Childhood friends tend to be alike
“Hmm…”
With a heavy sigh, Mitina finished her lunch during her break and staggered around the castle town. However, her expression was gloomy for a break.
Of course, there are only two people who give Mitina a headache. The other one is the one she goes to tighten her belt when she notices him bothering her, so in reality, there is only one person.
Yes, the knight Kyelse. He was her fiance and her roommate, an unpleasant man.
(I never thought he would go so far as to do something like that…)
My mind was filled with the events of the other night.
All of this was just training to cure his obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even though he knew that, he couldn’t get that lewd experience out of his head. For Mitina, who had never been involved in sex before, it must have been such a strong stimulus.
As for Kyelse, after climaxing at Mitina’s hands, she said she was tired and went to bed, and quickly went to sleep. In the morning, she was completely normal, and as usual, she was condescendingly scolding her while offering her a more luxurious breakfast than usual.
She sighed, wondering if she was the only one who was worried about this. For Mitina, who didn’t tend to dwell on things, this was an unusually protracted issue.
(Why do I feel so confused? Ah, I’m getting annoyed…)
“You there.”
Then a sweet voice called out to Mitina. She stopped in her tracks, wondering what it was, and found a person standing in the direction of the voice, causing her to instinctively straighten her back.
Beautiful blonde hair and a beautiful appearance. The woman was wearing a gorgeous dress today as well, and looked very light on her feet, as if she had just been out for a walk.
“Kyelse’s friend, how fitting.”
“This is Lady Istaria. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Oh, you remembered my name?”
Come to think of it, although this was not the first time she had met Istaria, they had not exchanged names. Mitina had accidentally forgotten this and in a hurry came up with a lie to avoid arousing suspicion.
“Yes, I’ve heard about her from Kyelse-dono several times… and that she’s a wonderful person…”
“Kyelse?”
Istaria tilted her head slightly, looking a little puzzled. For a moment, I was worried that she had seen through my lie, but she disinterestedly changed the topic.
“Actually, I called Kyelse to carry my luggage.”
(……picture?)
“They didn’t come at all, and I was in trouble.”
Mitina almost cried out in surprise, never knowing that Kyelse was someone who could control her.
To be honest, Mitina still didn’t really understand what kind of person Istaria was. All she knew was that she was a childhood friend who was understanding of Kyelse’s personality.
(Could it be that he has Kyelse under his thumb…? Appearances can be deceptive, I guess…)
Although she looks like a very pretty young lady, Istaria has a unique aura about her. She has a mysterious air about her that makes it hard to know what she’ll say next.
“At this time of day, Kyelse-dono will probably be on duty. Shall I go and call her?”
“…………”
Despite his kind offer, Istaria was silent. For some reason, she was staring at Mitina. She gave an uncomfortable smile at his curious gaze, and she tilted her head slightly again.
“Looking closely, you’re dressed differently from Kyelse.”
“Eh, yes. Sorry for the late introduction. I am Mitina, an assistant captain of the Black Iron Knights.”
“Black Iron Knight…”
Istaria reacted as if to say, “So there was such a thing.” To the nobles, the Silver Knights were the only knights, and the Iron Knights were just a bonus, so this perception was not surprising.
“So Mitina, you have a different job than Kyelse?”
“That’s right. The Silver Knights handle internal affairs, while we handle military duties such as defeating magical beasts.”
“Hmm. Then I wonder why the two of you get along so well.”
Although she didn’t find those words particularly harsh, Mitina felt a chill in her stomach. Now that she thought about it, I wonder if Istaria knew that Mitina and Kyelse were in a formal engagement relationship.
(I know this is a bit late to say, but if the goal was to marry Kyelse-dono, surely there was no need for an engagement…? Well, for Kyelse-dono, the bad reputation of having a fiancé like me might be all that’s motivating her.)
In any case, it would be bad for them to know about their engagement and cohabitation. Istaria was the one who would one day become Kyelse’s wife.
“The truth is, Kyelse-dono dislikes our commander. She often comes to me to complain about him.”
“That’s right. That’s typical of Kyelse. But is that all?”
“Why does Lady Istaria care about something like that?”
Wondering if people were suspicious of her relationship with Kyelse, Mitina tried to be careful not to show any signs of being upset. If her feelings were exposed, then her engagement, their cohabitation, and even her recent sexual misconduct might be revealed.
“That’s because at that evening party, Kyelse was tying your hair back. It was the first time I saw Kyelse touch someone like that.”
(So they were watching me…!)
Certainly, just before Istaria arrived, Kyelse had been taking care of her, telling her to dress nicely for this occasion.
To Istaria, who knew him well, this was an unbelievable act. That’s probably why he became interested in Mitina.
“Well, I’m not used to that kind of situation, so my hair was a mess…”
“That’s true…”
(Isn’t that right…?)
Staring at Mitina for some reason, Istaria finally smiled. As she spoke, surprised at her smile, so innocent it would make even a flower bashful, she spat out some unexpected words.
“All female knights are sparkly, but there are also female knights like you who are like hounds.”
“…!?”
“It’s even more strange now. How can Kyelse be so friendly with someone like you who doesn’t care about her appearance?”
For a moment, Mitina’s mind went blank, but when she regained her senses she muttered to herself while hiding it with a smile.
(Do childhood friends tend to be similar…? Surely King Regla’s Istaria would be fine…)
Could it be that he meant that Istaria had a personality similar to Kyelse’s, so she would be a good match for him?
