26.
As always, only knights were lined up today.
“Please take good care of me again today.”
Agnes stood at the very front as if it were only natural.
Before she had even been designated as a client, she greeted me first.
Behind her were dozens of knights whose names I did not even know.
Aside from them, no one else was in line.
Which meant…
‘Even if I take all of them as clients, six coins is the limit.’
The moment I thought about my income, my mind went faint.
“…Have you perhaps found something to worry about?”
“Not particularly.”
Before the consultation even began, I asked Agnes first.
After all, during every consultation so far, she had always said, “I have no worries.”
But the answer that came back was absurd.
Then why are you here?
“……Then why have you come?”
“Because I must stand in line.”
In the end, I said out loud the very thing I had only been thinking—Then why did you come?—but…
She only tilted her head, as if she had no idea what the problem was.
A sigh escaped me on its own.
If she was like this, the other members of the knight order would not be much different.
In the end, I had no choice but to designate three of them and receive six coins.
It was then.
Clatter, clatter—!
The sound of horse hooves came from the far end of the alley.
An even, cheerful rhythm, as if the horse had been well trained.
When I turned my head, I saw a carriage come to a stop.
A golden crest engraved on its body.
It was the carriage of the Count Levantia family.
‘She came right away?’
The carriage door opened.
Soon, a noble young lady with radiant blond hair, Chloe Levantia, stepped down.
The knights standing in line all turned their heads at once.
“Lady Chloe.”
When I approached her, her blue-gold eyes turned toward me.
A smile slowly bloomed on her face.
It was Chloe’s characteristic smile, perfectly composed.
Chloe slowly looked around.
Agnes standing right in front of the door, and the knights lined up behind her.
The other people, unable to get in line under their pressure.
After confirming all of this, she spoke with a peculiar look, as if she understood everything.
“Teacher, I hope you have been well.”
She smiled mechanically.
“…I believe you said the front of the counseling office was quiet.”
She continued slowly.
“That does not seem to be the case?”
“Th-that is, several circumstances happened to overlap…”
Now that it had come to this, I felt terribly embarrassed.
I have to say something she’ll like.
I have to say something that will bring her here.
When I wrote the letter with those thoughts, I had not realized it.
What the person summoned here would think once they understood what it meant.
Moreover, this person had come running because she had received, for the first time, a letter sent first by the man she believed had promised her a future.
And yet, when she arrived, it was blatantly obvious that she had been called because of this unusual situation.
A corner of my heart prickled.
“…Please come in first.”
For now, I said it to bring her inside.
But Chloe did not head for the door.
Instead, she turned toward the knights.
“Uh… Lady Chloe?”
There was no answer.
Her blond hair fluttering, she straightened her back and walked steadily forward.
Other noble young ladies and maids could not even approach the knights.
The knight order wore armor beneath their nun’s habits. The swords at their waists alone were enough to feel intimidating.
Chloe paid it no mind and stood right beside Agnes.
Agnes turned her head.
The cold gaze of a trained martial artist swept over Chloe.
Even so, Chloe did not yield and smiled calmly.
“Hello. I am Chloe Levantia of the Count Levantia family.”
A strange light appeared in Agnes’s eyes.
Perhaps she recognized the young lady of the Levantia family, which had dealings with the Holy Kingdom.
“I know.”
“I came here to receive counseling.”
She took one step closer.
“Do those from the Holy Kingdom intend to do the same?”
Politely and gently.
And yet, I could clearly sense it.
If you have no business here, please leave.
“…We are standing in line as well. To receive… counseling.”
“Doesn’t the Church of Saint Justitia recommend confession first? Rather than using an outside counseling office.”
Perhaps her conscience pricked her, for Agnes slightly avoided her gaze as she spoke.
Chloe continued pressing her without pause.
“Besides, the duty of the Lily Knights is…”
She trailed off and glanced toward me.
After hesitating for a moment, she spoke quietly.
“I do not think it is to patrol back alleys like this.”
And if armed people are standing in front of the counseling office like this, other people cannot come, can they?
