11 — Closet Check!

Rohtas calmly closed the front door with a muffled thud after Mr. Fisalis and his father had rushed out. As soon as the door was shut, the usual palpable silence returned to the entryway. I may or may not have been glad they’d finally left.

Just when I thought our little group would disperse, my mother-in-law turned to me from waving off the men with a smile and said, “Those troublesome boys are finally gone for the day. Let’s get started then, Vi.” The broad grin on her face was totally different from the one she’d given Lord Fisalis and Mr. Fisalis a moment before.

What does she mean? I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

I was immediately on high alert. What she uttered in reply was the absolute last thing I expected to hear.

“I just want to take a look in your closet, Vi.” She continued to smile at me, despite my jaw hitting the ground.

Huh? Why does she want to check my closet now?

“My closet?” I asked, unable to guess what she could be getting at with such a startling statement.

Why on earth would she want to look in my closet? She’s snickering like she finds my dumb, gaping expression funny.

“Yes, your closet. Is that alright with you?”

“Er, yes? I don’t mind, but...”

“That settles it! Let’s head up, then, shall we?” Mere milliseconds after I gave my consent, Lady Fisalis gleefully grabbed my hand and headed for “our” room.

I usually call it “my” room, but for the time being (and for PR purposes), it’s the room me and Mr. Fisalis share. But of course... I really have it all to myself☆

My room had been tidied up while we were eating breakfast. It would be cleaned later, so just the bed area had been dealt with, more or less. The linens had been changed and the bed remade so crisply that you couldn’t even tell anyone had slept in it.

The servants have once again blown me away with their amazing work!

Lady Fisalis and I followed Dahlia through my room to my dressing room/closet. When my mother-in-law gave Dahlia a little look, Dahlia threw open the door to my closet, revealing my sizable collection of dresses. They were perfectly arranged by color with not so much as a sleeve out of place.

Surely, I don’t need this many, do I? I mean, they’re all obviously super expensive, what with the high grade silk and antique lace all over them. There’s no way I can clean and dust in th... Whoops, I mumbled to no one but myself.

“Hmm, I see. So this is your closet,” said Lady Fisalis as she waltzed right into my dressing room. She pulled gowns off the racks here and there, nodding or scowling at what she found.

As for me, I still didn’t really know what her goal was, so I just watched silently. She scrutinized and inspected my wardrobe for some time before looking over her shoulder at Dahlia and asking, “Who chose these dresses?”

“It was Mimosa and I, ma’am,” Dahlia replied coolly.

Ohhh, so it was you two! This is news to me, too. The dresses were already here hanging in the closet the day I arrived after the wedding. I suppose Dahlia and Mimosa must have picked them out. Well, it wasn’t like Mr. Fisalis was going to pick them out himself for his show wife.

“And when was that?” Lady Fisalis continued to question Dahlia.

“It was when we were preparing for Master’s wedding. The wedding dress and the dresses we presented as betrothal gifts were all commissioned at the same time,” Dahlia replied, just as briskly as before. It seemed my mother-in-law had something on her mind.

“So these are all things that were made while you still didn’t know her personal preferences or what kind of lady she was, then?”

“That would be correct. We did just as you said and had the tailor focus on popular trends and wardrobe essentials, because we were not aware of Madam’s own tastes,” Dahlia replied after a moment of thought—perhaps taking some time to remember that day.

“While I’m sure there are things in here that look wonderful on Vi or were made after you got to know her better, other than those few items, none of this really suits her. ...That harebrained son of mine! Sometimes he really gets on my nerves,” Lady Fisalis said, looking back over her shoulder again into my closet.

Those words at the end there didn’t sound like anything I thought would ever fall from her lips, so I must have just imagined it. Yep, definitely an auditory hallucination.

And by “things that look wonderful on me,” I assume she means the pale blue and violet dresses that were made after the wedding for the evening parties. They do look good on me, but that’s because Mimosa and Madame Fleur had such a good time designing them!

I had just been standing there listening to Lady Fisalis and Dahlia’s conversation that whole time, but then Lady Fisalis suddenly turned to me with a glint in her eye and said:

“You don’t have to wear any of these dresses, Vi. You had no say in these thoughtless gifts, after all. In fact, I’d understand if you threw them out.”

“If I what!?” My eyes widened in shock at her words.

Don’t tell me to throw out perfectly good clothes, Mother Fisalis! I mean, it is highly unlikely I’ll ever wear most of these, so they’d just go to waste one way or another, but I can’t actually tell her that.

“...Which is what I’d like to say, but I’m sure that if you really did dispose of them, that you’d feel terrible about it. But a gift that doesn’t come from the heart, no matter how expensive, is a pointless gift, so please do try to wear them a bit more regularly. It doesn’t matter if you get them dirty—they were thoughtless gifts, after all,” Lady Fisalis said with a playful smile.

Ummm. Thoughtless or not, something that’s expensive is still expensive... They’re not my preference, but if I don’t wear them, I suppose they’ll only go out of style. Wouldn’t it be practical and beneficial to wear them anyway? Yeah, it would—I’m sure it would.

I might have had to trick myself into doing it, but I still managed to come to an internal compromise. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say I forced myself to compromise on this.

“Er, sure. I’ll wear them whenever I can.” I already have way too many clothes, so I don’t know whether I really will get to wear them all, but that won’t stop me from trying! ...That was a weird way to put it.

