5. A Joyous Day

It was one of Mr. Fisalis’s days off. He was supposed to spend the day knocking out his backlog of work around the manor.

But instead, he came to me and said, “I’d like to try training with you for once,” thus roping me into joining him for his sword practice. Way to run from your problems, dearest husband of mine!

He dragged me to the banquet hall, where Rohtas and the maids were to watch our training session.

The day was devoted to practicing my close combat techniques with my very own husband. I kept going at him with everything I had, yet he would just smoothly sidestep me with a smile on his face! It drove me crazy that he wasn’t even breaking a sweat!

It was as I was dueling Mr. Fisalis with a metal practice sword that we got the news.

“Pardon me, Madam Fisalis! Mimosa has gone into labor!”

One of the maids had burst into the banquet hall to deliver that urgent message. I shoved my practice sword into Mr. Fisalis’s hands and rushed over to the servant girl.

“Mimosa, you said?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

It’s about time!

“Really?” said Rohtas. “In that case, we’d best call for a doctor. Send our messenger out at once.”

“Right away!”

“Is there anyone with Mimosa right now?”

“Yes. Dahlia is there.”

“Good—that’s a relief. Well then, let’s do what we must in preparation for the doctor’s arrival.”

In full Business Mode, the butler went about briskly handing out orders to the rest of the maids in the room.

“Wow, it’s finally happening! What should I do?!”

“There’s no need for you to get so anxious, Vi. All that’s left for us to do is wait for word of her birth and—”

“What are you saying?! I’m going to stay by Mimosa’s side and support her with everything I’ve got!”

“Seriously...?”

Mimosa had stuck by my side ever since I first married into the Fisalis family. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t cheer her on in her time of need?! As much as it seemed to surprise my husband, I had every intention of being part of this moment.

Just as Rohtas started hurrying off to Mimosa’s room, I raised my hand and asserted, “I’m going too!”

* * *

Rohtas heaved a deep sigh. “As it turns out, everyone ended up coming along for the ride...”

“Ha ha☆”

This was the third floor of the Fisalis manor—the floor with all the servants’ rooms—and we were standing just outside Mimosa’s and Bellis’s chambers. And by “we,” I mean me, Mr. Fisalis, Rohtas, Stellaria, and a few other maids.

Ultimately, every single person who had been watching my match with Mr. Fisalis had tagged along after Rohtas. But no duh that was going to happen—we were all so worried about Mimosa!

The corridor was far from narrow, but having a crowd of grown adults standing around sure made it feel a lot smaller. Oh, what’s that? Shouldn’t I have had bigger concerns at the moment, you ask?

“Bellis and Dahlia are all already inside, and the doctor will be joining them shortly. Any more than that is too many people.”

“Okay, I get the picture!”

The doctor showed up before too long, and soon the preparations for the birth were underway. Our usual doctor’s wife—Doctor Granny, as I called her—was handling this particular house visit.

Most doctors who handled childbirth in Flür were female—perhaps because it was easier to call upon a fellow woman in a situation like this. What’s more, Doctor Granny here had a child of her own (and grandchildren too), so we could relax knowing Mimosa was in particularly good hands.

Rohtas checked me at the door, at which I puffed out my cheeks and glared at him.

“Vi, what do you say we go out somewhere to take your mind off all this?” Mr. Fisalis cut in. “We’ll just get in the way if we stick around.”

He just wanted to help distract me from my worries, but unfortunately, I wasn’t about to take him up on that offer today!

“No thanks! Even if we did go out, I know I’d get so worried about Mimosa that I’d end up running straight back home. I’d rather stay here and watch over her!”

“All right, all right.” When he saw that I wasn’t going to budge on this, Mr. Fisalis gave up with a rueful, exasperated smile. “If you insist. I won’t do anyone much good by hanging around, so I’m going to go get some work done in my study. No doubt there’s a stack of papers waiting for me in there—right, Rohtas?”

“Naturally.” His butler gave him the answer we’d all expected.

“Figures.”

A huge pile of papers on Mr. Fisalis’s desk... It wasn’t too hard to imagine.

“It’s my day off, for crying out loud. Have a little mercy on me, will you?” Finally ready to look reality in the eye, Mr. Fisalis trudged down the stairs, grumbling to himself all the while.

Since Rohtas had ordered me not to go inside, I paced back and forth outside Mimosa’s chambers, occasionally pressing my ear to the door to hear what was going on in there.

I was a restless bundle of nerves.

The only sounds that ever seemed to come from the room were Mimosa’s pained moans. Was the baby not quite coming along yet? Every now and then, I would hear Dahlia or the doctor say something too. Bellis likewise spoke up at one point, but his voice was too gruff for me to make out exactly what he was saying.

