6 — I’m Home!

We were now down to the last three days of Mr. Fisalis’s holiday.

Nearly being kidnapped by some thugs, having gems named after me, seeing the ocean for the first time (as well as some views that nearly moved me to tears) and, most importantly, Mr. Fisalis pouring his heart out, had made the time just fly by. It sure was an eventful vacation. I thought we’d probably be staying away from the manor for as long as possible, but...

“We should probably head back to Rozhe soon. Oh, but not straight home, actually. I’m thinking about stopping by some of our other territories on the way. We’ll skip going to the south, though. It’s still a bit rough down there, since the war just ended and all,” announced Mr. Fisalis.

And so, we packed up the flowers and such we’d bought for souvenirs—and those sapphires, of course—and set off.

“Come back whenever you’d like!”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you all~! We’ll come back soon!”

“We’ll be waiting!”

After saying goodbye to Fennel, Anise, and the other villa servants, we took the carriage to our next destination—a territory that was apparently famous for its baths. When we arrived, I saw lots of people lounging around in natural ponds full of steaming hot water (they really do have hot springs here!!!). These particular springs, it seemed, were for public use, and even commoners could visit them as long as they paid a small fee. Aside from those, supposedly there were special springs for upper-class merchants, and even more exclusive ones for nobles only.

And, of course, there was a private one in our villa!

“How have the water levels been lately?”

“No changes have been recorded since your last visit.”

“We’d get a lot more visitors if we lowered the entry fee a bit, wouldn’t we?”

“That’s true. Let’s do so.”

Any chance they got, Mr. Fisalis and Rohtas would talk business—but they weren’t all work and no play. Whenever I started spacing out, Mr. Fisalis would realize I was getting bored and strike up a conversation with me.

“Ah, I’m sorry for talking so much about work. Let’s both of us go to the springs later.”

Hmm? That almost sounds like he wants us to go bathe together, just us two. I must’ve misheard!

“Really? Yay! Stellaria, Rosa—Mr. Fisalis has given us the okay, so let’s go check out the springs later!”

“Oh, that will be wonderful~!”

I have no idea why Mr. Fisalis is glaring at me.

The maids and I headed to the duke’s hot springs the moment we arrived at the villa and had a warm, relaxing party, just us girls. Mr. Fisalis? He probably took a bath with Rohtas or something.

After spending a day there, we headed back to the capital. We’d be home for the first time in thirteen whole days!

They must have sent someone ahead, because all of the servants were already lined up in front of the manor when we got there. This is just what I needed to feel like I’m truly home! Hm? Wait. Why is there a butler standing in the line? Rohtas came with us...

I turned back to Rohtas, who was behind us, and he gave me a strained smile.

Oh. Father Fisalis must still be playing butler!

“Welcome home!”

“Welcome home, Cercis, Viola!”

“Welcome back, Vi!”

The servants all welcomed us back with their usual flawless greetings, while my in-laws gave us wide, welcoming smiles. Usually, I’d feel super awkward being greeted by everyone like this all at once, but this time it made me feel warm inside.

“You must be exhausted from your trip.”

“Did you have fun, Vi?”

My in-laws spoke first.

“Yes, I had a wonderful time!” A lot had happened, but I was super satisfied with my vacation, so I gave them one of my twenty dollar smiles. It was a special treat!

“That’s good. You’ve simply got to tell us all about it,” Father Fisalis said, taking my hand to lead me to the salon. But before he could whisk me away, Mr. Fisalis snatched me back, giving his father a sour look.

“We’ve just returned home, and we’re very tired.”

He curtly refused, but of course my in-laws didn’t care about their son’s mood.

“Oh, it’ll just be for a bit! Can’t we, Vi?”

I couldn’t say no to Mother Fisalis’s sparkling smile. “Oh, alright.”

“Viola!?” Mr. Fisalis shot around to look at me, but... surely a little chat wouldn’t hurt.

“Let’s just have a nice, relaxing conversation, okay, Mr. Fisalis?” I said.

“...If you say so.”

And that’s how Father and Mother Fisalis managed to drag us into the salon the very moment we got home.

“We didn’t bring back any souvenirs for you, since you live there most of the time,” said Mr. Fisalis the moment he sat down on the sofa.

“As I expected,” replied Father Fisalis, sitting on a couch across from us.

“But I do have some things to report instead.”

“Ah... about the sapphires?”

“Yes. As I stated in my letter, I’ve decided to put some effort into distributing sapphires as well as rubies. Our mines seem to dig up so many quality stones, after all. We managed to be there just in time to get some samples—Rohtas, if you please.”

“Yes, milord.”

Called in by Mr. Fisalis, Rohtas brought the sapphires out on a gorgeous tray lined in velvet. When the heck did he get time to send Father Fisalis a letter? Rohtas set the tray down on the table in front of us. Well, I suppose these are the Viola Sapphires. Just the thought of having to hear about them again made me want to run away while I still had the chance.

Father Fisalis picked up one of the gems and held it up to the light, inspecting it closely just like Mr. Fisalis had done in Le Pied.

“Since we’d been so focused on producing rubies because they sell for a higher price, we’d processed sapphires like these into artificial rubies. But, hearing that they dig out plenty of high-quality sapphires, I’ve thought to start selling them as sapphires instead. They might prove to be an important windfall during periods when we find fewer rubies, but most importantly, I believe these specimens will soon be in high demand as well,” explained Mr. Fisalis as his father scrutinized the sapphires.

“Why do you believe they’ll be in high demand soon?” Father Fisalis raised an eyebrow, only to receive an enigmatic smile from his son in response.

