Side Stories: How This All Came to Be

1. The Femme Fatale

“Cercis, that’s the most talked-about dancing girl in the capital!”

I was at a tavern on the outskirts of town, having been invited by my friends from the Order when she was there.

The air in the tavern was so thick from the heat of all the men crammed inside and drinking like fish that I felt as though I might choke. I followed the gazes of a group of seedy-looking fellows in a particularly stagnant area of the tavern until my eyes landed on the woman in question. She looked like some kind of exotic flower, drawing in everyone who watched her as she elegantly danced across the stage—if you could even call it a stage. It was raised only a single step above the grimy floor.

Her long, jet black hair whirled around her like the Milky Way undulating through the night sky, and she moved her body to the rhythm like some sort of goddess. Her bewitching smile pierced through me like an arrow.

To call such a majestic creature a mere ‘dancing girl’ was to do her a disservice, for she was nothing short of a queen.

I was no saint. As the heir to a duchy, I had enjoyed many a fling with women drawn to my looks, my body, my status, and my wealth. Never had I been with someone like her, though.

In other words, it was an unexpected attraction.

We had secured seats right in front of the stage, and I was drinking with my friends, but all the while I was unable to take my eyes off of her. What’s more, she gazed back at me as she danced on, a bold grin spread across her face.

When her dance ended, she followed us to our table amid a shower of wrapped coins and despite letting us pour her a drink, she arrogantly failed to return the favor—just as I anticipated she might. On top of that, when we tried to talk to her, her eyes wandered around the room and her replies consisted only of uninterested “hmm”s and “oh”s.

I wasn’t accustomed to behavior like that—the feelings of rapture I’d been experiencing moments earlier vanished, and I grew annoyed.

“Listen, Calendula. The boys and I don’t care how ya treat us, but this gentleman here... he’s the heir to a duchy, and loaded at that. You hear me? He’s gonna be the next duke, so show him a li’l more respect!” my very intoxicated friend said with a smile, clapping me on the shoulder.

“Hair to a dooky? I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, ah ha ha ha.” She loudly laughed off her ignorance before taking another swig of her drink.

Is she serious?

My earlier annoyance was brushed aside in favor of wide-eyed amazement.

‘Heir to a wealthy duchy’ is normally my most appealing feature. It’s a status so desirable that it piques any lady’s interest.

My posture stiffened at the offense. I was taken aback by how easily and heartily she laughed at me.

My colleague cast a sidelong glance at me and said, “No, no. He’s going to inherit a dukedom. It’s an impressive title for sure, but have you seen his face? The heavens really spent a little extra time on this bastard, huh?” all the while pretending to cry bitterly. The woman took a fleeting glance at me and then turned back to my colleague.

“His face is certainly worth a look, but is that all he’s got?” She punctuated her question with a huff.

I had been staring at her in astonishment, but that left me positively rigid.

What does she mean by my ‘face is worth a look?’ Everyone always falls over themselves to compliment me on it. I get nothing but compliments, flowery words of praise... ‘he’s so handsome,’ ‘he’s just perfect.’ My looks and my title are my two most defining features.

I was so shocked I felt as though I’d been bludgeoned about the head.

The girls who flocked around me up until then, to put it frankly, only saw my outward appearance, never who I was on the inside. I suppose that my looks and my bearing were so overwhelming that they never actually saw me.

The isolation of feeling like one’s actual personhood was invisible, the crushing pressure of my future dukedom... I was tired of both.

I had given up. I couldn’t escape them, no matter how hard I tried.

As a result, I couldn’t help but be drawn to this woman who roared in laughter at both of them.

Could she be seeing the real me?

For a split second, I wondered if I was destined to meet her.

I was dying for her to turn around and look at me.

Just as I had with the other girls, I gave her dresses, jewels, flowers, and the most popular and delectable sweets... every possible thing a girl could ever want.

