22. Do-Over Surprise
22. Do-Over Surprise
The happy Spa Squad had taken me from the finished garden back to my room. I was glad I wasn’t brought somewhere I didn’t know. I was there terrified of what could be coming, but I didn’t have to wait long to find out
“First up is your bath! It’s all ready for you, so get on in there! If you take too long, we’ll come in and help you.”
“Gyaaaah! Anything but that!” I cried, rushing into the bathroom away from the grabby hands of the maids. “Um~ I’d kinda like for someone to tell me what’s about to happen, but...?” I poked my head out of the doorway to ask.
“We can’t tell you yet. We’ll just have to let you look forward to it. Come on now, if you don’t hurry, we’ll come wash you ourselves!”
“Kyaaaaah! I’m getting in, I’m getting in!”
The maids turned the tables on me, barely containing their laughter. Once I’d gotten through my unavoidable bath, there was more.
“Next is your massage! We’ll get you smooth, sparkling, and even more gorgeous than usual,” they told me, getting in their massage stances and pulling me to the bed.
“It’s been so long, I’m gonna go all out!”
“Mimosa! When did you get here?!”
“There’s no way I could sit idle while you’re getting all prettied up, Madam!”
Mimosa had suddenly joined the battle!
I was stretched and squeezed from my head to the tips of my toes by the gleeful Spa Squad, given a massage that was gentle but firm when necessary. I was in heaven. But just when I was about to drift off to sleep...
“Ah, Madam, don’t go to sleep! We can’t do your makeup if you’re drowsy!” Mimosa warned me stiffly. How cruel, to tell me I can’t sleep when I feel so great!
Once my massage was finished, next up was Stellaria, who had been on standby in front of my closet, bringing out my dress. Et tu, Stellaria?
“Please wear this today,” she said, presenting a dress I didn’t recognize. Even when she spread it over the sofa, I couldn’t remember it at all.
“When was this made?” I asked, since I didn’t remember putting in any orders for new clothes either.
“Very recently. We and Master decided on the design without having you measured... Ah, that was a secret. Oho ho ho!” So they did it behind my back! Although Stellaria just blabbed the whole thing.
“...”
“Come now, let’s get you changed.”
“Okaaay,” I said as I stood at the ready, only to feel a bit sad that I put on their dresses on reflex now. After putting on the precisely-tailored dress and standing in front of the mirror, it finally dawned on me.
A pure white dress. Is this...
“Um. This dress kinda looks a lot like a wedding dress.”
“Oh my, really? It’s just a white dress,” Stellaria said, looking away. She was obviously lying!
The dress’s simple silhouette matched my taste perfectly. It looked as if it was made of simple white fabric at a glance, but it was actually embroidered with roses in the same color. The dress was probably made by Madam Fleur, since she liked subtle details like that.
It was off-the-shoulder with a way open back, but that must have been done to emphasize the accessories. And finally, it had Mr. Fisalis’s latest favorite back style: the big ribbon. Seriously, how obsessed is he? It looks cute from behind, though. And by the way, the gloves had the same kind of ribbon on them, too.
The trail of the skirt was long, making it a bit hard to walk in. If I didn’t pay attention, I would probably trip and fall on it. Finally, we had the shoes: pure white high heels.
Okay, seriously though—there is no way to see this as anything but a wedding dress! “What is this, what’s going to happen?! We’re not having a wedding, are we?” I begged my maids for an answer, but...
“Okay, okay, let’s get your makeup on.”
“What will we do for Madam’s hair? Should we put it up or leave it down?”
“Let’s put it half up with a cute little bun at the top.”
“Great idea!”
“Ah, leave the accessories for after we do her hair and makeup. Get the jewelry ready~”
“Got it!”
Not a single one listened to my plea! Things were promptly prepared with Mimosa and Stellaria at the helm, but why did I feel so left behind?! Before I knew it, my usual hair and makeup for special occasions was totally done. Damn, my maids are always so fast.
My jewelry, as I’d grown accustomed to, was a Viola Sapphire, but... Huh?
“Is this necklace new?”
I’d never seen the necklace that Stellaria placed on me. It wasn’t the one we’d had made of the Viola Sapphire samples. Even in the mirror I could see how beautiful it was. The previous gems were nothing compared to this.
When I asked, Stellaria stopped and lifted it up to my eye level. “Yes, they finally found a ‘Viola Eye,’ so Master had this made. Can you see how the color and sparkle are completely different?”
I took a veeeeeeery good look. “Oooh... So they finally found one of the highest quality ones.” I was afraid to even touch it, so for now I just looked.
But it was so high quality that even an amateur like me noticed the difference! When had it been dug up, and when had it been processed?
Once the sapphire was on me, I was ready.
“Let’s get going!”
“Where?!”
“Yep, let’s go!”
“I’m serious—where?!”
Stellaria led me by the hand and out of the room while another maid carried my train. None of them would tell me where we were going. I don’t care about the surprise—just tell me! I had to walk slowly since the dress was so long, and then...
“This is... Oh, my Viola is so wonderful!” Mr. Fisalis cried from where he stood downstairs, looking at me as if he was deeply moved. He was wearing his Royal Guard uniform.
Oh jeez, this really IS a wedding ceremony!
