18. The Trouble’s Conclusion
18. The Trouble’s Conclusion
“My job is done. Everything’s okay now,” Mr. Fisalis said after watching his knights take the crown prince into custody. Then he kneeled down beside me.
“Ahhh~ I’m exhausted~ I heard them whispering about a kidnapping, and I just couldn’t let it go... I’m sorry!”
Finally having a moment to feel relieved after all the mayhem, I heaved a huge sigh and relaxed my shoulders. They were super tense since I’d been on the edge of my seat the entire incident.
“I never thought you’d leave the reception hall! I told you to stay there before I left, didn’t I?”
“...Yes.”
Yep, he sure did. And I remembered it later and suuuuper regretted leaving! I meekly hung my head.
“All of the servants in the hall were disguised Royal Guards, so you would’ve been safe if you’d just stayed there,” Mr. Fisalis grumbled with a sigh.
Seriously? That came as a shock—my head shot up when he said that. So all of the servants were knights?! I mean, I knew the subordinates he’d had before transferring, but I didn’t know any of the ones he’d gotten since then! Wouldn’t that be obvious?!
“Really?! I knew the person who talked to you was one of your subordinates, so I’d thought the other servants might be knights too...but I couldn’t find anyone that I knew so I figured I must’ve been wrong. I know most of the ones who’ve been with you since before transferring, but not anyone new. Jeez, you should’ve told me that earlier!”
“That was a mistake on my part... No, my biggest mistake here was underestimating your determination,” he said, looking bitter.
“I panicked after hearing they were going to kidnap you. I wanted to tell a knight as soon as I could, but I didn’t see any in the hall, and I couldn’t just push His Majesty out of the way to tell the knight who was with him. I got desperate and went out into the hallway, but I didn’t see a single knight out there either.”
“We had some stationed near the entrance, but you ran farther into the palace, didn’t you? Nobody was out there at the time.”
“Why?! Leave some stationed all through the palace! I ended up having to super run everywhere, and super do my best!” It was super duper very awful! Oh yeah, I just remembered that I wanted to complain to Mr. Fisalis about the security.
“Those rats were way smarter than we thought, and there were more than we’d expected, so it took a lot of time and a lot of men to get them all. I’m sorry for putting you through all that, Vi,” Mr. Fisalis apologized, but I wasn’t done complaining yet!
“I ended up using almost all of the skills I’d trained for back at the manor! That crown prince was really heavy!”
He was heavier than Bellis, but I’d managed to throw him after firing myself up. I really did my best!
As I proudly related my struggles, Mr. Fisalis furrowed his brow when I said the prince was heavy.
“Huh? Heavy... What did you do to him, exactly?”
“Threw him on the floor! And then I punched him using my ring! I won both times.” Not much of a thing to be proud of, but still☆ I bragged about how I won with a smug look on my face.
“Pfft...! Ha ha ha! You did?! I’m gonna need to thank Rohtas for that!”
He’d looked at me in shock for a second before his brows unfurrowed and he burst out laughing. This is no laughing matter. It was really hard!
“Anyway, how is your ankle? It looked like you’d twisted it. Are you hurt anywhere else? Let’s go find you some first aid,” he said, taking off his jacket and draping it over my shoulders.
I hadn’t noticed it with all the running I was doing, but it was pretty chilly out here. Now that I’d calmed down, I realized my bare shoulders were freezing! Thank you very much for the jacket! It was still warm with his body heat, so as I wrapped myself up in it I felt like the danger had really passed.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t see the ground in the dark, so I fell pretty hard. I broke my fall immediately, so I shouldn’t be that injured elsewhere, but...I’ve gone and dirtied my dress.”
I couldn’t really see where I’d dirtied my burgundy dress in the darkness. It might be okay if it’s just dirtied, but what if I ripped it? When I get home, I’ll fix it myself!
“Don’t worry about the dress! If you’re okay, that’s all that matters!” Mr. Fisalis chided, giving me a hug.
“Ah, yeah—I’m okay.” I wanted to comfort him too, so I hugged him back. I don’t know when things changed, but even though my heart still pounds when he hugs me, it’s also comforting. Whenever I’m in trouble, he’ll always come running, wherever it is. And he really did make things better when he showed up. He fixed it! My good old reliable husband!
“Let’s get back inside for now.”
“Okay.”
Easily swooping me up in his arms, he carried me back towards the reception hall. Inside, the crown prince and Princess Orangé, whom they’d apprehended at some point, were in front of the throne surrounded by all the nobility, including His Majesty the King.
When Mr. Fisalis and I walked inside, the prince’s eyes quickly locked onto us. “It was him! He pointed his sword at me! It’s not my fault! This is treason—no, this is an international incident!” he cried, pointing at us.
While he threw a tantrum like a child, everyone around him just stared, calmly and coldly.
His Majesty rested his elbow on his throne, looking at the Aurantian crown prince in disgust. “Your ‘plan’, or whatever it was, was leaked to us, so we knew what you were going to do. I’ve heard it all from the knights, so saying anything more on the subject is pointless. I’ll have you explain everything to me later. Captain Permam, escort the crown prince to his room and keep a close eye on him.”
