Three months have passed, since the white whale subjugation quest and the slaying of sloth. At first, the entire kingdom was busy celebrating the defeat of two horrendous beings that had plagued them for four hundred years. But now, everything had calm down.
That was only for the citizens though. The dragon candidates were ever so busy with their campaign that will last for three years. One particular candidate was especially engaged in work. Struggling, even. For she had lost her memories.
"Crusch-sama!"
The demi-human knight, who had a preference for wearing feminine clothing, barged into the working duchess' office, startling her by his sudden intrusion.
"Ferris..."
She slowly muttered his name, which she had gotten used to calling by the period of three months. Having heard his name, Felix was quick to grasp Crusch's shoulders, as he leaned on to her affectionately and snuggled his chin against her smooth green hair.
"Crusch-sama! What do nyou think about going on an outing with Ferri-chan and Wil-jii?"
Felix asked her as his tail whipped around and his ears twitched. She looked at him with surprise. His request came out of nowhere.
"An outing...where to?"
"That you shouldn't worry about! Ferri-chan will take care of it."
He assured her with a proud snort, which made her lips draw into a small curve.
"Fine. Let's go."
.
.
.
"Crusch-sama, try this one please."
Felix pulled out a dark blue dress with a wrinkled square neck and puffed sleeves. It was simple, yet elegant.
"Ferris has a great choice in clothes."
She couldn't help but admire this quality of her knight, which made him chuckle as he thanked her.
"Oh! Why don't you try picking out Ferri-chan's clothes too?"
Felix enthusiastically asked her, making her tilt her head right, as she thought carefully. Looking at her acting so serious just to choose clothes made him smile.
"Then, I choose this."
She reached out to a blue dress, filled with frills. Felix flinched when he saw it. He clutched the hems of his dress and hung his head low as he spoke aloud-
"Hee~ Crusch-sama has great taste too."
She brought it towards him to see how it looked.
"Hmm, as expected, it looks good on you Ferris. It will go well with your ribbons. Also,"
She took a small pause as a gentle and warm smile bloomed on her face like a white lily.
"Its colour matches mine."
Biting his lower lip with his teeth, Felix desperately tried to hide his face by snatching the dress from her. But he couldn't hide the crack in his voice.
"F-Ferri-chan will go change. Crusch-sama should too! Let's meet up at the gate."
He threw out the words and walked hastily towards the door, only to be stopped by Crusch's hand that grabbed his.
"Wait for a second, Ferr-"
Her throat choked up at the sight in front of her. A trail of tears trickled down her knight's yellow cheeks, as his eyes failed to hold back the tears he had been so desperately trying to hide. His face turned red as he sniffled.
Dropping the dress in his hands to the ground, he leaned forward and held his lady's hands and cried. Cried his heart out like a child, despite him knowing it very well that he was making her incredibly worried. But he couldn't help it.
After all, that dress was something she had picked out for him before, to match with the blue ribbons she had gifted him. But the difference is, it was before she lost her memories.
"It's okay, Ferris."
Although she had no idea as to why he was crying, she couldn't just watch him sobbing like that and wrapped her arms around him and pet his head, in an attempt to console him.
Felix didn't tell the reason for his sudden outburst and smiled as he thanked her for consoling him, before leaving the room. But she had a guess.
"It's probably because of something that happened in the past, isn't it?..."
Crusch whispered to herself slowly as she hugged the dress her knight picked out for her. Her amber eyes drooped with sadness as they reflected the door he left from.
Outside, Felix leaned against the door, and losing his balance, slid down to the ground, Pulling the dress close to his chest, he sobbed quietly all by himself, in the empty hall. The precious memories he made with his lady overwhelmingly resurfaced, making the hole of sorrow in his heart hurt even more.
.
.
.
It was a bright sunny afternoon. The weather was very nice too. Inhaling the refreshing air heartily, Crusch sat down on the white sheet, the Karsten butler spread across.
"Thank you, Wilhelm."
"No need to thank me for doing my job, Crusch-sama. Would you like to enjoy some tea in this fine weather?"
"I would love to."
Wilhelm started pouring tea on three cups and took out some snacks from the basket, which we're immediately attacked upon by Felix.
"But truly,"
Crusch said as she held her cup by the handle and brought it close to her lips. She observed the Karsten mansion's beauty.
"When you said an outing, I wasn't expecting us to be having a picnic in the garden."
She spoke in an amused tone as she sipped on her tea, relishing its taste. Felix nommed on some cookies and tilted his head.
"Do you not like it?"
"Oh no, I absolutely love it. The weather is so nice, the smell of the plants is refreshing, and as we are close to the mansion, there is no need to worry about wasting time going back and forth. Thank you, Ferris."
She smiled at him as she expressed her gratitude, to which, Felix simply said-
"Don't worry too myuch, and just relax~"
The three of them drank their tea while enjoying the silence as the pleasant wind blew. For a while, they didn't speak at all. There was no need to speak.