I walked down the stairs carefully so I wouldn’t step on my dress, and Stellaria handed me over to Mr. Fisalis.
“...This has been a whole string of surprises.”
“I wanted to surprise you, so it seems I did a great job.”
When I glared up at him, he smiled happily back. Guh, I took his sparkling smile at point blank range!
“This is absolutely a wedding dress, isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
“You’re not about to tell me we’re going to the palace’s head sanctuary, are you?!”
“Ha ha ha! Of course not!”
My heart was pounding as I asked him that question, but he just laughed it off. Thank goodness. I asked because knowing him, he’d do it.
Once Mr. Fisalis and I started walking together, Stellaria handed me a bouquet. It was small and round, and looking closely... “Wow! These are flowers from my garden!”
The bouquet was made of the flowers Mr. Fisalis had bought for me in Le Pied, the cute flowers with heart-shaped leaves—andreanums. It was completely adorable, with the leaves serving as accents to the floral arrangement.
“Bellis made it!”
“Bellis has so much girl power...”
“Oh my! I’m jealous of his skills...”
Both Stellaria and I got a little depressed, thinking about how great his work was.
...No. We should be proud of Bellis’ skills! I kind of wanted to see his expression while he put these arrangements together... No, don’t get me wrong—I’m still happy about it!
“I’m glad. Thank you!”
Holding my andreanum bouquet, Mr. Fisalis and I started walking with our hands linked. It seemed like we were only going to the garden after all. Thank goodness it wasn’t the palace!
“Nothing’s gonna surprise me anymore!”
“Ha ha ha! Watch your step.”
“Okaaay.”
We chatted as we walked in the direction of the cottage...but then we passed it, instead heading to my garden.
Weren’t we just here?
I’d been there with Mr. Fisalis, just the two of us (I still have no idea where the happy little Spa Squad had been hiding) earlier, but now every single servant was waiting there! From the ones that worked inside the manor to Bellis’s team of gardeners and even the duke’s knights. It was a full line up. I said nothing would surprise me anymore, but I take it back!
“Everyone is here...” I murmured, staring in dumbfounded amazement.
“This wouldn’t mean anything if they weren’t,” answered Mr. Fisalis. What did he mean by “wouldn’t mean anything”? I looked blankly up at him as he led me by the hand to the gazebo. We didn’t go inside, but just stopped right in front of it.
“I wanted to redo our wedding ceremony. Not with fake vows, but real ones—in front of everyone. I want them all to be our witnesses,” Mr. Fisalis declared and kneeled in front of me.
Taken aback, all I could do was stare at his face as he stood back up, took my hand, and slipped off my glove.
“I, Cercis Tinensis Fisalis, promise to love and protect Viola Mangelica Fisalis alone till the end of my days,” Mr. Fisalis promised, kissing the back of my hand.
This was his second time giving me a real vow. He’d said the same thing on Montjuc Hill in Le Pied. Back then, I couldn’t answer since I hadn’t quite caught up with my own feelings, but he’d been considerate and waited patiently. But I’m okay now! I’ve steeled myself!
Mr. Fisalis always thought of me first. He was the type who tried his best to end an entire war quickly, just because he wanted to return home to me. He would always come to save me if I was in danger. He’d go on about how he loved me right in front of other people without a care in the world.
Honestly, it would be hard for me not to fall in love with him.
I actually spent a little too much time thinking about that, so Mr. Fisalis was staring at me, worried. Whoops, shouldn’t keep him waiting!
“I, Viola Mangelica Fisalis, promise to love Cercis Tinensis Fisalis alone till the end of my days.” I slowly, but clearly, repeated the same vow, taking his hand and kissing the back of it.
When I looked back up at him, his worried look had disappeared, replaced by a splendid smile. I counterattacked with my own twenty dollar smile!
And then, just as I was wondering why his handsome face seemed really close, it happened.
Smooch.
Hm? Something warm just touched my lips? Huh? What?!
H-he kissed me!
Before I knew it, Mr. Fisalis had actually kissed me. My face was burning. Once he pulled back, I was stuck there red as a tomato and blinking, while Mr. Fisalis looked completely calm and collected.
“Viola, you’re so cute when you’re blushing. Now that I know how you feel, we can finally be a real husband and wife.”
What the heck are you whispering in my ear for! The servants all saw us kiss. My first kiss was right in front of all of the servants. If there was a hole available, I would’ve crawled into it out of embarrassment, but in the absence of one I just buried my face in his chest, getting a tight hug back.
“I’m so happy right now. Hey, Vi, are you happy too?”
“...I am.”
When he whispered, I whispered back. The embarrassment was still winning this round overall , though!
“We’ve heard both of your vows in full. I pray that the two of you will be happy for years to come,” Rohtas said to us.
“May you be happy!” cried the rest of the servants in blessing before showering us with flower petals. It was beautiful seeing the sun through the blossoms strewn into the air!
In a wonderful dress I loved, and in our manor rather than the palace sanctuary, we had been blessed not by the royal family or other nobles, but the manor servants who were like family to me. Everything about the day was different, but the most important thing was that I was much happier this time. The event felt as warm and joyful as the feelings that inspired it.
“Now you’re completely mine, Vi! You’d better prepare yourself.”
“I know, I know!”