20 — An Awkward Dinner

Although Mimosa and I hurried after Mr. Fisalis to the salon, I wasn’t sure what we should talk about once we were there.

Do I look like I know how to make small talk, with how little I socialize?

Right then, I deeply regretted having Rohtas assume the role of host and run off to deliver my message to Cartham!

We weren’t the only ones running down the halls, though. The servants were quietly running all over the manor, too.

This was something I’d come to understand after being around them all the time. This moment was utter chaos! And I was in the thick of it!

Mr. Fisalis was coming here! Since when does he do that!?

The man in question was already right at home on the sofa in the salon.

Ugh, how long are we going to have to make idle chit-chat? I’ve got a bad feeling about this. A real bad feeling.

“My apologies for making you wait,” I told him. “Let me make you some tea.”

“Oh, yes, please.”

The first thing to do when entertaining is to make some delicious tea. Although I was planning on using this to fill the time, Mimosa snatched the teapot out of my hands, saying, “I’ll do it, Madam,” with a smile.

What’s this? Mimosa wishes to enter into one-on-one combat with Mr. Fisalis!?

“...thank you.” I folded. Making tea was technically a personal maid’s job.

I tearfully handed over the rest of the tea-making supplies.

Hm, what else can I do?

Oh, that’s right! The second step for proper entertaining: serving delicious sweets! I clapped my hands together at the thought.

“In that case, let me go get some sw—” I said as I turned to leave.

“I already brought those with me, too,” Mimosa said with a smile, stopping me dead in my tracks.

I see.

Seems like Mimosa is my real opponent today.

“...oh, thank you.”

Unfortunately, I was stuck there. Resistance was futile. I felt my smile twitch ever so slightly, and I sat on a sofa diagonal to Mr. Fisalis.

My irrational fears, however, were quieted.

Which is to say: at that moment, Rohtas came calling for us! His halo was really shining brighter than usual that day.

And it wasn’t just Rohtas.

The servants normally work alongside me harmoniously and with youthful enthusiasm, but it is because they are servants of the impeccable Fisalis family that they are highly competent even under stress! Right then, they made me fall in love with them all over again!

“What did you do today?” Mr. Fisalis asked me, as the last dessert was finally brought to the table.

That’s what you meant when you said you wanted to continue the conversation? We’re absolutely not having a bland conversation like that, where you talk about whatever nonsense, or just say, “Oh this is delicious,” and “This must be regional”!

Proper conversation is something you have to enjoy with the food.

In other words, there would be time to spare between dishes. The chefs and servants under Cartham knew that and planned accordingly, bringing out only small morsels.

The next dish will be waiting for us when we finish the first, it seems. There’s barely any time for conversation or anything after all; we’re being fed like dogs.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Fisalis looks puzzled, but I’ll pretend not to notice and just focus on eating.

And then, after the dessert course, I finally had the chance to answer Mr. Fisalis’ question.

“You wanted to hear about my day?”

“Yes.”

“Well, since the weather was so nice today, I took a walk around the garden and had a nap. I even had lunch on the terrace!”

Er, well, that was a sugar coated version of things. A bunch of annoying things happened, too.

Actually, when I went out to the garden, I was distracted by Bellis and the gardeners cutting the grass, and accidentally poked Mimosa with the parasol I had with me to prevent sunburn. And then, I was so tired that I fell asleep during the picnic lunch on the terrace with the servants.

That’s how my day actually went.

Planting your favorite flowers in a spot you cleaned up yourself is really fun, though!

...of course, I couldn’t tell him that.

I grinned, wondering if the flowers I had planted would blossom quickly.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. The garden sure has changed, hasn’t it?”

Maybe my smile looked strange to him, because he was looking at me intently when our eyes met.

I was confronted with a radiant, jovial smile.

“It really has. Bellis and his assistants have worked very hard.”

But as soon as I said this, the radiant smile vanished.

“Oh, I see. I’m glad the servants are doing such good work,” he said coldly, somewhat more tense than before.

He drank his after-dinner tea in silence.

It was the same as before; he was leaning back in his chair, legs elegantly crossed, obviously relaxed. He truly looked like a portrait.

I eyed his refined form as I pondered the following question over and over in my head.

...what do I do with him after this?

Should I watch for hints, or do I just gather the courage to ask him?

I probably wasn’t the only one wondering this.

I looked at Rohtas, waiting for instruction quietly against the wall; he faintly shook his head.

Dahlia, Mimosa, and the rest did the same.

As I watched what they were trying to tell me, Mr. Fisalis finished his tea and quietly placed his cup on the saucer before saying, “I’ll be going now,” and rising from his seat.

Although he was already out of his seat, he hadn’t given me enough information yet.

It was possible that he was headed towards his room (and by that, I mean the private bedroom he never used).

“You mean, going to the cottage, correct?” I asked the question that was on everyone’s minds.

“I am.”

He raised his brows as if he thought he had reminded me of that fact earlier.

I listened, everyone! He said he would return to the cottage! Everything was fine, I mumbled to myself, my internal rhythm thrown off by his presence in the manor.

Er, um.

Ahem.

At any rate, everyone went to see Mr. Fisalis off when he returned to the cottage.

“I’m off,” Mr. Fisalis said, looking back before he went out the door that Rohtas held open for him.

“Good night, Master!” replied all the servants in unison, smiling ear to ear.

A most proper sending off! A forty-five degree bow!

“Good night.” Of course, I was wearing a big grin too! A refreshing smile before bed. An invigorating smile before bed. And boy, did I need it after all my hard work that day!

“...Mm, good night...”

What’s that?

Mr. Fisalis’ expression was hard to read, but it was one I hadn’t seen before.

He turned and left, still wearing that unreadable look.

Thud.

The door closed firmly.

Rohtas had stepped out for a moment to see Mr. Fisalis off.

“...well, that was a surprise...” I said with a lowered voice so that they wouldn’t hear me outside.

“It truly was. How many years has it been since Master ate dinner here?” Dahlia whispered.

“I wonder what could have brought that on,” Mimosa said, wonder written plainly across her face.

“Who can say? Maybe it was all just a whim. Phew... I’m beat, though. It’s about time you all had a break. You all must be exhausted, what with Mr. Fisalis’ surprise visit. Let’s get everything cleaned up and put away, and then we can relax.”

“Thank you, Madam,” they replied.

At the end of the day, I still didn’t know why Mr. Fisalis had decided to eat dinner here, but for now, I (and everyone else) was completely exhausted, so I finished the night without thinking about it too deeply.