23 — A Well-Matched Pair!?

After my in-laws had breakfast with us—Mr. Fisalis oddly subdued, and me no different than normal—they left with big smiles on their faces, telling us, “We’ll see you next time! We’ll let you know we’re coming a little earlier, too!”

Yes, please, please do. We absolutely would like to know beforehand when you are coming. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, just drop in on us!

What was it they even came here to do?

There was no way I could have known, given that I wasn’t privy to the details of Mr. Fisalis’ work or the family territory. He and Rohtas just told me that I ‘didn’t need to worry about it.’ I assume whatever Mr. Fisalis and Lord Fisalis were talking about was important since Rohtas was with them, too, but all things considered, they didn’t stay for very long.

“Was I wrong thinking they would be staying for longer?” I asked Mr. Fisalis as he stood next to me.

“They’re actually rather busy, despite appearances. They’ll probably be back again before too long, though. Look how much they liked the cottage,” he answered with a smile that seemed to be hiding some other feeling.

It won’t be as much of an issue if they stay in the cottage, but just in case, the first thing we’re doing next time is moving that cot into my room!

“I told Mother the cottage was supposed to be for you, but then she... urgh...” Mr. Fisalis mumbled, which I completely ignored.

After that, the days went by as peaceful (?) as ever.

Rozhe, the Royal Capital of the Flür Kingdom.

Weather: Rainy.

Rain.

Which meant the usual rainy day lessons.

My excitement for the day ahead of me plummeted as soon as I woke up that morning and heard the rain pouring outside. The clouds overhead certainly didn’t help my mood, either.

Mimosa, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected.

“Good morning! It’s raining today, Madam! Let’s get you dressed! What color will it be today? I think something bright—it’ll help lift your mood.” Despite the rain, she came to wake me humming a tune and full of lively chatter.

“Urgh, I have a headache. And my stomach hurts, too,” I whined, praying my fibbing would pay off as I covered my head with the duvet.

“Don’t be silly! You look fine to me!” she said back, paying me no attention. She then mercilessly yanked the duvet off of me before disappearing into the dressing room. It wasn’t Mimosa’s fault that she loved dressing me in regular clothes more than she did my maid’s uniform, and poking and prodding... I mean, rubbing and scrubbing me down after my dance lesson (according to Dahlia). She was obviously on cloud nine that morning, so I didn’t make a peep.

What lay ahead was another grueling dance lesson with Demonic Instructor Rohtas. He praised me for the progress I’d made, but he still held lessons to help me improve even further. How much did he want from me? I certainly wasn’t aiming anywhere as high as him, but he was so, so different when he was in dance instructor mode, that I never brought it up out of sheer terror. I suppose I was quite the chicken.

“Master has the day off of work and is at home today. He says he’ll be watching your dance lesson, Madam,” Dahlia informed me just after I had sluggishly crawled out of bed, missing my last opportunity to give up.

“Oh, he did mention that last night at dinner. Even though he’s never asked about my lessons before.”

“You can use this as a chance to show him what you’ve learned,” Dahlia suggested. Is this why Rohtas has been such a slave-driver!? Was this the goal all along!? I felt... differently, to say the least.

“Of course. I’ll do my best.” No, it’s not quite ‘reaching for the stars,’ but I’m out of options. Honestly, I barely resisted the urge to just say nothing at all.

I changed into the dress Mimosa had picked out for me—a coral pink—and headed to the main dining room where I found Mr. Fisalis already seated and waiting. Naturally, since he didn’t have to go to work, he was wearing casual clothes instead of his uniform. When I glanced over it, I saw that it was something that he bought on our date in town.

I might’ve chosen it on a whim (sorry, not sorry), but it looks fantastic and he looks really good in that outfit. I meant to choose the most mainstream style, but it really comes off as anything but boring. Dang it, now I’m jealous.

It didn’t matter now, though. Mr. Fisalis smiled at me as I came into the dining room, his teeth bright white.

“Good morning. Figures it would rain on my day off. Had it been nice out, I thought it might be fun to go out on the town, again,” he said, his grin so refreshing that it seemed to generate sunshine of its own... but I digress.

I couldn’t help but think that going on another date so soon would be a waste of money, so I was actually kind of glad it was raining, at that moment.

“Good morning to you as well. You must be dreadfully bored then, with all this rain.” My schedule’s still full, though, I complained to myself reactively. Compared to my inner doom and gloom, however, Mr. Fisalis looked as happy as a clam.

“Not at all. You’ve got your dance lesson today, so I’ve got that to look forward to,” he said with a smile.

“...I hope I can meet your expectations.” Great, now my brain feels rainy and gray, too.

“On a one-two-three, one-two-three rhythm now”

I stepped in time with the crisp clap of Rohtas’ hands. This was just step practice, so I was dancing alone. I was running out of breath keeping up with the rhythm, too, but since it was supposed to be an elegant ballroom dance, I had to hide it with a smile!

