26 — Changes

When I turned around, there were four young women there. I had no idea what families they belonged to, though.

Ladies, it is my utmost pleasure to make your acquaintance.

The one who had called to me was wearing a lovely, fluttery pink dress.

She was standing a step in front of the others, so I guess that meant she was the leader.

Oh. No.

Is this going to turn into a cat fight!? Does that mean one of them’s gonna yell, “You have no right to be with the duke” or something!? Why would I think that, you ask? Because situations like that happen so frequently in the popular romance novels I’ve read that they must be inevitable! In a romance between two people of unequal rank, the helpless heroine finds herself in a spat at some get-together, and is rescued by the dashing hero.

Although the details vary, the routine is essentially the same, and the girl is usually the victim.

...But I’m not like other girls. What’s that? Aren’t I trembling with fear, you wonder? Nay, don’t be absurd!

“Oh, er, yes, I am,” I answered nervously, my eyes quivering in fear.

I waited in heart-pounding suspense to see what sort of clichéd line would be thrown at me next.

“Huh! You’re even cuter than the rumors made you out to be!”

I gave myself a pat on the back for not toppling over in shock.

“You look so lovely, so I assume your marriage has been worry-free?” one of them asked, anxious, but she sounded like she was hiding something. It was the lady in the pink frills who had called out to me.

She introduced herself as Iris Sanguinea. She must be related to Marquis Sanguinea. Her almond eyes seemed severe at first glance, but were charming when she smiled. Given how smartly dressed and beautiful she looked, she gave the impression of being very fashionable. She said she was two years older than me.

“Oh, sure...” I gave her a strained laugh in response to her difficult question.

It’s not so much that my marriage is worry-free as it is that I’m free to do whatever I want.

Still, if I was a regular girl, my situation would be irresistible. I’m not worried about what other people would do, though, and I’m worse off for it.

“There have been rumors floating around for a while now...” a girl looked at me with upturned eyes, as if it pained her to speak of such things. She was an attractive, plump young lady from the Crocus family. I had kept my eyes on Iris, so I was caught off guard when this new girl suddenly appeared behind me.

If I was the anxious type, this would have been difficult.

I have the servants, so what do I need Mr. Fisalis for? I mean, haven’t I been thinking lately that it’s a real hassle for everyone to change shifts when he comes over for dinner?

But I carefully stored that thought away deep in my mind and replied, “It’s been great. Mr. Fisalis is a real gentleman.” I smiled faintly.

I then realized that I was surrounded not by malicious, war-mongering witches, but by kindhearted women.

Huh? Wasn’t this supposed to be a fight scene? Where’d the romance novel go?

Deep down, I was confused; this friendly atmosphere was miles away from what I had expected—no, dreaded.

“It’s just that, usually when he goes to evening parties, he’s escorting someone else.”

“And we were concerned about how your relationship was, since he’s married.”

“We just...”

“We didn’t want to interfere, though.”

“The duke must be up to something if he’s escorting another woman instead of his beautiful wife!”

They argued fervently among themselves.

Oh, I see! They were all in favor of giving me the sympathy vote! Calling me beautiful or cute was just an extreme form of flattery, so I’ll brush it off for now.

The women didn’t seem as though they had an ulterior motive, so I stayed and chatted with them.

Somehow, everyone knew about Mr. Fisalis going to parties with Miss Calendula.

Therefore, they wanted to keep us at a distance if there was a high chance that Mr. Fisalis wasn’t behaving in a seemly fashion, despite being a wealthy, influential duke.

Apparently many people had spoken up, wondering if I was alright with the situation.

Given that we were actually in a contractual marriage for our own interests, there were no hard feelings to be had, but there was no way they were getting that out of me there.

“Ah ha ha ha,” I laughed.

Act like you mean it! I’d been telling myself that a lot.

Oh well... it’s too bad that I missed my chance at a fight scene, but I’m better off without needless fighting.

I had been having a nice talk with the five of them for a while when:

“Oh, Vi, there you are. I was looking for you.” It was Mr. Fisalis heading towards me. I assumed he was done talking with his subordinate.

I had gotten too absorbed in my conversation with the ladies and had forgotten he existed. Again.

What a bad habit of mine!

“I’m sorry, I was having a grand time talking with these wonderful people.”

He made it to where I was in a flash, his long strides carrying him quickly; I then introduced the ladies to him.

It seemed as though he didn’t know any of them. He stood by my side with his arm around me.

