17 — The Party Ends

After I’d become friends(?) with Miss Verbena...

“We should get to dancing soon,” Mr. Fisalis said, inviting me to come with him.

I had completely forgotten, but we’d been planning on dancing after finishing our greetings. After being so shocked by Miss Verbena’s new look and meeting with the girls and Corydalis, all thoughts of dancing had been thrown to the wayside.

I wanna just get the dancing over with and get out of here. ...Whoops, slipped a bit too much truth in there. I mean, it’s been quite a while since the party began, so I’d like to take my leave soon.

...Not much difference, huh?

Whatever. I was exhausted from attending a party when I wasn’t used to them, so I really wanted to go home. It was well past bedtime for all good little girls and boys. I should’ve already been asleep!

But I couldn’t go home without showing off the sapphires more. I was here to advertise, after all!

“Alright,” I replied. I’ve just gotta make a show out of myself and the gems a bit more, then I could go home, right? “Miss Verbena, Miss Iris, please excuse us while we dance.”

“Oh, go ahead! Your beloved hubby is inviting you, after all!”

“See you.”

Once I’d said goodbye to Miss Iris and the rest, Mr. Fisalis took my hand and led me towards the dance floor. It was in the very center of the room, surrounded by tables and chairs so people could chat as they watched the dancing. But in reality, it looked like everyone was off in their own little social worlds rather than actually watching the dancing. It might be a bit harder to show myself off than I thought. Well, that’s fine with me.

Mr. Fisalis escorted me to the floor, but...

We shouldn’t be headed straight there! The sea of people is parting to make a path for us! W-Wait! We’re gonna stand out if everyone but us leaves! Ah, but we actually want to stand out... No, no, I think we should stand out just a little, rather than a lot!

But of course, he couldn’t hear my panicking inner monologue. He set us up in the single most conspicuous spot, still looking completely unruffled.

We’re all alone here! And all of the people who were chatting are looking at us instead! Why are you all interested in dancing now!?

“M-Mr. Fisalis!? You know we’re really drawing a lot of attention right now, right!?” I whispered in his ear.

“We wouldn’t be doing much advertising otherwise!” he answered, ignoring my plight with a smile.

Ah, geez. I know from experience that my complaints won’t get me anywhere. Guess I’ve got no choice. If I’m forced to stand out, I just have to make sure I don’t miss any steps in this dance and humiliate myself further.

I sucked it up and waited for the music to start, only to hear them begin to play a song that was infamous for its difficulty. Who the heck chose this when there must be people here who are bad at dancing, too!? On top of being the center of attention, I have to dance to this? What kind of ordeal is this!?

“Of all the songs...” I muttered, scowling.

“It’s a hard one, isn’t it? I’ll have to put in some effort, too,” Mr. Fisalis replied, forcing another smile.

Everyone around us looked completely composed. Top-notch aristocrats really are a different breed! But I’m supposed to be a top-notch aristocrat now too (despite feeling pretty unimportant☆). I couldn’t just keep frowning, so I forced a smile onto my face. It might have just been my imagination, but there weren’t many people around us. They must’ve been trying to avoid attention, unlike us. I mean, you wouldn’t dance in the very center of the floor if you weren’t confident in your skills.

Because we were in an open space, it was bright and my necklace was sparkling. Like, to the point that it was kind of hard to look at it. Seriously, too sparkly! It’s hurting my eyes!

“Isn’t it a bit bright here?” I finally broke down and quietly asked Mr. Fisalis.

“Hm? Bright? Maybe because I was aiming for somewhere where the light would shine on your necklace,” he answered calmly.

HEY. So this is YOUR FAULT!?

I’m here trying my hardest not to miss any of these steps, and Mr. Fisalis here is thinking about optimal lighting positions. Way to go... NOT.

He very nearly wiped the smile off of my face. Oh no. I considered faking a misstep and stomping on his foot, but way too many people were watching for me to get away with it. I’d have to hold back, since I’m a big chicken.

“But this really is a difficult dance to follow, isn’t it? Why would they pick this song?” he commented, still dancing. My normal dance lessons were hell, filled with difficult songs, but this one was on another level.

“Maybe they’re using it as a test—like, ‘If you can’t dance to this, you can’t marry Verbena!’ or something.”

“Who would say something like that?”

“Duke Argenteia.”

“That’d be hilarious!” Mr. Fisalis bit back a laugh.

