15 — Changes

Once we finished circling the venue to greet everyone, we implemented our “show off the sapphires as we dance” plan. As we watched the guests on the dance floor, waiting for the song to end...

“Huh, Verbena?” Mr. Fisalis must’ve caught sight of Miss Verbena dancing, but he was acting strange. Why did he look baffled?

“Where is Miss Verbena?” She hadn’t been around when we greeted her parents. She had to be here somewhere, but so far we’d failed to spot her.

I tried following his gaze, but I didn’t see her. But then again, I’d only met her once—at the party back then—so I didn’t really remember what she looked like! I did recall that she wore her thick golden hair in ringlets and her figure and dress were both gorgeous... Hm? Maybe I was totally off-base here, but I was kind of picturing a particular paramour I once knew...

“Miss Verbena kind of looks like Miss Calendula, doesn’t she?” I let slip as I scanned the room.

“*Cough*! *Cough, cough!*” Mr. Fisalis started choking beside me.

Whatever—forgetting about that. I searched for Miss Verbena based on my limited memories, but I couldn’t find her.

“She’s right there,” Mr. Fisalis said, pointing her out since I still couldn’t see her.

“Ah... Huh!?” I clapped my hand over my mouth after letting out an undignified screech and did a double take.

Miss Verbena looked nothing like how I remembered! Tonight’s star was dancing with some young man, but she wasn’t the same gorgeous woman that I remembered!!

Even Mr. Fisalis looked taken aback by her appearance. Judging from how he was acting, she must’ve been different from how he remembered her too.

The last time I saw Miss Verbena, she was wearing an elaborate dress showing off her figure and her golden hair was curled into a gorgeous, fanciful style. She was in full swing. But today, she was completely the opposite. Her sparkling golden hair was up loosely and cascading down her back, decorated with tiny flowers for a very cute look. And her dress wasn’t loaded with frills, but instead a simple design. The simplicity still accentuated her great figure, of course. I-I’m so jealous! The muted magenta color really suited her, too.

...Wait.

“Mr. Fisalis, she kind of looks different than I remember.”

Whisper.

“You think so too? I agree.”

Whisper.

We whispered our observations to each other. But we must have been staring too much, because Miss Verbena shot a glare our way.

Oh, good. It’s still the same Miss Verbena!

But what made her change her look? Mr. Fisalis and I sneakily kept watching her in mute amazement.

“Miss Viola! It’s been so long since I last saw you!” someone suddenly called from behind me. Recognizing the voice, I turned around and realized that it was Miss Iris and her usual group of party girls. Since they went to nearly every event and there were tons of young men here, of course they showed up!

But Miss Iris looked different, too. She used to like big frilly dresses in cute designs and colors, but tonight she was in a simple, low-key sky blue dress. No frills at all.

Huh, what? So even Miss Iris has changed her image? “Miss Iris, it’s been a while! You look... a bit different, tonight,” I greeted her, getting straight to the point.

She must’ve been glad I pointed it out, because she said, “Ufufufu! I’m happy you noticed! This dress is actually based on the design of the dress you wore to the last function. Simple dresses have been very ‘in’ lately.” She showed it off with a twirl.

Oooh, now that she mentioned it, I recognized it from somewhere. “It looks amazing! You have a much nicer figure than I do, so the design looks beautiful~!” She was slender, but in a much different way from me (not saying WHAT was different!), so the feminine line of her dress looked wonderful. It made Madame’s dressmaking worth it. I-I’m not jealous. Sometimes you just don’t have some things! There’s nothing I can do about that!

“Oh, I’m nowhere near as lovely as you. Slender women like you are the standard of beauty right now,” she said, frowning obviously as I gazed at her appreciatively. Hey. Where are you looking? Hey!

“That’s right. I’ve been working hard to lose weight, so I don’t miss the trend!” Earl Krokusse’s daughter said, stepping forward. Ooh, her pudgy... *Cough, cough* I mean, soft body has slimmed down quite a bit! The other two are wearing simple dresses, too.

Huh? Seriously, what’s happened in high society since I last got out!? Is this just how fashion trends come and go? As I looked around, surprised that their vibe had gone from busy and gorgeous to simple and elegant, I noticed that a lot of the ladies were actually wearing simple dresses—especially the younger ones.

Now that I thought about it, I could remember Madame and Stellaria talking about how things like that were in style now. They also said that people had been ordering the same design of dress that I’d been wearing... So this was why... I felt faint for a moment, and Mr. Fisalis caught me.

