13 — The Purpose of the Trip (and Where We Were Going)

I thought it might be possible... ever so slightly possible... but yes, it seems like I’m going on the trip with Mr. Fisalis. I wonder where we’re going—and why we’re going. And why just the two of us. Wait, maybe Mother and Father Fisalis are going, too?

Personally, I’d prefer if the two of us had some company.

I mean, I can take care of myself just fine, but I’ve never had to look after Mr. Fisalis before all by myself, and I’m not sure I’m up to the task. Well... I’ve taken care of my little brother and sister before, though, and I was fine with them.

Mr. Fisalis and I have been spending more and more time together lately, but... fourteen days in a row! That’s nuts! That’s completely unexplored territory! We’ve never spent that much time together, so I bet we’ll run out of things to talk about pretty quickly.

This will be my first time going on a trip, too, so I think it might be a good idea to come up with an itinerary or something together, but I wonder if Mr. Fisalis will agree with me on that. He really does seem to like surprises... springing something on me out of the blue is a regular occurrence at this point. Well, whatever happens, happens, I guess.

There were so many thoughts running through my head that I struggled to hold them all in as I waited for Mr. Fisalis to say something. When he finally did speak, he asked, “Will you be able to finish packing by tomorrow evening?”

What. That’s the first thing out of your mouth? Telling me to pack!? Hold up just one minute! First of all, where are we going, and why? Aren’t those normally the first things you’d tell someone?

Ahem.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

This is nothing new. Everything is fine. This is his normal.

“Umm, packing aside, could you tell me where it is we’re going? No one’s told me anything at all yet...” I asked him after taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.

“Oh! That was careless of me. I didn’t realize no one had told you. We’re going to my duchy. I’m sorry for making you wait until now, but I thought this could count as our honeymoon. The plan is to visit our main territories, so that way we’ll be able to relax. It’s not even that far from Rozhe,” he explained with a smile that totally said, “Oopsie, I forgot to tell you where we’re even going~”

“Huh? Honeymoon?”

“Yeah. So much stuff has been happening that I wasn’t able to take you earlier.”

So much stuff? Stuff? Ohhh, that stuff. There were SO. MANY. THINGS. That happened, but I guess he just summarized them all as “stuff.” Argh, this man. But I guess that’s just par for the course with him.

“Oh... I never assumed we were going to have a honeymoon at all, so I wasn’t upset or anything.”

“...You know, it physically pains me to hear you say that... But I can kind of understand where you’re coming from. At any rate, since we’re only getting to it now, our honeymoon is also going to be an opportunity to inspect our territories.”

So, at long last, the destination is revealed. And it’s the duchy? Well, whatever. I’m just glad I won’t have to wait until that morning to find out where I’m going.

But wait. It’s also technically going to be our honeymoon!?

I’m going on an actual honeymoon!

I did a double take when Mr. Fisalis uttered the words I never dreamed in a million years I’d hear. Going on a trip to your new family’s home territory after your wedding is a common enough honeymoon—or perhaps they’d call it a postnuptial expedition or something—among the nobility. The implied purpose is showing your bride the state of your lands, and some nobles even throw a banquet while they are there. But in our case, we had left that out since our marriage was contractual at first.

Actually, I didn’t think that was even an option. But now he says we are, in fact, going on a honeymoon?

“Thank you,” I replied, grateful to finally know where I was going.

“So, do you think you’ll be ready in time?” he asked again.

I hmmm’d to myself in my head. Clothes—several changes of them, actually—and what else do I need? This is my first time going on any sort of big trip, so I’ve got no clue how to pack. But once I tell Dahlia that, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m more worried about the clothes that are being made for me.

“Um, it’s going to depend on the clothes that are being made for me. I made a really big order today.” Six whole outfits! Can they really finish that many in one day? ...I actually feel like if anyone could, it would be them.

You know what? I won’t think about it anymore.

“In that case, is there anything else you need to pack?”

