14 — The New Cottage

Mr. Fisalis’ remodeling of the inside of the cottage—or, as Rohtas called it, his atonement—was done after three days. Mr. Fisalis was home on vacation for the first day of renovations and as such insisted on personally overseeing all the work, hanging around the work site with all the eagerness of a child at a candy store. His vacation ended on the second day, however, forcing him back to work; he also fell back into his old routine of going straight to the cottage when he came home, this time to check on its progress.

“Let him do as he pleases,” Rohtas, and all the other servants for that matter, implored me as they watched him attentively. I watched too, of course, but had far less to say.

“Renovations are complete! Come see the inside,” Mr. Fisalis invited me, having heard from Rohtas that work on the cottage had ended when he arrived home that evening. Apparently he had already confirmed for himself that everything was finished, so now he had come back to the manor a second time specifically to invite me to his open house.

“Thank you, I will. Tomorrow.” Unaware of how much it had changed, I figured it was no more pressing than if he had simply tidied the house.

Despite my reply that clearly said, ‘I don’t really care, sooo, I’ll just leave that until tomorrow,’ he insisted, “No, not tomorrow! We must see it now!” barely giving me time to finish before he shot me down. He then grabbed my hand and all but flew out of the room.

It’s almost dinnertime and I don’t see why it’s so important to rush. I planned to go inspect it with Dahlia and Mimosa sometime tomorrow anyway. I silently pleaded to Rohtas, Dahlia, Mimosa, and the other maids for help as he dragged me along, but none of them would meet my gaze. What’s going on?

“Have a good time!” they all said smilingly.

No, that’s the last thing I want you to tell me! Somebody, help meee!

If nobody was going to help me, I’d have to try to find a way out myself.

“Wha—What will we do about dinner?”

“Cartham has already been instructed to start dinner when you and Master return, so there’s no rush, Madam. Take your time,” Rohtas answered with a grin, but that wasn’t the kind of response I’d been hoping for!

I don’t want to take my time! I’m hungry!

“Alright, see you then,” Mr. Fisalis replied with a nod of understanding. Literally no one was on my side.

Why’s everyone telling me to ‘take my time’? What gives! I just want to get this over with as fast as possible so I can eat!

When at last, having dragged me through gardens and the thicket of trees like a hunting trophy, Mr. Fisalis tugged me over the threshold and into the cottage, the first thing I noticed was that it was cozier and calmer than I’d expected. But then again, since the main house was a public space used to receive company, it was important that it be impressive; the cottage, on the other hand, was a private space, so such pomp and extravagance was unnecessary. For someone like me, with a commoner’s tastes, the unadorned feel of the cottage was very appealing.

You didn’t need to be a millionaire to be able to tell that the main house was strewn with costly decorations, and since they really didn’t seem like something I should touch, I’d always let the maids take care of dusting them when we were cleaning. The display pieces in the entryway were like the face of the house, so they were absolutely exquisite. I had no clue how much they must have cost. I probably couldn’t even estimate.

...Oops. Sidetracked again. Back to the cottage.

Not a single trace of those showy decorations was to be found at the newly renovated cottage... to my slight relief, honestly.

Continuing further in, there was a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The dining area off the living room encompassed a small kitchen.

Hmm, I could probably do a little cooking here.

The deck I’d seen earlier—where Mr. Fisalis and Miss Calendula had been cuddling—was gone, with a lush green lawn laid down in its place. Naturally, the sofa that had been on the deck was also gone, replaced by a lovely white wood dining set.

I could see myself eating lunch out here on a nice day.

Everything looked to be of good quality, but also not too showy.

It feels so different here! So serene! It’s nothing like how stiff the main house can feel. It feels private and relaxed here.

Although I initially wanted to pass on the cottage tour, somewhere along the way, I found myself stopping to admire this and that, which Mr. Fisalis quietly watched with a smile on his face. When I finally satisfied my newfound desire to look around, he spoke up.

“Well? Is it to your liking?”

“Yes, very much. It’s so...calm.”

“Excellent! It’s a good thing I asked around, then.”

“Huh?” What does he mean, ‘asked around’?

“I asked Rohtas, Dahlia, and the others what kind of things you like.”

Whaaat!? When did he do all that research!? That explains why this feels so plain—I mean, ordinary! Like meee! Mr. Fisalis, the same guy who usually just does whatever he wanted without considering me, actually researched my preferences!

Unable to imagine the man I went on a “date” with a few days before doing such a thing, my mouth opened and closed in shock, very much resembling a goldfish.

“I, um. Thank you?”

“Why’d you phrase it like a question? Ah, never mind. From now on, feel free to use this place however you wish. Not just the cottage, either. Everything in the manor is yours now.”

“...I think it might take a little while for that to process.” If it does at all.

As I was looking around even more, my eyes were drawn to a shelf tightly packed with books.

Didn’t he say he didn’t like books? I mean, speaking for myself, I could spend all day reading, but that’s a different story. Upon closer inspection, the books turned out to be a mix of all genres. Just when I thought it was all fairy tales, there would be a detective novel, and then next to that, a travelogue, and then cookbooks, pastry, gardening, and field books.

...Exactly who has this been curated for? Everything seems to be suited for my tastes, but...

As I was looking back and forth across the shelves, I noticed Mr. Fisalis looking at me with big puppy-dog eyes and an expression that screamed, ‘tell me I’m a good boy!’

“Is this to your liking, too? I gathered a bunch of things I thought you would like based on what Dahlia and Mimosa told me!”

It was amazing. I couldn’t look away.

I haven’t read much since I came here, but they must have gathered what I liked from our conversations. Dahlia, Mimosa, you two are regular armchair detectives!

“I can’t believe how many there are!” I exclaimed, staring at the rows of multicolored spines.

“There’re even more in the manor’s main library. You’re welcome to take those out, too. And these, of course.”

I had no reason to disagree, since he’d said it was alright, so I reached for two that had caught my eye. A mystery novel and a travelogue.

“I’ll start with these. Shouldn’t we be getting back to the manor? I imagine everyone’s waiting for us.”

“They probably are. But I think we can still take our time.”

I had started to grow hungry, though, like seriously hungry, and convinced him to go back. He held my hand again, too, for some reason. It wasn’t like I was going to run away or something.