19 — A Perfect Replacement

I was quiet for some time, letting the carriage rock me back and forth, not really noticing how sleepy it was making me. The trip wasn’t even that long, but my eyes started to shut on their own. No sooner had I dozed off than—klonk!—I banged my head hard against the wall.

“Mmmrgh,” I groaned in pain, opening my eyes.

“What did you... pffft!... do?” Mr. Fisalis had been looking out his own window in silence until it happened, at which point his eyes looked like they’d pop out of their sockets as he tried to hold back immature laughter.

“Ngh, I just got a little sleepy. Sorry.” How embarrassing! I’m sitting right in front of him. At least it got rid of the awkward silence. I’m less tense now.

“No need to apologize. More importantly, is your head alright? No lump or anything?” Mr. Fisalis inquired, although his eyes were still dancing with laughter. I didn’t see what was so funny that he needed to laugh like an idiot, so I just closed my eyes again.

“I’m fine.”

“Good. We’ll be there soon. Everyone’s eager to see you home, so please don’t give them the impression you have a concussion.”

“Okay.”

It seemed like my knock on the head also knocked down the invisible wall between us. Just as the peaceful feeling that we’d started our journey with was starting to return, we arrived back at the Fisalis manor.

We got out, Mr. Fisalis offering his arm to escort me in, and no sooner had we opened the door when:

“Welcome home, Madam!”

Is this all the servants out here!? I can nearly hear them all bow like, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, perfect forty-five degree angles.

I feel like I’ve seen this before. It must’ve been how they first greeted me when I came here after the wedding ceremony. But I don’t really need a grandiose greeting like this now...

Upon closer inspection, Rohtas and Dahlia were there, naturally, but also all of the maids, Cartham and his cooks, all the lower servants, and even the gardening team! Including Bellis! It really looked like everyone!

“See, what did I tell you? Everyone was waiting for you to come home,” Mr. Fisalis whispered in my ear just as everyone greeted me with smiles on their faces.

“I-I’m home,” I was feeling the pressure after such a fabulous welcome. Though the servants were supposed to have time off after the day’s work was done and I felt it was unfair to expect them to greet us like this, it did make me very happy.

Already well-rested, I headed straight to my room, hopped into the bath, and then into bed. Getting into bed might’ve been more like a cannonball, though. It would be foolish to try to compare my cloud-like bed at the manor, with its freshly-washed sheets, to my bed at my old house—they were almost like two different kinds of furniture—but this bed was still my favorite.

“It should be illegal for a bed to be this soft!” I commented as I snuggled into my pillow, delighting in the feel.

“I am glad to hear it,” Dahlia replied. She and Mimosa smiled at me, even though I wasn’t exactly being an example of good manners.

“Sorry for putting myself in a bad mood the other day. Mr. Fisalis told me it wasn’t a big deal while I was recharging at my parents’ house, so I should be back to normal tomorrow!”

“I’m happy you’re feeling better, Madam,” said Mimosa. “You looked so down that we were all sad, too! Anyway, sleep well.”

“You too. Good night.”

Dahlia and Mimosa bowed and quietly left my room.

I’ll be back to one hundred percent tomorrow, and back to wandering around the manor! And I’ll stay farther away from expensive decorations than I did before. I’ll have to be extra careful about that. If I break something expensive again, they might kick me out for real.

Gosh, though... These sheets feel so nice. The faint, fresh smell of detergent; their silky smooth slide over my skin. I really do feel like I’ve come home. Breathing in the scent is so relaxing, it’s making me sl— zzz.

“Viola... Viola...” A man’s voice pierced through the haze of sleep.

...That sounds like Mr. Fisalis. Am I still dreaming?

“Viola, wake up,” I heard the voice say, this time accompanied by a gentle shake of my shoulder. This feels incredibly real for a dream.

How odd. I thought I went to bed by myself. And Mr. Fisalis should be sleeping in his own room; there’s no reason for me to be hearing his voice.

My head was still foggy with sleep, but I managed to open my eyes just a sliver.

I let out a silent scream.

What I had opened my eyes to was Mr. Fisalis’ gorgeous smile much, much too close to my face.

Whoa, whoa, whaaat!?

My eyes were now wide open, pupils fully dilated in surprise; I scuttled away from him at what felt like the speed of light until my back hit the wall.

Ho—Holy cow. I think my heart stopped. No, that’s impossible... okay, maybe for a split second. But only because I stopped breathing. I know this has to be real life because my back hurts, but what in the name of all that is holy is going on!?

“M—M—Mr. Fisalis!?” I stuttered uncontrollably.

The moment I was certain that the incomprehensible sight of him before me was not a dream, my heart began to race, not stop. I can literally feel myself turning bright red.

“Oh, good, you’re finally up. Good morning,” he said with a refreshing smile from where he was sitting crossed-legged right next to me on the bed.

That’s right, out of all the places he could’ve sat on this huuuge bed, he chose right next to where I’d fallen asleep in the middle (I have good sleeping posture, okay?), trapping me between himself and the wall. Which also meant that he had opened the canopy around my bed.