I had been courting her for a few months when she finally said, “I’m a flighty butterfly, you know. Who knows how long I’ll stay here. Are you alright with that?” When she finally accepted me with that bewitching smile on her face, I was so overjoyed that I thanked even gods I didn’t believe in.

But she and I were the only ones who were happy about it.

Not just my family, but even my friends objected to my keeping company with her, telling me “a fling won’t be a problem, but don’t let it turn into something serious.”

The culture of our kingdom wasn’t particular when it came to class. We had nobles who were married to commoners—well-to-do ones, of course, or merchants.

All the same, I couldn’t think of any dukes who were married to commoners.

I grew increasingly stubborn, though, in spite of the objections flying around us. She probably felt the same way.

We were together for six years.

Calendula was a puzzle. She herself did not know who her parents were or where she was born. Her earliest memory was being found by a traveling troupe of performers.

It would have been impossible for a woman like her, with so many missing pieces in her past, to be accepted by my parents and peers. My parents would unabashedly frown whenever I left to go and visit her. And although the butler and head personal maid’s polite expressions never faltered, I could tell they weren’t happy about it, either.

Then, after I turned twenty, I succeeded the peerage from my father and officially inherited the title of Duke Fisalis.

Since my work in the Chivalric Order kept me so busy, I wasn’t able to attend to the management of my territory, so I told my father that I wanted to delay my succession.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t mind relaxing with your mother in the countryside. I’ll manage the territory until things settle down for you. What do you say?” he asked. And so, after relinquishing the rank of duke to me, he promptly moved to a villa on our territory with my dear mother.

Although I was shocked at my own ability to sweet-talk my father into shouldering the management of our land, this meant I then had the good fortune to be able to do as I pleased, so I decided to have Calendula come live at the manor.

She had been living in a luxury hotel up until then, but if we wanted to be together, it would be better that she moved out.

At first, we tried to make the master suite in the manor our own, but Rohtas stopped us.

“That room is to be saved for you and your legal, socially-approved wife.”

We did not let that stop us, and decided to move on to a guest room. But there we were blocked by a group of personal maids led by Dahlia, who told us, “These rooms must be available for when guests visit.”

The servants clearly aren’t pleased, and I’m concerned that Calendula will be uncomfortable when I’m away if we live here.

As I considered other options, a cottage at the edge of the garden came to mind.

It was a small building modeled after a country house, and would provide a nice change of scenery; it had sometimes served as my hideaway when mother and father fought. And since the cottage was not visible from the main house, the two of us could go about our lives without offending anyone.

We’ll only need two or three servants, probably.

There was no sense in putting it off further, so I gave the order to prepare for Calendula to move into the cottage.

Rohtas, who typically wore a straight face, was visibly upset when I told him, but I pretended not to see.

2. The Girl in My Memories

“What about this one? She has a lovely face and a nice figure, and I hear she’s a fan of yours,” my father said as he stiffly handed me a framed portrait.

My father had shown up completely out of the blue, with no advance notice. I only came to the study because a servant told me that someone had something important to discuss with me, but... for heaven’s sake, not this again.

I took the picture of the young woman without a word; she was indeed lovely.

She has a good figure, too.

But the only one I want to be with is Calendula—Callie—not some other girl.

Father had been incessantly bringing me portraits of eligible young ladies. Without fail, they were all women from good families whom I had met at a soiree or some other function. They were mere nouveau riche merchants, though, so I didn’t pay them much attention from the moment we met. I was fed up with women clamoring for my looks and my status, so father’s choices only backfired.

Father babbled on about what a nice girl she was as I blandly glanced over the portrait, but I let every last word in one ear and out the other. I was well-versed in ignoring my parents by that point.

Father watched me in silence for a time as I just stared at the painting. “Why can’t you be reasonable and just settle down?” he finally said. “You’re already the head of the family. Not to mention there’s the matter of producing an heir.” He sighed and slouched back in his chair, at his wit’s end.

His message was clear: don’t let yourself become infatuated with a woman of dubious character.

Moreover, since I didn’t have any siblings, it was imperative that I produce an heir. There was no escaping that.

