Side Story: Scenes from Following Duchess Fisalis on Her Date
Side Story
Scenes from Following Duchess Fisalis on Her Date
✦✦✦Rohtas’ office, the Fisalis manor✦✦✦
The night before the outing:
The manor was completely silent after another day had drawn to a close and everyone had retired to their rooms. Light shone out from the crack below the door of Rohtas’ office, illuminating a small patch of the otherwise dark house. Inside, Rohtas, Bellis, and the head of the manor’s private guards stood face-to-face.
There was one reason why the three of them had gathered there, and that was to work out a plan to guard the duchess on the outing she had been compelled to take the next day.
“I’m sure you are already aware, but Master and Madam are going on an excursion tomorrow,” Rohtas told the other two.
“We are,” the head guard and Bellis replied in unison.
Rohtas nodded in acknowledgment before continuing.
“This is no different than usual, so I expect you already know what to do, but I want you two to escort Master and Madam tomorrow. I do, however, have a concern. Master does not wish to use the carriage this time, but to go on foot,” Rohtas related, recalling what Cercis had, in turn, told him.
Until then, Cercis would have never even considered walking into town. Cercis had reined in his elitism in order to meet Viola and her commoner sensibilities halfway, saying that he wanted to make her happy, and had found his suggestion readily accepted by her.
‘Compromise’ had not been in Cercis’ vocabulary until then. Rohtas wanted to consider Cercis’ feelings, as unusual as they were, but he knew that granting his master’s request would be difficult.
“That is going to be... challenging,” the head guard replied after a momentary grimace. He did not know Viola very well, having had no regular contact with her. He was normally too busy checking for weak points in the manor security. It was not as if he did not like Viola, though. In fact, he was glad that Cercis had left his mistress for her, his legal wife.
“Madam seems pleased at the thought of walking, though,” Bellis argued, his eyes softening in emotion.
The head guard gave Bellis a look, as if to say, “what the hell are you talking about?” Rohtas, on the other hand, nodded in agreement, apparently thinking the same as Bellis.
“That is just what I was thinking. But from a security perspective, going on foot has its dangers, just as the captain here was saying. No threat would be able to reach them inside a carriage, and security would have an easier time also, as they are well acquainted with escorting in that manner. Foot travel, on the other hand, leaves one’s entire body exposed. Regardless, we cannot allow Master and Madam to be knowingly exposed to danger.”
“Of course not,” Bellis and the head guard nodded with dual looks of obedience.
“Be prepared for a higher level of security than usual.”
“Are you certain it actually is acceptable for them to walk, then?” the captain of the guard continued to question Rohtas.
“Yes. Madam will enjoy herself walking into town. She does not care for pageantry. Should worse come to worst, Master is quite capable of protecting her, so I am certain everything will be just fine.” Rohtas ended his explanation with a grin that clearly dared anyone to question him further.
Seeing that his window to press the issue had been closed, the captain of the guard had no choice but to trust in Cercis’ abilities as a knight, and gave in, simply replying, “Yes, sir.”
“I’ll have my spies come out, too,” Bellis added agreeably, breaking his silence.
“I’m counting on you. Anyone Viola recognizes, have them watch from just out of sight. The guards she doesn’t know can dress as commoners and escort her and Master from nearby.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” the head guard replied to Rohtas’ proposal. Bellis nodded along.
“In that case, I will see you both tomorrow.”
And with that, the group broke up, plan in mind.
The day of the outing:
The guards in their commoner disguises and Bellis’ spies had all gathered in the servants’ dining room. The other servants stood and watched, smirking at everyone in their strange attire.
Rohtas, Bellis, and the captain of the guard stood in the front and told the group the plan to be followed that day.
“Men, make use of Madam’s blind spots and guard her from where she can’t see you. The route for the day will be the bakery, followed by the confectioner’s just as Rohtas told you. They may, however, drop by other locations according to Madam’s fancy. Visualize other places she might wish to go, then send a single man ahead to scope out the area for suspicious persons or potential dangers. If you see anyone suspicious, eliminate them on the spot. Do not let Madam see you.”