Eventually, the suspense became too much for me to bear. I asked Rohtas, “C-Can I take a quick peek inside?” Surely it would be okay to say a little something to her.

“As long as you truly do make it quick,” he replied, giving me permission.

I cracked the door open juuust a smidge, poked my head in, and offered a few words of encouragement. “Helloooo, Mimosa? Hang in there! I’m rooting for you!” That still counted as staying out of the way, right?

“Thank...you...” Mimosa smiled back at me, though her face remained contorted with pain.

Wow, that looks painful! That’s rough—but hang in there! Sorry I can’t do much but cheer you on from afar! As much as I wish I could stick around and hold your hand, I’m afraid that’s Bellis’s job!

I pumped my fist encouragingly, then ducked back out of the doorway. After I’d softly shut the door behind me, it was back to waiting in the corridor.

“Becoming a mom sure seems like quite the ordeal.”

Just listening to Mimosa’s groans from beyond the door was enough to make my own belly hurt—though that was one hundred percent my own imagination acting up, of course.

I know I was around when Thistle and Freesia were born; did Mother go through all of this pain too? It happened so long ago that my memories are pretty fuzzy.

“I’m sure it is. Not that I would know from personal experience, of course...” Rohtas flashed me an ironic little smile. Yeah, no kidding.

Stellaria and the rest of the maids in the corridor all gave a meek nod of their heads in response to his comment. Upon taking stock of everyone around, I realized that not a single one of us had experience giving birth before.

Though that goes without saying for Rohtas, of course☆

“You can do it, Mimosa! I believe in you!”

I did my very best to project those well wishes straight through to the other side of the door!

* * *

After waiting around for a while without much of anything happening, the Corridor Standby Team was temporarily disbanded. Before we took our leave, though, we made a point of insisting: When the hour is nigh...swing by and let us know!

By the time the hour was nigh, the sky outside was pitch dark.

We hurried to Mimosa’s room as soon as we were summoned. From the other side of the door came several voices and the sounds of people pacing back and forth, which gave us a rough picture of just how hectic things had gotten in there.

I could hear both Dahlia and Doctor Granny cheering Mimosa on. Sometimes it was advice like, “Remember to breathe!” Or one second they’d say, “Relax!” and then the next it’d be, “Okay, push!”

So which is it?! Didn’t you just totally contradict yourself there? Jeez, childbirth must be a complicated process.

Of course, now was hardly the time to be making wisecracks in my head.

“You think they’re doing okay in there? I hope it won’t be too much longer.”

“I’m afraid there’s little we can do but wait and see.” Rohtas seemed just as concerned as I was.

For a while, everyone just waited with bated breath, practically staring holes through the door.

“Waaah!”

And then, eventually, we were met with the sound of a powerful wail.

“That’s a baby’s cry! All right! She did it!”

“So it would seem.”

Just as we were all breathing a sigh of relief or jumping for joy in the corridor, the door to the room opened and Dahlia popped her head out into the hall.

“Dah—”

“Ria! Go fetch us more hot water. There should be some ready in the kitchen.”

“Right away!”

“Also, tell some of the other servants to bring us as much fresh linen as they can carry!”

“Yes, Mother!”

Dahlia wasted no time directing her daughter. She was so on the ball that I didn’t have the chance to ask her any questions.

Then, as I was watching Stellaria rush down the stairs, the head maid at last turned to me with a smile and said, “The baby is here. It’s a darling little girl.”

“A girl?! Yay! I’m so happy! How’s Mimosa doing? And what about the baby?” I inquired without missing a beat. Up until now, I’d just had to assume what was happening based on what I could hear through the door.

“They’re both doing just fine.”

“Thank goodness! That’s a huge relief. I wish I could go see them, but I bet Mimosa’s all tuckered out.”

“Good call, Madam. We have quite a bit of cleaning up to do in here as well, so later would indeed be better, I’m afraid.”

“Oh well.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as things have settled down.”

“Yes, please do!”

“Hee hee hee. Very well, Madam.”

Considering what a harrowing ordeal Mimosa had just been through, I had to be patient here.

I headed back to the parlor for the time being.

* * *

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen a newborn! I remember how cute Freesia and Thistle were when they were born; I bet Mimosa’s baby will be just as adorable. Wow, a baby girl...”

Relaxing on the parlor sofa, I couldn’t stop myself from grinning like an idiot. Man, I hope Dahlia comes to get me soon!

“This will be my first time seeing one. I don’t have much experience with children, after all.”

Now that he was finally finished with his work, Mr. Fisalis was sipping his tea next to me.

“Oh, true—you are an only child, after all. Well, believe me, newborns are as cute as a button! It’s a bit scary how squishy they are, but just looking at one is enough to put a smile on your face. Their little cheeks are so chubby—why, I could just eat them right up!”

