13 — We Grew Even Closer

I had just found out, albeit belatedly, that the head housemaid Dahlia and the head cook Cartham, as well as head personal maid Mimosa and head gardener Bellis, were married. With that, any hard feelings I had towards them faded away.

Indeed, I had gotten used to their quirks.

After I had finished discussing the day’s menu with Cartham, I looked around the kitchen for a short while. There were several other cooks in there besides Cartham; they appeared to have come from other regions to train under him.

He may be an overly flirtatious middle-aged Casanova, but he was also at the top of his game.

Or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

Food prep looked like all out war.

Cartham’s usual flamboyance disappeared and was replaced by a strict, leader-like attitude. Even the way he handled and cut meat was like an art.

Cartham had three major crunch times every day, so the cooks under his watch were running to and fro endlessly. In the midst of all this, a different person each day was responsible for cooking the servants’ meals. Preparing dinner was especially hectic.

Cartham was carefully preparing dinners to be taken to the cottage, and his apprentices were helping out.

I saw all of this happening out of the corner of my eye while I was watching the apprentice in charge of the servants’ meals at work.

“Is that the servants’ food for today?” I asked, because it looked like one of my favorite foods!

“Yes, Madam. It is an in-house version of a dish from the Lesace region,” the young (albeit older than me) apprentice answered cheerfully.

In opposition to the apparent battlefield surrounding Cartham, this area was much more laid back and calm.

“Oh, a regional dish? Are you from Lesace, then?”

“I am.”

The Lesace region was located north of the capital, Rozhe.

“It’s very far from Rozhe, isn’t it?” I asked, imagining a map of the Flür Kingdom.

“Yes. It takes a week by carriage,” he answered with a smile, hands never stopping.

“It must have been quite a long trip! I’ve never been there, of course, and I’ve never had their cuisine, so I’m really looking forward to trying it!”

“Well, I’ve put all of my cooking know-how into this, so I would hope so!” His answer was brimming with confidence—perhaps because it was a dish from his homeland.

“I sure am! Oh, are all you apprentices from different places, then?” I asked, the thought suddenly occurring to me.

“We are. Mr. Cartham is from Rozhe, but there are people here from the Rheine region, the Wahl region, and Rovence,” he responded, hands still moving.

They were from every which way, north and south, from regional cities and towns quite a ways away from Rozhe.

It seemed that, given the size of the Flür Kingdom, even though these regions were within the kingdom’s boundaries, their climates and characteristics were all different.

I had only studied the realm in school and had never actually been to those places, though, so I didn’t know if this was true or not. I had gone occasionally to other territories, but I had spent almost all my life in Rozhe. And since those territories I visited were only a half-day from Rozhe at most, they weren’t exactly ‘long-distance travel.’

“I see—you’ve come from all over the place! I’m sure everyone’s local cuisine is different from what we have here.”

“That’s right. Because the ingredients are different, and then there are unique seasonings to consider.”

I wonder what they’re all like! I’ve never seen it, so I can’t even imagine. But if these people made it all the way here, I’m sure it’s because they really know how to cook their local cuisine!

“...could the apprentices serve us food from their homelands from now on?”

“You mean...?”

He stared blankly in confusion for a moment at my sudden proposal.

“With all these talented people here from all different places, every day could be like a different culinary adventure!”

As I said this, some nearby personal maids who were listening in while helping to plate the food chimed in.

“That sounds interesting!”

“I’m curious about the food in other regions, since I’ve never been to any of them,” they said in unanimous agreement.

The apprentice agreed, too.

“I see, then. Thank you for letting us know.” He seemed to be warming up to the idea.

Cartham whole-heartedly agreed once I talked to him during a free moment.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be sampling cuisine from all over without ever leaving the manor! I can’t wait!

“Demon King Bellis! Demon King Bellis!”

“...Madam, please don’t make my name into something it’s not.”

“Whatever do you mean?” I replied, feigning ignorance.

