Extra Scene 1

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The First Cavalry Company immediately after the Special Ops Division Commander has left the tent:

“...it’s not like we can just pack up and go home if we refuse.”

“Exactly. We’ve practically got targets on our foreheads until we successfully complete the mission!”

“Yeah.”

“But we’ll be total heroes if we do succeed, right?”

“Right! You bet we will!”

“Yeah, and chicks dig heroes!”

“Let’s hear it for rich girls!”

“Alright, I say we show ’em what we got! No one’ll look down on us once we make it through his hellish training!”

“Huzzah!”

Behold, a group of dumb jocks on the brink of wetting themselves in fear have somehow found a silver lining. Among them, however, a single knight whispers, with a look of desperate, brief optimism, “...If I make it through this mission, I’m going to propose to my girl.”

“Dude, no ominous foreshadowing!”

And thus thanks to the First Company and their resolve, the day was won by believing in themselves. But the decisive battle and any victories were still a long ways away.

Several months later:

“What ever happened to that guy?”

“He made it home safe. And is absolutely whipped now.”

“...I guess that’s better than being dead.”

21 — About to Come Home

A month had passed since the troops had arrived at the frontlines and tension had escalated to all-out war. In the meantime, the lady knights continued to relay information and messages to me about the war’s progress and the situation on the battlefield. Flür seemed to be the stronger side, and the messages they provided suggested we were approaching the final stretch.

Incidentally, ever since Mr. Fisalis had cracked down on a certain company, they had set forth with their operation with no complaints to be heard at headquarters. Apparently, the commanding officer had misbehaved and now the whole company was paying for it. Corydalis was very concerned that they would go bald or get ulcers from all the stress.

At last, news that the final curtain had fallen on the war, with the Flür Kingdom victorious, came to the capital. Of course, since my in-laws and I had been informed at that time that Mr. Fisalis and his subordinates were uninjured, we were all very relieved. Since we were so far from the battlefield in Rozhe, and the Flür army had the upper hand since day one, it was easy to forget that there even was a war happening. That’s what it was like the whole time.

“A month to organize everything, then a month at war, for a grand total of two months. It was another surprisingly short battle,” Lord Fisalis said admiringly. I thought for sure that the previous skirmish took a little more time. We think back on that war often, it’s true, but if that’s the only recent war you can compare it to, no wonder he’d be resentful if it dragged on! ...But I digress.

“It was indeed. They must have been very scrupulous in their planning.” Lady Fisalis seemed to feel the same.

“Had the war gone on longer, many more people would have been injured and the national treasury would have taken a hit, too. It’s better that it was over quickly. Not to mention that Mr. Fisalis and all his subordinates are uninjured, and that is certainly a good thing.”

“You’re right about that,” agreed Lord Fisalis. “There will be cleaning up to do for a while now, so it will probably be another month before they can return. The other frontline soldiers ought to be coming back in the order they left, though.”

It sounds like the frontline troops get to leave later and come home earlier, then. On the one hand, that seems like something that should be reserved for important individuals, but on the other hand, those who put their lives on the line probably would need to come home to recover from their injuries and replenish their strength. That makes sense.

“Cleaning up? Isn’t that the job of the Minister of War and the consuls?” my mother-in-law asked. I had no idea what ‘cleaning up’ entailed or who was supposed to do it, so I stayed quiet and listened, too. I’ve been learning so many new things lately. Ceremonies and uniform colors, for instance. I wouldn’t need to know any of this if I’d continued to stay in the manor, but since I’ve been dragged out in public more frequently as of late, I can’t get away with saying, ‘Oh, I had no idea. Ah ha ha✰’ any more.

Uh oh. Suddenly I’ve got a sinking feeling that I’m going to need to start reading up on a bunch of things I don’t really care about or understand. I mean, I’d be the laughingstock of the manor if I, the wife of a duke from a prestigious family, acted like an absolute blockhead.

I know I need to study more, but I’m terrible at it.

Oh. Am I imagining things, or did I just see a flash in Rohtas’ eyes?

I pretended not to notice him and went back to focusing on what my father-in-law was saying.