“The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for speaking with my wife while I stepped away. I do hope you’ll be her friends.” His face broke into its usual dazzling smile as he spoke.

And let me tell you how those ladies reacted! They were under his spell faster than Mimosa appeared whenever someone mentioned clothes! Mr. Fisalis’ smile truly was the vessel of a great destructive force.

...how typical.

“W-we certainly will!!” Their pupils were practically in the shape of hearts.

If it had been their own husbands, they’d probably say something like, “Slow down there, honey,” but still, you can’t beat their genuine enthusiasm.

They’re only looking out for themselves.

Assuming it was more of the sympathy vote, I went around the party talking with more people, but all I received were favorable responses until I was restlessly looking for anyone who wanted to argue with me.

Looks like romance novels are fiction after all. And here I took the trouble to prepare for a fight.

Shortly after, Mr. Fisalis asked me, “Shall we dance?”

Now that he’s mentioned it, I guess I’ve done nothing but talk, eat, and drink. I haven’t danced at all.

When I first started my dance lessons, I had insisted that I’d never even go to an event that required dancing, but just as Rohtas demanded, I paid attention to what I was doing, and pulled it off without a hitch.

Good thinking, Rohtas! On top of things as... nope.

After I danced with Mr. Fisalis for a few songs, other men, young and old, came and asked me to dance, one after another.

It would have been rude to turn them down, so I accepted.

I don’t recall how many songs I danced for, or how many people I danced with. But I felt like I danced enough for an entire lifetime.

One thing I can say for sure: it was solely due to Rohtas’ hellish dance lessons and the stamina I had cultivated doing everyday housework that I finished without embarrassing myself. In fact, they told me I was a really good dancer. I could never thank Rohtas enough!

The whole time that I was dancing with other men, Mr. Fisalis chatted amicably with friends and people he knew from his work, but I caught him glancing at me like he couldn’t stop himself. Each time I caught him, he was smiling.

It’s okay, I promise I won’t mess up! I’ll take my job as the capital’s ultimate dance partner very seriously!

Just when I thought my back was going to start aching soon, yet another man asked me to dance. Inside, I wanted to turn him down, worn out as I was by the relentless dancing.

“My wife must be quite exhausted by now. I’ll take her back,” Mr. Fisalis said, taking hold of my waist like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Nice save! What a great way to get me out of dancing with that guy! Thanks!

At long last, I finally sat down. Mr. Fisalis brought me a glass of champagne as I took a much-needed breather.

Hahhh. Champagne really hits the spot after dancing! The fizz doesn’t build up inside, so it’s like I can feel the bubbles soaking into my whole body! I reveled in the top-shelf champagne the same way a middle-aged man talks about beer.

“You really are exhausted just from some dancing, aren’t you?” Mr. Fisalis’ deep brown eyes crinkled as he snickered, as if I had done something amusing. He was looking right at me. “Thank you for putting yourself out there. I think it’s about time we head home.”

Oh, he noticed. He’s probably a little embarrassed. He’s the kind of person who prefers people to be themselves, though.

“Yes, I’d like that,” I replied. Then I sat up a little straighter, fixed my dress, and gracefully finished my champagne.

Socializing was hard work. Not only do you have to keep a smile on your face as you dance and talk, you’ll also subject the people you meet to groundless suspicion, and be constantly on the lookout so as not to be taken by surprise!

“I got the feeling that you knew I wanted to run away so many times back there.”

“Eh?” His brown eyes opened wide in surprise.

Oops. I let one of my ol’ crazy ideas slip.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Let’s go home.”

“...mm, yes.”

And with that, our little arrangement was complete!

By the time we arrived back at the manor, it was quite late at night.

“Welcome home.” In spite of the late hour, Rohtas, Dahlia, and Mimosa greeted us at the entrance.

Oh, I really feel like I’ve come home!

“We’re back,” replied Mr. Fisalis.

“We made it! Sorry it’s so late, though,” I apologized.

After this, the only thing left to do is bid Mr. Fisalis a good night and go to bed. Our little business meeting will adjourn once he goes back to the cottage, so I only have to hang on for a little bit longer!

Just as I was about to turn to tell him good night, he started to speak before I could get the chance.

“Thank you for tonight. Oh, Rohtas ... it’s gotten quite late, so I’ll be retiring here tonight. Get a room ready for me.”

His words of thanks were to me, and his order to prepare a room for Rohtas, who was standing by.

Whaaat? I must be so exhausted that I’m hearing things!