“We’re going to name these sapphires ‘Viola Sapphires.’ Only the highest quality examples will be called that, of course. And Viola herself will show them off to high society.”

“Hahaha! That’s a great idea!”

“‘Viola Sapphires’? Oh my, how wonderful! Vi, you must tell me all about them!”

Father Fisalis praised Mr. Fisalis’s idea, while Mother Fisalis was still stuck on the name.

What? You want me to tell you about them!? Come on, Mr. Fisalis, you tell her! I glanced over at my husband.

“We’ll have these sample gems made into jewelry for their big debut.”

“Yes. They’re all of excellent quality, so the result should be stunning.”

“We’ve got the gems, so all we need to do now is contact the jeweler. But enough about that. I have some concerns about public order in our territories...”

“What, public order? Was there some kind of problem?”

Damn, they’re already talking about work. I can’t count on him. So I’m gonna have to tell her all about the naming thing myself? What kind of cruel torture is this? While I tried to find the words to explain, Mother Fisalis had already gotten herself worked up.

“‘Viola Sapphires’! What an adorable name! Where did it come from? Oh, it must be your eyes, right? Oh, dear me—Vi’s gone and clammed up out of embarrassment. I’m not gonna get anything from her. Ria, Rosa, give me all the details!”

You didn’t really give me a chance to say anything! Talk about moving fast.

“Master decided on the name because the sapphires were the same color as Madam’s eyes.”

“Only the highest-quality sapphires will be called ‘Viola Sapphires,’ and only the very best of those will be granted the title of ‘Viola Eyes.’”

“Oh my!”

Since she felt like she wouldn’t get anything from me, Mother Fisalis called Stellaria and Rosa over instead. When she heard about the ‘Viola Eyes,’ she clapped her hands over her cheeks, twisting around in embarrassment. I’m the one who ought to be embarrassed here...

Having gotten our reports, my in-laws finally let us go to get some rest. After seeing them off as they left for the cottage, Rohtas escorted Mr. Fisalis and I up to our rooms.

“You must be exhausted too, Mr. Fisalis. Since you’ll be going back to work tomorrow, make sure to rest well tonight,” I said as we stood in front of his bedroom, just like we always did.

“Am I the only one a bit sad that we’re going back to separate rooms after sleeping together for our entire holiday?” He put on the kicked puppy face. I could almost see the drooping ears and tail.

“If you’re lonely, Rohtas will be there with you.”

“Of course, Madam.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Rohtas gave a bright smile when I shifted the responsibility to him, but Mr. Fisalis shot it down immediately. That was a fast retort! I had to hold myself back from laughing at their back-and-forth.

“Leaving aside the issue of your loneliness, everything will be back to normal come tomorrow, so please do get some rest. Madam must be exhausted as well, so please, let her be for now.” Rohtas wiped the smile from his face, going back to his usual serious expression as he shoved Mr. Fisalis into his own room.

“Ghhhh...! Fine...”

That only worked because we’re back in our Rozhe manor! Rohtas’s manhandling ended the discussion.

The next morning:

“I’ve forgotten how to work over my holiday! I’ll have to stay home with Viola—”

“You’ll remember once you’re back on the job. Please stop mumbling.”

“Have a good day!”

Mr. Fisalis whined about not wanting to go to work, only for Rohtas to kick him out calmly. I just smiled and waved.

This would be the first time he’d gone to work in a while. My in-laws also left together after breakfast, having been invited to a lunch-and-tea party at the Argenteias’ manor.

Both my husband and in-laws were gone. I was F I N A L L Y free!

I still couldn’t wear my usual maid uniform, but I did go straight to the servant’s dining room. I had to pass out our souvenirs, after all!

I had Dahlia and Stellaria help me carry in the sapphire accessories and flowerpots from Le Pied in, since I couldn’t carry them all myself. I got a glare from Dahlia, but she let me gather all of the normal maids for a while so I could give them each their presents.

“What a lovely barrette!”

“Oh, Madam—souvenirs, too? You shouldn’t have!”

“My, these are made with sapphires? The shades are all different... such a wonderful variety!”

“This isn’t one of those ‘Viola Sapphires,’ is it? Ahh, too bad.”

“Of course it isn’t! We’d never be able to get anything as high-quality as a ‘Viola Sapphire’!”

“These flowers are adorable.”

“Ah, those are called andreanums. They only grow around Le Pied! I bought some, since they’re so rare.”

“I see!”

The maids all chattered away happily as they looked at the hair clips and andreanum buds I’d brought home.

But wait—how did they know about the ‘Viola Sapphire’ thing?

“Oh, no, those sapphires aren’t even being sold yet. They might not end up being that expensive anyway. Maybe they won’t even sell at all!” I rushed to play it down.

“But they’ve got your name, Madam! Of course they’ll sell!” Their enthusiastic statement silenced me.

“You all already knew about the name thing, huh...” I mumbled.

“Of course we did! We grilled Stellaria and Rosa last night!” They all gave me a thumbs-up. Argh, that look tells me they know all about the ‘Viola Eyes,’ too...

We all stood around and chatted about my trip until Dahlia broke us up. Then the maids went back to their usual jobs, while I talked with Mimosa, had a nap (I didn’t get much napping in on the trip!), and just generally relaxed.

Then, evening finally arrived. I headed to the entranceway to greet Mr. Fisalis, as per usual.

“I’ve been transferred,” he announced happily after our customary welcome home hug.

Hm? Transferred? We’re moving!? Wait, he must mean he’s transferring jobs! So, he’s leaving the special ops division!?