7 — Commander and Lieutenant Commander

Even though we’re in Emergency Guest Shift, our elite team of servants is going all out and responding in no time at all! Mr. Fisalis probably has no idea how hard they work behind the scenes.

I can only pray they don’t revolt someday.

By the time I got to the salon, Mimosa had already put out apéritifs, tea, snacks, and sweets.

Wasn’t she just in the entryway a second ago? To be able to do all this so fast, what did she do? Teleport?

Two maids sent by Dahlia joined us in the salon shortly thereafter, officially starting the entertainment!

“Would you pass out the glasses? Use these if they want wine. Do we need more tea?”

We had several kinds of alcohol, so we handed out appropriate glasses for each.

But just then, I spotted someone holding their saucer! That meant they wanted more tea. Roger that!

We laid out snacks that pair well with wine, as well as those that go with spirits, but they were all drinking much faster than they were eating! We had made enough drinks for twenty people, but it seemed like they were all gone in mere minutes!

“It seems we’ve run out of alcohol, Mimosa. Tell Rohtas and have him bring more.” I whispered to Mimosa, hoping to avoid running out of drinks.

“Understood!”

I took a quick glance at everyone as I brewed tea, passed out glasses of alcohol, kept everyone entertained, and generally made sure that things were going smoothly and our guests were enjoying themselves.

After confirming I still had drinks and snacks to spare, my quick glance over the assembled knights gave me the impression that many of them were young.

And that they were all quite good-looking. There was a good mix of tough guys, sweethearts, and flirts.

Is being hot one of the qualifications for becoming a knight? The examiner must’ve been a sucker for a pretty face, then... er, excuse me, that’s going off topic.

Leaving the question of a possible knight-hotness grading system for another time, I feasted my eyes on the sight of them all smartly dressed in their dashing uniforms.

Although they were knights by rank, this special division was actually a group of elite intellectuals, so the proportion of muscleheads among them was low. That earned the group a high score from me.

Even among this harem of hotties, however, the maids under Mimosa were working in professional detachment, without so much as blushing.

I wouldn’t have expected anything less from them. I should follow their example instead of just ogling!

Looks like there are three lady knights... and, on par with the guys, they’re all drop-dead gorgeous! Am I drooling...? Uh, whoops.

I narrowly avoided a major social mishap there.

Er, rather, there’s no harm in admiring the beauty of a beauty!

All three of them were slender and tall, with well-defined busts and hips. Their hair was tied back in what was probably regulation style, with not a single strand out of place.

Oh no, I think I’m starting to understand how pervy old men feel...

Ha ha, I shouldn’t worry, though! Despite Mr. Fisalis being around these beautiful women every day, he still wants to look at me, huh?

Speaking of Mr. Fisalis, his good looks still stand out, even among all these beautiful people!

Mr. Fisalis came over to me while the servants were busy with tea and whispered in my ear, “Sorry, Vi. They all somehow heard that you were having a tea party today and begged to come, too.” He was frowning slightly with what was probably guilt.

“Please don’t worry about it. Everyone is happy to help out.” I answered with a pleasant smile... which was, of course, mere lip service.

You could have let me know they were coming. That way, we all wouldn’t have been rushed off our feet, but nooo.

Mr. Fisalis sighed in relief at my forced smile. At that moment, a knight stepped between us and said, “Don’t underestimate the best of the best, Commander!”

“What’re you talking about, Corydalis?” Mr. Fisalis’ gentle smile vanished in an instant and was replaced by a deep voice and glaring eyes.

“Did you forget we’re an intel-gathering and investigative division? Finding out that she was holding a tea party was a walk in the park!” The knight was not even the slightest bit intimidated by Mr. Fisalis’ glare—maybe he was used to it—and smiled easily as he answered.

Hang on, what did you just say? Gathering intel is a walk in the park? Maybe for you—you’re in an intelligence agency!

So does that mean there was an information leak within the manor? Could my habit of wearing servants’ clothes and working like one of them have leaked out, too!? That would spell ruin for the family!

I felt the blood drain from my face at the thought.

I can see the headline clearly: “Dishonored Duchy: Local Duchess Plays Maid While Her Husband is Away!”

I’m done for!

The knight must have noticed how pale I looked and hurriedly said, “Oh, er, our source was one of your guests. You can’t get anything out of the guards here. Your staff are outstanding, though—a good match for us! We ought to try and recruit them!”

He replied as if he didn’t really understand what I meant.

“Oh, I see.” He really had me worried there. Looks like my daily routine is still safe.

I sighed in relief and the color returned to my face.

I knew our staff were professionals! I regret doubting them, even for a second.

The knight continued to explain himself while I internally apologized to the servants.

“I mean, you wouldn’t be able to peek inside this place even if you wanted to—the hedges are carefully grown to hide everything, and then to top it all off, the staff are all tight-lipped. They don’t even gossip with the delivery men or repairmen. It’d be a real pain to try to gather intel here.”

Way to go, Bellis! Good job, servants!

The knight looks kind of disappointed, but aren’t you better off not spying on your boss?

“Don’t spy on us,” Mr. Fisalis told him with a sour look on his face, apparently thinking the same thing.

“But you won’t tell me, no matter how much I aaask. Ah, but then again, you’re the biggest source of leaks, Commander,” the knight smirked.

I nearly burst out laughing at that.

Even if the servants do a good job of concealing information, when the duke himself is carelessly trotting his mistress around in high society, well...

Rohtas’—everyone’s—efforts are all in vain.

And now, instead of his mistress, he’s suddenly showing off his lawful wife instead, and going on about how great she is in public.

That’s a bad look. That’s a reeeally bad look, Mr. Fisalis.

I wanted to hide my face in my hands.

“Zip it, Corydalis!” the man in question snapped in response to the knight, his scowl growing deeper by the second.

“Yes, siiir. Oh, Madam, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Corydalis, I’m the lieutenant commander. You can call me Cory! The commander and I are totally professional at work, but we’re good buddies off the clock. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!” he said with a jaunty pop of his shoulders, not even seeming to register Mr. Fisalis’ sour expression.

Corydalis had nicely chiseled features, too.

He had light blue-green eyes crinkled in a smile.

“Cory—”

“‘Corydalis’ is fine!” Mr. Fisalis interrupted.

“Corydalis, then. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Viola.”

“I can’t say that I approve of the stuff this fellow gets up to in private, but at work, I have no complaints. Despite appearances.”

“My appearance is none of your concern. And more importantly, what exactly do you mean by you ‘can’t approve’ of what I do in private?”

“You know why. Or do I need to ask everyone else to remind you?”

Mr. Fisalis got the message and stared at the ground in silence.

He’s way too easy to read.

Looking at Mr. Fisalis with amusement, Corydalis continued. “Remember back before you were in this special division, when you belonged to the First Platoon? Oh, I was there, too, of course...”

I wasn’t sure why, but he started chattering proudly about Mr. Fisalis’ past military achievements. I didn’t understand what the point of bringing it up was, and neither did Mr. Fisalis, judging by his uncomfortable expression.

I guess we’re friends now.

Moments later, Rohtas appeared and informed us that the food was ready, thus finally putting an end to Corydalis’ little lecture.

Le sigh.

What bet did I lose to end up with these guys?