2 — A New Normal

Several days after the sudden renewal of our contract (itself following directly on the heels of the chaotic battle (?) with Calendula):

Calendula had gotten her affairs in order, and the day when she would leave had finally arrived.

Just moments before, Rohtas had forced Mr. Fisalis out the door and on his way to work as the latter grumbled to the former, “I just want to see her off!” And the former insisted, “Please just go, Master! I do not know when she plans to depart, and lateness is strictly prohibited!”

I lined up with Rohtas, Dahlia, and Mimosa on the carriage porch to see Calendula off in the modest coach Mr. Fisalis had prepared.

Apparently it was her idea in the first place to leave when he wasn’t around.

“I’m indebted to you for looking after me, Madam. Oh, wait, no I’m not. You just messed everything up!” she snickered. She wasn’t wearing any of the glamorous dresses I was accustomed to seeing her in, but a plain, body-hugging crimson dress.

It’s so unfair... she gets to look sexy even when she’s getting the boot. I guess that’s her natural advantage.

“Oh, not at all... I mean, yes, er, sorry?”

“Hmph. Seems I overstayed my welcome—but then again, what was I thinking, sticking around this long? Going somewhere new is always exciting anyway! You can’t beat this weather, either. It’s like a gift for my new life ahead!” she said, looking up at the cloudless sky with her ruby red eyes. In stark contrast to her confident words, however, she was holding back tears.

“What will you do now?” I asked.

“Go back to being a dancing girl, same as I was before. I’ll manage. I’m over this quiet life, so maybe I’ll spice things up and head to the south. The cold of the northern countries doesn’t suit me, anyway,” Calendula replied.

As someone who was originally a traveling dancing girl, her job history would suggest that she doesn’t stay in one place for long, hopping from tavern to tavern.

I’ve certainly never led a life like hers, so naturally I’m more than a little worried for her!

“Do you have any money, or have a place to live planned out? Are you sure you’ll be alright?” I asked.

As if seeing right through my anxiousness, she answered with a glance at her scant luggage already loaded in the carriage. “I can get some good money for these expensive dresses he bought me, and I have plenty of jewelry, too. So long as I have the means, I’ll find a way. I’ll be fine.”

She only had three trunks, barely anything at all.

All the same, though, what a clever woman! Sell off the bulky dresses first, and then the jewelry later as needed. And she kept her luggage to a minimum, too! Traveling is nothing new to her, for sure!

“I should get going. Give my regards to Cercis, Madam.”

“Huh!?”

“For Pete’s sake... are you pretending to be dumb, or is that just how you normally are? Either way, you never failed to amuse me.”

“Erm, no, it’s... glad I could be of service.”

“You really don’t think much of him, do ya?”

“Uh, hmmm... not really? Then again, I’m not really that sure, considering we haven’t been together for very long. I didn’t even know what he looked like, to start with, and then what with his position in court, we had no real relationship. And besides, even when I did come to care about him a little bit, he already had a mistress, so what was the point?”

There I go, blabbering like a dummy again after Miss Calendula only says a few words about him.

“Ha ha ha! I like straightforward people. Ah, jeez. I know how he seems, but I always thought Cercis was adorable,” Calendula quipped, her eyes darkening slightly.

Oh, I see, now. He was a cute and innocent boytoy.

“He certainly is.”

“He’s a real dummy sometimes, but more often than that, he’s wonderful. Finding that out was one of my favorite moments.”

“What if it’s too hard, and I can’t build a relationship with him?”

“Pfft! You’ll do fine! I’m sure you’ll be able to find all of the nice things about him! You’re such a strange girl, for real... Even someone as indifferent as Cercis would care about a good, sweet girl like you.”

“Huh?”

Did she say something after she called me strange? I couldn’t hear her very well.

“Don’t worry about it! He’s all yours now, Madam!”

“If you’re ever back in the capital, please do drop by!”

“...Good grief, are you ever not nice!?” Calendula said, ruby eyes smiling. She closed them once, and when they opened again, they had regained that determined glint. “This was quite the chat. I’m going now. Take care.”

“Same to you, Miss Calendula!” I waved lightly as she got into the carriage and it pulled away.

“We never had anything to do with each other, so I can’t say I’ll miss her.” I admitted out loud as I absentmindedly watched the carriage disappear.

“Same for me. I never associated with her either. I only knew her as that companion my friends who looked after her always talked about,” Mimosa said from where she was waiting a half step behind me.

“At long last, the manor has returned to its proper state.” Dahlia said briefly, to which Rohtas nodded in agreement.

A blue sky, like a gift in honor of a new life.

I had a feeling she could make it anywhere she went.

As they say, when one person leaves, someone else arrives.

After that, we made quick work of bringing Mr. Fisalis’ things from the outbuilding into the main house.

When I say things, I mean clothes, books, and paperwork. He didn’t have any personal furniture or the like in the outbuilding.

Dahlia took over the boxes and bags we brought in, promptly storing them away in the study and Mr. Fisalis’ room.

“Yeah... once all of Mr. Fisalis’ things are brought in, it’ll really feel like we’re living together,” I said, as I observed the move from outside in the hall.

We’ll finally be living in the same house.

“For sure. I only attended Master during my first year as an apprentice, so this is effectively a brand new experience for me, too,” Mimosa said with an uneasy smile.

“Oh, really? Ah, well, I’ll only be seeing him in the morning and at night, so that should be fine.”

