「I see, so Widele has done such things before.」
「Yes. To be honest, she’s skilled, but sometimes she does strangely unexpected things, so even as her commander, I have to be careful.」
Rei and Angela’s voices could be heard inside the cabin that had been built for Frizione.
They were both surprised they agreed on so many things, even though they had only just met today.
Rei was in his mid-teens and Angela in her mid-twenties.
There was an age difference of nearly ten years between them.
Normally, such an age difference would make both sides somewhat reserved.
However, Rei and Angela didn’t feel that way at all.
To begin with, Rei rarely showed reserve around others, so Angela, who had grown up as the daughter of a Count, found it to be a strange feeling.
Rei offered Angela one of the sandwiches that had been prepared for him, as it would be boring to eat all by himself, and Angela thought to herself with some confusion as she took a bite.
The silly words her master, Frizione, had spoken to her previously flashed through her mind, but she quickly denied it.
(I can’t believe I’m liking someone so young……well, I do have feelings for him, but it’s more of a friendship than romantic, so there’s no problem.)
She was still inwardly still a little confused though.
Up until now, she had felt a certain aversion to men……that was a bit of an exaggeration, but she did feel that men were a little hard to get close to.
That’s what she had joined the White Rose Knights, which was made up entirely of women.
But, for some reason, she didn’t feel as on guard around Rei.
(It’s not like there’s anything particularly unusual about him……no, maybe it’s his appearance?)
As she spoke to Rei, Angela looked at his face.
With the hood of the Dragon Robe taken off, she could see Rei’s face clearly.
A feminine face. It wouldn’t be strange to describe in in that way, as he had well formed features for a man and, when he was wearing his hood, some even might mistake him for a woman.
He wouldn’t even look that strange in women’s clothing.
(Ah, but maybe that wouldn’t be too good. His appearance is feminine, but his mannerisms are definitely those of a man.)
Since he was born with this face, he must have had to act masculine to make up for it. Angela, who didn’t know Rei’s past, started to create a story of Rei’s childhood in her mind.
Perhaps curious about Angela’s behaviour, Rei spoke as he ate a sandwich filled with boiled pork, sweet and sour fruit sauce, and leafy, crunchy vegetables.
「Did anything just happen? Something on your mind?」
「……Yeah, well. There’s a lot to think about. Especially with Prince Mercurio’s proposal.」
「That’s tough.」
As Rei answered, as if the matter had nothing to do with him, Angela understood why she could talk so naturally with Rei.
(I see, so Rei-sama doesn’t care about nobility.)
Although Angela was the daughter of Count Luxinois, she had won the position of commander of the White Rose Knights through her own skills.
She might not be an eye catching beauty like Vihera, but she definitely had above average looks.
She was past the normal marriageable age for nobles, but that gave her a soft, feminine look to those who saw her.
In terms of family background, a Count wasn’t a particularly high ranking noble, but her father did hold a fair amount of influence among the First Princess’ faction.
Taking all that into consideration, Angela was quite attractive to many other nobles.
That was why many men had approached Angela, just the other day, the heir to a baron family confessed to her, wanting to go out with her with the intention of getting married.
However……
(Everyone who confesses their love for me has some ulterior motive I can see in their eyes.)
Whether that motive was to form a connection to a Count family, or to her position of as the commander of the White Rose Knights, or even a desire to make Angela theirs.
Of course, Angela didn’t believe that pure romantic feelings were important in marriages between nobles.
(Still……it’s not strange to want them to at least hide their motives so others can’t see them, right?)
If the Luxinois family had been in financial difficulty, she wouldn’t have objected to a political marriage to help her family.
However, Angela’s father, the current head of the Luxinois family, and her brother, the next head of the family, were more than capable people, so the Luxinois family wasn’t in any trouble at all.
No, rather, there were some small problems, but nothing big enough to make Angela consider a political marriage to solve them.
Compared to the men who approached her with ulterior motives, Rei, who was currently eating a sandwich in front of her, felt completely different, despite also being a man.
Someone who didn’t care for nobility. It was something easy to say, but how many people could actually do that?
Considering that, Rei was certainly a rare type of person.
(Although, as Princess Frizione said, it’s a bit disappointing that there is already Vihera-sama.)
The faint affection she felt for a moment while talking with Rei……it couldn’t be called love, but she was aware that her feelings might have changed if given time, so she decided to forget about it immediately.
「Even so, don’t you think it was a bit reckless to go straight to the Imperial Capital without even disguising yourself?」
She asked while reaching for a cup of water that Rei had given her using the Dagger of Flowing Water.
When she first drank it, she was surprised at how good it tasted, it hadn’t even seemed like water, but she now had the time to calm down and savour its taste.
「This robe has a concealing effect, so unless it’s a very sharp mage, no one should be able to find me.」
「……Well, you made it this far without being found out, so I guess I can trust you on that.」
As Rei nodded at Angela’s words, the face of Kabajid, who he had met just before entering the castle, crossed his mind.
Maybe Kabajid knew who he was. That was what Rei thought, but it was also true that nothing had happened so far.