“I’m just joking. But if we can’t manage to dance to this song, Rohtas will be angry.”

“Yeah, he will be.”

We smiled bitterly at each other as we thought back to our rainy day lessons. I’m glad you understand my pain, Mr. Fisalis!

“Speaking of Rohtas, haven’t you been skipping out on your lessons, lately?”

“Oh, no, not at all. I just haven’t been around the manor much as of late. Things have been hectic with my transfer, after all. And my skills haven’t gotten that rusty,” he said, grabbing hold of my waist as if he was going to pick me right up before turning us both elegantly. It was a showy turn, one that made my skirts twirl around impressively. Hmm, pretty good!

“That’s true. I’ve been having more dangerous lessons like martial arts and fighting with impromptu weapons than dancing lately, too.”

“I know it’s hard, but all I can say is do your best. They’re all necessary skills.”

We were moving in sync. Perfect balance on that heel turn☆ I’m doing good today! As we danced together, we shared a few whispered complaints about rainy day lessons.

I had no idea that the people around us were in shock that we could actually carry on a conversation while dancing to such a difficult song, though.

The next song was a hard one too, but we couldn’t leave the floor in time, so we ended up dancing through a few more. Yes, I managed to stand the bright lights. Professor Rohtas would be angry if I couldn’t dance perfectly even though I was being blinded. He’d only end up working me harder, so I did everything I could to avoid that.

I was thirsty after finally being freed from the dance floor, so I went to get a glass of juice, when...

“Really stood out there, Vice Captain! And your dancing was wonderful, Madam!” Corydalis said, walking up with a smirk.

“Your necklace was shining so brightly, it was like you were wearing the very light itself. Like you’d stepped straight out of a fairy tale. You were the most wonderful couple out there on the floor!”

“It was like you were surrounded in motes of pure radiance~! All eyes were on you!”

“And you made dancing to those difficult songs look so easy, even while everyone around you gave up!”

The girls all looked spellbound, sighing happily.

Looks like we stood out just enough. Mr. Fisalis’s plan worked! And I’d noticed there weren’t many people around, but it was because they’d all given up on dancing, huh? Wow.

Since I was seriously exhausted, Mr. Fisalis gave the okay to go home, so we were finally able to retreat from the party.

“Let’s go find my parents before saying goodbye to Lord Argenteia,” he said, offering me his hand. I went to take it, but...

Why am I so embarrassed all of a sudden? We’d been holding hands all night as he escorted me, but for some reason, I was suddenly hyper-aware of it... Probably from Miss Iris teasing me with that ‘he loves you’ and ‘wonderful couple’ stuff. She really managed to get under my skin. Oh no. What am I supposed to do!

I couldn’t bring myself to take his hand casually like I had when we first arrived, so I just stared at it for a while.

He must have wondered why I was taking so long, so he looked me straight in the eyes and asked, “Is something the matter? Are you not feeling well?”

Looking into his dark brown eyes brought me back to reality. Why did my heart skip a beat when I realized? Whatever. Ahh, of course he’s worried, with me suddenly staring off into space!

“I’m just tired. I’m still feeling fine, though!” I said, taking his hand in a rush to act normal. But it was still kind of embarrassing...

My in-laws were ready to go home, too, so the four of us went together to say goodbye to Duke Argenteia.

Miss Verbena was there, and she gave me a backhanded invitation: “I’ll inform you when I’m having my next tea party, so I guess you can come.”

I stood there a bit confused. Do you want me there or not? I really don’t know!

“Madam, Verbena doesn’t have many friends, so please do make an appearance!”

“Brother!! You didn’t have to say that much!”

“Guergh!”

She elbowed Celosia, blushing bright red.

But thanks to his sacrifice, I understood what she meant. Verbena-ese was still just a bit too hard for me to grasp. Please actually say what you mean for once!

Once all we had left to do was go home to bed, I turned off social battle mode and let my guard down...

“Continuing from where we left off, please do fill me in on the rest of what you were saying before. Ah, or we could even do it on the way home!” Mr. Fisalis said, with his beautiful ice prince smile.

Oh no, I completely forgot about that... And you’re squeezing my hand again! Stop with the little attacks—they hurt!

I looked away from his sparkling yet terrifying smile. “Um. Ah, that’s right!! I want to sit beside Mother Fisalis on the way home~!” I said, grabbing her hand as she walked in front of me.

