7. A Chance Meeting

I had just experienced a shocking reunion with Stellaria at the Fisalis manor.

“Shocking” was definitely the word for it.

First off, there was the fact that she had quit her job at the royal palace and started working as a maid for the Fisalis family. Now that she got to work in such close quarters with her beloved duke, I was willing to bet she was more motivated than ever.

Secondly, there was the fact that she considered me below the level of “acquaintance”!

You’re killing me here, Miss Stellaria!

We’d finally been reunited, and I now knew her whereabouts, and yet I just let time drag on, plagued by an air of malaise.

* * *

It was one of my days off, some time after our encounter at Cercis’s manor.

I didn’t have any particular plans, but I hated the thought of just lazing about the dorms all day, so I decided to go out on the town for the first time in a while. Though I didn’t have any specific destination in mind, I knew that if I stayed in my room, I’d wind up in an endless loop of my own misery. Going out for an aimless stroll was bound to be better for my mental health.

I changed into something casual and headed out, carrying nothing but my wallet. Well, okay, technically I had a dagger concealed under my clothes, but let’s not count that.

The last time I’d gone for a jaunt around town—or even gone downtown at all, actually—was before heading off to war... You know, for that sweets party we roped the vice captain and his wife into. Even then, I’d made a beeline for Lemon Myrtle’s Confectionery, so I couldn’t say I’d done much walking around the city.

Taking that into consideration, it really had been a while.

The weather is nice, so I might as well take my time seeing the sights.

“Huh, looks like a new shop opened up. Whoa, the bar that used to be over there is gone! Aww, I really liked that place too.”

I remembered the place having a lot of top-tier booze, but the old man running the place must have retired.

Oh, so that’s the cheap, tasty restaurant Lantana and Jen were talking about the other day! I should give it a try sometime. Over there must be that restaurant the Bombshell Trio said was popular with young women. There’s a line outside, and sure enough, every single person standing in it is a girl. No way I could go join that.

I wandered around, recalling various bits of workplace gossip as I did.

* * *

Why don’t I grab something to eat and head back to the dorm?

By now I’d toured around the most bustling parts of the city, so I figured it was time to have a light lunch and head back. Once I was home, I’d take a nap and start getting ready for tomorrow’s work.

As I was walking around and debating what to eat, I stopped just outside Lemon Myrtle’s Confectionery.

Man, I remember how just before we went to war, we ended up crashing the vice captain’s date with his wife here. Well, I say that like it wasn’t totally premeditated.

Taking a trip down memory lane, I peeked into the shop through the window. Though the restaurant was notorious for its long lines and how hard it was to get a table, I actually spotted a few empty seats—maybe because it was a slow time of day. All the same, it would’ve taken some—no, an inordinate amount of courage to waltz in there all by myself. That was too much to ask from me. Besides, the place was a confectionery shop; they had sweets by the dozen, sure, but no real food.

I’ll go find a diner or something, I thought, lifting my gaze...only to see Stellaria reflected in the glass.

She was still a good distance away, but I could see her walking in my direction. No matter how far away she is, no matter if it’s just her reflection, I’d never mistake her! ...Don’t tell anyone, but I cringed a little at my own line.

When I whipped around, I saw that she was dressed not in her familiar royal palace garb, nor the uniform of the Fisalis manor I’d seen her in the other day. Instead, she was wearing a trim, navy blue dress that I assumed was part of her casual wardrobe.

“Hey there,” I called out, taking the initiative.

“My, if it isn’t Lieutenant Commander Pulcherrima! Good afternoon.”

She must not have noticed me here; a brief look of surprise crossed her face, but she quickly returned my greeting with the dreamy smile she’d always used off the clock. Her floral-patterned dress really enhanced that gentle aura she had—a complete contrast to her usual no-nonsense attitude.

I appreciated the prim and proper “work mode” Stellaria too, but I had to admit, I liked the warmth she had in moments like this the best.

“What a coincidence running into you here. Are you off work today?” she asked, glancing at my outfit.

“Yeah. I didn’t want to waste my holiday loafing around in the dorms, so I decided to go for a walk and grab something to eat.”

“I see!”

Crap, that’s right! Her name!

I knew it already, of course, but that was only because I’d looked it up. It was just now dawning on me that I’d never heard it from the girl herself.

Good going, Corydalis—no wonder she doesn’t even consider you an acquaintance!

“Erm...and you are...?”

I floundered long enough for her to connect the dots on her own. With a giggle, she said, “Apologies for not introducing myself sooner. I’m Stellaria, a maid currently in the service of the Fisalis family. How strange to only be telling you this now, when we’ve run into one another so many times. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, in any case.”

“Uh, same here. My name’s Corydalis Cashmeriana Pulcherrima. I used to be the lieutenant commander of the Special Ops Division, but I was reassigned to the Royal Guard as a platoon leader a little while back. My title’s a real mouthful, though, so you can just call me Cory.”