In that case, could I marry someone who everyone finds acceptable, have an heir, and then go right back to seeing Callie? Married nobles who keep lovers are a dime a dozen, after all.

...then again, my own parents still act like newlyweds even after all these years.

I suppose it doesn’t matter either way.

Realizing that I had found a loophole for Callie and I, my mood did an about-face, going from apathy to brimming with energy.

“I’ll do as you wish, Father. However, I will search for a bride on my own. This way, you can give your undivided attention to the management of the territory,” I told him with a smile.

I returned to my room, mulling over what sort of woman would be best.

Someone of not too high or low status... someone humble would be good.

A noble would hate being married and make my life harder, so they’re out of the question. I wouldn’t be able to forgive someone if they went after Callie out of jealousy.

I wouldn’t mind if her looks were only second rate.

No, she’d have to be seen with me, so an ugly woman would simply make me look bad.

Which means the most important thing will have to be a complete lack of interest in me.

I’d be in a world of trouble if she was in love with me, heh.

But like hell I’d tie myself to a... a show wife who wouldn’t so much as look at me.

Just going over these requirements makes me doubt there even is a woman who fulfills all of them, I told myself, feeling overwhelmed.

I’ll probably have to compromise in some respect.

The very first thing I did was remove Verbena Argenteia from my list.

Her family was on friendly terms with mine, so I had played with the Argenteia children frequently as a child and had gotten to know the eldest daughter, Verbena, quite well.

At first glance, the fact that we were close friends seemed to be a promising sign, but she had grown arrogant as she climbed the social ladder—which in turn, would damage my own reputation, thus ending my social life.

Still more importantly, she wouldn’t be able to stand Callie’s presence.

In short, she was removed so quickly because she did not meet any of my criteria.

I tried to come up with other people, but could not think of any who would be suitable. I let myself sink further into the sofa and kept on trying.

I closed my eyes and leafed through the memories of the many parties I had attended. No matter the party, I was constantly receiving flirty looks from women, so thinking back to those events turned out to be rather unpleasant.

But then a certain figure appeared from the depths of my mind, like a revelation.

I remembered that particular evening party exactly; that girl did not look at me even once, too shy to even join in conversation with anyone at all.

Absolutely nothing about her stood out. She was modest without seeming timid, and appeared to enjoy watching everyone else.

Of all the women I saw there, young and old, that girl had a special aura.

She really had no reason to be so modest.

Her austere, matronly olive-hued dress could be summed up as ‘plain.’ The cut was so conservative that I wondered if she was self-conscious about her figure.

She looked nothing like the other young women around her, and yet, my eyes landed on her.

Having said that, she wasn’t homely at all; in fact, upon closer inspection, she had quite a well-proportioned face. It was just that her plain dress and simple makeup made her seem unsophisticated. Her utter plainness piqued my curiosity.

“Who is that girl?” I’d asked my childhood friend and the second son of the Argenteia family, Celosia, who stood nearby. I’d indicated the girl in question with a glance. He followed my gaze, taking a moment to recall.

“Hm? ...oh, that’s Earl Euphorbia’s daughter, Miss Viola. Today’s her formal debut,” he had informed me.

Celosia’s always in the know from his work as a civil servant in the palace. Civil servants are required to memorize a list of the nobility, which in this instance, actually comes in handy.

“So this is your first time seeing her?”

“Oh, do you like her?” I inquired.

“No. I just thought she seemed kind of odd, is all,” Celosia replied, grinning at me. I could tell he was sincere in not being particularly interested in her, since he did not blush.

You’re just as curious about her as I am.

Our night had ended without any further developments, but now, my curiosity had been aroused once more.

Her social status was perfect, being the daughter of an earl. I didn’t know what her temperament was like, but based on how plain and inconspicuous she appeared, I didn’t get the sense that she was arrogant. On the contrary, she had observed her surroundings with clever eyes, and impressed me as intelligent.

And most important of all, she was not attracted to me.

