The Illegal Beauty of Warrant Officer Amboise
The names of the three Royal Guard members who, having just finished their meal and walking near the guard building, unexpectedly and unfortunately ran into the Grand Ducal couple, were as follows: Georges Renard, who was trying to score points with his crush by boasting of his closeness with the new Grand Duchess; Sarah de Tornier, who had been dragged along and was hesitating for the second day in a row over whether she should actually have lunch with him; and Ezra Dubois, who had been dragged out by force and was walking behind them.
"Whoops." Georges was the first to widen his eyes upon seeing them. He had just been babbling to Sarah, "Ah, when Her Grace the Grand Duchess was first commissioned, I was the very first one to buy her a drink!"—so the sudden appearance of Chloe, or rather, Her Grace, couldn't have been more welcome. Wearing his signature smirk, he snapped a crisp salute.
"Loyalty. First Squad Leader Georges Renard reporting to Brigadier General Berk, Your Grace...?" But Georges couldn't finish his greeting. His grinning eyes had just locked onto the clasped hands of the Grand Ducal couple. The Grand Ducal couple, holding hands. Every single element of that concept was, to Georges, nothing short of a cataclysmic event.
"Ah—whoa!" Chloe, frozen for a moment at the unexpected encounter with her friends, belatedly noticed Georges's gaze. Startled, she flung Grand Duke Berk's hand away as if discarding a hot potato. The Grand Duke, suddenly cast aside, stumbled slightly. No one noticed the subtle twitch of his cheek.
Regardless, Georges's eyes rolled in sheer bewilderment. Is Brigadier General Berk actually holding someone's hand? Crazy.
Georges Renard, First Squad Leader. Naturally, he was one of the frequent visitors to Brigadier General Berk's office. And every single time, he had seen some absurd things. The Brigadier General's fastidious—read: incredibly picky—nature was already famous among the officers. A speck of dirt on the navy blue Royal Guard uniform? Banned from the office for the day. If he saw someone sweating even a little, the Brigadier General would glare at them as if they were filth, or kick them out. Georges usually got chewed out for habitually touching his mustache during meetings. He was told it was disgustingly dirty because hairs might fall out. For Georges, the self-proclaimed most stylish and clean gentleman of the Renard family, there was no greater humiliation.
But fortunately or unfortunately, he was actually one of the less abused ones. To Curtis Shan Berk, everyone in the Royal Guard except Lieutenant Noel was treated like a pile of filthy garbage. It was only natural that no one had ever brushed so much as a hair against the Brigadier General. Thus, it was entirely reasonable for Georges to be utterly dumbfounded upon seeing the Grand Duke and Chloe now.
Of course, Georges had also heard the gossip from the Ministry of Finance yesterday—that the newlywed Grand Ducal couple had been seen walking hand-in-hand through the gardens on their way to work. But since rumors were always flying, he had assumed it was just another piece of false gossip circulating the palace. That man, holding someone's hand? Really? But wait. Why does it have to be our Chloe of all people?
For the record, the reason Georges Renard called Chloe Amboise "our Chloe" was simple. Georges frequently omitted items from the First Squad's duty reports. He argued that such things were inevitable when one was busy cultivating personal beauty, but he couldn't very well say that to Curtis's face. What Curtis loathed most was having to repeat himself. After making the same mistake multiple times and undergoing repeated disciplinary drills, Georges had faced the threat of dismissal. But the quick-witted and resourceful Chloe had saved him. She had spotted the omissions in the First Squad's reports before they reached Curtis and tipped Georges off no fewer than three times. Consequently, Georges revered Chloe Amboise like a deity.
Anyway, putting that aside. Georges had also heard the rumors that Chloe and Brigadier General Berk had married after a secret romance. But hearing something and actually believing it are two very different things. Although a week had passed since the Grand Duke's wedding, Georges had merely found the story amusing; at this very moment, he vividly realized that deep down, he hadn't truly believed it.
A romance... Well, people in love hold hands. These days, with modern dating, they hold hands and even kiss... And since they're married, holding hands should be nothing... No matter how much he rationalized it, the sight was utterly incomprehensible. The sight of those two holding hands was like... a lion and a rabbit walking hand-in-hand? No, that metaphor fell far short of the current reality. This was more like an act that should be forbidden by some absolute, cosmic law. His mind was bordering on pure panic.
Unfortunately, Curtis Shan Berk was not a benevolent man who would wait for a panicked Georges to gather his thoughts. "Warrant Officer Renard. If you have something to say, speak up." Under the icy pressure of his superior's prompt, poor, bewildered Georges blurted out without thinking.