“That’s what I’m wondering.” Yeah, did I even bring a travel bag or anything with me?

—

Mr. Fisalis went to work the next day, too. He said he still had a few loose ends to tie up. As I was seeing him off in the foyer, like I usually did, he said, “I’m coming home after lunch today. Oh, but you don’t have to wait for me before you eat,” glancing at me with a particular look in his eye.

“Sure thing! You never have to worry about me waiting for you!” I replied with a smile.

He seemed a bit upset by my answer, for some reason.

You were the one who said not to wait for you. Weirdo. Oh, but since we have lunch in the main dining room, maybe I should wait for him?

—

“As for my clothes, the outfits I’m having made should be plenty. That just leaves underwear, nightgowns... Oh, Mimosa. Would you hand me the box with my jewelry in it?”

“Here you are. Ah, Miss Stellaaaaria. What about shoes? I don’t know what the outfits you commissioned look like, so I’m not sure what will match.”

“You called me ‘miss’ again, Mimosa.”

“Oops! Sorry!”

“...But, yes, shoes. Choose ones with low heels that are easy to walk in, to start with. We’ll see what colors look best later.”

“Understood!”

Stellaria and Mimosa were happily, but quickly, getting my things together for the trip in my dressing room. Mimosa was feeling well that day, so she was helping out. This being my first time packing for a trip, I would’ve been utterly confused without them there.

Considering the times I’d visited my own family’s territory, my travel experience wasn’t exactly zero. But our earldom, barren though it was, was only a half-day’s ride from the capital by carriage. You could even leave and return on the same day if you went on horseback (Father actually does this a lot). And when we did visit our lands, we stayed in a second home we kept there—although it was even more humble than our regular one. At any rate, I had never needed to pack a bag or anything before.

Stellaria and Mimosa made quick work of their choosing and packing as I lost myself deep in thought.

When did they get together my nightgowns and underwear? It’s like they pulled them out of thin air!

They’d hand-picked some jewelry for me too, ranging from my basic pieces to some things a little more extravagant.

I’m the one going, and yet I haven’t had a chance to get even a single word in edgewise about anything. Or rather, they’ve never given me a chance. Mimosa’s always been like that, but it sure seems like you’re the same way, Stellaria!

I hadn’t been sure that I owned a travel bag, but something suitable for that purpose had also magically appeared between them. It was a leather trunk in a lovely shade of old rose. Although the color was dainty, it seemed solid and looked like it could hold even my biggest items for the trip.

Wow, I bet I could even pack myself in that thing. Well, on second thought... with the amount of stuff I’m bringing, I definitely wouldn’t fit!

The things Mimosa and Stellaria had pulled from my closet were quickly being jammed inside. It didn’t look like my shoes were going to fit, though, so they packed those into a separate trunk—one that was just for shoes!

Once they were nearly finished packing my luggage, Dahlia looked over everything that Stellaria and Mimosa had packed and said, “Stellaria and Master’s personal maid will be going with you on the trip as well. They will look after you, so don’t hesitate to call on either of them if the need arises.”

Ah, so it won’t be just the maids who work at our destination villa—we’re bringing some from here, too. It’s reassuring to know I’ll be with people who know me so well.

“So Stellaria will be with me, then! Got it. I should have guessed that Mimosa wouldn’t be able to travel. Bellis would murder me if I tried to drag her along...” I muttered the last bit so only Dahlia could hear it. She smiled in agreement.

Yikes! The fact that she had the same thought is terrifying.

“Wehhh, Madam! I wanted to go with you, too!” Mimosa cried at Dahlia’s explanation, her big hazel eyes shining with tears as she looked at me. But I, for one, valued my life! ...Er, that’s not what I meant to say!

“I wanted you to go too, Mimosa. But I hope you understand why you can’t this time. You should take this time to rest up a bit. You could even hang around the greenhouse!” I told her, trying to make her feel better.