And I’ll be free to do what I usually do when he’s not here.

That evening:

It was getting close to when Mr. Fisalis ordinarily came home. I changed my clothes as per usual and waited.

He was still right on time.

“Master has returned,” Dahlia came and told me, just as Mimosa had finished doing my hair.

“I’m on my way down.” I stood up and headed to the entryway.

“Welcome home, Mr. Fisalis,” I called out, rushing to the entrance to find him talking to Rohtas there.

There’s nothing new about that, so why does something feel off? I cocked my head, and then suddenly realized what it was.

The entryway was much more densely populated before.

Normally it was just me, Rohtas, Dahlia, and Mimosa, but now Mr. Fisalis’ three personal maids had come to greet him, too, which accounted for the increase.

Mystery solved.

The remaining servants, by the way, always listened carefully and quietly to what was happening in the entrance to find out if we were starting a Cercis Shift, but you never actually saw them! Our servants also possess superior ninja skills.

But since Mr. Fisalis is going to be living here from now on, the Cercis Shift is kind of a moot point, even though everyone’s gotten so good at it.

I’m sort of sorry to see it go.

At any rate, there were seven of us total there to greet him that day.

When Mr. Fisalis spotted me, he called out, “I’m home, Viola!” He then smiled ear-to-ear at me, even though he had been in the middle of a seemingly interesting discussion with Rohtas. It was a broad, genuine smile that lit up his entire face.

He looks so... gleeful, all of a sudden.

On the inside, I was surprised, but I kept my cool on the outside and greeted him just as usual.

“You’ve had a long day.”

“I see you didn’t wait around to bring my things in. Thanks for seeing Callie off.”

He looked a little sad as he spoke, but being an adult, I let him go.

* * *

And thus began Mr. Fisalis’ slow but steady infiltration of my everyday life.

It still feels super weird, though.

Speaking of changes, I wonder if my rainy day schedule has seen any updates?

“Huh? We’re going to have tea now?”

I had practically tripped over my own ghost leaving my body after Demon Instructor Rohtas had all but killed me during my dance lesson, when Dahlia cheerfully informed me that it was tea time.

And here I thought his dance lessons had already passed the “experienced” level.

What more does he want from me? Would he want me to “acquire a trade,” as they say? Has he been leading me down the path to becoming a dance instructor myself!? Not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty good at dancing to complicated music now, I guess.

Really, I want to know what the point is...

Er, no, what I want right now is to sit down, not some tea.

Badly. I need a break now.

Like, an afternoon siesta instead of tea.

The corner of my mouth twitched at Dahlia’s announcement, but she seemed to brush it off.

“Yes, in just a moment. Since you’re feeling worn out, how about some sweet milk tea?” I knew by the way she smiled that she meant “delicious.”

Exhausted as I was, however, it was impossible for me to respond like a normal person.

“Woohoo! Yummy milk tea! Your tea is the best, Dahlia!” Hook, line, and sinker.

Allow me to explain.

It was, quite frankly, a trap. There’s delicious milk tea. And delicious tea cakes to go with it.

But.

“Here, sit up straight.”

“Hold your cup like so.”

“Don’t let it clink as you set it down.”

That’s right, this was an etiquette lesson in disguise.

“Dahliaaa, this is another lesson, isn’t it?” I protested with a glare.

“Not at all, Madam. This is afternoon tea, nothing more. We’re taking a break,” she replied with a smile, dropping the strict expression she had worn earlier.

Pants on fire.

“No we’re nooot.”

Another smile. “One never knows when these manners might be called for. You’ll pick them up a little at a time.”

She smiled even more.

Hey now, this isn’t supposed to be an etiquette lesson!

“But I’m exhaaausted,” I said, looking up at Dahlia, all the while thinking that this wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t practically dead on my feet.

“Your real potential shines through when you’re at your weakest.” She slammed the door shut on my attempts to resist.

“Hmgh.” There was nothing I could say to win that argument.

Then again, it’s not like I had any chance of beating someone like Dahlia from the get-go.

Now that I had been thoroughly dunked on, Dahlia poured me another cup of tea.

“Now, now, don’t be like that. You’ll master these little habits in no time, I’m sure, Madam. Thanks to Rohtas’ dancing lessons, you’ve acquired more elegant mannerisms, so perfecting your etiquette will only add to that air of elegance.”

Confused as I was by this sudden flattery, I could only respond with, “Uh, what? Y-you really think so?” I naïvely took her words at face value.

“I most certainly do! Which is why we must do our absolute best! Oh, yes, that reminds me. A short while ago I received word from Rohtas—he said that Mr. Fisalis is uncommonly busy at work today and will be home later than usual.”

The old carrot and stick routine. Dangling a reward in front of me to make me work harder. Touché.

“Oh!? You mean I can eat dinner with you all tonight!?”

“Correct.”

“Oh, goodie! I’ve missed having my servants’ meal!”

It’s been so long since I last got to chat with everyone while I ate! Just thinking of it had my heart leaping in excitement.

“Well then, let’s keep going a little while longer, shall we?” Dahlia prompted with a smile when she saw how excited I was for a servants’ meal.

“Yeah! I shall endure!” I exclaimed in high spirits.

...I guess I’m what they call food-motivated.

For that reason—in order to set my sights even higher—in addition to my dance lessons with Demon Instructor Rohtas, rainy days also now meant lessons in proper etiquette for ladies, like table manners.