That part was invaluable.

Now that I think of it, I’ve heard rumors that the Euphorbia family has had financial troubles.

“Hmm. This could be worth looking into,” I muttered absentmindedly.

“...so that’s why I need to get married.” I explained the general circumstances to Callie when I returned to the cottage. I couldn’t avoid the subject and risk her misunderstanding the situation. Besides, I’m only getting married so she and I can stay together.

She examined her nails as I talked, before finally looking at me when I finished.

“Oh, I see,” she said simply, giving me a sweet smile.

This woman who fawned over me, but was not easily seduced, never ceased to fascinate me, and I only pursued her harder.

Although I was relieved by her brief response, it also made me feel a bit sad.

“But she’d be just for show—my wife I mean—so there’s no need for you to worry, Callie. This is just so we can stay together like this,” I carefully explained, taking her beautiful hand, one that no longer had to bear the toils of vagrancy.

“Mmm, that’s right,” she answered briefly once more, and just smiled.

3. The Unexpected

When I inquired into the Euphorbia family, I found that their financial situation was just as the rumors had suggested.

Due to a famine, they had taken on a large debt and were now living on a reduced household budget with minimal socializing. As far as Miss Viola was concerned, she hadn’t been seen at any events since, and as a result I was not able to get much information on her.

Having no other option, I decided to negotiate directly.

It would be a contractual marriage in exchange for taking on their massive debt. So, not even a marriage of convenience, per se.

“Alright. I’ll do anything if you promise to pay off our debt.” Viola didn’t sulk, or act surprised, but simply answered calmly.

She readily agreed to even the more peculiar clauses in the contract that regular girls would have scoffed at.

I didn’t expect her to agree this easily!

Her complete lack of hesitation caught me totally by surprise.

She didn’t so much as blush when I flashed an indulgent smile that I knew no one could resist, and instead her eyes only became an icy blue.

...so at least I knew for sure that she wasn’t attracted to me! She wasn’t able to hide when expression shifted from a forced smile to one of discomfort, however.

Even so, never have I ever been so utterly ignored before!

I had no room to complain about it, though.

For some reason, I got a hazy, uncertain feeling that I couldn’t shake... but for the time being, I had successfully acquired the perfect show wife, insofar as I couldn’t find a better one.

I promptly wrote a letter to my parents back in the territory.

‘I have found someone I am going to marry. She is the oldest daughter of the Euphorbia family, Miss Viola,’ I wrote, keeping it brief.

If Rohtas happened to reproachfully glare at the letter, I certainly did not notice.

Shortly after our engagement was finalized, the situation with the country on our southern border turned sour, and those of us in the military were unexpectedly sent to engage them. Although my wedding ended up being repeatedly delayed, I returned home from the south no worse for wear after a year of campaigning.

When it was time for the wedding, I took on all the preparations so that the Euphorbia family was not further burdened. It was the least I could do, after making them wait a whole year.

I had brought a personal maid with me to help Viola with the day’s preparations, and she went above and beyond my wildest expectations. Refined makeup can enhance one’s innate elegance, and the maid certainly brought out every bit of Viola’s considerable charm.

Viola’s abundant and rather neglected strawberry blonde hair had been brushed smooth and glittered as if some sort of shimmering gel had been applied to it. She wore the front part of her hair in a breezy half-up style, leaving the hair in the back gently cascading over her shoulders.

She had me captivated. I couldn’t believe this was that inelegant girl from earlier!

It was impossible for anyone to compare her unfavorably to me when she stood by my side looking like that—indeed, I wonder if she didn’t, in fact, shine even brighter.

“All this doesn’t really suit me, does it?” she asked, worriedly looking down at her dress. She had no idea that only moments before I had been rendered speechless at the sight of her.

It was impossible for me to tell her how she had enchanted me—she’s supposed to be only your show wife, after all, I told myself—so I smiled and said, “No, you look wonderful,” before reaching out to escort her to the sanctuary.

