14. The Guests Keep Coming

The knights of the order weren’t the only ones who came running to the manor as soon as they heard the news that Violet had started talking.

“Hi, Lettie! It’s your grandpa!”

“Granny’s here too!”

Mother and Father Fisalis had also zoomed straight to Rohze.

“Pop-Pop?”

“That’s me, all right! Your pop-pop!”

“Nana?”

“You got it—I’m your nana! Oh, that name is music to my ears!”

Both my in-laws were over the moon to hear Violet call out to them. Since “Grandpa” and “Granny” were still too difficult for her to manage, she’d ended up shortening their names, but that only sounded even more precious.

“Lettie’s getting cuter by the day,” said my father-in-law.

“You said it,” agreed Mother Fisalis. “Hey, we should go look at some new clothes for her tomorrow!”

“Ooh, good idea.”

“We can buy her lots of toys while we’re at it!”

The in-laws were going crazy gushing over their adorable grandchild. Though if you asked me, they’d bought her more than enough clothes and toys already.

“No, that’s okay! She really doesn’t need that much stuff!”

“Are you sure? This little girl could make anything look good, so it’s hard to resist the urge to buy out the whole store!”

“I’m afraid there’s only so many outfits one girl can wear.”

“I suppose so. That’s too bad.”

You don’t sound too convinced there, Mother Fisalis!

With the kind of money Pop-Pop and Nana had at their disposal, I was afraid Violet was about to end up with yet another mountain of dresses and trinkets.

“Babies grow up fast, so I’d love it if you could buy her a new wardrobe after she’s gotten a little bigger!”

“You would?”

“Absolutely!”

“Well, if you insist.”

“Thanks!”

Fortunately, I’d managed to rein her in.

Having given up on their shopping trip, Mother and Father Fisalis changed their plans to “bragging about their grandchild” and left to pay a visit to the royal palace.

* * *

My in-laws’ visit was the first thing Mr. Fisalis mentioned upon coming home from work. “I wasn’t expecting to see mother and father show up out of the blue,” he commented.

“Yeah, they told me they wanted to go brag about their granddaughter.”

“And they certainly did. Boy, was I surprised to find them when His Majesty summoned me to the throne room.”

“Huh? The king invited you to join them?”

“Yeah. And he made me give a whole report on how much Lettie’s grown.”

“Whoa...”

Who do you think you are, Your Majesty? Her uncle?! What’s so interesting about hearing how another guy’s kid is doing? I don’t get it.

“If this keeps up, you’re never going to get called before the king to do anything but sing your daughter’s praises.”

“Oh, it’s one of the few pleasures of my parents’ golden years. Let them have it.”

“Sure...”

I dropped the subject at my husband’s request...but how long before we started getting formal complaints about our family’s insufferable bragging?

* * *

Fast-forward to a few days later. We had yet another guest—and we’d reeled in an awfully big catch this time.

“I was already in the area for an inspection, so I figured I might as well drop by.”

“Precisely! We just happened to be in the neighborhood!”

Who should come waltzing through our carriage porch but the king and queen themselves?!

“Did they tell us they were coming today?” I whispered to Rohtas.

“No. This is the first we’ve heard of it.”

“Cercis didn’t know either?”

“No, ma’am.”

I was right—this wasn’t on the schedule. Mr. Fisalis hadn’t mentioned a word of it either. Heck, it was the middle of the work day, so he wasn’t even home.

When I looked past the king and queen, I saw Mr. Fisalis’s boss—the head of the Royal Guard, Captain Permam—shooting a contrite glance our way. Behind him, the Bombshell Trio were pressing their hands together in apology.

So I’m guessing that means the royal couple snuck over without telling Mr. Fisalis.

My head was spinning from this shocking turn of events, but there was no use crying over spilled milk. The only thing to do was to suck it up and show them our best hospitality.

“We appreciate you going out of your way to pay us a visit, Your Majesty.”

While Rohtas, a few maids, and I gave the royal couple a warm welcome, the rest of the servants transitioned straight into the Guest Shift: Special Edition! Stellaria went to fetch my in-laws from the cottage, while Dahlia scurried back and forth between the kitchen and parlor, getting things ready for our guests at breakneck speed.

“Sorry to have come on such short notice.”

Yeah, you better be—was the absolute last thing I was going to say in this situation.

“Don’t be! We’re thrilled to have you,” I said, hiding my distress behind a smile.

“Angulata told us all about how Violet’s learned to talk, and the ladies here have been positively gushing about how adorable she is! We’ve been dying to come see her.” Her Majesty gave a cheerful trill of a laugh.

Cool, but that doesn’t mean you have to barge in willy-nilly! Give a girl some time to prepare herself!

No sooner had we ushered the royals inside the mansion than Mother and Father Fisalis stepped out of the parlor. It seemed they’d come in from the garden rather than bothering with the front door.