“Yes, sir!” the spies replied to Bellis before moving out.
“Guardsmen, Madam is unlikely to recognize any of you, so you are to play the parts of commoners and escort her from more close by. Take care not to be discovered when you are near her. Make sure one of you doesn’t follow her for too long—switch every so often. Got it? Report to your posts.”
“Yes, sir!” the manor’s private guards replied to their captain’s orders. They would all fall into position on the street and casually pass the duke and duchess by as they went around town.
“Those of you staying behind in the manor, do not let on that Madam is going to be escorted.”
“Yes, sir!” the servants responded to Rohtas. There was something of a difference in their enthusiasm compared to the others. There was a faint warmth to their reply.
It would be a few more hours until Cercis and Viola’s date.
✦✦✦Several days before the outing, the special ops division department✦✦✦
“So, like, I heard the commander’s been seen around town stopping in the popular shops and stuff. Is it true? Do you guys know anything about this?” lieutenant commander Corydalis asked the other division members standing around the department.
“Oh, that. Yeah, it’s true. I heard he’s been seeking out the lady knights and the other women who work in the offices and asking them questions,” one of them offhandedly replied.
“The lady knights and the office girls... What’s he up to now?” Corydalis muttered, his head already swimming.
“It must be for something to do with his wife, right?”
“Duh, everyone knew that already.”
“That was the first time I’d ever seen the commander act so... devoted. I guess people really can change,” everyone started offering up, one by one, leaving Corydalis to press on the inner corners of his eyes to alleviate an oncoming headache.
“Sure, that’s got to be it.” His wife does like commoner stuff, Corydalis thought, as he remembered the times he’d met Viola before.
The old Cercis didn’t consider what his friends or partners might like, instead usually shopping and dining at high-end establishments catering to the elite, so he had never actually bothered to ask the people he knew for advice on what was popular. The young ladies he used to court and lovers he had fancied for longer periods were both fans of that kind of extravagant lifestyle from the start.
Cercis now, however, was completely different. Now it appeared as though he was scoping out stores his luxury-adverse wife might actually enjoy.
“...Where would a one-percenter like him even shop? I mean, all the popular places in town are geared towards commoners, right?” Corydalis muttered.
“I’m positive he’ll go to Dandelion’s Bakery and Lemon Myrtle’s Confectionary!” Chamomile declared, brimming with confidence.
“What makes you so sure?” Corydalis looked dubious, despite Chamomile’s energetic thumbs-up and wink.
“Because we’re talking about the most popular stores right now, and those two are it! Everyone’s recommending them to each other,” Angelica replied with a smile that shone almost as brightly as her silver hair.
“What do you mean ‘everyone’?”
“As in, all of the people the commander asked,” Alkanna said, choosing to speak up just then.
“Haaah? And how do ya know all that?” Corydalis still did not understand them and furrowed his brows in skepticism.
“Because everyone starts chit-chatting whenever something strange happens.”
“At some point, all the women in the military just put their heads together.”
“And since something was clearly up, we held an emergency gossip session.”
“Exactly!” The Bombshell Trio all agreed.
There weren’t very many women employed by the military, even including the knights and the office workers. As a result, not only did their sense of sisterhood span across units and departments, it functioned rather like a free-flowing pipe that connected all of them. This intelligence network was reputed to be the fastest, most accurate, and most secure of any in existence. Women in the military are in a league all their own.
“So after we all exchanged info, we had overwhelming evidence that those two stores were it.”
“No one reported that the commander was conducting this research with other women, though,” Corydalis commented.
“Of course not. It would be social suicide if he were to just walk up to and start chatting with all sorts of random women and there was some kind of misunderstanding!”
“Mmmhmm. Not to mention, he rarely ignores the intel that we military ladies have to give.”
“Which is why there can only be two places he’s going to go!” the three of them said triumphantly.
“You ladies freak me out a little.” Corydalis’ entire face spasmed. “ ...Bakery aside, though, I think I heard that the line for that confectioner’s gets awfully long,” he said once he regained control of his facial muscles.