I was never a devout believer, so despite my vows being nothing but a pack of lies, my conscience remained perfectly clear.

Pretending to be a loving couple at the reception wore me out, but this was all so Callie and I could live together.

By my side throughout the evening as I grinned and bore it was Viola, who seemed all too happy to go around and introduce herself, absolutely unbothered.

Her performance astounded me. I never would have guessed she was so skilled at social etiquette, although I suppose she probably felt otherwise on the inside.

Never one to back down from a challenge, though, some burning desire to win ignited within me. To my surprise, I ended up pushing myself to outplay her in my happy husband role.

...what on earth did I hope to win, though?

Once I made it through the reception, I wanted to go straight home to Callie, so I left before Viola did and hurried to the cottage without even bothering to change out of my formal wear.

“I’m back, Callie!”

“My, you’re back early. I didn’t think you’d be home at all tonight,” she responded. Although her answer was blunt, it seemed as though she had stayed awake to wait for me, although she did so while drinking on the living room sofa.

I had been feeling as though her interest in me had been fading, but her casual behavior that night somehow made me so happy that I embraced her without a word.

“What’s this?” she chuckled. “You’re very affectionate, tonight,” she said, narrowing her eyes as she stroked my hair.

Callie was the only one who would do that for me, and it felt... nice.

Even Mother never coddled me like that.

The day after the wedding, I received word that yet another skirmish had broken out in the country to the south, so my unit was sent out in a hurry. They said to expect it to take a week.

I informed Rohtas, but I don’t think I told Viola. I figured Rohtas would tell her. The only thing on my mind was that I wouldn’t see Callie for a week.

I’ll have to come home early and spend some quality time with her.

The skirmish with our neighbor to the south was over quickly, and the earlier estimate was right—I was back home in the capital in a week. Although I was impatient to get home to Callie after being away from her for so long, I could not skip my daily briefing with Rohtas, so I bit the bullet and stopped at the main house first.

I had sent prior notice, so he was already waiting for me in the entryway.

“Did anything happen while I was away?”

“Not a thing, Master. It is good to see you have returned home safely.”

“Mm.”

This was the typical conversation with Rohtas, so it didn’t indicate anything out of the ordinary. Assuming nothing of note had happened nor did anything require my immediate attention, I would normally have left for the cottage, but this time I stayed to ask about my new show wife. “How has Viola been doing?”

“Madam is doing well. She has a lovely personality and is already close with the servants.”

“I see.”

I would have had to think of a plan B if she hadn’t been able to adapt to living as a duchess. I was relieved that my fear proved unfounded.

I knew the servants didn’t get along with Callie, but they seemed to get on with Viola just fine. The servants at the cottage interacted with Callie like they were machines, with no emotion at all.

“Madam is such a lovely person. You must be quite taken by her, Master... now, you can go back to the old you.”

“What do you mean? I’ve always been me. Or rather, maybe the way I am now is the real me. I’m able to be myself because Callie’s here with me.”

Rohtas gave me a meaningful look.

I saw it directly, and just when it seemed like he was actually glaring at me, a clear voice echoed down from the second floor: “Welcome home, Mr. Fisalis.”

Scurrying down the stairs was the girl in question—Viola.

My attention turned to her as if drawn in by her voice—she hadn’t come to greet me wearing any of the fancy gowns she had been provided; instead she wore a tidy dress intended for relaxing indoors.

The tension in the air lifted as soon as she appeared.

Oh, that dress suits her perfectly, much more so than those gowns, I thought to myself. To no surprise, Callie was the one who came to mind when I thought of luxury gowns. She certainly looks great in those.

Argh, she’s the one I want to be seeing right now, not Viola.

I could only think of Callie back at the cottage and all but ignored Viola, even though she was right in front of me.

Wanting nothing more than to leave, I said, “I’m home. I do hope you’ve been well. I must be going now.” It was cold of me, but that was all I said before I impatiently hurried away to the cottage.

4. Attraction

I took time off from work for the two days immediately following the campaign.