“Cory, then.”

“There you go. So you’re Stellaria, huh? That’s a cute name.”

“Oh, you flatterer! Feel free to call me Ria, by the way.”

There we were, finally introducing ourselves and buttering each other up after so long. It suddenly hit me how silly this all was, and I started cracking up.

“Pfft...aha ha ha! We’re a little late to the punch, huh?”

“Hee hee, we certainly are.”

“Is today a day off for you too?”

“It is, yes. Back when I worked as a lady-in-waiting, I was always too busy to go out on the town, so I thought I’d take advantage of the downtime and go for a stroll.”

“Makes sense. Care to join me for a cup of tea, then? I heard this café here is pretty good,” I suggested, pointing to Lemon Myrtle’s behind us.

“Goodness, I’d love to! My co-workers used to rave about this place, so I had always hoped to give it a try one day.”

Stellaria flashed me a soft, delighted smile, which lifted my spirits.

Maybe they didn’t serve any food here, but I didn’t mind the thought of a gorgeous—I mean, gorging myself on sweets today.

* * *

“You gave me a real shock the other day. I heard you had left your post at the royal palace, but I never thought I’d run into you at the vice captain’s manor. Did you switch jobs?”

Supposedly the Fisalis manor treated its employees even better than the royal palace; in the servant world, it was apparently even considered the most exclusive place to be employed. Did she find those perks tempting enough to start a new job? Was she sick of always looking after that high-maintenance princess and otherwise getting run ragged?

She responded to my casual inquiry by giving me a noncommittal smile and a noncommittal answer. “You could say that, I suppose... Let’s just say I had my reasons.”

Is there a story behind this? Should I ask?

“Well, I bet you could do well for yourself just about anywhere.”

Nice job there, Corydalis! I can’t believe I blew right past my chance to ask any questions... Oh well.

“Aw, you’re flattering me again.”

“Not at all. I know from watching you work in the royal pala—uhh!”

“Hm?”

Oh man, I shouldn’t have said that!

Saying that was indirectly admitting to “I’ve been keeping a close eye on you.” Those were the words of a stalker.

My slip of the tongue had my heart beating a mile a minute, but she just gave a small, confused tilt of her head. Thank god...

“Rumors of your prowess as a lady-in-waiting made it all the way to my department. I bet you had it rough, what with having to look after that self-absorbed princess and bratty little prince.”

“Hee hee, well...I won’t deny that.”

“If you could handle the royal family, I’m sure working at the duke’s manor is a piece of cake in comparison.”

After all, Mrs. Fisalis is a sweet girl, and the vice captain doesn’t seem too demanding a master.

“Not at all! The manor servants are all first-class; I have a hard time just keeping up. Why, I feel like a total novice next to them.”

Judging by how serious she looked as she shook her head, it didn’t seem like she was being modest.

“If you’re a novice, just how good are those guys?!”

The Fisalis manor is nothing to shake a stick at!

“I’m nowhere near my mother’s level,” she said with a rueful smile.

Uh, her mother? Am I supposed to know who that is?

Now it was my turn to cock my head to one side, puzzled. Given the context, it sounded like her mother must have been working as a servant (or lady-in-waiting) somewhere too.

When she noticed the puzzled look on my face, Stellaria went, “Oh!” She then rushed to explain. “Apologies for the confusion. My mother is the head maid of the Fisalis manor.”

“Huh?”

The vice captain’s head maid? She means that pretty and dependable but stern-looking lady, right?

I reached back into my memory for an image of the head maid of the duke’s manor, which I’d visited quite a few times by now. She always went about her work briskly and efficiently, and she was a competent supervisor too. I seemed to remember her as something of a stony-faced matriarch...

As soon as I’d summoned up an image of her face, I looked back at Stellaria.

Hmmm...I guess I can see the resemblance? When it comes to her dignified aura on the clock, at least... Or should I say, their work ethic is practically identical! She must take after her father in the looks department, then.

Evidently, I’d stared long and hard enough at her face to warrant a comment. “I don’t look much like her, I know. People always say that I take after my father.”

“Gotcha.”

Knew it. My theory was right on the money.

Just when I thought I’d gotten the full picture, however, she dropped this bombshell: “Incidentally, my father is the head chef of the Fisalis manor.”

“Huh?!”

The head chef of the Fisalis manor?! Oh yeah, I’ve been treated to his cooking a few times now. That was good stuff... to put it mildly! I’ve never seen the guy in person because he doesn’t serve the guests himself (obviously), but I know his skills are top-notch! Wow...so that means the caramel she gave me was handmade by the vice captain’s head chef himself.

With a pair of first-rate servants for parents, it sounds like Stellaria here is a thoroughbred maid! ...Hold on, I feel like I’m missing the bigger picture here.

“Wow, you sure have a lot of ties to the Fisalis family, Ria.”

“I do indeed. I was born and raised in the duke’s manor, you know.”

“Oh...”