“I see... so the trends have changed,” he said after listening silently to our conversation.

“That’s right! Not just for dresses, either—the ‘simple, natural’ look is in fashion for everything. Every young lady looks up to Miss Viola, after all! But of course, Miss Viola herself is still at the top,” she replied with a faint blush, but I wouldn’t be fooled. She has to be lying; it’s just lip service! No one would look up to anyone as flat and plain as me!

“Oh, that’s not true,” I said. “You must be thinking of someone else! I don’t get out that often, after all.” I saw right through that empty compliment and started to point out the flaws in it, but...

“Right! I suppose everyone understands how wonderful Viola is, huh?” Someone took the lip service seriously, with a full blown smile.

Wait, Mr. Fisalis! You aren’t supposed to agree with her, you know! Oh no... It’s happening again. If I don’t stop him, he’ll start again with that humiliating “my wife is the best!” routine!

I rushed to stop him before he started saying anything weird. Just as I was thinking about physically covering his mouth...

“Ah~ There you are, Comman... I mean, Vice Captain! And nice to see you, Madam!” Corydalis appeared, greeting us casually. Though he was usually dressed in his gallant knight uniform, he was wearing a tailcoat for the party. It was a chic cool gray, and it looked wonderful on him. He walked over to us, one hand raised and smiling.

Corydalis, my hero!

“Oh, it’s you, Corydalis. Just when I was about to tell these ladies about how great Viola is...”

“Good evening, Corydalis! Good to see you here as well!”

“Vi...” Mr. Fisalis’s smile up until now had vanished, changing to a sour look, but I replaced it with my own big smile. He looks like he wants to say something, but I don’t care☆

“I got a demand... I mean, request to come as the third son of Marquis Pulcherrima rather than a knight. Really isn’t my thing, though~” Corydalis explained with a strained smile. I understand completely.

“It really was more of a threatening letter. Celosia himself came to the Royal Guard’s post and laid the invitation down on Corydalis’s desk very obviously.”

“The Consul is so mean! He left it somewhere you’d definitely see. That meant I couldn’t sneakily get rid of it without anyone knowing.”

“That’s just how he is,” Mr. Fisalis chuckled in amusement while Corydalis just looked worn out. Mr. Fisalis, you’re just as bad as Consul Argenteia...

Just as I was watching their friendly chat, Miss Iris whispered in my ear, “That’s former Special Ops Vice Commander Pulcherrima, right?”

“Yes, it is. He’s a really interesting man,” I whispered back.

“I’ve heard that he’s excellent at his job. And he seems like a wonderful man with a nice personality,” she muttered. Are her eyes shining!? Did she just lock onto Corydalis!? Miss Iris was giving him a discerning look as he talked to Mr. Fisalis.

“He is a wonderful man! Ohohohoho!” I tried to gloss things over with a laugh.

“And he’s on the Duke’s level, physically...” Miss Krokusse said, staring at him, spellbound.

“I’ve seen him in his knight’s uniform. He looked so manly,” whispered Miss Nastersham.

“And if he’s here, that means he’s single,” Miss Columbine’s eyes sparkled too.

Hey, guys? If everyone in your friend group locks onto the same guy, there’s a bloodbath in the future!

“Corydalis isn’t the only wonderful man here! Everyone here is a different type of wonderful. What a sight for sore eyes! Even I’m getting distracted!”

I was just rambling to change the topic so the four of them wouldn’t start fighting. I mean, it wasn’t a lie. But it just so happened that I said it during a lull in Mr. Fisalis and Corydalis’s conversation.

“Vi. What did you just say? You’re getting distracted by all of these wonderful men?” Mr. Fisalis turned from Corydalis and gave me a smile. It was sparkling, but also incredibly intimidating! And why did he only hear that part!? Listen to the rest, please!

And he’s squeezing my hand again! It hurts when your fingers dig in!

“The men are wonderful enough to distract me, but Mr. Fisalis really is the most handsome~! That’s what I meant to say~! Aha☆” I said, trying to fix things.

“Hmm. Well, you can tell me all about it later.”

“I will, I will! I’ll tell you everything!”

He gave me an icy smile while I gave him a forced one back. I’m hiding behind Rohtas the moment we get home.

While we were smiling/glaring at each other, Miss Iris whispered in my ear with a smile. “Ufufu! I’m so jealous that you and Duke Fisalis are so close~! He really loves you!”

“Huh!? What? No, this is...” I jumped at the sudden jab. “Loves”!?

...

...

...

I can’t really deny it...