It was unlikely that I’d be able to rekindle a spark in Callie, so to speak, in just two days, but it had been quite some time since I’d been sent on a campaign that long, so I forced myself to stay home. I figured it was better late than never. The weather was wonderful. The cottage was surrounded by trees that gave the feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world; it was so quiet there, you’d never think you were in the center of the capital.

The only thing we could hear was the tranquil chirping of the birds.

We spent the day lounging on the sofa by our favorite pond. I felt the weariness from a week on the battlefield fade away when I shut my eyes and began to relax as her elegant hands carded through my hair. I dozed with my head on Callie’s lap as we sprawled on the sofa atop the deck overlooking the pond.

Neither Viola, nor any of the servants, and especially not my parents, came by to bother us.

This is the way everyday ought to be, I thought to myself, content.

But change came slowly.

“Oh, I think this dish is from Lesace,” Callie said one evening as we ate our customary dinner in the cottage together.

I wanted to be able to unwind and talk about my day with her, so we simply had the food brought to us from the main house.

“From the Lesace region?” I hadn’t ever been there, much less eaten its cuisine. I looked at Callie’s plate.

It just looked like one of the usual main dishes—meat with a vegetable-based sauce on top—but Callie had traveled to many places before she came to the royal capital, so she had a broader knowledge of these sorts of things.

That was surely why she had recognized it. She confirmed it after taking just one bite. “I was right. The use of this aromatic herb is unique to that region.”

I copied her, having a bite as well, but didn’t notice anything special.

“Our lunch was Lesaçois, too. I guess you wouldn’t be able to tell, but we’ve been eating food from a different region every day as of late.” Callie smiled in delight, as if it reminded her of wherever ‘home’ was for her.

It wasn’t just the food that had changed.

Decorative flowers began to show up in our living room. Up until then, there hadn’t been any decorations around, because Callie never mentioned wanting any, but I started to notice decorations, such as tastefully arranged flowers, in places that had been previously empty.

Callie loved extravagance, so perhaps it was because they were unassuming varieties, the kind one might pick in a meadow, that she ignored them. I, however, wanted to find out why they suddenly started to appear in the cottage, so I asked one of the maids who waited on us, “Why do we have flowers here now?”

“Madam has been arranging the rooms in the manor, so she took the liberty of decorating a little here, too,” she replied. This maid usually gave only indifferent, expressionless answers, but when she mentioned ‘Madam,’ I was surprised to see her expression soften ever so slightly.

Wow, so servants do have feelings!

The maids always finished their work without so much as a smile, nor any more concern that was absolutely necessary, but they smiled for Viola even though she only just got here!?

I mentally cocked my head in confusion.

One day, as the slight changes continued to occur:

I sent a letter to my parents—still living a life of quiet relaxation in the territory—asking them to come and visit.

I expected that they might want to perform some reconnaissance to see if our married life was progressing well.

I told them that I had broken things off with Callie. I arranged a backstory with Rohtas beforehand, as well, so I was confident he wouldn’t reveal the truth, but I needed Viola’s cooperation, too. I briefed her during one of our routine conversations in the entryway when I returned home from work.

I thought it would look bad if we slept in different bedrooms, so after careful consideration I told her, “They’ll stay in the guest room. I suppose I’ll have to stay in the master bedroom...”

“Right. I’ll bring up a cot for the master bedroom, then. I’ll sleep there. Please help yourself to the bed,” she eloquently replied.

She stared at me in puzzlement when I reflexively kept my eyes on her face for too long. But I was embarrassed to force a woman to give up her bed for me, to say nothing of then making her sleep on a cot, so I tried to refuse.

“But as a man of honor, I could never forgive myself for allowing a lady to give up her bed for me. I will take the cot...”

But she got the wrong impression, and I only succeeded in making myself appear too overbearing. “Oh, no, it’s no trouble at all; please, go ahead! Oh, would you like me to change the sheets to some fresh ones? Or I could bring your pillow over from the cottage?”

