She and the Chivalric Order I parted from Will and Sion and after walking for around twenty minutes arrived at my destination.
I was in a mood for some walking, so it didn"t particularly trouble me.
"Here, huh…"
Even though I"d seen the chivalric order headquarters from distance, I"d never approached them.
It"s on the west side, exactly opposite of Will"s Magician Division.
The stone building built on the castle grounds is just a like fortress. My aim, the practice ground is inside. As though as a proof, I hear voices of soldiers training.
Although I"ve arrived, I have no idea what to do. That"s why, I called out to the two knights standing on guard at the entrance.
"Umm…"
"Princess Consort, we have been waiting!"
Upon recognizing me, the knights s.h.i.+fted their eyes to my chest and with a snap immediately straightened their backs.
"I want to meet His Highness…"
"Yes. We have heard. We will immediately lead the way to the Commander!"
"I, I see"
Please follow, I was respectfully led the way. Apparently these two weren"t on guard but are guides who were waiting for me.
I stepped inside. I was surprised that it was colder than I"d imagined. It doesn"t seem magical arts are used to control the temperature.
The building made of st.u.r.dy stone is rough but not tasteless.
There are no paintings or sculptures on the hallway walls, instead armor and arms decorate them. None are replicas, they"re genuine articles.
What"s more, candle stands are placed at regular intervals.
The chivalric order headquarters I"m visiting for the first time feels novel, while looking all around I followed the knights.
"Lidi, I am sorry to make you wait"
"Glenn"
Looking fl.u.s.tered, Glenn came from the inner part of the hallway I was walking through.
He looked like you"d expect of a chivalric order commander. The knights who were guiding me saluted.
"I will guide her afterwards. Go back to your posts"
"Yes"
The knights returned an affirmation to Glenn"s words and left with brisk movements.
While chasing after them with his eyes, Glenn started talking.
"Well then, shall we go. Freed was restless because you were coming. He looked like he couldn"t wait"
"Restless? Freed was?"
When I heard the word that seemed unrelated to Freed, my eyes widened just a little.
"Yeah, restless. Wanting to show his good points since Lidi was coming, he suddenly became enthusiastic. More and more knights are being defeated. Soon our Royal Guard Chivalric Order will face total annihilation at the hand of His Highness the Crown Prince who showed enthusiasm. If possible, before everybody is rendered useless, I would really like you to stop Freed, Lidi"
With a bitter smile Glenn said Freed shouldn"t teach while so excited and, indicating the way, led me to the practice ground inside the chivalric order headquarters.
The practice ground seem to be in the center of the building. We advanced deeper and deeper until the hallway ended. Beyond the huge double door Glenn opened was a s.p.a.cious practice ground for knights with a dirt floor.
It"s more s.p.a.cious than I thought. There"s no ceiling, when I looked up I could see the sky. These chivalric order headquarters seems to have been constructed around the practice ground. The upstairs part sticks out a little, something like benches are placed there. Probably it"s a s.p.a.ce for inspections.
And then, another guest seat that overlooks the whole area was prepared on the ground floor. A banner was put up to shade the guest seat from the sun, the prepared chair has a fine design and velvet affixed to it, it doesn"t fit the rough chivalric order.
I felt just a little sorry understanding it was clearly prepared for me alone.
"S, sorry. I took up your time. I could"ve just watched from another seat upstairs"
"No? Freed rarely gives enthusiastic guidance. I am just grateful you have come, Lidi. You do not need to worry about this much"
"I don"t?"
"Yeah. Besides, wouldn"t you like to see Freed from up close? The upstairs seat is a little far, right?"
"T, that"s…"
What Glenn pointed out was so on point that I turned red like an apple and hung my head.
Certainly, I don"t really want to be far from Freed. If possible, I want to see his gallant figure from up close.
That"s why I nodded honestly.
"Y, yup. Thanks. I"m happy"
"Please do not worry. As a matter of fact, rather than doing it for you, it"s Freed"s selfishness. He does not want you to be far away. Really, he is not a person to say such things, but well"
Happy that my and Freed"s feeling were the same, I hung my head while still blus.h.i.+ng.
Glenn slipped a chuckle.
"You really look close, I am envious. Aah, Freed has come"
"Eh"
"Lidi"
Hearing Freed is coming, I twitched. Then I was called out to from my side. When I turned my face, I saw Freed coming here while wiping sweat with a towel.
He took off his coat, but left the s.h.i.+rt. Although he isn"t naked above the waist, the sweaty s.h.i.+rt clinging to him looks extremely s.e.xy.
I could tell my heart throbbed.
Uuu. He looks cool.
Upon noticing me, Freed"s expression slackened happily, and as usual he reached out his hand for me.
But, as if he hesitated, his hand stopped partway through.
"Eh? Freed?"
I fully expected to be hugged, so I felt let down.
When I looked up at Freed wondering what happened, he laughed troubledly and took a little distance.
I was a little hurt by his att.i.tude that felt just like he was trying to avoid me.
"Uh…"
"Aah, sorry. It"s different. Don"t misunderstand. I just think I stink of sweat"
"Sweat?"
Seeing my face cloud up, Freed waved his hands to deny.
"I"m just taking a break after the first practice ended. I stink of sweat a little, so wait until I use magic… Hey, Lidi?"
Before hearing Freed"s story until the end, I clung to Freed on my own.
While relieved that he didn"t really reject me, I tried smelling him.
Certainly, he smells of sweat, but it"s not unpleasant. On the contrary, Freed"s body odor mixed with the smell of his sweat seems to make my head go numb, it feels as if I am intoxicated.
I feel like I"ll melt.
I like Freed"s scent to begin with, so I freely had my fill of his smell.
"… Hau. You smell good"
It was my honest impression, but Freed said perplexedly.
"There"s no way. I stink of sweat quite a lot"
"I don"t mind at all, okay? I like Freed"s scent"
Certainly, I detest that peculiar harsh smell of men, and I often tell Brother "You stink, go away" during summer, but Freed doesn"t have that smell at all.
He"s got a very comfortable, pleasant scent. Somehow, I want to hug him very much.
That"s why, I followed my desires and brought my cheek to him.
"Lidi… You can"t. You"ll stain your precious cute dress with sweat"
"That"s troubling… But, I won"t let go"
"Jeez… My Lidi is cute"
Freed smiled gently.
He said I can"t, but I immediately understood he was just saying that. Because, he didn"t try separate from me clinging to him.
On the contrary, before I realized he wrapped an arm around my waist, and firmly pulled me towards himself as if to not let me go.
I felt so very satisfied, I broadly smiled into his chest.
While I was enjoying hugging him, Freed quietly invoked magic while stroking my hair with his other hand.
As soon as he did, the lovely smell disappeared.
While I was feeling a little disappointed, Freed said.
"Yes, now you can cling to me as much as you like"
Tickled by the sweet whisper close to my ear, my shoulders jumped.
To gloss over it, I said.
"I, I"m already clinging to you"
"Fufu, you"re right. Come to think of it, Lidi often smells my scent, do you like it?"
"Yup"
There was nothing to deny, so I nodded. While tilting his head, Freed said.
"Hmph. I think Lidi smells better than me. You have a sweet, flowery scent. It always tempts me"
"I, I don"t smell like that"
"You do"
There"s no way I"d smell like that despite bathing properly.
Supposing I smelled, it"d be too unpleasant. I thought I better increase the frequency of bath, but told it"s flowery it clicked.
"It, it"s that. Surely it"s the smell of bath additives"
For those wondering why Freed is s.h.i.+rtless in the ill.u.s.tration, it was changed in the LN.