I was finally able to talk casually with the formerly frightening Bellis! Through Mimosa’s perspective, I came to realize that he was a nice guy at heart, even though he seemed scary!

Oops, gotta stay on task.

“Have the flower seedlings I asked for arrived yet?”

“Yes. I’ve already planted them,” Bellis responded simply.

“Oh wow, thank you!”

“I’m replacing the flowers in the garden, little by little, so if anything looks wrong or there’s something you’d like to add, please tell me.”

“You got it!”

I had asked him to redesign the garden. It was still in the style of the previous duchess—which is to say, mother-in-law-ish—and the layout of the flowers was strangely austere.

The garden was on the larger side, as far as gardens go, so I thought bright colors would be suitable, but the old flowers were all muted. That was fine and all, but since this garden was uncommonly large and grand, I imagined some brighter colors would make it a true feast for the eyes. The flowers growing in the grand greenhouse, as well, were chosen because they were large and colorful—most suitable for decorating the manor. So, I talked it over with Bellis.

Bellis had designed and maintained the garden as per the previous madam’s preferences, too, but once he understood what I preferred, he readily agreed that changing everything to suit me would not be cheap, so, for that reason, he was working on remodeling the garden a bit at a time.

I’d been so busy scampering around the manor that no one asked anymore if I wanted to work on my embroidery or lace!

...I wonder if they gave up on me ever being a normal lady.

As of late, I’ve been completely obsessed with weaving. And dyeing, too!

One afternoon:

I had discovered an interesting clump of grass while wandering around the garden.

“This is a common grapevine, no?”

I often spotted these little vines dotted with ultramarine fruit on my family’s land, and I knew that even though the fruit was inedible, you could extract its essence and make dye. You’d never guess it based on the color of the fruit, but this plant made a beautiful pink dye that played an important role in the development of our territory’s economy.

“Yes. You know a lot about plants.” Bellis quirked his eyebrows. He seemed surprised.

“Oh, we just had a lot of them in my family’s territory. We’d dye thread with them and then weave fabric. You could dye all sorts of things with it. Can I have these fruits?”

“Sure. It’ll produce more, actually.”

I see. So even if you keep picking the fruit, more will grow. It’s very economical, no... business-friendly, even.

With Bellis’ permission, I picked the grapes and went back to the manor.

“Dahlia, do we have any white cloth?”

“White cloth?” Dahlia cocked her head as she considered my seemingly random question.

“That’s right. I picked some grapes and I was thinking of making a dye with them.”

“Oh, is that so? Your family’s territory was known for dyeing and weaving crafts, no?” She smiled gently.

It’s just like her to be well-versed in my territory’s economy.

“There are some sheets and tablecloths in the storehouse. Will those do?” she suggested, as if she suddenly remembered they were there.

“Are they old?” I asked.

“No, not terribly. We simply brought out all brand new linens when you joined the family.” Dahlia’s nonchalant answer startled me.

You mean you got brand new linens just because I was coming here as a new bride? I had become so used to having nothing that the thought kind of made me want to run away.

Pleeease let me recycle those linens so I can redirect this feeling!

“Okay, I’ll use those.”

“As you wish, Madam.”

I boiled the grapes in the kitchen. I had found other things to make dye from besides those, so I brought a decent supply with me. Recycling the linens would be fun—I’d embroider the dyed fabric to really make it pop!

Mimosa and a few maids who were on break looked in on me with interest as I worked.

Just when the color started to come out of the fruits, turning the boiling water a rich hue, I added the mordant and put the fabric in. I let it boil a while longer, then removed the fabric and dropped it in cold water... well, look at that.

The fabric had taken on a light hue.

“Goodness, it came out such a pretty color!” Mimosa said, eyeing the freshly-dyed fabric with admiration.

“Isn’t it? The color will turn out differently depending on the fabric, though. I think the color of these sheets came out nice.”

“You’re so knowledgeable, Madam!”

