8 — After We Got Home

I gave 110% from the time I woke up through the repatriation ceremony and on into the luncheon in honor of the soldiers and knights. It was my first time going to an official ceremony, and I was glad to have made it through without any blunders along the way. At least, I don’t think I made any blunders along the way.

And so I found myself once again on the way home, riding in the gently-rocking carriage with Mr. Fisalis and my in-laws. As usual, the Fisalis’ carriage provided a comfortable ride—so comfortable, in fact, that if I wasn’t careful, I was sure to doze off.

I’m just super worn out after a busy day of dancing, talking with everybody, and joking around with Mr. Fisalis’ subordinates! But I can’t let myself doze off in front of my in-laws. I’ve just gotta hold on for a bit longer! The social event doesn’t end until I get home!

I listened to my in-laws and Mr. Fisalis’ conversation to dispel my drowsiness.

“The official stance is that we’ve formed an alliance. In actuality, though, I suppose it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Aurantia is under Flür’s control...”

“Right you are. And now that they are, in terms of strategy, we...”

Could you all possibly please talk about something other than politics? That’s guaranteed to make me fall asleep.

When we arrived back at the manor, the entire staff was there to meet us, all lined up at the carriage porch.

“Welcome home,” they greeted us in a chorus of voices.

“Ahhh, it’s good to be back,” I sighed.

All I want to do is go straight to my room, tear off this dress and corset, and dive into bed... but I’ve got to wait just a little longer. It’s already pretty late—the moon is high in the sky and shining right now. We’d normally have had dinner already, I bet. Of course, meal service is over for the day, so there won’t be any dinner tonight.

I wonder what Father and Mother Fisalis will do now. I guess they’ll probably have tea at the main house, but I’m so worn out from today that I’ll have to pass on that invite.

Putting my inner monologue on mute for a moment, I quickly glanced over at my father-in-law and the others.

“We’re finally home. What a long day we’ve had! I’m beat,” Father Fisalis said to the servants.

“Naturally, sir,” Rohtas respectfully replied.

“We’re going to retire to the cottage for today. We’re still full from lunch, so just bring over some light sweets and tea, will you?” he indicated to Rohtas, already eager to go back to the cottage as he drew my mother-in-law to his side.

“As you wish, sir.”

As soon as Rohtas replied, I saw Lady Fisalis’ personal maid disappear from the entryway without so much as a sound. She’s activated her ninja powers, I see. She didn’t waste any time at all! But wait, are her ninja skills really all that good if I still noticed her? Maybe I only noticed because I’m half servant myself!

“Cercis, Viola... you both must be tired, too. You should go and relax now.”

“Have a good night, Vi.”

“You have a good night, as well, Father and Mother Fisalis.”

After we all said our goodnights, Lord and Lady Fisalis headed straight for the path to the cottage as Mr. Fisalis and I lightly waved after them. For a brief moment, their retreating silhouettes reminded me so much of a pair of lovers on a moonlit rendezvous that I couldn’t hold back a smile. We watched them go until they rounded the corner of the manor.

Wellll, now that my worries have fled, I can just take it ea— Correction: my worries are still here. There’s one more person still in the manor.

“Come on, you’ll catch a chill in this night air. Let’s go inside. I’m tired, too,” Mr. Fisalis said, putting his hand on my shoulder and leading me inside with practiced ease.

Nooo, he did it in front of the servants again. This is sooo embarrassing.

“You had a busy day too, Mr. Fisalis.”

“Well, what would you like to do now? Maybe a light meal?”

“Oh, gosh, I don’t think I could eat another bite!” Metaphorically and literally. I’ve been snacking since noon and now either my corset is going to pop or I will. We’ve both reached our limits!

“Maybe just some tea, then?” Mr. Fisalis persisted.

“I’m so worn out after today that I’m just going to go straight to bed. And you had to go to an official function right after you got home from the frontlines. You haven’t had a chance to relax, either, right? Let him take a break, Rohtas.” Yeah, show him some appreciation instead of me, for once, I tried to signal to Rohtas with my eyes.

Let. Me. Go. Already. I’m running out of time to take off all these clothes and this makeup before I head to bed. Alarm bells are literally going off in my head right now. WARNING: YOU ARE NOW APPROACHING THE DANGER ZONE.

...But of course I couldn’t possibly tell Mr. Fisalis that, so I had to gently turn him down, using his own exhaustion as a pretense.

But he was awfully chatty for someone who was supposedly worn out.

Pleeease understand that I want nothing more than to go back to my own room.

“Oh, no, I feel just fine.”

“No, no, you’re definitely tired—you might not be able to tell, but we can! Isn’t that right, Rohtas?”

“Quite right, Madam. Young as you are, Master, the fatigue will still build up within your body, so I do believe you ought not try to push yourself too hard.” Seeing Mr. Fisalis continue to resist my suggestion, and furthermore understanding why I was suggesting it, Rohtas stepped in to provide some much appreciated back up. Good job, Rohtas!

