16 — Arriving at the Territory

The swaying of the carriage and clatter of its wheels were gentle and quiet as we glided through the capital, since the roads there were all well-paved. Additionally, since the carriage offered an exceptionally smooth ride to begin with, I thought that I would be struggling to stay awake—perhaps even while nervously trying to have a normal conversation with Mr. Fisalis—but to my surprise, I never lost interest in watching the scenery passing by the other side of the window, as all of it was new to me.

“Wow! What lush, green fields!” I exclaimed.

“This area produces a lot of grain, so those are probably the first sprouts. They sure do look healthy and green! This year’s going to be another bumper crop for sure.”

“Hopefully no storms will pass through before then.”

“Even the streets and houses look different than the ones in Rozhe. Their coziness is really charming.”

“Just the kind of rustic look you’d expect from a productive farming town, right?”

“Why don’t we take a break here and have some lunch? We’re in Rovence, so their vegetable dishes are bound to be good.”

“Oooh! Rovençal food! I used to have that stuff as a regional-cuisine staff meal...”

“What!?”

“Oh, nothing~☆”

At first, I was worried whether we’d find anything to talk about over the course of the long ride, but time passed very tranquilly as Mr. Fisalis and I talked about the fresh new sights I was viewing through the window. I was happy that my worries were unfounded.

As we took a break for some lunch in town (er, maybe village is a better word?) just as Mr. Fisalis had suggested, we had a relaxing time taking in the sights and sounds of the road that led to the duchy.

Most of the roads outside of the capital are of poor quality, but this one is still paved and in good shape. Curious. Speaking from what little experience I have, whenever my family would go to our territory, the carriage would rock violently and rattle over the roads as soon as we were outside the capital. That doesn’t seem to be the case here at all, though.

“Rozhe is behind us now, right?” I asked Mr. Fisalis.

“Yep, we’re no longer in Rozhe. We’re in the territories, but only just inside the border.”

Right, because the duchy shares a border with the capital. Even if it’s adjacent, though, we’re still a little ways away from the bigger towns.

“I couldn’t help but notice that the roads are paved, even out here in the middle of nowhere,” I said, voicing my puzzlement.

“Right you are. All the roads in this territory are paved, just like in Rozhe. And not just the roads around the territory, either—even the ones that lead out away from major cities are paved like this. Of course, no matter what road you take, they all lead to Rozhe and the duchy.”

Are you telling me that all of the roads connect to the capital? And to the duchy, too!? He really let that roll off his tongue like it was no big deal. I had no idea. I want the roads in my family’s territory to be paved, too, then. Wait, what? My family’s territory doesn’t qualify as a major city? My bad!

On the topic of my family’s territory, since we had to take pretty beat-up roads to go there, the carriage would always rock so violently I was afraid I’d smack my head! Granted, the money for paving the roads simply wasn’t there. I’m sorry, citizens!

The Fisalis family clearly has the means to see that roads in their duchy are properly paved, though. Good for them.

As we trundled down the road, we seemed to pass by a little bit of everything: rustic vistas, sprawling fields, woodlands, and mining areas that looked like wastelands at first glance.

I can tell this place is flourishing just by the lush fields of grain. We grew some grain in my family’s fields, but I guess due to the limited daylight hours and the cold climate, they never got anywhere near as lush as the fields here. They were just... brown. You have bested me again, duchy!

The entire mining region was covered in reddish brown soil—the only thing left after everything on the top had been torn up to dig out the ore. I couldn’t help but stare at the strangely-colored landscape.

“This is where the duchy’s famous rubies are collected,” Mr. Fisalis explained as we passed through.

He must mean those pigeon blood rubies.

“Maybe all the rubies are what makes the ground so red?” I remarked casually.

“I don’t think it works that way,” replied a deadpan Mr. Fisalis.

Whoops, looks like Mr. Fisalis got stuck playing my straight man.

After we had traveled for some time, we arrived at a place with noticeably more people walking around. It seemed like a town, what with the houses and wider streets. It wasn’t as big as the capital, but it still appeared to be a fairly large city.

I turned from where my face was pressed against the window to Mr. Fisalis. “Where are we?”

“This is the center of the territory, Pied de la Montjuc. The family villa is located on the edge of the town on Montjuc Hill. See, look, over there,” he explained, leaning toward the window and pointing. In that direction, I could just barely spot a small manor on a low hill overlooking the town. We were still far away, though, so I couldn’t make out much detail.

The number of pedestrians increased and more houses and shops came into view the deeper we drove into the town, on our way to the villa. It was one little stone house after another, with nothing that looked like any of the nobles’ manors back in the capital to be seen. The people on the street were all wearing neat, rustic clothes.

If anything, it looks like the streets where the commoners live in the capital. All the houses here are made of pale reddish-brown stone, so the whole town has a very cohesive aesthetic. It’s such a beautiful color, too.

“What a pretty-looking town!” I blurted out.

“The buildings here use the stone extracted from the mines, so that’s why it has such a uniform palette. Almost everything in town is a shade of pink, as you can see. Do you like it?”