“We didn’t expect to see you here, Your Majesty!”

“After all those great stories you told us about your granddaughter, how could we possibly stay away?” the king replied.

“Aw, can you blame us for talking her up? She’s cute as a button!” said Mother Fisalis.

“Considering her mother, it’s no wonder she turned out so delightful. Say, what should I have her call me?”

From the sound of it, even the queen herself wanted to hear Violet say her name.

I don’t think she could manage “Your Majesty” yet, I thought to myself, attempting to brainstorm some better options.

Beside me, my father-in-law suggested, “Hmm... How about Pops and Gram?”

Omigosh, Father Fisalis! You can’t just say that!

“Good God, Lobata! When are you going to learn some respect?”

“Aha ha ha! Come now, it was only a joke.”

My parents-in-law and the royal couple were having a great time chatting away, but I was breaking out into a cold sweat just listening to their banter.

Let’s be realistic here. “Your Majesty” would be too much of a mouthful for Violet. And “Pops” and “Gram” are out of the question! We could never teach her to say something so improper!

“So? Where is Lettie?”

“I want a look at her!”

The king and queen were pacing around the parlor in search of her, but Violet was off playing with Mimosa and Daisy in the nursery.

“She’s in another room at the moment. We’ll bring her in right away.”

With that, I sent one of the maids to go fetch her.

* * *

To Violet, the king and queen were nothing but a pair of unfamiliar adults; fortunately, though she gave them a blank stare, she wasn’t anxious enough to burst out crying. No doubt Mr. Fisalis’s subordinates had built up her immunity to “strange grown-ups.”

“Ooh, so you’re the Lettie I’ve heard so much about.”

“Yeah!”

“And you even know how to respond? What a smart girl.”

“Yeah!”

It really was impressive that she could answer his questions despite having no idea what he was saying!

Are those her innate social skills at work? Is it something in the Fisalis family blood?! Okay, probably not.

“I’m His Majesty, king of Flür.”

“Floo...?”

“No, that’s not my name.” Struggling to get his point across, the king cracked a strained smile. “Call me ‘Your Majesty.’”

“Uh?”

I couldn’t help but laugh as Violet screwed her little baby face into a confused frown. Yeaah, that one’s gonna be tough...

“Hrm... Too long, eh?” Now the king was frowning too.

“You have to give her something easier to say,” Father Fisalis suggested.

“I see. Then how about ‘King’? Lettie, say ‘King’!” he tried, pointing a finger at himself.

“Keen?”

This time, it seemed to have gotten through.

“You got it! I’m the king! Great job, Lettie.”

“Keen!”

“Very nice, very nice.”

You look totally smitten, Your Majesty!

“Shall I be ‘Belle,’ then?” Her Majesty proposed.

“That one’s a stretch.”

“Quiet, you!” she snapped at Father Fisalis’s dig. However, as soon as she noticed Violet’s curious eyes staring up at her, she fixed her smile back into place. “Ahem. Lettie, I’m the queen! ‘Queen’!”

“Ween...?”

“That’s right. Very good, Lettie!” The queen looked just as charmed as her husband.

In the end, we managed to land on “Keen” and “Ween.” All’s well that ends well.

“Now that Dianthus is all grown up, I’d almost forgotten how cute babies can be.”

“You said it, dear. He’s turned into a little terror, but he was such a darling when he was Lettie’s age. Oh, what a soothing presence she is! She’s so cute. Positively precious!”

Delighted to hear Violet say her name, Her Majesty couldn’t stop rambling about how adorable she was.

“The princesses are dying to meet her too.”

“Bring her over to the royal palace sometime, will you?”

“Though I’ll warn you—we might be tempted to keep her around forever.”

The way the queen had said that with a straight face gave me the sinking feeling that she was being dead serious.

Oh no! Do we have to worry about the royal family kidnapping our daughter?! Careful now—there’s no telling what he might do if it comes to that!

While that maybe-joke-maybe-not had me sweating bullets, Father Fisalis interjected, “We certainly couldn’t have that. If you don’t plan on letting her go, I’m afraid we’ll have to take her back by force.”

Whoa—what a terrifying look my father-in-law’s got right now!

“What he said. Or perhaps we ought to keep her away from the royal palace altogether?”

Mother Fisalis’s smile isn’t any less intimidating! Man, these two might be an even bigger force to be reckoned with than their son.

“Look, we’re sorry! We promise to send her home, so please don’t hesitate to bring her over!”

“You’d better,” came Mother and Father Fisalis’s joint retort.

The royal family was no match for my in-laws.

The apple sure didn’t fall too far from the tree. It’s moments like this when I can see the family resemblance.

* * *

With Violet around, the Fisalis manor was more full of life than ever before. Who ever would have thought the day would come?