Epilogue

And thus was The Attack on Fisalis Manor—perpetrated by the very bandits who had once shaken Rohze to its core—safely resolved thanks to the (behind-the-scenes) efforts of its extraordinary servants and the tactics of our crazed... Ahem, enraged vice captain and the chivalric order.

Despite their stint as hostages, Madam Fisalis and her servants had all made it out in one piece—as had Stellaria, of course.

* * *

“It was quite the chore, cleaning up the manor after all that.”

It was one of my days off, a little while after the incident. I’d stopped by the Fisalis manor to pick Stellaria up for a date, only to find wooden boards nailed over everything. These were a temporary fix for the windows that had been smashed to bits between the bandits’ home invasion and our grand rescue operation.

We’d sure broken a whole lot of custom glass panes. Just thinking about how much money it must have been worth was enough to send a shiver down my spine. Fortunately, the repairs were going to be free of charge; that is to say, a certain band of thieves would be the ones responsible for crafting the new glass.

What had happened after everything was over, you ask?

Once we’d apprehended the bandits, we had marched straight to their hideout and confiscated all the money and goods they’d stolen thus far. If we knew who owned a particular item, we returned it; the money was divided up among their victims in proportion to the damage suffered.

Still, seeing as they had already used up or sold some of their spoils, they’d had less money and loot than they’d taken. Thus, they’d been tasked with making up the remaining cost with labor. Anything they destroyed during their raids (in our particular case, the windows and carpets), they were to remake and replace themselves. Of course, that also included everything we broke during Operation: Catch Those Bandits.

The first task on the list was visiting a glassmaker—under strict supervision, naturally—and helping him with his work. Since they were a pretty big group, they split up into teams of two or three men, and the others ran off to see a rug maker, a carpenter (for the door), someone who could fix up the mansion exterior...and so on and so forth.

The Fisalis manor had been far from the bandits’ only target. With how much they owed in reparations, they were bound to spend the rest of their lives working for free. That said, food and shelter were provided to them as part of the deal, so they ought to have been thanking their lucky stars they had it as good as they did.

I was shown to the dining room, with the explanation that the parlor was currently unfit for receiving company.

“The parlor is still a mess, what with the glass strewn over the floor and the mud tracked all over the carpet, so we’ve asked Madam and Master Fisalis to relax in the dining room until the repairs are finished,” said Stellaria. Sighing, she added, “But apparently, it’s hard to do that without a sofa.”

“The parlor is all boarded up, so it’s pitch black in there even in the middle of the day!” the vice captain’s wife huffed. “I can’t use my own bedroom either, so today I’ve been taking refuge in Mr. Fisalis’s private chambers!”

“Well, let’s just be happy nobody was hurt,” I said.

“Fair point,” both girls replied.

Meanwhile, off to the side of our little chat...

“How are the iron bars coming along?”

“I placed the order. The installation work is scheduled to be done as soon as the forging is complete.”

“Got it. Do what you can to hurry the process along.”

“Yes, sir.”

The vice captain was in the midst of an involved conversation with his butler.

Iron bars? What’s that about? What’s he planning to do with those? I wondered, cocking my head to one side.

“Master Fisalis ordered us to install iron grates over the windows in every room,” Stellaria explained. “Oh, but nothing like what you’d find in a prison, mind you—more like a decorative lattice bedecked with delicately crafted flowers. That way we’ll have the option to shut them over the windows once night falls.”

“He thought that would be the best way to storm-proof and burglar-proof the manor without sacrificing aesthetic.”

“Gotcha. And he wants to set those up in every room?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow...”

I bet that’s gonna cost him a fortune. Leave it to the Fisalis household to pull off a project like that! And on that note, once those iron bars are installed, this mansion really will be a fortress in all but name.

While I was shuddering at the thought of it, Madam Fisalis suddenly grinned at me and said, “Considering you’re going to be calling our estate home one day, the safer it is here, the better!”

“Uh... What do you mean by that?”

“I’m talking about a future home for you and Stellaria, silly! You’re going to build it on the premises, aren’t you?”

The madam tilted her head to one side, a look of innocence on her face—but that was definitely rushing things, if you asked me. I mean, we’d only just gotten engaged.

“Uh, hold your horses there. We still haven’t—”

“Remember, Stellaria is my very own personal maid! I don’t want her to leave me.”

Don’t say that with such a sad look on your face, Madam!

“Don’t worry, Madam! I promise to stay somewhere close by, so there’s no need to get so upset,” said Stellaria, placating her wilting mistress with a gentle pat on the back.

You too, Stellaria?! Well, guess I can’t blame her.

“That way you and Cercis can go to work together too!”

“Think I’ll pass on that.”

“Aww, we can just play that part by ear!”

“Uh-huh...”

Great, suddenly it’s a sure thing that we’re going to build our new house on Fisalis property! Fine, whatever—I’ll accept my fate. It looks like that’s what Stellaria wants, anyway.

Aww man, looks like my future with Stellaria really did cement my connection to that stupid boss of mine! Well, as long as I’ve got her by my side, anything’s good in my book.