondered what was wrong, but he looked away and continued speaking in his usual arrogant manner.
“If you really want to, I’ll teach you.”
“Hmm…”
“Besides, I don’t think I’ll ever get another chance like this, so I might as well dance a song…”
As Kyelse was mumbling this in a very low voice, the sound of heels clicking on the floor came closer. At the same time that Mitina noticed it, a sweet voice like a bell called Kyelse’s name.
“Kyelse.”
“Hmm… what is this, Istaria?”
(Lady Istaria…)
There stood a beautiful, petite blonde woman. When Mitina saw her, she immediately understood.
With beautiful, well-formed features that were no less impressive than Kyelse’s, her clean-cut appearance, and even her manners that exuded refinement down to her fingertips, she was the picture-perfect young lady in every respect.
“Were you talking to a friend?”
“We’re not friends.”
“Hmm…?”
Istaria couldn’t help but feel nervous as she looked at Zeffen and Mitina curiously. Zeffen bowed politely, and Mitina bowed in return.
“…Knight.”
(……?)
“Let’s go, Kyelse. The song is about to start.”
After muttering something under her breath, Istaria reached out her hand to Kyelse as if to ask her to escort her. Kyelse frowned slightly, but took her hand without complaint.
Mitina watched the two of them for a while, then spoke to Zeffen in a low voice.
“He has a very unique aura.”
“Yes, she seems like a very clever young lady.”
“…I can understand why King Regula has his eye on it.”
After a while, elegant music begins to play throughout the venue.
Kyelse, who was picturesque even in her usual knight attire, respectfully took Istaria’s hand and danced gracefully in sync with her. The sight of the two of them catching the attention of anyone made Mitina involuntarily let out a sigh.
(This certainly makes a nice picture…)
Someday those two will get married.
Currently, it’s hard to say it will happen right away due to Kyelse’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it should be fine since she’s a familiar face with Istaria.
That’s what Mitina thought casually.
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