“I’m sure. You know, Vi, if you’re that charmed by your siblings or someone else’s kids, I bet when you have a baby of your own—”

“I’ll love them to bits and pieces!” Duh!

“Ha ha ha! No surprise there. I’m sure our kid would be quite the little cutie indeed.”

“I’ve heard that boys take after their mothers, while girls take after their fathers. If our daughter inherited your looks, I bet you anything she’d grow up to be a real beauty. Oh, that would make her the spitting image of Mother Fisalis, wouldn’t it? Gosh, what a bombshell she’d be!”

“If we had a son, he’d take after you, right? Then I’m sure he’d be a handsome—”

“Oh no! If we have a boy, he’ll be a total dud—and it’ll be all my fault! Noooo!”

“Vi? Earth to Vi!”

Just imagine how homely that poor boy could be... We need an heir to our family line, of course, but any son I have is gonna be lacking in the looks department... If we’re lucky, he’ll take after Mr. Fisalis more... But now I’m afraid to give birth to a boy!

...Wait, how did I even get onto this subject?

That was where I snapped back onto my senses. Like, hello? I wasn’t even pregnant yet! What’s worse, Rohtas, Stellaria, and all the other servants in the parlor were watching our interaction play out with patronizing looks on their faces!

“Ahem. Let’s put that aside for now. Mimosa’s baby is a girl, right? Does that mean she’ll look like Bellis?”

She’s gonna have strong features for sure. Uh...shoot, this is so hard to imagine. All that’s coming to mind is Bellis in a dress...

“...I’m having trouble picturing it.”

“...Same.”

The servants, my husband, and I all lapsed into silence. No doubt we were all struggling to envision a girl who took after our gardener.

A girl with Bellis’s looks... I bet you anything she’ll be a striking beauty. I mean, just look at what a hunk her father is. It took some effort to get there, but now I’m finally seeing it!

Amid all that mindless chatter, Dahlia finally came by to get me. “Madam! Mimosa has had enough time to collect herself; would you like to go see her?”

“It’s about time! I’m on my way! C’mon, Cercis, let’s go!”

“What? You want me to come too?”

“Of course!”

“Wha... Oh, fine.”

Dragging my husband along by the arm, I hurried up to Mimosa’s room.

* * *

When I cracked open the door quietly so as not to disturb anyone, I saw Mimosa and her baby lying on the bed. Naturally, Bellis was sitting right at their side.

“Congratulations! I heard it’s a girl. Let me have a look at her!”

I approached the family, hyped to get an up-close look at a baby for the first time in ages. I could only hope that the way I was practically panting with excitement didn’t make me look like a creep.

“Oh, Madam Fisalis! And the master too! Thank you so much for coming.”

At first Mimosa looked surprised to see that I’d brought my husband along, but after a moment, she broke into a smile and attempted to get to her feet.

“No, please, stay in bed! It’s too soon for you to be up and about. I’ll order you to sleep if I have to!”

“Viola’s right. You really ought to be resting.”

Mr. Fisalis and I were both quick to stop her. We went over to her bedside instead.

The baby was fast asleep, snug and cozy next to her mother.

“Eee, she is so cute!” I squealed.

“This is my first time seeing a newborn, and I must say, an infant that tiny really makes the paternal instincts kick in,” Cercis commented.

“I know, right?”

“Yeah. I want nothing more than to keep her safe.”

I got on my knees beside the bed and leaned in as close as I possibly could. Now I was really seeing the little girl up close and personal.

Of course, it wouldn’t do to wake a sleeping baby. No matter how badly I wanted to squish those teensy cheeks of hers, the situation called for self-restraint.

“You can see a bit of Bellis in her eyes,” Mimosa told us, beaming with delight.

Mr. Fisalis and I both glanced over at the man in question. “Ooh...”

“...That’s what she thinks, anyway,” Bellis mumbled, turning red to the very tips of his ears. Oh my gosh, he’s embarrassed!

“She’ll be cute no matter which of you she takes after! Oh man, I just want to stay here and stare at her forever!”

She’s so cute! “Cute” might as well be the only word left in my vocabulary! Gosh, I wanna rub my cheeks against hers. But no, I mustn’t!

Oh no, I think I’m drooling. I must be making the silliest face imaginable right now. Don’t worry—I’m well aware!

While I went into a state of ecstasy gazing down at her baby, Mimosa smiled at me and said, “Hee hee. If you’re that infatuated with someone else’s little girl, I can only imagine what you’ll be like when you have your own child.”

“I’ll love them to bits and pieces!”

Weird, I’m getting déjà vu. Did I already say that?

* * *

In any event, the baby came into the world without any complications.

Our family at the Fisalis manor had grown once again!