The silence was more than enough to distract them.
Wilhelm sighed through his nose as his blue eyes shone and he said-
"My wife really enjoyed having tea outside like this."
"Your wife?..."
Crusch asked in a curious tone as Felix' face paled, while Wilhelm simply smiled since he got the chance to talk about his wife.
For the next half an hour, Wilhelm went on and on about his wife.
"Although she didn't like spicy food, she would make some for me from Time to Time."
"She sounds like a very thoughtful person."
"Indeed."
He closed his eyes and nodded with a smile.
"My wife was very thoughtful."
Felix was on the verge of sleeping as it was probably the twentieth time he had heard this. Looking at this state of his, Crusch decided to change the topic.
"Why did you suddenly want to go for an outing today?"
"Nyaa? Nyo reason."
"Huh? Really?"
She asked with surprise, finding it hard to believe that there was no reason.
"Yeah. Ferri-chan just thought it would be nice to go out with Crusch-sama."
"And what about me?"
Wilhelm asked sceptically as Felix giggled.
"Of course, we need Will-jii to carry all the stuff, nyo?"
"..."
Crusch ended up laughing aloud at their exchange as she placed her hand on her mouth.
"Really, you two...well, I guess it's nice to do things without any certain reason or proper planning, huh."
"That's right."
Felix said as he sat up straight.
"There's no problem in doing what you want. There doesn't have to be a good reason for everything. So come outside like this sometimes, to relax."
Crusch understood that he arranged this outing for her to have a break. She faced him with wide eyes.
"Ferris..."
"Ferri-chan feels very bad about not being able to help... This is the least Ferri-chan could do."
His ears slumped as he berated himself for his uselessness. Crusch shook her head, making her green hair flutter.
"No. You have done a lot more than you realized. And I am truly thankful for that. These past few months, I have been struggling with my work...a break like this was exactly what I needed to clear my mind. So, thank you."
She smiled as she softly patted his head, enjoying the soft feeling. Felix too relished the feeling. Wilhelm got up for a short walk and left them to their own devices. Crusch's eyes suddenly turned gloomy.
"Although I am really happy you did this for me, I can't help but feel that...all of this is for...a person that is not here. The 'me' from before, whom you respected, is not me. I am not the same person you cherished."
"Crusch-sama."
A stern voice made its presence felt in the breeze, as Felix stared into Crusch's eyes with resolve.
"With memories or without, Crusch-sama is still Crusch-sama. A noble, kind and strong person who saved me. Someone who puts others before herself. Nyou might have forgotten Ferri-chan and his highness, but nyour nature hasn't changed at all. So please, don't say such things again..."
Felix' eyes welled up as he hung down his head. Crusch stares at him for a while in silence.
"Nyo matter what, Ferri-chan will support Crusch-sama."
"...I'm very proud to have a knight like you."
She softly whispered and glanced away to look at some birds flying away. She traced their path with her eyes for no reason. Looking at them fluttering their wings freely like this made her feel liberated too.
Quietly, Felix rested his head on her lap. She didn't take her eyes off of the birds but, she did softly caressed his head. They stayed like that for a while.
"Wilhelm, what are you doing?"
After they realized that Wilhelm was gone for quite a long time, the knight and lady duo got up in a search for him. They found him standing next to the flower bed. Flowers of different colours adorned the green ground.
"I am just simply watching the flowers and reminiscing some old memories I am rather fond of."
Automatically a sigh was drawn out of Felix as Crusch yet again became curious.
"Do you like flowers?"
Wilhelm's eyes shot open in surprise at the question he had become familiar with. He closed his eyes as if he could see the same scene he saw behind those closed eyelids.
"My wife really liked flowers."
"I see. Then, what about you?"
"I too came to like them after spending time with her."
Crusch nodded at him and turned towards the flowers to enjoy their beauty. Felix knelt and picked out three flowers of blue colour, and gently put one behind Crusch's ear.
He smiled with satisfaction upon observing her from head to toe. Her blue gown fluttered with the passing wind, as her hair danced along with its tune.
"The colour blue really suits nyou, Crusch-sama. But only as clothes and accessories. Not nyour mood."
The duchess couldn't hold it anymore as tears welled up in her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she had been stressed about her consecutive failures in work, and she had been repeatedly comparing herself with her past she has no recollections of.
Looking at her like this, Felix immediately put one flower behind his own ear and the other was used for Wilhelm.
"..."
He simply stared at him in annoyance but chose not to say anything because he knew very well why he did it.
"Nyow the three of us are matching!"
He giggled and slapped Wilhelm's back in mockery, making the near crying Crusch burst into laughter.
"Really you two, thank you for today."
"Nyo problem~"
"As long as this old man can assist you, don't feel shy to ask for help."
They gazed at the flowers for a little longer and went back. Upon returning, Crusch decided to ask her father for help in administration, which was a decision well supported by her knight and butler.
As her knight said, she will don the colour blue, and work hard by getting support until she becomes capable to stand on her own.