“Right. I heard that the confectioner’s shop and the associated cafe next door both feature eat-in only sweets, so you almost have to wait half the day just to get in. My girlfriend pestered me to go on my day off—and, boy, did we have to wait,” one of the knights testified.
The lieutenant commander folded his arms.
“I see. So then chances are high that the commander won’t even get in if he goes,” Corydalis concluded before letting his imagination run wild for a moment. What a laugh, just imaging a queue packed full of snobby dukes. That’ll never happen. This is Cercis we’re talkin’ about. Wonder if he’ll use his status to get in. Nah, his wife wouldn’t take that lying down.
“It would serve the commander right if he had to stand in line, but I’d feel so bad if Madam had to wait in that line all day!” one of the lady knights said piteously.
“You’ve got that right. He’d just want to ditch her and go in.”
“Or what if Madam didn’t feel well while waiting in line and passed out?! I know that’s unlikely to happen, but I can’t think of anything worse!” The Bombshell Trio began to spiral into sorrow, then angst, and then finally panic. They scorned Cercis but positively treasured Viola.
“You guys are acting like standing in line is literal torture. Standin’ around might make for a nice time for a couple,” Corydalis retaliated. How’d they start with waitin’ in line and end with losing consciousness?
“Wow, Lieutenant Commander, what are you, a little girl?”
“Ooooh, you want some ice for that burn?”
“LMAO.”
“Wait a minute, Lieutenant Commander doesn’t even have a girlfriend! Despite being friends with us!” one of the knights wheezed while the others laughed. “Ouch, oh god, my stomach hurts!”
“Can it! All of you!” Corydalis yelled as his face turned as red as a tomato before recovering and smirking.“Grrrrr... Hmph. ...I have to admit, though, I would like to see the look on his face while he’s on a date. I’d kill to see that.”
“Yes, yes, we would too!” came the loud reply.
“Now, not that I’d doubt that a duke of all people couldn’t handle himself on a simple date, but no matter how nice of a town this is, it can’t hurt to be a little extra careful, right? So I think we all ought to escort him!” Corydalis proposed after another speedy recovery.
“Good thinking!”
Now that Corydalis had successfully roped the others in, they’d gone straight into full-on conspiracy mode. Still, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves all the while.
“Here’s one possibility. The confectioner’s is packed, but there’s some hoodlums lying in wait. Commander and his wife are sitting ducks.”
“They sure would be!”
“There, see? I’m thinkin’... if we reserve the whole cafe, disguise ourselves as customers, and secure the perimeter, then there’d be no space for bad guys! That would make it easier to guard him,” Corydalis suggested as a slick grin spread across his face.
“Ohhh! That’s a great idea! So we’d just take over the cafe!”
“Plus, we’d get to eat some of the most popular cakes right now!”
“Two birds with one stone, guys!”
The whole division was in agreement, although their motives differed between them.
“Now that we’ve settled that, we just need to come up with a plan to make the reservation. First, we’ll need to find out when he’s going.”
“Me, me! Lieutenant Commander!”
“What is it, Chamomile?” Corydalis asked, whipping his hand through the air to point at the blonde.
“Taking the military’s schedule into consideration, I suspect that the day of the date will be on the commander’s next day off, which also happens to be a public holiday.”
“You’re almost certainly correct. He’s unlikely to let that chance pass him by, since he’s leaving for a campaign soon after,” agreed Corydalis.
“Indeed.”
“Now for the time...”
“I would think sometime in the afternoon.”
“Why is that, Angelica?” Corydalis cocked his head at Angelica’s conclusion.
“Because I told the commander that I thought it would be nice to go to Lemon Myrtle’s for afternoon tea when he was asking me about shops!”
That would be a first—our blue-blooded Cercis going on a normal-person date. It makes sense, then, that he’d take a commoner, or at least someone who goes to those places, at their word, Corydalis figured.
“Good job, guys! Operation Cafe Occupation is a go! I’m sure you’ll all be there. Or at least as many as the place can seat. First come, first served, as they say,” he then announced to the others.
“What? But I have worrrrk.”
