7. The Adorable Little Prince

Once I’d decided that I was going to the evening party, there were so many preparations to take care of that I hardly even had the time to whine about my Daisy Deficiency. From the traditional dress-choosing (or dress-making, technically) ritual to picking out shoes and accessories, every part of my outfit had to be purchased anew.

For the jewelry, we made use of a Viola Eye that had been shipped over from the mines in Le Pied just the other day, freshly excavated and hot out of the oven.

The biggest, brightest, and highest-quality of the Viola Sapphires had been dubbed “Viola Eyes” by my husband. Among the several top-of-the-line sapphires we’d unearthed thus far, this one went above and beyond the rest in terms of size and color.

Why, it had even inspired our usual jeweler to say, “My word... Its sheer beauty is enough to make my hands tremble.”

The plan was to showcase it as the world’s first Viola Eye at the soonest opportunity.

What marks the difference between a Viola Sapphire and a Viola Eye, you might ask?

There was a subtle distinction in the imprint.

All gems imported from the duchy were engraved with a certain seal both as a mark of quality and an anti-counterfeiting measure. To signify their special status, the Viola Eyes were inscribed with a different mark from the rest.

Going around wearing a gem like that, one valuable enough to make a jeweler’s hands shake? This was going to take a few years off my life.

When he saw the way I had frozen up in fear, Mr. Fisalis remarked, “Enthralled by its beauty, Vi?”

No, Mr. Fisalis. It’s definitely not that.

As usual, Madame Fleur poured her heart and soul into whipping up a dress at top speed. By this point, I was starting to feel a little bad about always getting first priority among her clients.

This time around, she designed me a smoky blue dress with a gorgeous drape. Its more muted color was a nice touch, in my opinion.

Mr. Fisalis went with a dark gray ensemble so as not to overshadow me. Our outfits were coordinated, with his tie and pocket square matching the color of my gown.

The accessories were all finished on time too. The design—a motif of slender, intertwined laurel leaves—was so elegant and intricate that all I could do was give an admiring sigh.

“Why did you go with a laurel?”

I posed this question to the jeweler without thinking much of it, only to get the reply: “Because the laurel was once a symbol of the god of victory, a sacred plant revered for its immortality. I envisioned Duke Fisalis as said deity, while the concept of eternal beauty brought you to mind, Madam.”

I can’t believe he rattled off such an embarrassing explanation without batting an eye... I wish I hadn’t asked.

Next up came my dance lessons.

I witnessed the return of Drill Sergeant Rohtas.

* * *

I was all accessorized, and my dress and special effects makeup were both perfectly on point. Social Mode Viola was ready to roll.

My transformation was always quite the sight to behold, if I do say so myself. It really spoke to the incredible skill of our maids.

Once my makeover was complete, Mr. Fisalis started murmuring the usual sweet talk. “Oh, how I hate to show you off before the rest of those undeserving men...”

At this point, it was pretty much tradition for him to say that before we went out anywhere.

“Then how about we skip tonight’s party?!”

You better believe I jumped on the opportunity to weasel my way out of this! I was looking forward to seeing the prince, but Daisy was already back at the manor anyway. No reason not to stay home, if you asked me!

“Sure! Let’s do it!”

Mr. Fisalis was fully on board, to no one’s surprise. For a split second there, I almost thought we were going to get away with our soirée boycott...but alas, God is cruel.

“This nonsense again? I’m surprised you two never grow tired of this routine. I recommend you knock it off before I lose my patience,” I heard Rohtas warn us ever-so-darkly.

Yes, sir! You’re so right! This party isn’t optional!

Here I was scared out of my wits, yet Mr. Fisalis refused to back down, even daring to argue back. “Can you blame me? Just look at how beautiful she is. It would be a shame to flaunt her at an evening party.”

Rohtas, meanwhile, only smiled at him in response. “I beg your pardon?”

Oh no, I can practically see a vein popping out on his forehead! We’re in trouble, Mr. Fisalis!

Cowed by the frosty aura emanating from Rohtas, our voices rang out in perfect harmony. “We’re sorry!”

* * *

After arriving at the grand hall of the royal palace, the very first thing we did was greet His Majesty. Standing by my husband’s side, I was in the middle of thanking the king for his invitation when the little prince himself stepped forward to say hello. “Good evening, Duchesh Fisalis.”

