Morris could tell at a glance that this was an act put on for some purpose.
After all, the armor and weapon truly were in the style of the Queen of Fastar, and the female knight’s strength was beyond question.
But the female knight’s spear technique was far from exquisite—the way she wielded the knight’s lance was hardly different from swinging a blunt weapon, and she relied far too much on magic.
It might have fooled outsiders who had never met the real person.
The problem was, Morris had once seen the Queen of Fastar up close, so he immediately recognized that this was someone role-playing as the Queen.
Besides, there was no way the Queen of Fastar would ever appear here.
Morris did have a relationship with the Queen of Fastar that went beyond mere master and servant, but it hadn’t even reached the level of a secret lover—why would the Queen of Fastar show up in another country alone just to forcibly take him away?
Elvira really was petty.
She’d already captured Morris, yet still couldn’t let go of her rivalry with the Queen of Fastar.
She even ordered her subordinate to play the heroic Queen of Fastar, then had her lose to herself right in front of Morris.
Seeing her utterly unashamed—even a little proud—expression, Morris was left speechless.
But though Morris had nothing to say, Elvira certainly did.
“Mm, how interesting. Especially seeing your face right now—it was worth arranging for them to cooperate with me.”
Elvira approached Morris with a radiant smile, her voice brimming with lightness and delight.
Of course, she knew that the female knight’s impersonation would soon be exposed, but she never intended to hide it in the first place.
She had arranged all this knowing full well Morris would see through it and label it “a pointless act.”
After all, what could Morris do once he realized the truth?
He still had to obediently watch as a “female knight much like the Queen of Fastar” was easily defeated by her, right?
She just loved tormenting Morris’s body and mind, finding amusement in his every reaction.
Speechless was a reaction, too, and right now she was thoroughly satisfied.
“Cooperation? I bet only the one playing the female knight and the captain know the truth. The castle guards have no idea, right?”
Morris understood this clearly as well, though there was little he could do about it.
So he simply retorted to the witch who’d stopped in front of him, his face bored.
“They don’t need to know. For them, this was just a practical drill. What’s the matter, oh great Paladin? Are you feeling sorry for them?”
Elvira flashed a charming smile, her seemingly respectful tone laced with mockery.
“What’s it got to do with me? They’re your soldiers, not mine.”
To be honest, Morris did feel this was a bit unfair.
But he also knew that if he admitted it, Elvira might punish those ordinary soldiers just to provoke a more intense reaction from him.
So Morris opted for a cold response, staring at Elvira with a defiant gaze.
“In that case, there’s no problem at all~ Don’t worry, I’m generous with those loyal to me. Each will receive a special bonus, and as for the leading actor, naturally there’ll be an even greater reward. Isn’t that right, Sivirind?”
Seeing Morris not “resist” but instead “gaze affectionately” at her,
Elvira, in high spirits, flashed a satisfied smile, then addressed someone behind Morris in an almost intimate tone.
Morris turned and saw the armored female knight who had just been lying on the training ground leap up to land behind him, and as soon as she steadied herself, she eagerly removed the full-face helmet from her head.
When the helmet came off and her crimson hair tumbled out like a waterfall, the marquis’s daughter’s cold, exquisite face reappeared before Morris.
“…El, I really think Miss Dorinnia is more suited for this. This getup doesn’t fit me at all.”
As Elvira’s close friend, Sivirind didn’t immediately play along but instead complained that she wasn’t suited to the role.
She hadn’t learned any spear techniques, after all. Playing the neighboring country’s knight-queen was far too easy to see through.
“That’s exactly why I wanted you to play it. With Dorinnia’s personality, she’d put her whole heart into acting as that woman. What if our dear Paladin really got fooled by her performance, thought he was being rescued, and then saw the knight-queen defeated by me? Wouldn’t that be too pitiful?”
Faced with her friend’s complaint, Elvira still didn’t forget to tease Morris.
At the end, she even deliberately glanced toward Morris with a sympathetic, doting smile, as if she really cared about his feelings.
“How very considerate of you.”
Morris resisted the urge to roll his eyes, casually brushing off the queen’s “favor.”
“…I see. As expected of you, El—ever so thoughtful.”
Sivirind tucked her helmet between her arm and breastplate, calmly clapping her hands in admiration.
Unlike Morris, she wasn’t being sarcastic—she simply didn’t show her feelings on her face and looked cold, that’s all.
She just seemed like an ice queen, but was actually rather mysterious and eccentric.
“No need for thanks, really. Ah, but Morris, if you insist on thanking me, I won’t say no, you know?”
Elvira knew full well Morris wasn’t sincerely praising her, but she didn’t care, shamelessly accepting his empty gratitude.
She even took a step toward him, her whole expression brimming with interest, her gaze so sultry it was hard not to read into it.
“I don’t feel that thankful, really. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now. You two enjoy your chat.”
Faced with such a blatant hint, Morris simply pretended not to understand her.
After tossing out a line, he strode past the female-knight-clad Sivirind, as if making a hasty escape.
This left the two maids responsible for watching over Morris momentarily unsure if they should forcibly stop him, or simply follow his lead.
Fortunately, Elvira, quite satisfied, didn’t make things difficult for them and told them to just follow Morris.
Only then did the two maids, relieved, bow to her before hurrying to catch up to Morris, who hadn’t gone far.
“What a coward. It’s not like we’re going to eat him, right, Sivirind?”
Watching Morris’s retreating figure, Elvira didn’t forget to poke fun at him, naturally joking with her close friend.
“…Mm.”
Sivirind paused for a moment, then gave a confirming answer.
Since she was always like this, Elvira didn’t mind at all, watching her very own Paladin’s departing back with satisfaction.
Completely unaware what her dear friend was really thinking at that moment.