“Lucky you! That’s my day off! I’ll have to convince my husband to go!”
“I’m off that day, too! ...Wonder if I’ll have the time to find a date...”
Corydalis’ announcement was met with an eruption of voices, some happy, some not so much.
“One more thing: come dressed in a good disguise! And bring someone else with you, for sure. Real men don’t go to cute confectioner’s shops alone! I don’t wanna see that, either! So all you poor schmucks without girlfriends or wives, bring someone. I don’t care if it’s your sister or even your mom. Do not bring another guy. That’ll just make it weird. If we don’t have enough people for a reservation, we can even bring people from the other departments.”
“Roger!”
...And thus the chivalric order seized control of Lemon Myrtle’s Confectioner’s.
And then came the day of the duke and duchess’ outing. All was well until midway through, with the division heartily enjoying spying on... er, guarding the couple, but their occupation of the cafe was discovered soon enough when Viola spotted Chamomile.
Incidentally, the Fisalis manor’s own private guards were waiting outside the premises the entire time. They had disguised themselves as patrons standing in line. Corydalis happened to notice the captain of Cercis’ guards when he glanced outside and gave them a little nod.
“Everyone wanted to try the dine-in only cakes they have here, but didn’t want to have to wait in line... so we thought, why not just reserve the place for the whole squad? Look at it this way—we can protect the two of you at the same time!” Corydalis explained, left with little other choice after being found out.
“We don’t need your protection.”
“You don’t need to say it that harshly.”
“But why today of all days? You could have made the reservation for any other day.”
“Well, no. We all decided that if a certain VIP customer was coming today, we had to come, too.”
“And who is that customer, might I ask?”
“You, of course!”
At that very moment, the whole division turned around in their chairs, with big smiles on their faces, to face Cercis and Viola. Cercis held his head in his hands.
✦✦✦Thus Spake the Shopkeepers✦✦✦
☙The Patissier’s Statement ☙
“What’s that? You want to reserve the whole shop for a dessert party? Yes, we can certainly do that.”
An order of knights made a reservation earlier as a treat for their boss and his wife. Which department were they from? I believe they said they were a special operations division.
Oh, you’ve heard of them! Yes, Duke Fisalis and his wife paid us a visit. You’d like me to tell you about it? Well, sure.
You had better believe I was surprised when those knights suddenly appeared and asked to rent out the place. We hadn’t even been in the capital for six months, so no one had ever made reservations for a party before. They instructed me to reserve the whole cafe from just after noon until early evening, to make sure that the best seats would be saved for the duke and duchess, and to have plenty of cakes and sweets ready to serve. At first I wasn’t sure what the “best seats” actually were, but I understood what they meant when the day of the party finally came: it was a surprise party.
The plan was to do something the boss and his wife would enjoy. Golly, just seeing folks doing something nice like that for their boss made me feel all warm inside. I was in awe over how much they must have idolized their boss to do that for him.
Needless to say, I put all my skill into those pastries to make sure that gentleman was treated right! Then again, I was in the back the whole time, so I don’t actually know exactly what happened on the shop floor. If you’d like a more detailed account, why don’t you ask one of the staff?
☙The Hostess’ Statement ☙
What was it like that day? Let’s see, er... the knights all filed in, and then the man at the front of the line turned to me and asked me, “Where would the best seats in the house be?” if I recall correctly.
I answered, “Those over there, where you can see the flower beds in the park,” and pointed to the spot by the window.
“I see. You guys hear that? Leave that table empty!” the man called back to the knights trailing behind him.
It was a mystery to me why they wanted to leave the best seats open, but then he said, “There should be two more people coming in a while—an outrageously attractive man and really cute girl.” Then he asked, “When they get here, could you make sure they sit there?”
That was when I understood that the handsome man was the guest of honor, and that the knights were saving the best seats for him.
I told him I would make sure, and then asked, “Will I know when I see them who the people you’re waiting for are?”
“Yeah, I think you will. There’s not many people who look as good as him.”
“All right, then. I’ll do as you asked.”
