Prologue — The Day Before Mr. Fisalis’ Return Home

Two and a half months had passed since Cercis, the current Duke Fisalis and head of the Fisalis family, had left for war with the southern kingdom of Aurantia. Thanks to his wife Viola’s dutiful management of the manor while he was away, said manor did not, in fact, turn into a madhouse, but rather remained pe— Oh, my sincere apologies. I mean, thanks to his wife Viola’s dutiful management, the days went by peacefully. Of course, everything wasn’t left up to his wife alone. I—the Fisalis manor’s butler, Rohtas—along with the head maid, Dahlia, and the other servants were all present to support Madam.

Although Master and Madam were separated by a vast distance, Master sent detailed letters from the frontline, so his presence remained strong in the manor. In fact, I have a feeling that his presence in Madam’s mind grew even stronger during his absence. On the topic of changes, since Madam’s personal maid Mimosa is with child, I sent for someone new to assist her. That person is the daughter of Dahlia and the head cook, Cartham. Her name is Stellaria, and she arrived a few days ago, straight from the Royal Palace where she had been working as a lady-in-waiting.

Stellaria was born and raised in the Fisalis manor, but she lived in a dormitory while attending vocational school, so it has been a long time since she’s been back home. As one would expect from the daughter of those two exceptional individuals, she was an excellent student and had graduated at the top of her class. Dahlia and I had naturally assumed that she would be invited to work at the Fisalis manor as soon as she graduated, but she’d instead received a letter from the Royal Palace begging her to work there, so we’d had no choice but to surrender her. But now, she is ours once mo— rather, she is returning to the manor, much to our delight. Our back-and-forth with the Royal Palace came to an end when she moved back into the manor yesterday.

Unfortunately I did not have the time to allow her to settle in. Instead, I promptly called her to my office, intending to give her an explanation of what was happening in the manor and whatnot.

“Hello, Stellaria. It’s good to see you again.”

“Same to you, Rohtas,” she said, looking back at me with a gentle smile as she took a seat on my office’s modest sofa. The dress she is wearing suits her very nicely, with its dark blue color and girlish floral print. Much like her parents, Stellaria was fond of lovely and beautiful things. She’s grown into the spitting image of a proper lady, but I suppose she was like that even before she left.

“I am well aware of your skills, Ria, so I’d like to put them to good use by having you serve Madam,” I told her, calling her by her childhood nickname. No one is around to hear us, so it shouldn’t matter.

“Why, of course! I’ll do my best,” Stellaria replied with a cheerful expression. I would usually say that she most resembled Dahlia with her neat and tidy appearance, but Stellaria most certainly got her smile from her father, Cartham.

“In that case, I will give you a brief outline of the goings-on at the manor. It has been five years since you left, so much has changed...” I started to explain to her, intending to bring her up to speed on all that had occurred since she returned. The biggest change being Master’s split with his companion... pardon me, Miss Calendula.

“Are you aware that Master was seeing someone?”

“Yes. Father and Mother told me they were living together in the cottage.”

“Then I take it you also know that Master married Madam.”

“I do. I was quite surprised to hear about it while at the Royal Palace. At first I thought that he was actually marrying his companion. I wondered if His Majesty had lost his marbles, allowing a union like that, but I was relieved to learn that wasn’t the case. But... he still had not split up with his companion at the time, had he?”

“Correct. Although they had been wed, he neglected Madam for some time and continued to live with his companion in the cottage. But...”

“But?”

“He eventually took notice of Madam’s honesty and cheerful nobility and, once drawn in by these charms, he realized he had made a mistake. Upon reflection, he finally broke things off with his companion.” Er, it might be more correct to say that Master was dumped, though. A moment of silence for him, if you will.

Stellaria seemed to have a general understanding of what had transpired, but she did not appear to have heard of Master’s laudable shift in personality and was visibly surprised by it. Indeed, when Stellaria had been living at the manor, Master had already been deep under his companion’s spell. Back then, he spent much time at her residence and frequently stayed the night. The servants were all more flabbergasted than shocked by such behavior. That is all in the past, however. Let us just call it his dark past— Er, a youthful indiscretion.

Not that I would ever forget it!

“So that’s how it went... I had heard that his companion had left, but there wasn’t time to go into any more detail than that, so I wasn’t aware of the exact sequence of events.” Stellaria had never managed to visit her home, busy as she was with her duties at the palace. She’d rarely had the chance to even sit down and talk with Cartham and Dahlia.

“Viola is a very kind person, so please do your utmost to attend to her every need, Ria. Unusual as she is...”

“She’s... unusual?” Stellaria asked, cocking her head at my casual mention of Madam’s character.

“Goodness, I didn’t mean ‘abnormal.’ Madam does not care for the usual things one would expect a lady of status to enjoy, and in fact likes to clean, do laundry, work in the garden, and so on,” I explained, choosing my words carefully. She’ll see for herself shortly; I’m sure she’ll understand exactly what I mean then.

“I heard that the Euphorbias, Madam’s own family, were not in a terribly good financial situation. Maybe her outlook is the result of that?” Stellaria guessed, discerningly. Very astute of you!

“Yes, unfortunately. It seems that her family did most tasks themselves, so even after she arrived here, she’s been working around the manor alongside the servants.” A smile unintentionally spread across my face at the thought of Madam enjoying herself cleaning and decorating throughout the house. She truly breathed new life into the duke’s estate with her enthusiasm! What I’m thinking about must be written all across my face—

“Well, she certainly sounds like a cheerful person! Granted, my mother is very tolerant of that sort of thing,” Stellaria snickered. Perhaps she was imagining what her straight-laced mother’s face looked like at the sight of Madam traipsing about the manor with the servants.

“Madam has a certain charm that melts even a somber heart like Dahlia’s. I’m certain that you’ll grow fond of her, too, Ria.”

“You know what, I have that exact feeling. I’m very much looking forward to meeting Madam!” Stellaria said, her green eyes (clearly inherited from Cartham) sparkling in excitement.

“That is good to hear. Now then, I’ve been thinking of having you help Madam prepare for the repatriation ceremony in two days, so why don’t you go and do that?” I told Stellaria, outlining my plan.

“Huh? Starting the day after tomorrow? You don’t mean tomorrow, do you?”

“No, I do mean the day after tomorrow. Are you not tired from the move here from the palace, Ria? Take it easy these next two days to restore your energy. Madam is very energetic, so I’m sure you’ll have your hands full.”

“Understood! Thank you very much, Rohtas!” Judging from how my words made a smile blossom across her face, Stellaria hadn’t changed a bit from when she was small. She was like a daughter to me.

And so, a new face was added to the roster at the manor. And then tomorrow, Master is to return from Aurantia.

Yet more unprecedented days are about to begin.