On the first day of patrol, everything went well, and there were no complaints. Iris was chosen to guard Louis's daughter and her family. After the first day of patrolling, as all the other knights returned to the barracks, everyone had a chance to talk.
Astrea asked, "Ma'am Iris, are you okay? You seem different from before. Is something bothering you?"
Iris said, "It's nothing."
Anew added, "Are you sure, ma'am? Last time, you seemed more cheerful."
Iris sighed. "Well... coming back here brings back memories. Memories that hurt."
Astrea said, "Why? Have you been here before?"
Iris replied, "Yeah... many times."
Anew looked surprised. "What? Did your parents know Mrs. Louis or something?"
"It's more like," Iris said, "my mom is Louis Solace."
Astrea and Anew both gasped. "What?!"
"Yeah," Iris continued, "this is my childhood home. I grew up here. Louis's daughter is my older sister. My father died in battle when my sister and I were just kids. My mom was also a knight, and later she became an instructor at the academy. She was our teacher—Lucifer, Licht, and I were her students. So were Roy and Elizabeth. She was in charge of tactics, intelligence, current affairs, and history."
"Trust me," she added with a faint smile, "the number of times she threw chalk at us for sleeping in history class was something else. Easily in the thousands."
"Even though Lucifer was loyal and obedient, if he got bored, he'd fall asleep. Licht? He just slept in class no matter the day, subject, or values. There were even times he'd sleep during tests."
Astrea said, "Wow… so that's what the captains were like when they were younger. They seem so different now."
Iris nodded. "Yeah. They changed, grew, became some of the strongest knights… and after a while, they left me behind. I just couldn't keep up anymore. They flew ahead in the blink of an eye."
Suddenly, an alarm began to ring, and everyone assembled.
Iris asked, "What happened?"
Lucifer said, "Look at this."
Iris looked. "What is it? It's just a mosquito."
Licht replied, "That's where you're wrong. Look closely. This mosquito is a small surveillance magic device. It was sending information to the enemy. Thanks to it, they would have been two steps ahead."
Lucifer added, "But we can use it to feed them false intel."
"Exactly," Licht agreed. They used the mosquito to send false information that the knights would be leaving the House of Solace in two days due to a lack of evidence of enemy activity. So the enemy began preparing a Plan B.
Before returning to bed, Louis said, "Licht, Lucifer—good job. It seems I made a wise choice placing my faith in you. And Iris, keep this incident in mind moving forward."
Licht spoke up. "Actually, ma'am, Iris was the one who told us to make sure even insects weren't out of our sight. We just followed her instructions."
Lucifer nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Sadly, I have to agree. The mosquito would have escaped me if it weren't for her idea."
Louis raised an eyebrow. "You two are captains, and yet you're taking advice from a vice-captain?"
Lucifer said, "The vice-captains are our best strategists. And even we make mistakes. But for my failure tonight, I'd suggest you at least take Iris for your personal security."
Louis said, "No need. You're doing just fine. And like you said—mistakes aren't beyond captains either."
Lucifer replied, "Understood. But would it be alright if I take her on as my assistant to help guard you personally?"
Louis said, "Fine. Just make sure she doesn't get in my way."
Iris couldn't help but stare in awe.
Licht and Lucifer blinked, and Iris quietly said, "Thank you."