“The Minister of War, as well as the commander and lieutenant commander of the Special Ops unit, all need to be present for a signing. Normally, the king won’t go himself, so the prime minister and several consuls and civil servants will go as his proxies,” Lord Fisalis politely explained to me.

“I believe I understand now.”

“So that’s how it works.” My mother-in-law and I nodded.

Following the announcement that the war had ended, soldiers began to return to the capital one after another. Lord Fisalis was right; as I watched them parade into town, it was nothing but a sea of green uniforms. They were all regular frontline soldiers.

Half a month later:

“The division members under the command of Commander Fisalis are scheduled to return to the capital today.” I swear the lady knight with the silver hair actually sparkled as she stated the day’s news.

I had been enjoying my after-breakfast tea when I received word that an envoy from the Royal Palace had arrived. When I made it to the entryway with Dahlia, I was greeted by Angelica, the gorgeous lady knight with hair like spun silver. She was the one who’d delivered the news of the special ops unit’s return.

But didn’t Lord Fisalis say it would take at least a month to clean up after the war? It’s only been half that long.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for the kingdom, but isn’t Mr. Fisalis still busy with the aftermath? I didn’t think he could return home yet,” I expressed my confusion to Angelica.

“The commander and lieutenant commander did what they could ahead of time to make sure we could wrap up early. The both of them very much wanted to come home as soon as possible,” she explained.

I knew Mr. Fisalis wanted to get home fast, but Corydalis, too?! No, wait, I think I just didn’t want to imagine Corydalis wanting to come home, but I can totally see it now.

“You’re not going to be in trouble, are you?” I asked Angelica, surprised at how much freedom Mr. Fisalis and Corydalis apparently had.

“Oh, no, it’s fine! All that’s left is for the consuls to do. If we’ve got time to stand around and chat down there, then I’d like to go home! I mean, I’ve been down there this whole time, longer than the civil servants or troops! ...Oops, eh heh. I shouldn’t have said that. My humble apologies, Madam!” Angelica’s brain-to-mouth filter seems to malfunction sometimes, doesn’t it? She’s not drunk, is she? The way she smiled when she giggled was so lovely, though, that I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear everything else she said.

“Oh, not at all! Thank you so much for all your hard work! I hear that it’s thanks to the diligent efforts of the special ops division that the war was so short, and that we won in the first place. You all deserve to come home and take a vacation.”

“Thank you, Madam,” Angelica saluted in reply to my expression of appreciation.

I suppose she’ll join back up with the rest of the unit tomorrow, and then they’ll all march back home to give a report at the palace. She can take a little break here now, though!

“It’s been so long since Mr. Fisalis has been home. What’s it been, two and a half months? I can still feel his presence strongly, too, despite his long absence. The way he talked about his territory down there like he was guiding a tour group, the two massive sacks crammed full of fruit...”

“I know exactly what you mean, Madam,” Rohtas chimed in with a sarcastic smile.

After Angelica left, we returned to the salon and held an emergency conference composed of Rohtas, Dahlia, the servants, and I, in preparation to receive Mr. Fisalis. Mimosa stayed in her room since she wasn’t feeling well that day. Bellis was basically glued to her side to make sure she didn’t overexert herself.

“What does Mr. Fisalis have on his schedule after he returns to the capital?” I asked Rohtas, the obvious source for accurate information, since we’d have to plan accordingly.

“He will have to appear at the Royal Palace after arriving in the capital, first of all. There he will present a report, after which there would normally be a banquet in appreciation of the unit, but...” he trailed off, as if the remainder pained him to say. Normal people would follow the usual custom, but Mr. Fisalis hadn’t been behaving normally. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it, Rohtas?

“...If I recall correctly, the entire division boycotted the last banquet and came here instead,” I said. They were awfully... vigorous... when they got here, for people who skipped out claiming ‘total exhaustion.’ And then they just postponed the banquet until a later day. And then all the servants freaked out when Mr. Fisalis came home much sooner than they’d anticipated, if memory serves. That’s riiight... That was when he picked a fight with Cartham, too.