Had she been any other girl, she would have claimed her own bed at the start and pointed me to the cot or the sofa. But Viola wasn’t like any other girl.

She never ceased to amaze me with how meaningless the concept of an ‘ordinary girl’ seemed to be with her.

When I offhandedly told Callie as much, she curtly brushed it off with a “humph.”

On the days my parents visited, I reluctantly stayed away from her.

“It’s only for two days. I’m sure you’ll get by without me just fine,” I assured her.

“I’m sure I will.”

“I’ll come right back here as soon as they leave.”

“Mm, okay,” she mumbled back coldly.

Compared to me, Callie seemed to be in a bad mood at the thought of us being apart-—her stern eyes devoid of her usual smile that was like a gentle embrace.

She wouldn’t even look at me.

She must be unhappy that I’ll be spending time with Viola.

Even though Viola’s my show wife, we don’t have any sort of mutual feelings for each other... Does Callie not know that she’s the one who holds my heart? There’s no need for hard feelings, I thought to myself, somewhat annoyed. But since I wanted Callie to be in a good mood, I tried to soothe and humor her until my personal maid came to notify me of my parents’ arrival.

Although I stopped by the entrance in the main house every day, it wasn’t as if I actually took much notice of what was there. I was in too much of a hurry to get back to the cottage.

Four years had gone by since I’d started living with Callie. I had not set foot in the main house at all during that time. Especially not since I married Viola. So when I finally visited the manor again... it was completely different.

My mother’s voice drew my attention to beautiful flowers arranged in a large vase. We had marble statues and valuable porcelain ornaments before, but we had never decorated with flowers.

I never noticed the flowers until now, I thought to myself yet again as I listened to my mother and Viola talk.

“My word! You can actually talk with Bellis!?”

“Mmhmm, he’s a really nice guy,” Viola said without hesitation.

She can actually talk with that moody gardener!?

As I listened more to their conversation, I noticed that in spite of the praise coming from both my mother and my father, Viola only magnanimously replied, “I’m glad you think so! I’m sure Bellis would be happy, too,” with a pleased smile.

...hey, now. That’s not fair, I thought irritably.

She never smiled at me like that.

We had food from the Rheine region for lunch. I was wondering what was going on with the food as of late, so I brought it up with Viola, assuming she would know because she was familiar with the goings-on in the main house.

“Er, um, well... The cooks have been teaching me things. The apprentice cooks have come here from all over, and whatnot,” she answered simply.

She even knows what’s going on in the kitchen! I’m pretty sure there’s some womanizing man with an accent down there...

The mere thought of that handsy chef had me in a bad mood yet again.

After we finished lunch, we moved to the salon; the room had been completely redesigned for a more relaxed, rustic look, without feeling out-of-place in the elegant manor.

All I could do at that point was just be stunned.

The room had been brought back to life; the dusty, outdated furniture was gone. The manor had previously felt stiff and cold—while I was there, I could only ever feel the pressure of my title—but now, there were flowers scattered about the place that made it feel warm.

The servants didn’t look so robotic when they passed me by, either—they were working energetically and seemed happy.

Could all this be Viola’s doing...?

I turned around to face Viola, standing just behind me, and was met with a pair of sapphire blue eyes.

For some reason, it felt just like when we first met.

Seeing Viola up close for the first time that day, she had seemed so intelligent. I couldn’t pinpoint when, but that drab girl from the party had transformed into a sophisticated lady, too.

What was it I was seeing for the first time? I saw her nearly everyday, after all.

It was the sense of responsibility that came with fully understanding her role and her unwillingness to let her so-called husband sully her mood.

Her ability to befriend all the servants and to fashion this enormous manor into her own style.

How she didn’t see me as anyone special.

That bland girl I saw at the party was nowhere to be found. The clever spark in her eye had always been there, but before I knew it, that spark had sprouted wings like a butterfly. Her bright, joyful eyes pulled me in, I couldn’t look away.

...oh, maybe what I’ve found is actually a diamond in the rough.