“Yes!” The knight behind him—who was indeed the Captain!—and Corydalis and friends all hauled... I mean, showed the prince back to his room. By physically dragging him.
Princess Orangé was left alone, shaking with anxiety, as her brother was dragged off. Then, she glared at me, pointing and shrieking. “If it wasn’t for the duchess, the duke would have been mine!”
She really didn’t know when to give up.
“Even if Viola wasn’t here, I would never be yours,” I heard Mr. Fisalis murmur with contempt. He really did look unhappy...
As the princess worked herself up, I thought the nobles around her would just watch in cool silence, but...
“Oh my, has she ever looked at herself in the mirror?”
“Probably not.”
“If she had, she’d never say that the duke would be hers.”
“And pushing Miss Viola out of the way?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Miss Verbena, you have quite the mouth on you!”
“As do you, Miss Iris!”
“Ah ha ha ha~!”
I could hear Miss Verbena and Miss Iris roasting the princess, while making sure she could hear every word. Scary! I feel like I’ve seen what’s under their masks...
And it wasn’t just the two of them dragging her. All of the other young ladies had gathered beside them and were nodding along. Then, they all spoke.
“That’s right. Duke Fisalis would never even deign to deal with someone as nasty on the inside as her.”
“Are all of Aurantia’s mirrors too dirty to see anything?”
“No one could compare to Miss Viola.”
“What kind of nonsense does she have in her head that makes her think he’d pick her?”
“It’s shocking to see what an idiot she is!”
“...!”
They weren’t gossiping behind her back, but directly in front of her. Girls are terrifying in groups!
Dumbfounded by the ladies’ attacks, Princess Orangé stood silent.
The king had watched all of this play out, and once they were done, he spoke. “Bring Princess Orangé back to her room, as well. Keep a good eye on her.”
“Yes!”
This time, it was the bombshell trio gallantly replying before marching the princess back to her own room.
Once the two Aurantian royals were gone, there was a moment of silence before the mood in the room softened.
“Duke Fisalis, is your wife all right?” His Majesty asked Mr. Fisalis, back to his usual soft tone.
Ah, now that I think about it, Mr. Fisalis has been carrying me in his arms this whole time! Thinking it was rude to His Majesty, I tried to get myself down, but...
“Hey, you’re gonna fall if you struggle like that,” Mr. Fisalis scolded, not letting me back to the floor. Completely ignoring everyone looking at us, he carried me up in front of the throne. “I apologize for worrying you, Your Majesty. She’s safe, but as you might notice, she’s injured her ankle. If you’d allow us to borrow a room—” he continued, looking at my ankle.
“She would probably rest easier in your own home than here. You may leave for the night. Duchess, I apologize for having gotten you wrapped up in all this. Go and recover back in your manor,” the king said, not letting Mr. Fisalis finish before he gave us the okay to leave.
“Thank you very much. Please excuse us.”
“Thank you very much,” I repeated, bowing my head a little.
“Leave the rest to us!”
When I looked up, I saw His Majesty with a complacent smile on his face. Ah, I feel like I know exactly what’s gonna happen after this!
As we headed towards the door, the aristocrats around us all moved to open a path for us. It was like walking down an aisle being carried in Mr. Fisalis’s arms... So embarrassing!
Under the watchful gaze of the Royal Guard, we hurried to our waiting carriage in the entranceway.
In the beginning, we had a contract marriage, both with ulterior motives. But so much had happened that we’d somehow ended up as a normal husband and wife, with no contract in sight. Calendula, whom he’d been head-over-heels for, was gone. I’d always wanted to avoid high society, but somehow we’d ended up famous there as the duke who really loves his wife, and the wife in question.
Why?
“Vi? Are you okay?” Mr. Fisalis asked after I’d been staring at his beautiful face, thinking back on what had happened between then and now.
“Yes, I’m fine, Mr. Fisalis,” I replied with a smile to keep him from worrying any more before quietly leaning my head against his shoulder.
“Vi?” he said again.
“Yes, Mr. Fisalis?”
“Vi.”
He was repeating my nickname... Why?
I tilted my head a bit in confusion. “Mr. Fisalis? What’s wrong?”
“Not ‘Mr. Fisalis.’”
Not Mr. Fisalis? And he was intently repeating my name...? ...Wait, does he want me to call him by his name?
“...? Cer...cis?” Unsure of what he really wanted, I hesitantly used his first name.
And there was that smile of his. He looked really happy. Apparently I was right. His beautiful smile was blinding up close!
In the beginning, I’d been a wife in name only, just for show, and always second to his lover. But now, I’d ended up his one and only. He never hesitated to declare me the most important woman in his life.
I’d always been prepared for him to divorce me at any moment, but it didn’t look like I needed to worry about that anymore.
And tonight, we passed by rows of nobles with him carrying me like a princess in his arms.
Everyone thinks of us as a lovey-dovey couple! When did this happen?