Upon hearing Sylvelinde’s bold declaration, Maurice’s expression was clearly a bit stunned.
Then he heard Elvira’s confident, high-and-mighty voice.
“Sylvelinde, I know you’re joking, but that guy doesn’t know your personality. Look at how surprised he is, he completely took it seriously.”
As she spoke, Elvira, seated on the throne, even cast Maurice a teasing, mocking glance, as if laughing at his overreaction.
Of course, her best friend Sylvelinde was just joking—how could she possibly eat the man she liked?
Still, it was understandable that Maurice was surprised. After all, Sylvelinde always wore the same indifferent expression, and her voice was so flat that it was truly hard to tell whether she was joking.
Sylvelinde was well aware of this herself, which was why she was intentionally teasing Maurice.
It was nothing. Elvira was a generous queen—she could turn a blind eye to this level of teasing. After all, Sylvelinde was her best friend.
“…A joke?”
Maurice frowned, shooting a cold look at Elvira, who had just found a chance to tease him, then turned with a serious expression to the young marquess standing not far before him.
“…That’s right, just as El said, it was only a joke, Sir Maurice, please don’t mind it. Although I do have quite an appetite, I wouldn’t just casually eat my friend’s man.”
Even under Maurice’s intense gaze, Sylvelinde’s expression and tone didn’t change in the slightest. She simply stared at Maurice’s face with eyes like a real doll.
At first, her words sounded reasonable, but upon closer thought, something still felt off.
What did she mean by “wouldn’t just casually”?
So, if she were serious, she would eat him?
Just like yesterday?
Hadn’t they agreed to forget about what happened?
Why was she still saying such ambiguous things here?
“…Well, I really appreciate that. And wouldn’t you know, I also don’t want to be eaten so easily by someone else.”
Since he couldn’t figure out this marquess at all, Maurice could only nod, indicating he didn’t mind.
He pretended not to notice her double entendre.
Unable to understand this mysterious, aloof beauty, Maurice decided to remain cautious—after all, it never hurt to be careful.
“That’s for the best. Don’t let Sylvelinde’s looks fool you—she’s got quite the appetite. If you’re not careful and let her bite, it wouldn’t be surprising if you lost an arm or a leg. Maurice, you’d best be on your guard, okay?”
Elvira didn’t notice the subtext in her best friend’s words at all. She just teased Maurice in a tone like a beastmaster talking about her own wild animal.
She sounded as if she was warning Maurice, but the smile on her face made it clear she had no good intentions.
She was simply enjoying Maurice’s reactions.
“After all, you don’t even need all three of them to deal with you right now—just one would be more than you could handle. It’s a good thing you have neither honor nor pride, or you’d be pretty upset right now~”
Before Maurice could respond, she was already eager to humiliate him.
That smug look on her face almost made Maurice want to laugh.
Yes, at the moment, he couldn’t beat any of them.
But as for this queen—wasn’t she just as clueless? She had her captive stolen by a female subordinate and was still sitting there looking so pleased with herself.
“All right, I’ll stop teasing you. Poor thing. I should get back to my official duties anyway. Let’s see—Dorinya, today you’ll be responsible for showing this pitiful knight around the royal palace.”
Thinking Maurice had nothing to say, Elvira flashed the serene smile of a victor, then issued a new order to her subordinate in a casual yet commanding tone.
The one she named was Dorinya, captain of the special forces, “who theoretically had never spoken a word to Maurice among the three confidantes.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Dorinya, who had been quietly observing Maurice’s interaction with the other two, immediately accepted the order and bowed to Elvira on the throne, without the slightest hesitation or doubt.
She seemed the very picture of Elvira’s most loyal hound—whatever the queen said, she obeyed.
But knowing that was only an act, and that she was actually a spy for a third country, Maurice had to stifle the urge to smile. Luckily, he managed to keep a straight face.
“Roselia needs to assist me with state affairs, and Sylvelinde has her own matters to attend to, so Dorinya will accompany you today. Though Dorinya isn’t a knight, she’s well-trained in martial arts—you two should have plenty in common.”
Elvira also noticed Maurice’s subtle changes in expression, but just as she had with Sylvelinde earlier, she simply assumed Maurice’s twitching face meant he wanted to say something but was at a loss for words.
So she casually introduced her close subordinate to Maurice without a care.
Dorinya, the one being introduced, maintained a cold and solemn demeanor, her icy eyes fixed unblinkingly on Maurice, clearly on guard.
Maurice matched her with an equally wary look.
They looked as if they couldn’t possibly get along.
Compared to the stern Dorinya and the mysterious Sylvelinde, the beautiful and kind-hearted secretary Roselia was much better suited to guide Maurice. But of course, Elvira deliberately didn’t choose her.
Ah, she just wanted to make Maurice uncomfortable.
If Maurice had any ability, why didn’t he try rebelling against her?
If he couldn’t, then he was just weak, and deserved whatever she did to him.
“All right, Dorinya, take Maurice away. I trust your ability. And even though I doubt he’ll try, if this man really does attempt to escape, feel free to use joint locks or anything else you like, understood?”
Pleased with her own arrangements, Elvira tossed out these words, then ordered Dorinya to take Maurice away.
Dorinya stepped forward in her boots, face expressionless, and walked toward Maurice.
Even with her face mask hiding the lower half of her face, her stern expression was clear from her eyes alone. Her posture was so correct it was almost frightening.
“Lord Maurice, please follow me. You’ve already taken up a lot of Her Majesty’s time today. I hope you won’t cause any further delays.”
Standing a short distance in front of Maurice, Dorinya spoke in a seemingly polite, but actually cold tone—almost as if she truly was loyal to Elvira.
“…You say that as if I wanted to cause trouble. Never mind, anyway, thanks for being my accomplice in escaping the palace. If you stay here, that selfish woman will punish you anyway. Why not run away with me?”
Looking at this stern woman with her blue twin tails, Maurice deliberately spoke in a rebellious, flippant tone to show how incompatible they were.
He expected his flippant remark to annoy someone as strict and loyal as Dorinya, making it clear to Elvira that they could never possibly be allies.
“!?”
But contrary to Maurice’s expectations, this supposedly rigid and solemn beauty’s eyes widened in shock. Her face visibly reddened with disbelief.
?!
Maurice was completely taken aback.
Wait—aren’t you supposed to be “one of the guys”? Why are you blushing?! With nerves like that, how are you even a spy?!