“Yes, very much!” In the capital and my family’s territory, the buildings are all made of white and gray stone, so it’s exciting to see these streets lined with these lovely, perfectly matching buildings.

Not to mention...

It’s so wonderful that they use the rock from the mines! They’re recycling, using every last bit of material they have. My frugality senses are tingling! This duchy rocks! And now that I’m thinking about it, the area around the mines was reddish, too, wasn’t it? And that’s all due to the color of those rubies, I’m sure of it!

...Though Mr. Fisalis quashed that idea in record time.

While I was watching the scenery slowly passing us by, a shop with a red awning caught my attention. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a patio cafe with several white sets of tables and chairs arranged out front and townspeople lounging here and there.

“Wow, that shop looks so lovely...” I murmured, but before I knew it, we had already passed it by.

There was a pretty girl peddling flowers on the corner, and an artist painting pictures to sell. And there was a marketplace with vendors selling all sorts of fruits and vegetables, piled high in baskets. My excitement only grew as I peered out onto the lively streets.

Yeah, I definitely want Mr. Fisalis to take me around town! I’ll ask him later, if he doesn’t mind.

As I stared out at the streets through the carriage window, fully absorbed in the scene before me, I saw some of the people walking down the street turn to the carriage and nod, as if in greeting.

Why are they doing that? ...Oh, I get it. The Fisalis family crest is on the doors, so it’s obvious their lord is inside! I really can’t afford to embarrass us.

I sat up a little straighter.

Continuing down the main street, we passed through what looked like residential areas and shopping districts until we finally reached the foot of Montjuc Hill. The carriage slowly began to ascend the hillside. The streets that I had been gazing at only moments earlier quickly grew farther and farther away below us. The view of the town from above was nothing like looking at it from the ground, but just as impressive.

With the little town farther and farther behind us, we drew ever closer to the villa. I hadn’t been able to tell from a distance, but now that I was closer I could see that the villa looked to be made of the same pink stone as the buildings back in town.

It’s a splendid estate, but it’s not as big as the manor in the capital. It looks like it could fit maybe three of the annexes in it. A modest, yet refined building, if I do say so myself.

A plethora of multi-colored flowers and well-pruned trees surrounded the villa. Overall, the place was unassuming, but still thoughtfully and scrupulously looked after.

“It’s so lovely!” I let out a sigh of wonder as the carriage passed through the gate and I finally got a look at the villa. Mr. Fisalis was staring, too.

It must have been a long time since he was last here.

“It used to be in pretty bad shape, but it was rebuilt back when my parents kept themselves shut away here. This is my mother’s favorite place.”

“It does seem like that sort of place. But still, it’s truly enchanting!”

“I’m sure she’d be happy to hear that. At any rate, we’ve arrived.”

The carriage quietly came to a stop and the coachman opened the doors.

The servants who worked at the villa had come just outside the door to greet us, although there were not as many of them as at the manor in the capital. There were five of them in total. They look a tad older overall, too.

At that moment, an older man—maybe in his early sixties—with elegantly styled white hair approached us and bowed politely.

“Welcome, Young Master, Young Madam.”

Goodness, what a gentle smile this handsome fellow has!

The creases in the corners of his eyes gave him such a kind, grandfatherly look that my initial impulse was to yell “Grandpa!” and give him a hug. But let’s not focus on that too much.

I’m not used to being called “young madam” though, so now I’m a little flustered! But I guess here, my father-in-law is “Master” and my mother-in-law is “Madam,” so we have to avoid confusion.

As I stood there bashfully contemplating my new title, Mr. Fisalis turned to the old man and started chatting with him.

“It’s been a while, Fennel. Seems you’ll be looking after me again, I suppose. Thank you.” Then Mr. Fisalis introduced the two of us. “Viola, this is the butler, Fennel. He worked at the manor prior to Rohtas.”

Oh ho, so this is Rohtas’ predecessor!

When I glanced over at Rohtas, he gave a small nod.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Viola. Thank you for looking after us while we’re here,” I said with a bow.

Oh, crud. I bowed to him, even though I’m the lady of the house. Is he going to scold me for doing something so un-madam-like?

Fennel, however, did not seem to mind.

“You’re too kind. You need not be so formal, Madam; this is where the dukes of the Fisalis family come to retire and while away the hours,” he said with a cheerful smile.

That’s a relief.

“What are we standing around and talking for? Viola, you must be tired after riding in the carriage for so long. Let’s get you inside,” Mr. Fisalis said, escorting me to the door.

“Right this way,” Fennel said, holding the door open and motioning for us to enter.

If anyone here was a shut-in, it was me, so I became excited all over again at the chance to see what new and rare sights awaited inside.

It’s okay to get like this every once in a while. I’ve come all the way here, so I might as well enjoy myself, right? And if I have to be with Mr. Fisalis to do that, then he can be the one to show me around! It’ll be like going on a tour—which is to say, a lot of fun.

After all, the ride over here was unexpectedly fun and totally not the torture I expected. Yes, more positive thinking!