In other words...

“So those ‘reasons’ you mentioned...?”

“Right. I was instructed to come back home now that I’ve gotten enough training under my belt, more or less.”

“Huh...”

The situation was actually a little more complicated than that, but that seemed to be the main gist of it. Evidently, they had been down a maid over at the Fisalis manor, so they had gone all, We’ll be taking our little girl back now! and called her home. The royal palace saw it as “renting her out” to the duke, but neither he nor the rest of his manor had the slightest intention of ever sending her back.

So she’s a true-blue Fisalis girl...

As much as I liked her, if we ever got into a relationship, I just knew there would be no hope of keeping that boss of mine out of our business. It’d only get worse if we got married—my pesky... No, complicated... No, regrettably long-lived bond with the vice captain would only grow that much stronger.

Just thinking about the future was enough to make me a little dizzy. Now whenever I thought of the road ahead with Stellaria, the vice captain’s face would flicker across my mind.

Come to think of it, didn’t she have a crush on him?

I thought back to the bashful smile I’d seen on her face when the vice captain had shown up to the royal palace cafeteria.

Could this mean that Cercis was her first love?! And she still has feelings for him even now?!

She had finally become a proper servant of the Fisalis family, free to spend her days around the man of her dreams—only to find that he had become another girl’s doting husband. Deep down, did it hurt her to see him acting like that?

I suddenly found myself feeling a little worried for her—on the emotional front, mostly.

“So you’ve known the vice captain since you were kids, huh?”

“The vice captain? Oh, you mean Master Fisalis! I knew of him, naturally, but we’d never actually met. It wasn’t until just recently that he learned who I was.” She giggled, as if she’d just remembered something funny.

“Even though you lived in the same mansion? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m quite serious. It is a rather large manor, after all. What’s more, my mother held the firm belief that the son of a duke shouldn’t be playing with a mere servant’s daughter, so she deliberately kept me away from him.”

“You said he only just learned who you are?”

“Right. We were finally introduced when I became the duchess’s personal maid.”

“He’s really something else.”

He doesn’t know who his own servants are? Seriously? Well, I can’t claim to know all the staff back at the Pulcherrima manor myself, so I guess I don’t have room to talk.

“Is it, uh...difficult for you to watch the vice captain and his wife getting along so well?”

“Whyever would you ask me that? I think their relationship is a wonderful thing.” Stellaria gave a confused tilt of her head in response to my (attempt at) consideration.

“I mean, er, considering the adoring look in your eyes whenever you saw him, I sort of assumed...”

Mustering up all the courage I could, I tried to broach what was a very delicate subject.

And yet, she just laughed me off. “Surely you jest! Me, carrying a torch for the young master? Not in a million years!”

“Huh? But what about that one time back at the royal palace? You were gazing at him with a huge smile on your face, remember?”

“Hm? I can’t seem to recall. Oh—I was always quite delighted to see the young master getting along with his colleagues, I suppose.”

No way! She saw him like family this whole time?! Huh...I totally misunderstood, then. Yup, that sure clears up a lot.

“Huh, I see...”

“I haven’t been serving the Fisalis family for very long, but if I had to say, I’m more fond of the duchess than the young master.”

“Oh yeah? You like her more than your young master?”

“I do!” she replied, grinning.

Her firm denial put my heart at ease.

* * *

What with all the delicious tea and sweets we got to enjoy together—not to mention the catharsis of all those insecurities I’d been keeping bottled up—the time flew by before we knew it.

“Thank you for inviting me to tea today.”

It was finally time for us to go our separate ways. Stellaria thanked me and gave a polite bow of her head, as she was wont to do.

“Uhh...hey! If our schedules line up, would you be interested in seeing each other again?”

Now that I’d finally told her my name and been promoted to “friend” status (hopefully), I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass me by. I made an attempt at setting up plans for our next date.

I’d never done anything like this before, so I was nervous as hell. The wait for her response felt like it dragged on forever, my heart racing a mile a minute the whole time. If she turned me down now, it was going to be time to head back to my room, pull the covers over my head, and cry myself to sleep.

I stared at Stellaria, eagerly anticipating her reply, until she finally answered, “I’d love to.” And with that soft, tender smile she only wore outside work, to boot!

Oh man! She is so cute!

It was almost strange. The moment she turned that doozy of a smile on me, suddenly everything else that came along with it (like my boss, or my boss, or...oh, I dunno...my boss) hardly seemed to matter anymore.

“Okay, then my next day off should be...”

With that, we successfully made plans for our upcoming rendezvous.

I never used to do much on my days off; I’d just spend them lazing around in hopes of recovering from my perpetual state of exhaustion. It was amazing how one little addition to my itinerary could give me so much more to look forward to.

I walked her most of the way to the duke’s manor, and from there we went our separate ways.

It was on my way home that I suddenly thought to myself, Holy smokes. It’s just now hitting me that she calls Cercis “the young master.”