✦✦✦Idle Asides, No. 2, Cercis’s Perspective — A Short Time✦✦✦

For a while after our belated honeymoon, I was quite busy with transferring squads and managing our new jobs, but I headed home earlier than usual one day when I found myself with a bit of extra time.

Since it was still a while until dinner, I was thinking about going for a walk with Viola around the garden, but...

“Huh? Viola’s not here?”

“She is here, but I am saying that Madam is out in the gardens.”

Today, stick-in-the-mud Rohtas was the only one waiting for me. My adorable Viola wasn’t there! When I looked around for her, I was told she was outside. I was so disappointed to miss out on her usual warm welcome.

“Where exactly is she?”

“Her personal garden.”

“Her what?” She has a personal garden? Whatever—I’ll just have to go to her, then.

“Take me there.”

“Will you change—”

“I can change later.”

Deciding to change out of my uniform later, I followed Rohtas out onto the manor grounds. He led me to a less-traveled corner of the garden.

“Hey, is Viola really—” Just as I was about to ask if she was actually there...

“Where should I plant this andreanum?”

“Let’s see. How about here?”

“Alright. Ah, the flowers I got from Mr. Fisalis are blooming beautifully again!”

“It’s because you take such good care of them, Madam!”

“Ehehe, really? You’re embarrassing me.”

“I’ll leave the andreanums here.”

“Okaaay!”

I began to hear cheery voices. It was Viola, Bellis, Mimosa, and Stellaria. They were all watching Bellis plant those “andreanums.” I decided to sneak up behind Viola and surprise her a little.

“Viola! What are you doing?”

“GYAAAAAH~! IT’S FINALLY COME FOR ME—Wait, Mr. Fisalis!?”

“Don’t look at me like I’m a ghost or something!”

I thought they’d all had their attention on Bellis, but I now saw that it was Viola herself holding the spade and working in the soil. When I jumped out at her, she fell backwards onto the ground in shock. How adorable!

I stepped closer, pulling her back to her feet. “What are you doing out here?” I asked again.

“I was planting the andreanums you bought for me in Le Pied,” she explained, pointing to the tray that Bellis was holding. It held the flower bulbs I’d bought for her as souvenirs lined up neatly on it. Oh, those ones with the heart-shaped leaves. So they’re called andreanums, huh?

“So you’re... watching Bellis plant them?” I asked, despite staring at the spade in her hand.

“Hm? No, I’m planting them myself.” She tilted her head.

“What? You? Huh!?”

“That’s right! This entire corner is for my personal use! Ah, yeah—this is where I planted the bulbs you got me before you went off to war. Look, they’re blooming nicely right now!” She pulled my hand, leading me over to the fully bloomed flowers. Oh yeah, those are the ones I bought her on our date, aren’t they?

In addition to how all the flowers were blooming so beautifully, I could see from the complete lack of weeds around them that they were well taken care of. The thought of Viola having so much fun with her personal garden brought a smile to my face.

“They’ve bloomed a couple of times now!”

“They’re beautiful. And you’re the one who takes care of them?”

“Yep! But I had to leave it to Bellis while we were away. Aren’t they lovely?”

“Very.”

When she smiled up at me, I smiled back. My heart was warmed by the realization that she was growing the flowers I bought for her. It healed all my irritation over how busy I’d been lately.

Looking at me, Viola suddenly clapped her hands, scoop and all. “I have an idea! How about you plant them with us, since you’re here?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes, you! Playing in the dirt is really fun, you know?”

“Hmm, but I’ve never done it before...”

“That’s okay! Bellis is here, too!”

She handed me the spade. Seeing her smiling like she always did made me feel like maybe I could try something new once in a while. And since I’m in my uniform, it doesn’t matter if it gets dirty.

“Alright! What should I do first?” Handing my uniform jacket to Rohtas, I rolled up my sleeves and looked up at Viola for directions.

“Plant this right here!”

She crouched down beside me and handed over a seedling, so I dug a hole and planted it where she pointed. We just kept repeating that set of actions over and over, with me planting wherever she wanted.

“Won’t this throw off the color scheme?”

“You think? Where would you suggest we plant it, then?”

We kept going, discussing placement as we went, sometimes asking Bellis for advice.

“Hmm... This color is similar to this one, so wouldn’t it look nice as a subtle color shift?”

“Oh, that’s a great idea!”

“Hahaha...!”

“What’s wrong, Mr. Fisalis? Is playing in the garden so fun it’s making you laugh? I mean, it is really fun.”

“No, it’s just that you look like you’re having a lot of fun. Do you like this kind of thing?”

“I love it!”

Viola was always bright and cheerful, but the way she was getting excited today made her seem her actual age, rather than the far more mature vibe she usually gave off.

Smiling together, we planted flowers in our nice garden. I was able to talk and laugh with a more natural, carefree Viola than usual. This is nice.

Gardening might be kind of fun! Thinking back, Mother always loved planting flowers like this. That must be why she and Viola got along so well. Dahlia was always getting after her, too, saying she’d get a tan. I could just imagine Viola’s maids saying the same thing.

And just as I thought that...

“Geez, Madam! I told you not to move out from under the parasol!”

Look, Mimosa’s getting angry!