“Correct. Which is why we need to have a plan this time in case all of that happens again,” Rohtas said, eyes closed, but with a look of resignation.

“Sounds good to me.” Thought so.

We weren’t the same people we had been before, though. We’d been learning and evolving every day! What we’d experienced last time was an immediate learning experience. And from that we’d evolved even further!

They’ll probably claim to be exhausted and skip the banquet this time too since they’re the kind of people who, when they say that they want to go home, will do whatever it takes to do just that. They’ll totally do that; it’s not hard to imagine.

“O-Okay then. I’ll come up with several possible outcomes, and then appropriate Cercis Shifts for each of them,” I decided.

“Understood,” Rohtas replied with a nod.

“It’s been almost too long since our last Cercis Shift. I’m worried my mind will just go blank. Give me a moment to think things through.” I closed my eyes and ran a simulation in my head.

The best case scenario would be: Mr. Fisalis attends the banquet → comes home completely exhausted → I say my hellos → and then off to bed.

This next one seems more likely, though: He boycotts the banquet → eats here → and then we go to bed. I’d say there’s about an eighty percent chance of this happening.

The worst possible outcome would be: Mr. Fisalis and his subordinates all boycott the banquet and then explode through my front door → they sweep through the house like a tornado → the servants and I are completely exhausted. The war is over; you can stop charging at closed doors now, I angrily told them in my head. Let’s pray this isn’t what happens.

So, yeah. That’s where I was mentally.

I opened my eyes and decided to start planning from what we would do in the best case scenario.

“Dahlia, first I want you to clean Mr. Fisalis’ room just for good measure. He’ll probably be exhausted, and I want him to be comfortable.”

“Understood. I clean his room every day, but I will do it once more, and thoroughly,” Dahlia said cheerfully.

“Please do. Make sure his duvet has been properly aired out so we can give him an outstanding night’s sleep.”

“Ah, excellent idea, Madam! I shall prepare his room as if he were my own son.”

“Thank you.”

Why does Dahlia look so happy? Oh, well. Not important. On to the next scenario. Unlike last time, we’ll plan ahead so mealtime isn’t utter chaos.

“Have Cartham be ready to bring out the buffet. And make sure he’s prepared to serve some hors d’oeuvres and snacks that pair well with alcohol, and anything else that Mr. Fisalis could want. I want us to go the extra mile.”

“Of course, Madam.” Once Dahlia had nodded her assent, I moved on to the final scenario.

It’s unlikely to happen, but you can never be too prepared—not to mention those guys have a habit of defying expectations.

“Thinking about when he brought his subordinates back with him—and this is just in case—we’re better off having alcohol and snacks on hand, huh?” Everyone in the special ops division sure likes to have a good time on Mr. Fisalis’ tab.

“I will have some ready and waiting. What I can acquire, anyway,” Rohtas affirmed with a long-suffering sigh. He’d need to prepare for the possibility of many people coming over. Look what happened last time—we weren’t overreacting in going to these lengths to prepare.

“So is there anything we might have missed? He’s bound to be looking forward to coming home, so everything needs to be perfect. He’s probably stressed after being in a strange land for so long, so I want him to be able to relax. Oh, what about some flowers? I wonder if the ones he bought me are blooming,” I said restlessly as a million different things ran through my mind.

“Don’t fret, Madam. I’ll take care of that,” Rohtas offered with a smile.

“In that case, let’s get started right away. If we dawdle around, he’ll catch us off guard again!”

“But Madam, he isn’t coming home until tomorrow,” Rohtas interjected.

Oh yeah.

Guess I’m being a little hasty.

“Ah, yes, silly me,” I tried to brush it off, but squirmed in embarrassment. I can’t let myself get carried away like that. What could it be that’s got me all worked up? How embarrassing that he had to correct me.

“You seem very excited for Master’s return home, Madam.”

“Huh?” Rohtas’ comment had me frozen mid-step. I seem excited?

“You appear to be enjoying yourself preparing the house for his return.”

Really? I look happy? I’m just doing what I can to ensure Mr. Fisalis is comfortable and can relax when he comes home, though.