I was honestly kind of excited to see someone that gorgeous✰
I had been instructed earlier not to put up any signs saying that the shop has been reserved for a private party, so it got a little tedious having to turn away every customer who wanted to come in. Right after I almost got into a fight with an angry customer arguing that we ‘shoulda put a sign up if we can’t come in!’, the knights stepped in to help me. Thank goodness.
Ah, why don’t you let us put a ‘reserved for private party’ sign? It’s no fun having to turn customers away.
I was starting to think I might put up a sign anyway when I heard someone say, “Oh, there’s already a lot of people in there,” and quickly put on my customer service face. When I turned around, however, I swear I gasped in shock.
Like, I couldn’t help it—the man who was standing there was just so... stunning. It was like Prince Charming had just climbed out of a fairy tale.
“Do you have a table for two?” he asked, as I dumbly stared in admiration that such a person could not only exist but was actually right in front of me. His smile had me absolutely smitten. Even his voice is dreamy, I realized, when his question yanked me back to reality. I noticed then that there was a cute girl behind him.
It had to be them. I looked around the man just to be sure, and yep, she was definitely cute.
I was so excited to have such a lovely, well-dressed lady in the shop, too! The two of them looked like a pair of dolls, the girl on the man’s arm. It felt like I was witnessing a genetic miracle!
Pretending to check to see if we had any open tables, I spotted the man who had given me my instructions earlier. He gave me a subtle nod. These were our guests, no doubt about it.
“Yes, we have seats for two. Right this way, please,” I said, leading them to the table we had saved for them.
Even though it wasn’t far to the table, the handsome man escorted the lady like it was the most natural thing in the world. I couldn’t hold back a smile when I saw. He really cared about her. I was too choked up to be jealous.
What was weird, though, was when everyone there pretended not to recognize the couple and just continued to enjoy their cake and tea. It was like each table had their own non-intervention policy or something. Despite this, they all watched the attractive couple like hawks without saying a thing to them.
It seemed like the only ones who didn’t notice were the attractive couple themselves. I wondered what the heck was going on as I joined in on watching them, albeit inconspicuously. They didn’t seem like anything other than a pair of people deeply in love.
After a while, though, the couple finally caught on; the man in particular held his head in his hands in exasperation. The young lady was more or less carried off by the pretty older women.
Once everyone revealed themselves, they no longer ignored the couple, and the shop transitioned into a party atmosphere. Orders came flying in one after another, so we ended up just bringing out all the cakes we had!
I continued to observe the couple as we hurriedly brought out cake, tea, and drinks (we had a small amount of liquor ready, all drinks that went well with sweets). I really couldn’t take my eyes off of them for some reason.
Some time later, when it seemed like Mr. Handsome was pestering the cute young lady for some cake, she reluctantly cut off a piece and offered it to him on her fork.
And then! I don’t know if she told him to do it, but he ate it directly off her fork!
Almost everyone there gasped when they saw that. I froze, as one does in such a situation.
The happy couple, however, continued on unperturbed. The young lady gazed at Mr. Handsome in awe. He was clearly having fun.
Aaaaahhhh! Thank you, god, for bestowing this gift upon mine eyes!
Everyone unfroze and went back to watching them with grins plastered across their faces, but the couple themselves—completely unaware of what had just occurred around them—just continued to partake of the goodies.
My eyes quickly recovered because they were good looking (it would have been another story if they were ugly), but then, I started to feel like the sappiness I was witnessing was... giving me heartburn? Er, no, that’s rude of me to say about customers. Regardless, the way I was able to stare without them realizing it was a true show of skill, I feel.
I found out from the owner later that Mr. Handsome was the so-called ‘Fine Duke Fisalis.’ I hadn’t ever seen him before, only heard the rumors, but I believed the owner. The duke was positively immaculate! His wife, as well—she was so lovely that all I could think was how they were such a perfect couple!
Having seen how diligently the duke watched out for his wife, I fear all I’ll ever dream about anymore is finding a man like that for myself!
...Eh? I should throw a private party here myself? To land a man? Well, if I did, I’d want to invite Duke Fisalis✰