“…By the way, Mr. Morris, do you prefer women to be more proper, or more easygoing?”
As soon as these words slipped out, Dorinnia herself was a little surprised.
There was really no need for her to ask such a question.
After all, asking like this made it seem as if she wanted to gain Morris’s approval.
It was a bit of a sneaky question, since she knew that in the end, he would definitely approve of her.
“That’s hard to say. As long as you’re not overly proper or overly easygoing, either is fine. There’s no need for you to worry about things like this at all, Miss Dorinnia. In my opinion, you should just keep being yourself.”
As Dorinnia expected, Morris had no trouble approving of her as she was right now.
What’s more, his expression was full of satisfaction, and rather than being displeased by her slyness, he seemed genuinely happy that she would ask such a question.
If one had to use a metaphor, yes, it was like the older brother next door, now a Holy Knight, looking at an excellent junior.
Gaining Morris’s approval naturally made Dorinnia happy.
But she was also ashamed that it wasn’t her actions, but her ‘sly display of vulnerability’—such a petty means—that had gained her this recognition.
This left her with quite a complicated feeling.
Still, that was her own business; on the surface, she hid her conflicted emotions and thanked Morris for his praise.
“Thank you, Mr. Morris. It seems I’m still far from being on your level.”
“Miss Dorinnia, you’re too modest. I’m not that impressive; I’m just a bit older and have experienced a few more things than you.”
Morris waved his hand politely and smiled humbly.
It wasn’t that he was deliberately playing himself down. Though he was a rare Holy Knight, even he wasn’t strong enough inside to be completely fearless or calm in all situations.
Even as a Holy Knight, the gap between that and a Saint was wide enough to fit ten thousand Elvira’s worth of moral standards.
…No, maybe it was a hundred thousand?
Thinking that Elvira herself would definitely laugh and slap him if she heard this, Morris’s gaze returned to the teacup in front of him.
Just as Morris was thinking these rather rude things, and Dorinnia was secretly encouraging herself not to let Morris down—
Knock, knock, knock.
The office door was knocked from outside.
This interrupted both of their trains of thought.
After exchanging a glance, the two quickly changed the atmosphere between them, growing more distant and unfamiliar.
“Come in.”
As Dorinnia’s stern voice sounded, the door was pushed open from the outside.
Standing on either side of the door, naturally, were the two young maids assigned to accompany Morris today.
The two of them bowed respectfully to Elvira, who was seated at the end of the office. This was not only out of the necessary etiquette of maids, but also because they sincerely admired Dorinnia.
In contrast, the woman standing between them was far less respectful.
She merely frowned at Morris inside the room, as if wanting to say something but holding back, then strode in rather nonchalantly.
“Captain Dorinnia, what are you doing? There’s no need for you to personally receive this man, is there? Hasn’t all the work His Majesty assigned come to a halt because of this guy? Go on and get busy; I’ll keep an eye on him for you.”
This was a young woman dressed in the same black uniform as Dorinnia, with short to medium brown hair, a bright and forceful voice, and the look of a tough professional not easy to deal with.
As a martial artist, she seemed even more rigid and severe than the knights of Fastar.
She really did seem like a member of the special unit loyal to the Witch Queen.
She was also full of distrust and hostility toward Morris, the outsider—just like Dorinnia was when outsiders were present.
“Salina, mind your words and actions. No matter what, this gentleman is still a distinguished guest of Her Majesty. Don’t be too rude.”
Though it seemed she was defending Morris, in truth Dorinnia was still siding with her subordinate…at least, that’s how it looked to those who didn’t know better.
The proof was that her attitude toward her subordinate was clearly more trusting and familiar.
“Understood, Captain. So, what do you think of my suggestion just now?”
The reprimanded female officer didn’t show any reluctance, honestly accepting the criticism, though she hadn’t forgotten what she’d said before.
“Hey, you over there. If you don’t want to anger Her Majesty, you should know not to interfere with Captain Dorinnia’s work, right? If you’re so bored, I can keep you company. How about it?”
The woman called Salina clearly believed that Morris was holding up Dorinnia’s work, and so was full of hostility toward him.
From her point of view, their Queen had somehow found some man with nothing but an empty reputation and taken him as a captive, and now this man wasn’t behaving himself, but running to her captain and getting in the way.
If you were a sensible subordinate, you’d have complaints too.
So it was understandable that she was so tough.
“Salina.”
But still, this was going a bit too far. Just a moment ago she’d acknowledged the captain’s order, and now she was being so disrespectful again.
Even if it was understandable, she really wasn’t giving the captain any face at all.
Thus, Dorinnia, sitting behind the desk, raised her voice, calling the female officer’s name again.
“Captain, please be quiet for a moment. I’ll finish negotiating with this man right away. Hurry up and decide, you—Morris, don’t think your title of Holy Knight lets you do whatever you please. Are you really a Holy Knight, anyway? Maybe you’re just some fraud. Or maybe you’re just getting by on your good looks and reputation. If you don’t like what I said, how about a little match with me?”
The female officer didn’t even look at Dorinnia, gesturing with her hand for Dorinnia to wait a bit longer, then walked up to Morris, towering over him and putting on the pressure.
Her flippant tone and contemptuous gaze made it obvious she was provoking him, clearly trying to rile Morris up.
“Salina!”
But this level of provocation didn’t move Morris in the slightest. Instead, it was Dorinnia who reacted most intensely.
The third time she called the woman’s name, her tone was much more forceful than before, the warning and anger in it greater than the previous two times combined.
The previously confident female officer was clearly startled, her face showing both fear and bewilderment.
She clearly hadn’t expected her superior to be so angry.
She’d wanted to look at Dorinnia and explain herself, but when she saw that face full of fury, she truly couldn’t get a single word out.
All she could feel was that she’d just made a big mistake.