Mr. Fisalis shot Rohtas a hard look, but quickly made a face as if coming to a realization before his expression changed once again—this time lighting up in understanding.

“You’re completely right. I shouldn’t overdo it now, so that I can spend as much time with you as possible while I’m on leave!”

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. He got fourteen days of vacation as part of his reward from the king...

“Th-That’s right! Ah ha ha ha!” Please ignore my blabbering.

And so, after walking with Mr. Fisalis to his room, seeing him inside, and then asking Rohtas and Mr. Fisalis’ maid to look after him for the evening, I finally, finally made it back to my own room.

Yeeesh, that took longer than expected!

“Phew... the end of another busy day! I really worked my butt off!”

I began to strip off my fancy dress like I was removing battle armor the instant the door to my room closed.

Must. Escape. From. Corset.

I peeled off my gown and tossed it onto the floor. Layer one: off! Next up is the corset... Hmm, this is the kind that someone else has to help you into, so the ribbon is in the back. I can’t see it. Where is it?

“Oh, Madam, no need for all that! I’m right here!” Stellaria ran over from where she had been filling the tub as I felt around trying to find the ribbon, my neck craned over my shoulder. Before I could argue, I heard and felt the ribbon loosen with a shoop shoop as it slid through the eyelets under Stellaria’s dexterous fingers. I slowly felt my lungs fill with air the moment the ribbon was loosened.

“Whoa... Feels like I’m coming back to life,” I said after taking a breath from deep in my belly, reveling in the feeling of freedom.

“Madam! I dare say, you are exaggerating! I didn’t tie it that tight. Not today, anyway,” Stellaria chided with a broad grin, bending to pick up the gown I had just shed.

Are... Are you saying it could be tied tighter than this...!? Now that I think of it, I guess I have heard of women fainting from tying their corsets too tightly.

My cheek twitched spontaneously as I asked myself why anyone would subject themselves to such torture, but Stellaria seemed completely unfazed.

“But about today... I normally don’t wear a corset or anything, so this was really rough, even if it wasn’t all that tight! Oh, but then again—it did have the benefit of preventing me from overeating.”

“I did take that into account, of course,” Stellaria replied with a smile that suggested doing so was only natural for her.

“Wow!” I exclaimed, gazing at her with a look of admiration.

She thought that far ahead when she was adjusting my corset! I think I’m a little smitten with her advanced maid skills!

“I thought that there might not be enough time for you to take your medicine beforehand, but I wondered if your stomach might just be able to tolerate sumptuous fare in small doses. After all, since coming here, you’ve been served a wider variety of foodstuffs, so your body ought to be at least a little acclimated. Which is why I determined that you would likely be fine,” Dahlia explained, pausing for a moment to put away my gown, which she’d taken from Stellaria.

Now that she says it out loud, I’m convinced she’s right. I’ve been eating incredible food every day, at every meal, since I married into the Fisalis family. I’ve had whatever the servants were eating and simple things, too, but they all shared the same ingredients as Mr. Fisalis’ meals. They must have been very high quality.

I get it now. Unbeknownst to me, I’ve been building up tolerance for richer food!

I can’t say that I’m too proud that my palate has become “refined”... Can’t change the past, though.

“That makes sense. My stomach doesn’t get ambushed by fancy food anymore.”

“Precisely,” Dahlia confirmed.

“So then as long as I eat only a small amount, I won’t get fancy food poisoning?”

“Yes, so it seems.”

“Alright. I’ll try to be conscientious of my portion size from now on.”

“Please do. Oh, but I think I’ll still get your medicine ready for when you go on outings with Master,” she added with a grim smile.

Speaking of you, Mr. Fisalis—even though I said that I wasn’t hungry at the party today, you still tried to bring stacks of plates back to the table.

I smiled just as grimly, remembering how he had acted earlier that day. Dahlia sure knows Mr. Fisalis well.

“Thank yoooou!” I could just hug Dahlia right about now!

Now that I was out of my fancy, uncomfortable clothes and my bath was ready, I slipped into the water.

I heard that some nobles have maids help them bathe, but it seems like everyone here prefers privacy. Neither Dahlia nor Mimosa ever barge in on me, and I suppose they take a strict stance of “don’t come unless called for.” Of course, a near-peasant like me has never had the luxury of being bathed by a servant, which is why I take baths in the way I’m used to. Not to mention I’d die of embarrassment if someone saw me naked! Once I’m out of the tub, though, they won’t stop fawning over me.

It seems like both Mr. Fisalis and my in-laws also bathe by themselves, so I guess the whole family doesn’t make their servants wait on them hand and foot, either.

Thank you for tuning into this special Fisalis family bath report. I’m your host, Viola.

...Anyway, enough of that.