I hope all of the servants can take it easy while their master is away, too. They’ll still be at the manor, but I wonder... will it feel like a vacation for them? Or maybe it’ll just be like employees restocking when there aren’t any customers. But without us around the manor, maybe they could even go home to their families if they wanted to.

At this point, Dahlia chimed in again.

“Ah, Madam. I haven’t informed you yet, but the former duke and duchess will be at the manor while you are away.”

“Huh? They’ll be here? They’re not going with us on the trip?” I nonchalantly asked. And here I thought they’d be going back home to the territory with us.

Stellaria and Mimosa abruptly stopped their packing. A feeling like something had snapped fell over the three of us.

“...Your parents don’t normally go with you on your honeymoon, Madam.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah...”

Dahlia cleared her throat once, dispelling the awkwardness. And thank goodness she did—it felt like time had stopped.

“The former duke and duchess have offered to oversee the manor while you and Master are on your trip.”

“Oh, I see.”

I then thought to myself, Ah, well, I guess I won’t really be alone with Mr. Fisalis if both Stellaria and Rosa are there, too, only to have Dahlia announce:

“The former duke and duchess may not be going, but Rohtas will be, this time.”

“What!? Rohtas is going, too?” My eyes widened in surprise.

But he’s the butler! Can the manor’s cornerstone just up and leave for two whole weeks? It’s no exaggeration to say that the Fisalis manor revolves around him! If Rohtas is gone for two weeks...

[some speculation omitted for brevity]

Oh, I’ve been caught off guard again!

I don’t know if my reaction was funny or something, but Dahlia snickered at me.

“Indeed, he is. Your trip will double as a tour of the Duke’s territories. Most of your trip shall be spent in the largest one, but the Fisalis family has enclaves and exclaves all over, as well, and you are scheduled to tour those, too. I have the feeling that Master wants you to see his territories firsthand, so this trip will count as part of your education and Rohtas will be joining you as your teacher,” she explained, finally allowing me to understand the actual point of the trip.

So, instead of more complicated lectures and study fatigue— Er I mean, study... intrigue?—they’re taking me on a field trip, then! That definitely sounds better for me. That explains why Rohtas is coming, too. Okie dokie, it’s all crystal clear now!

But I still feel some hesitation about bringing someone as important as Rohtas with us. That would just leave the general servants here—they wouldn’t be able to work to their full potential without their conductor, right?

“Won’t it be an issue if Rohtas is absent?” He covers a lot of ground with his work, after all. There’s clerical work, financial management, and I’m sure tons of other things, too. I just don’t know exactly what they all are.

“Cartham will be fine stocking the pantry on his own for a time, and I will handle the rest. Of course, Lord Fisalis will be present, too, should anything unexpected arise,” Dahlia said with a smile and a nod, dispelling my worries.

Oh, that’s right! As long as Dahlia is around, I have nothing to worry about. Not only is she a veteran, but she has a thorough understanding of the manor, second only to Rohtas. I can rely on Cartham, too, in a pinch.

I feel kind of bad, though, leaving my in-laws to house-sit, but I should probably not let it bother me right now.

“Oh? I feel better knowing that!” I exclaimed. But it’s not just Dahlia I’ll be relying on. I just realized, Cartham and Bellis will be here, too!

Just when I thought I understood everything, though:

“However...” Dahlia said with reservation, seemingly at a loss for words.

“However?” What could it be?

“Lord Fisalis is very eager to stand in for Rohtas as the butler in his absence...” she said with a stiff smile.

Huh, it’s pretty easy to imagine my father-in-law getting super worked up about that.

“Oh, is that so? Well, how could I deny him that if he’s so excited? I bet he knows just as much about the manor and whatnot as Rohtas!”

Given what I’ve seen of Lord Fisalis, he does seem like the type who would get a kick out of putting on silver-rimmed glasses and a black tailcoat and doing a Rohtas cosplay!