“Why, good evening to you, Your Highness. Thank you for the invitation.”

“You’re welcome!” he replied, a giant smile plastered across his face. It was too cute.

The way his glistening blond hair reflects the light is as gorgeous as ever! That smile stretching across his rosy cheeks, the halo of golden locks floating around his head—he really is an angel in the flesh!

Uh-oh. I’m gonna die from cuteness overload!

While I was still reeling from my chance to talk with the prince, Mr. Fisalis said, “It’s a pleasure to see you, Prince Dianthus.”

“Oh, Duke Fisalis. Hi.”

The little prince answered Mr. Fisalis’s polite greeting without an ounce of feeling. It was honestly kind of funny.

Immediately going back to ignoring my husband’s existence, Dianthus began pulling me away by the hand. “Hey, let’s talk over there!”

“Who, me? Are you sure?”

“Yeah! You!”

Oh, if he’s going to be that cute about it, there’s no way I could turn him down! Even if he is leading me over to where the royal family is seated...

“Oh my, it’s rare to see Dianthus take a liking to someone so quickly.”

“No kidding. He’s a sucker for a pretty face, that boy.”

The king and queen smiled brightly as they observed our dynamic.

Heck, even Princess Elettaria went ahead and said, “Go on, Dianthus—sit down over there and behave yourself.”

It was getting more and more impossible to tell him no.

“Okay! C’mon, Duchesh Fisalis!”

“Certainly, Your Highness; I’m flattered. Shall we, Cercis?” I called out to my husband, keeping pace with the prince as he tugged me along by the hand.

“...Sure,” came his mysteriously aggrieved reply.

“You don’t have to come, Duke Fisalis!” the prince interjected, casting a glance Mr. Fisalis’s way.

“Nonsense! Of course I’m coming along. See this? My wife and I are already walking hand-in-hand!” Mr. Fisalis raised the hand of his that was holding onto mine—the one I wasn’t hanging onto the prince with, that is.

What are you getting so competitive for? Goodness.

* * *

“Say, Duchesh Fisalis? What’s your name?”

“It’s Viola, Your Highness.”

“Okay. Can I call you Viola?”

“Certainly!”

“Hey, that’s a really pretty jewel!”

“The one on my necklace, you mean? Why, thank you!”

“Was it a present from the duke?”

“That it was. It’s a rare, precious sapphire—christened a ‘Viola Eye’ in honor of my wife’s bewitching gaze.”

“Ohh... Yeah, it’s almost as pretty as Viola!”

While the prince gazed at my sapphire with stars in his eyes, Mr. Fisalis explained the gem’s origins. I really wished he’d give that embarrassing analogy a rest, though.

Dianthus stared entranced at the Viola Eye, which stood apart from your run-of-the-mill sapphire in terms of size and beauty. Would a boy this young even be able to tell the difference between a good- and bad-quality jewel? Maybe that just goes to show that even a kid can recognize this gem’s worth. That’s a top-of-the-line gem for you—nothing to shake a stick at! Now I’m really starting to think we should consider a name change...

“Wow, so the duke gave you this... You’re pretty good at gifts, Duke Fisalis.”

“I’m flattered to hear that, Your Highness. If you ever have the chance to give someone a jewel yourself, do feel free to order one of our sapphires.”

Mr. Fisalis transitioned straight into promoting his product. Impressive.

Just as I was admiring my husband’s salesmanship, the little prince went and said something crazy. “You’re really handsome, so I bet you’re real popular with the girls.”

I already knew how hard it could be to follow a little kid’s rambling tangents, but this one sure was a leap. How had we gone from talking about jewels to this?

“Huh?” Mr. Fisalis was equally perplexed. I was willing to bet we were making the exact same face.

“The girls love you, so you have lots of girl friends. That’s why you can come up with such awesome gifts,” the prince went on, unfazed by our reaction.

Oh, I see...so that’s the connection. He’s trying to say that Mr. Fisalis must be used to giving gifts to girls, I guess? The funniest part is that he’s not that far off the mark.

“Pfft...”

“What?”

I did my best to stifle a laugh, while my husband’s gorgeous face twitched ever so slightly.