"Isn't this illegal?!" Curtis Shan Berk's eyes narrowed. However, Georges Renard's military career had not been entirely in vain; a saving hand was promptly extended toward him.
"Loyalty. Second Squad Leader Ezra Dubois reporting to Brigadier General Berk, Your Grace."
"Loyalty. Sergeant Sarah de Tornier reporting."
It was Ezra who quickly saluted as if nothing had happened. Sarah, who had been standing there dumbstruck, followed suit. Standing at attention with his hands behind his back, Ezra gave a brief nod toward Chloe. Chloe, belatedly snapping out of it, returned the nod awkwardly. And just like that, the sudden encounter seemed to be wrapping up...
"What is illegal, Warrant Officer Renard?"
"Pardon?"
It was not wrapping up. Brigadier General Curtis Shan Berk asked Georges again with a flat expression. "Explain to me what is illegal." A massive crisis for First Squad Leader Georges Renard.
"Ah, well..." But who was Georges Renard? The reason Madame Renard still kept him close in his late twenties, despite calling him her arch-nemesis of a son, was his astonishingly shameless and slick personality. Quickly recovering his wits, Georges offered a smooth, jovial grin and shouted:
"Ah, Warrant Officer Amboise's beauty is absolutely illegal!"
"...?"
Chloe was dumbfounded, and Curtis furrowed his brow at the nonsensical statement. Seizing the moment, Georges smirked and flattered them shamelessly.
"You are so beautiful that passersby would fall over in shock! Surely, possessing such devastating beauty must violate some sort of law!"
Have you completely lost your mind? Chloe wanted to ask him in earnest. She would have, if they weren't standing right in front of Curtis. But Georges's tongue was several times faster.
"This must surely be the power of love! My word, to think the day would come when the Brigadier General would stroll through the Royal Castle holding a beautiful lady's hand. I, Georges Renard, can now die with no regrets!"
Clasping his hands together as he spoke, Georges looked incredibly frivolous. Chloe pressed a hand to her forehead. How embarrassing... Behind him, Ezra and Sarah looked equally mortified by the blatant flattery. Meanwhile, the Grand Duke remained expressionless.
"I have heard your praise for my wife, Warrant Officer Renard."
"Thank you, sir!"
"But don't you think those words are a bit crude to be directed at another man's wife?"
"Pardon?"
In an instant, the atmosphere turned ice-cold. Startled, Chloe looked back at Curtis. The man standing there with his arms crossed, expressionless, behaved like an entirely different person from the one who had been chuckling while holding her hand just moments ago.
Of course, the man had barely even raised his voice. Yet, Georges's face, which had been grinning just a second ago, was already pale. That was when Ezra stepped in. "My apologies, sir. The First Squad Leader's congratulations on Her Grace's happiness were excessive." Ezra's brown eyes clashed with Curtis's purple gaze in the air.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, sir. We will correct this."
"But Warrant Officer Dubois, you didn't say anything."
Yet, Ezra remained calm. "As the Second Squad Leader, I will undergo a service inspection to share the responsibility for the First Squad Leader's mistake."
"What? Ah, no, Ezra..." Georges, flustered, tried to call out to Ezra, but quickly shut his mouth and stood with his hands behind his back. He realized that if he ran his mouth any further, he might end up taking twice the punishment.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere had become truly bizarre. Georges had made a slip of the tongue, but was it really worth all this? Just as Chloe was shifting her eyes in discomfort, Curtis spoke. "Forget it. This is no fun." The tension that had frozen the air dissolved instantly at his words. Curtis uncrossed his arms and clicked his tongue.
"Warrant Officer Renard. I understand you are constantly warned to watch your mouth during squad leader meetings, yet you remain unchanged. Chloe is no longer Warrant Officer Amboise."
"It was my oversight! My deepest apologies!" Georges cried out, looking on the verge of tears. The man shook his head.
"I intended to bring this up at the upcoming squad leaders' meeting, but I will take this opportunity to tell you as well, Warrant Officer Dubois. Though Chloe is my wife, she still holds the rank of Warrant Officer within the Royal Guard."
"I am aware, sir."
"If you speak like that in the future, I will make sure you experience some very interesting consequences."
While everyone present froze for a moment, Georges shouted again, "I will correct this!" But Curtis waved his hand. "I wasn't talking to you, Warrant Officer Renard. I am well aware of your closeness with Chloe. Do I look like such a narrow-minded man that I would punish a harmless joke about a happy occasion between close friends?"