Having never witnessed the dyeing process before, the maids were spreading out the cloths in surprise. I explained that my home territory’s local specialty was dyed and woven goods, so I had experience assisting the process. That seemed to satisfy them.

I thought back to how, back then, we were frantic to revive our territory’s economy, so I had helped Mother when she took the initiative to research and experiment with dyeing.

I gazed at a spot on the wall as I reminisced.

With the help of the maids who had seen my demonstration, we dyed many pieces of fabric a variety of colors.

“Hmm, since I went to all the trouble of doing this, maybe I should make a Fisalis family crest.”

Red, yellow, green, orange—I arranged a design in front of me using a rainbow of dyed fabrics. With all these materials spread out before me, I deliberated over what to make.

The Fisalis family crest was a ground cherry.

Ah, even though it’s called a cherry, it’s a flower, right? I thought to myself. The flower is actually rather plain, though, so maybe it’s not suitable for a statement piece like that.

Now that I think of it, I embroidered a handkerchief the other day during some free time. Yeah, that will do.

The maids agreed with a smile that I could definitely make something cute out of it.

I made up my mind to go with that idea and started to cut the fabric. I was going to start with some throw pillows first.

“Are you going to put this in the salon?” Mimosa asked as she watched my needle move busily through the fabric.

“Do you think I should? I was thinking of putting it in my room.”

Everyone has their own tastes, so I thought I’d put it somewhere private in case my work wasn’t well-received.

“I’m certain no one would mind if it was in the salon. Besides, it already looks so cute in there, so I’m sure it will fit in.”

We had just finished redecorating the salon a few days earlier, having restored the furniture from my mother-in-law’s trousseau in storage and put it on display.

The new neutral palette gave the room a nice feeling. Considering the style of the furniture and its dainty floral parquetry, it would go nicely with hand-sewn fabric.

Imagining where I would put cushions in the salon, the maid’s comment put me in a good mood.

“That does sound like a good idea! Let’s put it in there.”

And so we shamelessly decided to put them in the salon.

Since they’ll be in a conspicuous spot, I’ll really have to take my time making them!

“Let’s put them in Madam’s room, the parlor, and the guest rooms as well.”

Stitch, stitch, stitch.

“Oh, yes, I agree!”

Snippity snip.

We were still working on my much-anticipated sewing project. Since working in silence is no fun, we all chatted to amuse ourselves while we stitched and cut.

“What about the room the Master used to use?”

“I don’t see why not. He never seemed like he cared for cute pastimes like this. This would help bring some life to that drab room of his. And besides, who knows if he’ll even use that room again.”

“That’s true.”

“Well, what about the cottage, then?”

“What? There? They don’t need any. Even if we put some out, I’m sure they wouldn’t notice.”

“They do have some!”

“Yeah, Master’s companion doesn’t seem like someone who’d care for that kind of delicate stuff.”

“I get the feeling she only cares about decorating herself.”

“Same here.”

“She hasn’t shown any interest in us, either. Granted, we’re not interested in her, aside from gossip.”

“We can still get our work done since she hasn’t outright hurt us, but that would all change the moment she complained.”

“Yeahhh.” They all agreed.

Then silence.

They say three women make a market, but right then there were six of us and no one was making a peep. The servants moved their lips with even more skill and precision than I moved my needle. Although the conversation had started with where to put the throw pillows, it soon turned to the cottage, but Mr. Fisalis’ companion was the new topic.

Ugh, why?

I hesitated to try to add something positive to the conversation, just staying silent and listening. Mimosa had a forced smile on her face, as if she was facing the same conundrum.

I had sensed it a bit before—that Calendula didn’t think very highly of the servants.

Could it be because she was the witch responsible for seducing Mr. Fisalis? Should I play the heroine and be like, “How dare you seduce Mr. Fisalis! Give us that magnificent man back!” or something?

Just as I thought how nice it was that we had grown close enough that the servants let me hear their complaints, I realized that two whole months had passed since I had come to the manor.