It’s getting harder to understand what King Regula is thinking. Also, I’m starting to wonder if it’s really okay for these two to be together.
“Umm, so, Lady Istaria, please call Kyelse…”
“That’s fine. There’s no need to wait for a guy who’s going to be late for an appointment with his childhood friend.”
“Oh, so you’re going home then…?”
Istaria was speaking in a way that sounded like she had quite a powerful attack, so Mitina asked, feeling a little scared.
Then she smiled brightly and took Mitina’s hand.
“You escort me instead of Kyelse. Then I’ll pick out some clothes for Mitina.”
“Eh, no way. Besides, I have work to do…”
“Come on, let’s go!”
Unable to shake off Istaria’s hand as she innocently tugged at her, Mitina ended up being dragged along with her on her shopping spree.
“Hey Mitina, which one do you think is cuter?”
“Ummm… I think either one suits you.”
“Well, how about this and this?”
“Hmmmm… why don’t you buy both?”
Unfortunately, Mitina, a woman who has never tried to dress up anything, including herself, in her life, gave vague answers. It almost seemed like there was no point in her accompanying him.
However, Istaria didn’t seem to mind and was happily shopping. Seeing her like that, I thought she must have been raised with a lot of love and care.
“With all due respect, Lady Istaria.”
“What?”
“If you were going to take me shopping, wouldn’t it have been better to take a sparkly female knight instead of a hound-like female knight like me?”
When I asked her timidly, Istaria burst out in laughter for some reason. I tilted my head to one side, wondering what was so funny about it, and she hugged my dress and said,
“Oh, did what I said bother you?”
“picture?”
“I mean, she specifically called herself a female knight who was like a hound.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Perhaps it was because it was his habit to always respond to Kyelse with sarcasm or abuse, but depending on how you listened to it, his words to Istaria earlier could have come off as slightly harsh. Surely she had picked up on that very keenly.
“I’m sorry. I definitely didn’t mean it like that… I simply thought that I wouldn’t be of any use to you when it came to shopping…”
“It’s fine, Mitina. I hate knights who pretend to be nice.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, to put it bluntly, I hate knights in general.”
Istaria had cut him off so bluntly that even Mitina was stunned by his honesty.
“Why do you dislike knights? Besides… Kyelse-dono is also a knight.”
“That’s true…”
In response to Mitina’s question, she gave a meaningful reply. It seemed as if she wasn’t very happy about Kyelse being a knight.
“I wish I’d quit sooner”
“Huh?”
“Haha, I was just kidding.”
Although the tone of his voice didn’t sound like a joke, Istaria smiled innocently again.
I can’t read it. As Zeffen had said, Istaria seemed like a very intelligent woman. Mitina’s mind didn’t seem capable of guessing what she was thinking.
“But the Black Iron Knight is nice. He seems different from the knights I know.”
“Well… the Silver Knight calls me a pseudo-mercenary.”
“Really? Fufu, Mitina isn’t afraid to say things like that.”
“I’ve decided to only flatter for money.”
In response, Istaria bursts out laughing with genuine joy. Somehow, as we talk like this, her slightly arrogant way of speaking starts to seem quite cute.
Surely, just like Mitina, she was the type of person who wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. If she could add trust to that, then it seemed like she could get along well with Kyelse too.
“Now, let’s choose some clothes for Mitina! I wonder which ones are best…”
“Well, I don’t really need any of my clothes or anything so–“
As I was trying to stop Istaria from gleefully looking at the clothes again, I heard some familiar words.
“Hey, you there…”
“Ah, Kyelse.”
Turning around, I saw a familiar figure in the store. He had probably been searching for Istaria when she wasn’t at the meeting place, and his expression showed signs of fatigue.
“Why are you here?”
“Kyelse-dono, I don’t think it’s right to break your promise with your precious childhood friend.”
“There was no promise! Istaria unilaterally forced it on us!”
“Really?”
As Kyelse was teasing her, Istaria, who had apparently noticed his presence, approached her. She then embraced Mitina and said with a bright smile.
“Oh, what a coincidence, Kyelse. I was just on a date with Mitina.”
“Huh? So, a date…?!”
“Eh, that’s not true. I was just taken out in place of Kyelse-dono…”
It would be bad if a rift were to form between them in a place like this. Thinking this, Mitina hurriedly tried to explain herself.
However, Kyelse seemed angry and grabbed Istaria’s arm, forcibly pulling her away from Mitina. Then, she spoke in an irritated tone while looking away.
“Don’t touch me so casually!”
“Ah, sorry…”
“Hmmm!”
Mitina was surprised by the stronger reaction than she had expected. She had no idea that Kyelse was so possessive towards Istaria.
(I-I wonder if he actually already likes Lady Istaria…?)
When she glanced at Istaria from the side, she also had her eyes wide with surprise. Seeing her like that, Mitina thought that with the strength of her restraints, she would have a hard time in the future.
“So, will you escort me?”
“…………”
When Istaria held out her free hand, Kyelse wordlessly lent it to him. Her natural behavior suggested that they had done this many times over the course of their long friendship.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I was just trying to pick out some clothes for Mitina.”
“teeth?”
“Fine, I’ll let Kyelse pick out my clothes.”
Mitina sighed softly as she watched the two of them conversing in a friendly manner.
(After all, childhood friends are special to Kyelse-dono too…)
Muttering to himself, he felt a vague sense of unease that was different from before.
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