After I washed my hair and body with pleasantly fragrant soap, I laid back to soak in the rose petal-strewn water. The petals also produced a wonderful smell and were plucked like roses from the garden. There was even a little rose oil—homemade, of course—added to the water! It seemed like too much to me, but I didn’t push it when everyone told me that this was normal. That had really shocked me when I had first arrived there, but more than half a year later, I was totally used to it. I shuddered as I realized how accustomed I’d become to luxury.

Oh, and the flowers, oils, and whatnot were different every day. They were chosen based on my physical and mental state. Mimosa was thrilled to do it for me, but ever since she had found out she was pregnant, it seemed like Dahlia had taken over that job.

“You’re very sensitive to scents when you’re relaxed,” Dahlia had explained. I hadn’t realized that was true of me.

As I relaxed into the warm water, I could feel the day’s exhaustion melt away. I let my mind wander aimlessly as I stared at the ripples on the surface of the bath.

Ahhh. What a long day. Both the king’s speech and the repatriation ceremony were so darn looong. But Mr. Fisalis and the knights didn’t so much as twitch the whole time. They’re so cool.

The knights who received awards just after Mr. Fisalis and his division sure were beat up, though. Or maybe I was just really impressed that Mr. Fisalis’ division didn’t have a single scratch on them by comparison. And even though those other knights, the frontline troops, were all covered in bandages and gauze, they all still had pretty chiseled features (relative to Mr. Fisalis, anyway). We won the war and we’re at peace now, all thanks to their efforts and hard work. I really should be grateful.

Anyway, I’m glad I made it through today’s social event without incident. Something always happened at the events I attended before this one! Well, then again, Mr. Fisalis did show me off like a prized pony, so... that’s something that happened.

And I’d misunderstood Miss Iris’ intent when she started talking to me, way back when. And then there was when Mr. Fisalis really embarrassed me (seriously, it sometimes seems like he’s doing that on purpose) right after the confrontation with Miss Verbena.

And then more recently, those knights hit on me at the deployment ceremony...

Hit on... by knights? ...Hm? I feel like I’m overlooking something here. Let me think:

[“There you are, you pretty young thing. You had me quite confused back there when you suddenly disappeared, my beautiful little fairy.”]

The day of the deployment ceremony.

What was it those sleazy knights called themselves, again? The Something Company?

Something Company...

[“I’m ●●● from the First Company. I’m the ◻◻◻, I do all the △△△.”]

The First Company!? I’m not totally sure, because military stuff really isn’t my forte, but that sounds like the right name.

That one knight was blond and had blue eyes. They were all wearing dark green uniforms. I think I even thought he had a pretty handsome face, even though he wasn’t anywhere near Mr. Fisalis’ level... Oh, yes, that was when I coined “good-looking but good-for-nothing!”

[“This award goes to the First Cavalry Company, who put forth the most effort in combat. First Cavalry Company, please come forward.”]

I’m pretty sure those soldiers called up to the podium by the king himself were the First Cavalry... If only I’d been paying better attention. I think they had dark green uniforms on, too.

...Wait, what? Those lousy knights I ran into at the deployment ceremony... sure did resemble the knights who got that award today.

Wait? That means...? That was them...!?

Fuzzy though it was, I was shocked by the image that formed in my mind.

AAAAAHHHH, that was totally them!

The long-forgotten memory of those men hit me with such speed and force that my mind reeled.

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Mr. Fisalis introduced me as “my wife, Viola” to those guys, too! I’ve got a million bad feelings running through my brain right now, but it’s all got to be my imagination, right? Right?

Mr. Fisalis was on the front lines when it happened, so he shouldn’t have known about them hitting on me at the rally, right? ...Unless. Wait. Consul Argenteia was there then, too. And I think I recall being told that he and Mr. Fisalis are old friends. Meaning, it’s possible that... he told Mr. Fisalis about that incident. I sure hope it was through a private message, at least, and not an official letter...

So then, Mr. Fisalis heard from Consul Argenteia that the knights from the First Company hit on me at the rally, and as revenge, he made those guys lead the charge? Yeah, I can see him doing that, considering how he’s been acting lately. It all makes sense now! So that means they got those wounds because they hit on me!? I hate to imagine it, but all the signs point to that... I can’t believe it... That was my fault... They must have been terrified when they saw me.

This is inexcusable! What’s more, I’m an even bigger idiot than I thought possible for totally forgetting their faces and company name! I wanna sink under this tub water and just disappear!

Alas, I could only submerge myself up to my neck.

All of a sudden, I have a boatload of apologies I feel like I should make. Maybe I’m better off pretending like I never realized. No... I’ve already forgotten plenty. I’ll just pretend like I didn’t remember who they were.

I think I’m starting to overheat. I’ve been in here longer than usual, and then I freaked out just now. Plus, I’m still worn out after all that socializing... I should really get out... Ugh, I’m super dizzy.

Some time later:

“Ahhh! Madam!? Stay with me, Madam!”

Dahlia came into the bathroom to check on me when I didn’t come out for quite a long time. Needless to say she made quite a clamor when she found me draped limply over the edge of the tub.