“Go—Good morning...? Um, did I really oversleep that much?” I nervously asked, looking up at him. He had already changed out of his night clothes.

This is the first this has ever happened. It never mattered whether I overslept (which wasn’t often) or woke up too early; Mr. Fisalis never woke me up in person.

“No, the opposite, in fact. It’s much earlier than when you normally wake up,” replied with yet another grin.

Okaaay. My point wasn’t the time so much as why you’re in my bed.

“Oh, it’s earlier? Where are Dahlia and Mimosa?” I asked, looking for my two usual morning helpers. I spotted them standing against the wall, eyes downcast. It was obvious they were trying not to look my way, putting the skills they’d developed to ignore my wacky behavior to use.

It wouldn’t make a difference if they were looking anyway; this would still be extremely embarrassing.

In other words, I wished they would get Mr. Fisalis out of there. Very much so. I made sure to give the two of them a resentful glare.

“I’m here because I wanted your opinion on something. That’s why I woke up so early and came in,” he explained with a refreshing smile perfectly suited to the morning hours.

I see.

I had zero idea what he could possibly mean by ‘my opinion.’ Cue head tilt.

“Talk?”

“Yeah. I want to show it to you before breakfast, so get ready,” he said as he took my hand and pulled me up.

“Okay?” He wants my opinion and to show me something? What’s going on here? I let him tug me out of bed, still puzzled.

“Oh! You need to get dressed! If there’s anything I could do to help—”

What, like just sit there and watch? I can’t believe him! Spouting nonsense first thing in the morning! Un-be-liev-able.

“Dahliaaa, Mimosaaa. Hi, good morning. I’m awake. Could I, um, have you wait in the salon, Mr. Fisalis? It won’t take me very long to get ready.”

“...Sure.”

My brain had switched on as soon as Mr. Fisalis’ crazy talk started, and I was now fully operational.

What a lovely, invigorating morning! My sore back? What sore back? Pain is but an illusion!

Once Mr. Fisalis had been chased... er, I mean, asked to leave my room, I went and sat at the vanity where Mimosa was waiting.

“A shock like that, so early in the morning, can’t be good for your heart. A sparkling, handsome man being the first thing you lay eyes on? One minute I thought my heart had stopped, and then the next it was racing. That’s a no from me,” I complained as Mimosa combed my hair.

Now that Mr. Fisalis was gone, my heart had finally returned to its normal rate. It hurt beating that fast! I thought I was going to die.

“We were surprised, too, since it wasn’t time to wake you yet. We ran into Master standing in front of your door just as we were passing by. So we all came in together, and the two of us were told to wait. I never imagined he’d come to wake you himself,” Dahlia said from behind Mimosa, where she was getting my dress ready. I could see their strained smiles in the mirror.

“Only a coward attacks someone while they’re sleeping...”

“Now, now, Madam,” Dahlia said soothingly.

“Even so, what did he mean when he said he wanted my opinion? And then he said he wanted to show me something?”

“I’m wondering that myself. I haven’t a clue.” Dahlia shook her head.

“What about you, Mimosa?”

“I don’t know either.” I saw Mimosa shake her head in the mirror, as well.

Even though I didn’t know what Mr. Fisalis wanted to talk about, or what he wanted to show off, I finished my usual, simple morning routine, and hurried down to the salon.

“Here it is.”

What Mr. Fisalis had wanted to show me turned out to be a huge houseplant, which he was holding in his arms.

We were in the greenhouse. After I got dressed and met him in the salon, he brought me out there.

“This?” The plant was dense and round, with clusters of small pink flowers nestled between lush green leaves. It wasn’t particularly eye-catching—just a pretty little potted plant. It seemed like it was in full bloom, because the flowers emitted a pleasant, sweet scent.

I knew that I had cared for these flowers before, but had a hunch that they were in a plain pot back then. Now, they had been transplanted to a more stylish one.

“Yep. I was thinking of putting it in the entryway as a decoration, but I’d like your opinion first.”

“In the entryway?”

“Yeah, I thought this would give you more peace of mind than a pricey vase, or something.”

Ohhh... he means where that vase I broke used to be.

I felt a small twinge of guilt when I realized what he meant, but I much preferred this over him showing off his status and money by dragging me around town, buying pointless luxuries.

“Yes, that sounds like a great idea!” I wholeheartedly agreed, clasping my hands together and practically buzzing with energy.

“Oh, good, I was right. I hoped you’d say that. I had a fancier pot brought out from the storehouse for it. Do you like it? Shall we take it inside?” he smiled bashfully, suddenly realizing that he might not have been totally clear.

You actually reused something! That’s great! No one would guess this pot wasn’t brand new, what with its on-trend white paint and dainty bas relief flower design. This will give the entrance a more informal vibe.

“Thank you so much! I think it looks lovely!” I told him, and I meant it, smiling ear to ear.

...And I’ll be sure not to destroy this one!