...Hmm? I wonder. Did I detect some discomfort in Mother Fisalis’ voice when she said all that? Didn’t she say that it was fine if I got these clothes dirty? Duchesses aren’t supposed to get their dresses dirty at all, though, right...? Unless she... nope, no way... oh my gosh!?

Descending into panic, I knew that I needed some clarification from her.

“M-Mother Fisalis? What did you mean by ‘getting my dresses dirty?’”

“Hm? What was that? Well, you like to garden, don’t you? And you pick flowers to decorate the manor,” she replied offhandedly, her head tilted adorably to the side.

Ohhh, that. She really had me scared there. I guess she did find me gardening that one time.

“So that’s what you were talking about.” I felt my shoulders relax in relief.

“Pardon me?”

“Ah, nothing,” I corrected myself before I gave too much away. But my relief was short-lived.

“If you insist. Now, where were we... I’ve checked your closet... So now it’s time to go shopping!” she exclaimed, once more surprising me with an unexpected twist.

Shopping?

“Y-You mean right now!?” It was my turn to cock my head as I looked back at her. I wondered what she was thinking, dropping that on me out of nowhere.

“Consider it a thank you for letting us stay here for so long during the war,” she said with a smile that bore a close resemblance to Mr. Fisalis’ own.

“Really? But isn’t this your home, too?”

“Ohhh, you say such sweet things, Vi! Really, it’s just an excuse to go shopping! An excuse, that’s all! I just wanted to go on a shopping spree with my daughter for once.”

I thought that what I said was utterly mundane, but she suddenly hugged me—and with gusto, too. The pressure was so intense that I’m afraid I let out a noise quite unbecoming of a young lady.

Where could she possibly be storing this much crushing force in that dainty body of hers? She’s breaking me in half!

“M-Mother Fisalis... you’re hurting me.” I gently hit against her back with my hands to try to encourage her to loosen her grip.

I’d be smacking away if this was Mr. Fisalis, but it’s important to adapt to the circumstances.

“Oh, my goodness! I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me, oh ho ho ho! Shopping with my husband is fun, too, of course, but it’s different when it’s just us girls, right? I only had a son, and not one who would even go shopping with me, either. Really, that boy...”

It wouldn’t have been right to tell her no—besides, if I didn’t stop her, she’d just keep going on and on complaining about Mr. Fisalis. So I decided to suck it up and brace myself for some parent-child bonding time via shopping.

“Okay, I’ll go get ready.”

And that was how I ended up going on an unplanned outing that day. We got in our carriage and headed straight for, you guessed it, Madame Fleur’s boutique. She and all of her employees were already on standby when we arrived, as if they were expecting us.

Here I thought this was a spur of the moment decision, but were they all in on it!?

“It’s so good to see you again, Lady Fisalis. And how do you do, Madam Fisalis?”

“Hee hee, it’s been so long!” My mother-in-law and Madame Fleur exchanged their hellos like a pair of old friends. I politely said hello from behind Lady Fisalis so that I didn’t get in their way. Their conversation progressed rapidly.

“You’re here today about the dresses—am I correct, Duchess?”

“Yes. Oh, but not formal ones, just something for everyday use. My apologies for such short notice, but I hope you’ll be able to help us.”

“Of course! You’re one of my most special clients, after all. Let me show you to my atelier and we can begin.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Why is she in such a hurry to get normal clothes? Not to mention that since I didn’t know what they were talking about, I was totally left out of that conversation.

“How many will I be making?”

“Hmm. Good question. About five or six should do it. For the upcoming trip.”

Standing there and only partially paying attention to what they were saying, I thought I heard my mother-in-law mention a trip.

Huh? Who’s going on a trip? Where?

Oh, I get it. She came to have some clothes made. She and Lord Fisalis must be going on a fun little getaway before they go home. They’d like that, considering how lovey-dovey they are. But five or six outfits still seems like a lot!

I wonder if she’ll be headed back to the territory soon, and that’s why she put in the rush request. I hadn’t heard about anything like that, though. Hopefully she’ll tell me later. Yeah, I’m sure she will!

As I took the liberty of coming up with my own explanation, I tuned back in to what they were saying.

“Oh, I see. In that case, something not too voluminous and easy to move in should be good.”

“Exactly. And then as for the time frame, I think the departure date is in two or three days, so I’d like everything two days from now. That really doesn’t leave you much time, does it? I’m sorry to ask this of you.”

Lady Fisalis might be smiling sweetly, but that’s a hellish deadline to put on someone! I thought that Madame’s dresses typically take six months to make! Can she really make them in just two days? ...Only a fiend would ask her to do that.

Still, it’s got to be impossible to say no to such a beautiful smile. And if you’re aware of that, Mother Fisalis, you absolutely are a little devil, I thought to myself as I looked at my mother-in-law in astonishment.

What came out of Madame Fleur’s mouth next, however, caused me to freeze in place.

“No, my pleasure! Oh ho ho! My word, though, what a tight deadline! I had better get started right away. Please, come inside. I’ll do my very best to make sure everything is to your liking, Viola,” Madame quipped, pulling a cheerful smile out of... somewhere, despite the insane deadline thrust on her.

But.

Hey, wait a second! Were they talking about me!? The dresses are being made... For me!?

I... I think I’m hyperventilating.