“Aw man, I don’t know how to do that. Sorry, Viola.” The prince just kept on talking, oblivious to our response. “When I get bigger, I promise I’ll get you an even better present! I dunno if I can make friends with lots and lots of girls, though. I sure hope I can.”

And that was where Mr. Fisalis and I both interjected in unison. “Uhh...”

No, Your Highness, don’t grow up to be a playboy! Uh...ahem. Not to say that Mr. Fisalis is a playboy, of course. Ladies just love him, that’s all! Pardon that slip of the tongue!

“I don’t doubt you’ll grow up to be a wonderful gentleman, so you ought to make plenty of friends—boys and girls alike! But I don’t think gifts have anything to do with the number of friends you have...” I rushed to say, doing my level best to clear up the confusion here.

Though the smile on Mr. Fisalis’s face was a forced one, he was still kind enough to give a word of advice: “Gift-giving comes down to a matter of taste, Your Highness.”

“Oh, really?”

“It has nothing to do with the number of female friends you have.”

“Hmm...” The prince made a dubious face, apparently unconvinced, but it didn’t take long for his eyes to light up in a sudden stroke of inspiration. “Still, I bet you can teach me how to make lots of girl friends!”

What’s gotten into you, Your Highness?!

And for that matter...I wouldn’t be too sure about that one.

* * *

Once we’d chatted with the prince for a good while, my husband and I hit the dance floor. Today was all about advertising the Viola Sapphires!

The first step toward that was sharing a dance with Mr. Fisalis. With all that hellish training Coach Rohtas had put us through, even the toughest of steps were a walk in the park!

After that came the usual endless stream of noblemen looking to dance with me, and I indulged each of them in turn.

“That’s a beautiful necklace and earrings you’re wearing tonight.”

“Why, thank you very much! We recently collected a whole new batch of the finest gems from our territory.”

“And what a truly gorgeous jewel it is. By the same token, I must commend the designer for doing such justice to the gem’s beauty.”

“It’s our go-to jeweler’s work. No doubt he would be overjoyed to hear your praise.”

“Perhaps I’ll have him make another one for my wife.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea!”

“Well then, do be sure to let me know when more of those exquisite gems come in.”

“Of course—it would be my pleasure.”

All right, I closed a deal mid-dance! Look at what a good job I did, Mr. Fisalis!

* * *

“So there you have it! I got quite a number of orders for those sapphires tonight.”

“Wow, I’m impressed.”

When I met back up with Mr. Fisalis, I reported back to him on my solid sales performance.

“One for Count Peregrina’s wife, another for Marquis Dicentra’s daughter...”

I rattled off their names without a hitch. Thanks to the Noble’s Almanac and its helpful portraits, I had the names and faces of the nobility down pat.

“I found it to be equally popular among the female attendees. I suppose it’s no surprise that a gem of this caliber would garner so much attention.”

“It didn’t hurt that the jewelry itself has such a lovely design either! Boy, it’s a good thing you happen to have all those ‘girl friends.’ Experience sure can go a long way...”

“Not you too, Vi!”

* * *

Between one thing and another, my socializing for the evening soon drew to a close. With my heart healed by the prince and the Viola Eye having debuted to rave reviews, I was in a pretty good mood on the carriage ride home.

“Man, the prince was as adorable as ever!” I reflected, a grin plastered across my face as I thought back on Prince Dianthus’s angelic antics.

My husband, meanwhile, looked like he could hardly believe what he was hearing. “What?! That was your impression of him?! Try naming even one thing that’s cute about him!”

“I mean, c’mon, he was the very picture of innocence!”

“I’m fairly certain he has a more nefarious bent...”

“Really? I thought his enthusiasm for getting me a present was adorable. Admittedly, I’m not quite as approving of his desire to make female friends—though it’d be another matter if they really were just ‘friends.’ You haven’t been putting those thoughts in his head, have you, Cercis?”

“Absolutely not!”

He was acting unusually contentious. And here I thought kids were pretty cute.

“Are you sure you don’t have anything against children?”

“Like I told you before, I don’t dislike them—with the one exception. That little brat is the only one I can’t stand! I swear it’s not a problem with kids as a whole!”

“Oh right, you did mention that.”

“I did! Why, if anything, I’d like to have one of my own as soon as possible!”

“Uh-huh. Gotcha.”