「Rei-sama? Is something wrong?」
「No, it’s nothing. So, what are the plans for the future? Wasn’t Mercurio’s request written in the letter Widele handed over?」
It would be fun to continue discussing like this, but the main topic also wouldn’t progress.
Thinking like that, Rei asked the question. However, Angela’s response was an ambiguous smile.
「I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to answer that question. However, I believe Princess Frizione will be coming here by the end of the day, so you could ask her then?」
「……You don’t need to be that stingy with information, do you? In the first place, you were the ones who asked to join us. If so, you must have expected those conditions.」
Rei thought that Angela was hesitant to reply because they would end up being under Mercurio’s command, but as before, Angela just gave an ambiguous smile.
No matter what Rei asked, the person in front of him wouldn’t leak any information about their final decision. Having decided that, he gave a sigh as he finished his sandwich.
There wasn’t much point in saying anything more.
From there, they went back to their previous small talk, nothing that either of them minded talking about.
For example, Angela wanted to know about the ecology of Griffons.
Familiars were prohibited from participating in the fighting tournament and Set had rarely left the stables of the Eternal Sky Pavilion during that time.
Still, the fact that Rei had a Griffon familiar was well known, thanks to his title of Crimson and the Spring War.
「Set……well, he’s like a friendly dog.」
「……He’s a Griffon, isn’t he? If so, isn’t he more of a cat?」
「It’s true that his lower body is that of a lion, so he does have feline behaviour, but overall, his personality is more like that of a friendly dog. He’s like a puppy.」
Angela couldn’t believe that a 2m sized Griffon could be described as a puppy.
It was only natural. Griffons were powerful enough to be called the Reapers of the Sky among other A rank monsters.
She couldn’t quite believe it and Rei knew that, but didn’t say anything.
It was because he had seen those kind of looks before.
Regarding that, Rei knew that it was hard to convince the other party with just verbal explanations.
Seeing was believing. And so was touching.
Set wasn’t loved by everyone in Gilm for no reason and he made passionate fans everywhere he went.
There were soldiers who were part of the guerrilla unit who were infatuated with Set and among the larger rebel army, an increasing number had started to find Set endearing.
Set was especially popular among the prostitutes and he often received food from those who were off work as he went around the camp.
……That said, Rei himself was completely unaware of the fact that many of the prostitutes were hoping to get close to him through Set.
Rei usually had his hood up and his whole face couldn’t be seen. However, there was no doubt that he was quite good looking.
He had earned himself a title while in his mid-teens and had the skills to be considered the rebel army’s greatest fighting force.
If, by some unlikely chance, Rei could take a liking to them……and buy them out, it would be a major turnaround in their lives.
But, unfortunately for Rei, he had no idea that any of this was happening.
Rei felt happy that Set was loved.
He also found it difficult to know where to look whenever he saw the prostitutes, who were dressed up to arouse the lust of men.
「Set also likes to take naps. Both under the spring sun, summer shade, and autumn sunlight. He often sleeps in places like that and I also nap while leaning against him.」
Set was fine to not sleep for certain periods of time.
However, he just liked to take naps and naps with Rei were a particularly blissful time for Set.
「Set’s body is soft and his feathers and fur are as smooth as silk, making him perfect for sleeping on.」
「Wow. I’m a little interested in the fact that he can sleep so comfortably.」
As they talked about Set, the topic eventually shifted and Rei asked Angela about what life as a noble was like.
Among the nobles that Rei was close to, there was only Elena, Daska, and Ara.
All of them couldn’t exactly be considered normal nobles, so Rei really didn’t know what a normal noble was like.
(In Vihera’s case, she’s royalty……and the nobles in the rebel camp aren’t the best examples either, considered their current situation.)
Angela gave a bitter smile as Rei recalled the faces of the nobles he had seen before, in addition to Vihera.)
「Unfortunately, in my case, I’m not exactly a normal noble in many ways……」
Hearing the Angela say that the commander of the White Rose Knights couldn’t be called a normal nobles, Rei agreed.
「But……well. I guess my brother is a normal noble?」
「Brother?」
「Yes. He’s the next head of the Luxinois county, so I think he’s close to the type of noble you’re talking about.」
Angela continued to explain, her tone becoming more frank, without realising that she had started to call him just Rei without the honourifics.
「He gets up at a fixed time, finishes his day as planned, and goes to bed at a fixed time. That’s all there is to it, but if you deviate even a little from that schedule, someone has to take responsibility. Some people might say it’s too strict, but in return, you never have to worry about starving.」
「……Wow.」
Those were Rei’s honest feelings……wow.
Rei never liked being tied down. If he were to become a noble, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to manage.
However, this was just what Angela’s brother was like.
There were many nobles who lived more free spirited lifestyles and some who were arrogant and did as they pleased.
「Fufu, I thought as much. I don’t think the life of a noble would suit you, Rei.」
Angela spoke with a smile as she saw Rei’s scrunched up face.
Like that, they continued discussion various things to kill time until someone came over to the cabin.