At Chloe’s point-by-point remarks, Agnes wore a troubled expression.
The fact that the knight order was putting pressure on the clients of a private counseling office.
If this were an ordinary back-alley counseling office, perhaps nothing would come of it, but if a young lady renowned in high society directly took issue with it, rumors would spread in an instant.
A brief silence flowed.
Agnes slowly opened her mouth.
“……We will adjust the number of people waiting.”
“Not at all.”
Chloe smiled brightly and looked at me.
“……I may go in, yes?”
“Of course.”
I opened the door and let Chloe inside.
She sat down with a small laugh.
Her black ribbon glimmered in the sunlight.
“Thank you for coming, Lady Chloe. Truly.”
“You sent me a letter. How could I not come?”
Chloe hugged the heart-patterned cushion tightly and looked at me.
“First, may I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“The people outside. The heret— no, why are the Saintess’s escort knights lined up in front of the counseling office?”
“Lady Serena came for counseling a few times, and since her escort knights accompanied her…”
“So other clients could not come.”
“…Yes.”
“And that is why you sent me the letter.”
“……”
I could not deny it.
Chloe rose from her seat.
She unlocked the tea-leaf box, then slowly began to brew tea.
Soon, a teacup was placed before me.
She said quietly,
“Please drink.”
One sip.
It was warm.
But my heart did not feel warm.
The fact that I had used her for an excessively personal reason pricked at me unbearably.
As if consoling me for those feelings, Chloe said,
“I came because I wanted to. So please do not make that face.”
Saying that, Chloe also took a sip of tea.
With a gentle smile, she said,
“Whatever the reason, you sent me a letter first, didn’t you? For me, that alone is enough.”
Even though she had guessed the reason I had called her.
Instead, her expression became even kinder.
As if the mere fact that I had thought of her first, even if it was because of money, satisfied her.
“Shall we begin the consultation?”
Stealing the words I should have said, she smiled languidly.
***
“The person in front earlier. That was Dame Agnes, captain of the Lily Knights, correct?”
“Yes. You recognized her immediately.”
“Of course. I have met her several times.”
If you’ve met someone several times, does that mean you naturally know even their name and position?
I don’t know anyone’s name unless they’re a regular…
Once again, her memory frightened me.
“Then the Saintess comes here as well?”
“You realized that right away too.”
“Of course. There would be no reason for the Lily Knights to move separately.”
After saying that, she made a thoughtful, “Hmm—” sound.
When I asked what it was about, she changed the subject.
“Teacher, sometimes it seems you have absolutely no common sense.”
“Uh… Is that so?”
“Yes. Truly.”
Feeling awkward, I scratched my head.
As someone who had suddenly fallen into a romance-fantasy world, what she considered common sense could not possibly be my common sense.
But since I could not say that, the only thing I could say was this.
“How embarrassing.”
“In any case, the person who marries you will have no choice but to suffer.”
Then she smiled sweetly.
At the sight, the words I had heard from Serena came to mind.
‘I heard you and the counselor promised each other a future.’
Hmm…
As expected, she must believe she heard something like that from me, right?
What should I do?
The more I thought about it, the less there was an answer.
While I was troubled, she looked at me and blushed.
As if what she had just said was terribly embarrassing.
To break the burdensome silence, I opened my mouth.
“Lady Chloe’s tea really is excellent, as expected.”
“Hmhm. Of course it is.”
“Yes. I missed it.”
She spoke confidently, yet the tips of her cheeks were flushed red.
Then, as if whispering softly, she said to me,
“But Teacher. Counseling is finished for the day now, isn’t it?”
“Uh… I suppose you could say that.”
The knights had left.
Since all the clients knew that the day’s clients were decided in the morning, there was no one in particular who would come at this point.
Chloe leaned forward.
Her gaze on me was somehow languid and damp.
“I’m a little tired, so would it be all right if I rested here for a while before I go?”
She drew close before even hearing my answer.
Even I could tell that she did not mean it literally.