25 — In the Kitchen

For the first time in quite a while, a shockwave tore through my peaceful life at the duke’s manor. Rumor had it that Mr. Fisalis had purchased a villa on the outskirts of the capital and was seeing a beautiful woman there. Miss Calendula’s sudden attacks were nothing compared to this!

What the tradesman said was nothing more than a rumor, yes, but the rage that it caused among the servants when they heard it was so intense that I could barely get a word in edgewise and could only watch in panic. After the tradesman left, the anger directed at Mr. Fisalis only exploded.

“To think he’d pull a stunt like this right after he finally broke up with his companion and started taking his role as duke seriously!”

“Didn’t he learn his lesson last time when the last mistress rained fire and brimstone on us!?”

“Does he enjoy disrespecting his lovely wife!?” The servants raged, the angry electricity in the air increasing as they went back and forth amongst themselves. If they got any angrier, I worried they’d sprout horns.

This is all just hearsay at the moment, too, so we don’t even know for sure if it’s true... It already seems like this is a foregone conclusion among the servants, though. Just how little faith do they have in Mr. Fisalis?

There was little I could do besides try to force myself to be optimistic. For the time being, I just watched how it played out.

“It’s still too early to be jumping to conclusions, you lot,” Rohtas interrupted the maids from where he had been watching in silence.

“How can you be so calm after hearing that!? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, after all!” one of the maids challenged him, even though he was behaving true to character.

“That does not mean that the interpretation we heard was factual. Please calm down. I will look into it, since, if it does turn out to be true, and measures will have to be taken. Until then, be mindful of what you say... Madam might be listening.”

“Oh...!”

As soon as Rohtas casually pointed out that I was listening, all sets of eyes were on me and the maids shut their mouths in embarrassment. Truthfully, though, it was unbearable to see them so concerned as I realized they were all staring intently at me.

“Oh! Don’t worry about me! I’m just fine!” It was just as unbearable trying to emphasize how much I wasn’t bothered, too. Let’s just leave that memory aside for the time.

I’m pretty sure if the info’s correct, we’d have to make some hard decisions, just like Rohtas said. And considering this is Mr. Fisalis we’re talking about, he’d probably show off a new girlfriend at parties and whatnot, not try to hide her away. I mean, let’s be real, he does have a prior history of doing exactly that.

He’s the type that can’t help but fall head-over-heels for someone, so it wouldn’t take long for him to start thinking with his libido instead of his brain. And depending on this new woman’s social status, she might simply be just a girlfriend... but if she’s a noblewoman, it’s possible he could try to bring her in as a new wife... wait, what!? That would mean I’m getting sacked! Grrr, I shouldn’t be acting like this doesn’t concern me!

Is he going to revise our contract again? Will he flat out annul our marriage? What the heck am I supposed to do?

“Madam?” Mimosa asked worriedly, looking at me as I let myself get lost in my thoughts. Contrary to ‘just fine,’ I realized that I had come to a fork in the road of my life, and my mind had run wild with that new information.

I snapped back to reality at the sound of Mimosa’s voice.

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something. I agree with Rohtas. I’ll have him investigate. We can work it out after that.”

Mimosa stared back blankly for a second before fixing a smile on her face and giving Rohtas a nod.

“I’ll start the investigation at once,” he said, politely averting his gaze and bowing.

“Thank you.” I nodded back.

Rohtas quickly turned and left the servants’ dining room. His pace was faster than normal, so although he appeared calm on the surface, perhaps he had something on his mind. The tension still lingered in the dining room even after he’d left.

The mood’s no longer angry and chaotic, but I can sense that the servants are still overly concerned about me... It’s really uncomfortable in here, so I’d probably better do something to lighten the mood.

But just as I opened my mouth to speak up, having prepared myself for the worst, the sound of light clapping from the door to the kitchen filled the dining room.

“There, there, ladies. If you keep frowning like zat, your faces will become stuck zat way. Can’t you see that you have troubled Madame? Let’s have a smile, then!” a bright voice called out.

All at once, all eyes turned to Cartham who had been standing silently next to Rohtas before Rohtas left. He had been leaning against the stove with his arms folded, quietly watching the scene in the dining room before he intervened to smooth things over. Of course, he was wearing his signature indulgent smile, too.

Thank the heavens, my savior has arrived! I think I can even see a halo shining around his face!

“Cartham!” I sent him a look hopefully full of my thanks to him for clearing the air.

“Rohtas said he’d look into it, so just let him take care of it. Everything will be fine, Madame!” He reassured me with an exaggerated bow, hand over his heart and a broad smile on his face. He didn’t hug me that time, so it seemed Mr. Fisalis’ physical contact ban was still in play, but Cartham’s bright energy and cheerful tone just drained all the tension out of the air.

As the mood in the room became more pleasant, the servants, too, calmed down.

“Yeah, alright.”

“I’m sure Cartham’s right.”

“We can raise hell after we find out if the rumor is true.”

They shrugged their shoulders and I saw the bloodthirsty looks in their eyes soften as they returned to normal. What that one girl said at the end was a little concerning, though. Oh well, apart from that, I’m glad I could count on Cartham to calm everyone down! The older, the wiser, I guess!

With everyone now more or less back to their normal selves, I felt like I could breathe again. Much better now that all that tension is—

“And then he shouted, ‘In fact, I think you’re better for me!’, right?” One maid said, imitating Mr. Fisalis through stifled giggles.

“Oh, yeaaah, back when his companion busted in, and he broke up with her,” another maid replied through snickers of her own, nodding.

What are you—Hold a second? Why are bringing that incident up again now? Triggered by the maids’ antics, my cheek began to quiver with a renewed sense of dread.

“Yup, and then he said he was leaving his companion for Madam.”

“‘Let’s sit down and talk again, so we can have a real marriage,’ I think he said.”

“Eeee! I had no idea he was so possessive!”

“Oh, you bet! He even picked her up so she wouldn’t run away.”

“Oh gosh! He must really be in love with Madam!”

At some point, fortunately, the maids’ depressing start to the conversation morphed into something more lighthearted. I, on the other hand, was rapidly getting fed up with this. Why am I thinking about this now, of all times?

The girls went on, completely immersed in their recollections of that fateful day. It was a little... okay, no, it was pretty embarrassing.

“I don’t think I had ever seen him that talkative before,” one of them grinned.

“Oh, totally. I agree a hundred percent.” A few of the maids nodded back with self-satisfied looks.

Hold on. How is it that they have every single word he said memorized? And why do they look so excited about it? And, sure, things felt awkward just a moment ago, but is it getting warm in here, or is it just me? ...I didn’t think I was into humiliation.

“...I’m just gonna head back to my room...” I said, deciding to make a break for it when I started to feel a little light-headed from all the embarrassment. Just as I rubbed my eyes to try to clear my head, though:

“Are you alright, Madam!? Please, get some rest!” the maids all said at once, effectively cutting short their little reenactment (to be honest, it had started to enter the realm of pure fantasy). They rapidly entered work mode and began to try to dote on me—let me pull your chair out for you; here, I’ll hold open the door; give me your dishes to put away—while I could only look on in amazement as they quite literally carried me to my room. The big finale was a ‘if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask!’ complete with resplendent smiles.