We were in the dance studio. I really couldn’t believe the Fisalis family was wealthy enough to have a place like it in their house, but it was our usual spot for practice and when necessary could also be used for orchestral performances and to host parties. It’s really quite impressive, not a waste of space at all, perfectly normal, I tried to convince myself.

What I really want to do is stop to catch my breath right about now, but Demon Instructor Rohtas would surely object to that, not mention that Mr. Fisalis is in the audience today, so no way that can happen. I shall prevail!

I repeated the same steps as before until I felt like I’d go mad. My lessons had been going this way for some time, Rohtas’ instructions growing more complex and difficult with each lesson. I was already at quite an advanced level.

But I haven’t mastered anything yet! I told myself. I didn’t say anything out loud though, focused as I was on my practice. My back was as straight as a rod and I had my mask of a smile firmly fixed in place when:

“Let me be her partner.”

Mr. Fisalis broke his silence with the above remark, suddenly rising from his seat

What? You want me to dance with you!?

“Certainly. It’s been a while since your last lesson; I think some partner practice will do you good,” Rohtas agreed with a smile.

Mr. Fisalis took my hand in the center of the floor and awaited instruction. He looked so handsome standing at attention that I felt my heart race a little. I had only ever seen him dance twice, at the soiree at the Royal Palace and at the party at the Argenteia manor, but he was just as good at it as I remembered. I couldn’t let on that I was embarrassed.

I’m so tired I could collapse, but I’ve got to give this my all!

We started to dance in time with the music Dahlia played on the piano. The tune was in an easy-to-dance-to major key and although it started slow enough, the tempo picked up in the middle.

“You’re making quite a few mistakes, Master.”

“Sigh...”

Rohtas is telling Mr. Fisalis that he’s not doing very well, but I don’t see it at all. He’s moving so elegantly and gracefully. He’s very good, even as a lead, and nice to dance with, too.

Tragically, that impression didn’t last long.

Perhaps twenty minutes later:

“Madam, your back!”

“Yes!”

“Master, watch your footwork!”

“Got it!”

“Smile, Madam!”

“Hmmph!”

Demon Instructor Rohtas relentlessly hurled command after command at the two of us. Mr. Fisalis seemed to be doing perfectly, as far as I could tell, but according to our diabolical dance coach, he ‘had gotten rusty.’ Rohtas’ ruthless critique just didn’t let up.

How much longer will we be here? How long can Dahlia keep playing, or Rohtas clap and criticize? He sure seems a lot more strict than usual today.

I was dancing with Mr. Fisalis, my feet moving frantically although my head was in a daze, when I heard a maid come into the room and call out, “Lunch is ready.” Finally, my dance lesson was over. Thank you, anonymous maid, you’re my savior!

“You need more practice, Master. On the other hand, Madam... you have made very good progress. I’ll be going now, but please come back here after lunch,” Rohtas said, praising me and absolutely annihilating Mr. Fisalis with a smile before ending the lesson and leaving the studio.

The breakneck atmosphere seemed to melt away into something much more mellow and exhausted.

“He was pretty tough today...”

“Yeah...” Mr. Fisalis replied as we both collapsed, dripping with sweat, on a sofa. We sat back-to-back and exchanged petty grievances.

“Even you weren’t immune to being torn apart, huh? There’s more than meets the eye in dance.”

“Yeah, Rohtas doesn’t hold back,” he said over his shoulder, scoffing.

“He really becomes quite the demon when it’s time for dance lessons. He’s the one who has taught you from the start, right, Mr. Fisalis?”

“Yes, he has. And he’s been torturing me for as long as I can remember.”

“Heh. That does seem to be one of his areas of expertise, torture.”

“Ha ha ha. You think so?”

“Oh, for sure.”

“It wouldn’t be so embarrassing if I was able to keep up.”

“That’s true. You’ve got to develop muscle memory.”

“It’s really amazing that you can keep up with him. Good job,” he praised.

“Do you really think that?”

“Yeah.”

I don’t think I could hide how happy that made me.

“It felt like I was the one getting the lesson today,” he mused.

“I concur.”

“I can’t say I minded, though, since I got to be with you. It was fun, even if it was also kind of a nightmare.”

“Oh, really?” As soon as I replied, his weight against my back vanished. I toppled backwards at the sudden loss of stability. As I struggled to keep myself upright, I suddenly felt someone catch my shoulders. When I looked up in surprise, I saw that Mr. Fisalis had twisted around and was supporting me.

It’s amazing what a nice bone structure can do—even soaked in sweat, he still looks fresh and bright. And here I keep making a fool of myself blushing like this...wait, what? Why won’t my heart stop racing? Oh, right...it’s probably just all that exercise.

And then, with the sweetest smile on my face as he stared deep into my eyes, he said, “I hope you’ll practice with me again some time.”

“S-Sure... If you want...” I could only stutter in reply.

It looked like I had found someone to share the burden of Rohtas’ wrath during dance lessons with. That was the first time we had ever really clicked.