• In the main story, just before Lucia attends Gorman’s wedding, a trio of knights came to help the Ragulen family. Feeling somewhat curious, they decided to inquire about something…

My name is Barloy.

I was a knight in the royal army, specifically, the Third Army, and I would usually spend my time in the northern fort.

…To be more precise, I was in a position where I was blessed with hot-blooded bastards as subordinates, but that is a story for another time.

During my time off, I came to help out at my former colleague’s—Alves’—house.

A week had passed since then.

I came to that small territory near the royal capital to pass the time while I was on break.

…But as of the present, we were completely infatuated with Ragulen.

The Ragulen family only had a few servants. Hence why we didn’t only carry out farm work, but other chores as well.

In addition to taking care of livestock, the waterways, and repairing damaged buildings, I also did some cooking, cleaning, and even laundry.

Most of the knights in the royal army were from the aristocrats.

The often lead to a misunderstanding, but we generally did all the chores ourselves. The only exceptions were probably classy people such as the royal guards and young lads from high-ranking family.

The army was, after all, a gathering place for those who were physically trained instead of smart ones. It was fine to take a break once in a while, but considering how long my vacation was, it was better if I were to move my body.

As for Ulysses, he enjoyed exercising so much that he would even voluntarily participate in the reclamation work in the North.

…Even though I also did farm work in my spare time. Well, knights were just like that.

Leaving our dispositions aside, the current state of this house made me want to help.

After all, despite being of noble birth, only few could afford to dress nicely. Usually, it was either the wealthy ones, or those who belonged to their main family. On the other hand, luxury was difficult for a weak lords to afford.

My parents came from a family with a decent lineage. Despite that, the second son and even the youngest lived modestly. In fact, even Rend’s parents—a feudal lord family—was directly involved in agriculture.

Hence why I thought it was a given. Nevertheless, Alves’ sister sure worked hard…

If I took my eyes off her for a moment, she’d attempt to do everything on her own.

While Tiana had already forbade her from doing work that could lead to rough skin and hands, I couldn’t help but keep an eye on her.

We never ran out of things to do here, but that was our duty.

It might sound as if we spent most of our days acting as if there were some kind of chore waiting for us, but Ragulen was still a comfortable respite.

The people around here always seemed so carefree. Well, even if we were to swing our swords, there was nothing fear. That must be because the lord was Alves.

Besides, as soon as we introduced ourselves as Alves’ former colleagues, the people immediately warmed up to us. The day after we arrived at Ragulen, the story spread and everyone kindly welcomed us.

That bastard, Alves, sure is popular…

Thanks to him, whenever someone spotted us, they’d call out to us, saying, “Sir Knight! We have something for you, so please come!”

Of course, the “for you” was just an excuse. They were simply eager to give something to Alves and his little sister.

Sometimes, it’d be fresh squeezed milk, cheese, freshly caught fish, or vegetables harvested from their own gardens. Their gestures were nothing sort of grand, but I was more than happy to accept them.

They must admired him a lot…

Still, while I understood how they felt, we weren’t short on cash. Therefore, most of the time, we simply bought it from them because of how fresh they seemed.

—Besides, we had a huge appetite!

However, we didn’t realize it, but they always gave more than what we asked. As a result, we often stared at each other in confusion in the kitchen.

Really, the people here are too kind…

Sometimes, I’d found myself smiling wryly like this, but there was nothing wrong with my stay in Ragulen itself.

…Is what I’d like to say, if not for one glaring issue.

His little sister.

Alves’ sister was a really nice woman. The sight of burly men such as us didn’t intimidate her at all. Perhaps, because she was used to seeing Alves, she must have thought all knights looked like that.

Whether it was food or daily training, she didn’t pay attention to us. Or rather, she was accustomed to taking care of us.

I had no problem with his sister.

…Though, the same couldn’t be said about the man who sent us here.

That man, who had a complicated background, usually went by the name “Phil” in Ragulen.

He also pretended to be Alves’ former colleague.

…Seriously.

When I first heard about that, my initial response was, “What the hell!?”

I mean, how can I not—!?

A man who could gather everyone’s attention by just standing there—how could someone like that be an ordinary knight!?

At first, I couldn’t comprehend why he insisted to play the role of Alves’ former colleague.

But after thinking about it, that girl had Alves for an older brother.

Alves—tall, stoic, but also quite the people person. Not only that, he was frustratingly good-looking, too. With him as a relative, she might’ve gotten accustomed to such men.

“…No, even so, that’s still impossible? I mean, isn’t he just too good!?”

“…Occasionally, while there are some shiny bastards among the commoners, but none of them are of Alves’ level.”

“But such is reality. For now, why don’t we try asking for the sister’s opinion?”

After some discussion, the three of us came to that conclusion.

◇

—Thus, I tried to ask his little sister.

“I heard that Phil fella frequents this place? What does he do here?”

As I helped around in the kitchen, I asked that in the middle of our small talk.

His sister was dumfounded for a moment, but soon smiled.

“Phil? While he always seems so laidback, he also helps out just like everyone else.”

“Hee, so, he also helps aro—wait!? Him—!?”

“…Eh? Is it that surprising?”

“I-it isn’t, he can do it, sure. But usually, Phil isn’t the sort of fella who’d just do that!? W-what do I say? Uh, forget I ever asked!”

Apparently, my reaction came off as shocking. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. What if she got suspicious?

This is bad…

I sneaked a glance at my fellow knights, before forcing a smile.

“U-uhm, well, usually, he doesn’t do those sorts of things. B-but he must like exercising, just like us. I bet he has lots fun!”

“Certainly, he looks like he’s having fun, but…”

“Then don’t worry about it! I mean, when it comes to something he doesn’t really want to do, that guy’s usually reluctant…”

“That’s right! Sometimes, there are things that he even outright refuses to do!”

Although we said jokingly said that, there was a truth to it.

While that shiny His Excellency carried out his duties seriously, oftentimes, he’d impose them onto his lieutenant.

…Still, that was close.

If she got suspicious because of our careless words, that guy would be beyond pissed.

Well, he wouldn’t abuse his authority, but we didn’t want to waste our time on the frontlines, either…

At that moment—

Rend at some point had moved to the window. Not only that, he also subtly signaled us using his fingers—

—Alves had returned.

Alright, that concludes today’s secret operation.

Before the situation grew out of hand, we had to ensure our swift withdrawal.

While talking with the sister about the dinner menu, I lowkey signaled my two fellow knights.

After looking at each other, Ulysses affirmed with a hand gesture and nimbly peeled the potato in his hand.

However, that wasn’t to say that we were satisfied.

I wasn’t the type to turn a blind eye to something that bothered me.

—Thus, I decided to try again tomorrow.

---

***T/N: My fellow knights, it went without a doubt that your captain is a simp around this one girl.

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