Save me, Mother Fisalis! Your son has gone into ice prince mode and he’s about to freeze me solid!

“Oh my! How cute. Of course~! Cercis, you can sit with your father.” She looked shocked for a moment, since I’d grabbed her hand so suddenly, but a moment later she smiled happily and agreed! What an angel!

“Huh!?” Mr. Fisalis said, pouting obviously.

“Huuuuuh~!? I wanna sit by Viola, too~!” Father Fisalis whined. Why, I don’t know.

“There’s not enough room! Come on, get in. There are people waiting behind us!”

“But—dear!”

“...Alright.”

Father Fisalis cried out in shock at his wife’s roar, while Mr. Fisalis reluctantly agreed; then, the both of them obediently climbed into the carriage.

Yep. Mother Fisalis definitely rules this family.

“Anyway. If you haven’t done anything wrong, there isn’t anything to be afraid of, now is there?”

On the road back, I sat across from Mr. Fisalis. Unlike sitting beside him, it meant that I had to take that frosty smile head on. I might’ve made a miscalculation sitting this way, but I couldn’t change the past.

Wait, weren’t we gonna talk when we got home? You’re gonna interrogate me here instead?

“I did absolutely nothing wrong! Miss Iris and the ladies all had their hearts set on one particular man, so I tried to change the subject to avoid a bloodbath!” Forgive me for getting a bit sharp.

“Hmmmm?” He hummed, staring straight at me.

“If four friends all got their hearts set on one guy, that would be awkward, wouldn’t it? I mean, yes, Corydalis is wonderful. He’s good at his job, and he’s charming. But they couldn’t ALL go for him! That’s why I tried to point out that there were a lot of other good men out there,” I continued.

“I see. So you think Corydalis is wonderful, huh?”

What? That’s all you got from that? And what’s with that gleam in your eyes, Mr. Fisalis?

“I mean, in a general sense, he’s wonderful... Ah.” Just as I tried to argue, I realized my mistake. Oh my god...

“Okay. I’m banning Corydalis from the manor.”

“That’s not what I meant~!” This guy is such a pain! “I hate it when men make snap decisions like that!” I was so pissed, I just said it outright.

“What!?” He must not have expected me to talk back, because his dark aura vanished, and he looked at me with his eyes wide.

I’m not done yet! “Were you even listening to me? That’s what I was saying to Miss Iris and the girls. It was a mild, very generalized comment about how there were more fish in the sea! And you of all people should know how outstanding a guy Corydalis is!”

“Uh... I suppose...” Mr. Fisalis nodded obediently, overpowered by my ferocity.

You got it? Good.

Whew... That was refreshing☆ I really gave it to him! I wiped the sweat off my brow, satisfied.

“Oooh, Viola can really give it!”

“Yes, she can. But they’re close enough to fight, as the saying goes!”

I realized my in-laws were watching, all smiles.

Oh no! We were off in our own little world, so I completely forgot they were there!

While I sat there, blushing furiously at their fond gazes, Mr. Fisalis gave them his usual sparkling smile.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.”

What’s with that nonchalant apology to your parents!? Wait, now it looks like I’m the embarrassing one! Don’t act like a good little boy now! It was your fault for bringing it up in the carriage ride home! If it’d been after we got home, I’m sure I could’ve managed to use Rohtas to get away... Oh, wait, that’s not any good either.

Ahhh, I just want to crawl into a hole!

“I’m sorry...” I feebly apologized.

“There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Vi. Cercis, Vi was right. Don’t get all up in arms just because she said one nice thing about another man. It looks weak.”

“...Gh!”

Mother Fisalis gave me a gentle smile, and told off her son with a single harsh glare.

You flinched, didn’t you, Mr. Fisalis! You’ve gone silent. Nothing to say for yourself, huh?

Father Fisalis sat beside him, smiling wryly. He must have been remembering something.

Realizing he couldn’t continue his cross-examination, Mr. Fisalis gave me a forced smile, which I answered with one of my twenty dollar ones.

Good—we’ve gotten that talk over for now! Just need to make it home and get away from him. But just as I was thinking that...

“Keep the jealousy to a minimum, Cercis.”

Mother Fisalis dropped another bombshell! Mr. Fisalis flinched as if he’d been stabbed, while I froze.

Jealous...!? Oh no... My face is getting hot again. I can’t look at him anymore...