5 — The Dessert Party

5 — The Dessert Party

Between the popular confectioner’s shop and all the pretty women (whom I was quite literally “between”), I was having the absolute time of my life. Perhaps it was the sadness, then, of knowing that I couldn’t possibly finish all of the cakes and goodies on the table that made me feel like biting a handkerchief. Of course if I did that everyone would think I was some weirdo, so I valiantly resisted the urge. But just know that I felt that torn.

For the time being, my mission was to finish everything on my plate, at least, for to not clean one’s plate was a mortal sin in my eyes! Er, but... since I wouldn’t be able to eat anything else anywhere if I devoured all those sweets, I choked back my tears and threw in the towel. My regret (although to be honest, it was closer to self-hatred) must have been palpable, because Mr. Fisalis slipped through the wall of women around me and said with a smile, “This all looks like it tastes amazing, but I really don’t think you can eat all that. You only have to eat what you think you’ll like, Vi. I’ll eat whatever you don’t. We can take home anything that’s left afterward and give it to the servants.”

Did my ears deceive me? Did Mr. Fisalis really just say that?

I did a double take, shocked beyond words at what had just come out of his mouth.

I only have to eat what I want?! And then he’ll eat whatever I leave?!

As overjoyed as I was to hear him tell me that, a more rational voice in my head said, “Hold up. Think about what he said just now.”

That’s right. This a complete about-face in attitude from him. Before today he totally would’ve said “just leave whatever you don’t finish for the waiter to throw out!” So what made him change his tune to “I’ll eat whatever you don’t” and “we’ll take the rest home to the servants”?

Between what he said in the flower shop earlier and what he said just now, what sort of mental revolution could possibly be taking place inside his head? And what was with that secret meeting he had with the servants yesterday?

In any case, none of this seemed like things he would normally say and, blinking, I realized what was happening as I stared at him.

“Vi?”

“Madam?” I snapped back to reality at the sound of my name and title, then saw both Mr. Fisalis and all the lady knights staring back at me in confusion.

“Oh, uh, yes! Sorry, I was just so happy that I kind of spaced out! Ah ha ha!”

“Oh, okay. That’s good to hear. Let’s dig in, then,” Mr. Fisalis said, placing a slice of perfectly cut cake in front of me. What a gentleman! Er, that’s not what I meant to think.

“Don’t be silly, Mr. Fisalis. I can’t just feed you my scraps! That was kind of you to offer, though!” I quickly resorted to my typical methods of brushing off his attempts at... whatever he was trying with laughter.

Seriously. I could see myself eating his leftovers, but I could never make him eat mine! He’s from a noble family and the commander of an elite division of knights, for Pete’s sake! Not to mention his subordinates are all watching! I couldn’t bring myself to let him eat my scraps in front of them! It pains me to do so, but I must humbly decline your offer.

“You sure? Okay, suit yourself,” he replied, grinning back at me. Hmm, that’s unusual of him to give in so easily.

I pulled myself together and reached for the cake he had passed over to me. With its cute pink icing, it looked more like a work of art than food. Judging by the color, I guessed the flavor was some sort of berry, but when I took a bite, I tasted rose jelly on the inside. A light, elegant taste filled my mouth along with pleasant sweetness.

Leave it to the most popular confectioner in the capital, I thought to myself as I trembled in saccharine ecstasy.

“Oh, that looks really good, what you’re having. Give me a piece,” Mr. Fisalis commented, suddenly popping into my view.

“AIEEE!” I involuntarily screeched when his handsome face appeared out of nowhere way, way, way too close to my own. I was sure the lady knights were still en garde around me, but at some point or another he must’ve snuck in and taken the seat next to me.

The ladies were grinning as they looked at us, and I saw that even his male subordinates sitting across from him were full of smiles, too. No, on second thought, those weren’t grins; they were smirks. I’m glad you’re all so entertained, but I’m not some zoo animal! You can drop those pitying looks you’re giving me any time!

“Vi?” Mr. Fisalis repeated, when I didn’t react.

“Oh, sorry. Here you go.” I was a little embarrassed to feel everyone’s eyes on me, but it wouldn’t have been right to ignore Mr. Fisalis, so I stabbed a piece of my cake with my fork and passed it over to him.

But...

Here I had presented the cake-laden fork to him expecting him to take the whole fork, but Mr. Fisalis went and ate it directly off the fork! Argh, I couldn’t take this man anywhere! Even the other knights and people in the cafe gasped! Does your audacity know no bounds? I wondered in wide-eyed astonishment. For his part, he looked back at me as he happily chewed his morsel, clearly pleased by the flavor.

“I was right, that was good. The rose oil really elevates it to something luxurious.”

“It really does!” I nodded, with a smile of my own. At least we could agree on that.

He really did seem to like the flavor, because then he asked, “Could I have another bite?”

“Sure!” I cut off another little wedge and offered my fork to him, and sure enough, he opened wide and ate that directly off the fork as well.

“Oh my, that’s good. One more.”

Okay, now you’re really pushing it.

Were you this annoying with Miss Calendula, I thought to myself, shooting him a glare, but he only seemed to be thinking about the cake. While I fed him forkful after forkful of my cake, it dawned on me that he actually was eating my leftovers now. And here I had only had a single bite!

Following my dumbstruck gaze to my empty plate, he said nonchalantly, “Did I eat it all? Oops,” before placing a different kind of cake in front of me, suggesting, “How about this one next?”

This kind of cake was the same shade of apple green as the outside of the store. Judging by the color, I surmised it might be pistachio flavored. The beauty of that perfectly presented slice of heaven melted my cold, bitter heart after Mr. Fisalis had eaten my last piece. I stashed away my fond memories of the rose cake in some corner of my mind and turned my focus to this new slice. Goodbye, rose! Hello, pistachio!

“Gosh, this one looks really good, too!”

“Try it.”

“I certainly will!” I picked up my fork at Mr. Fisalis’s gentle urging. This time, I’m eating the whole thing!

...Alas, although I was able to get one bite of it, the green cake, too, disappeared into Mr. Fisalis’ waiting mouth just like the rose cake had. I was starting to see a pattern emerge.

How many times did this happen, you wonder? Well, you know how I mentioned that the knights had gotten a slice of every kind of cake made in that shop? Yeah—I got a single bite of each. I was able to manage that many bites, since it wasn’t an overwhelming amount of food. It was like I had detached from reality while I was eating, and I never really noticed that I hadn’t gotten to eat most of what was supposed to be my cake, but when I finished, I felt it.

The stares.

The stares from all the knights. Upon Mr. Fisalis and me. And their grins. They’ve been watching us the whole time. And not in a normal way, either—in some carefully composed middle ground between indifference and optimism. The ladies’ eyes glimmered like jewels, and their gazes stung like needles as they stared at us with satisfied smiles.

“I knew it all along—they do like each other.”

“No doubt about it. This is textbook doting.”

“Oh, now she’s acting like she hates him. Oop, there she goes, look!” they whispered in precisely the right volume for Mr. Fisalis and me to understand them.

“Aaaaaaah!” they squealed. To top it all off, they could barely contain their enthusiasm.

I. can. Hear. You! Loud and clear! I was sort of put off by their child-like glee, so I just watched in silence.

Hm? Uhhh... eeeeeek!

I had no idea how I had gotten to that point, but I realized that I was feeding Mr. Fisalis straight out of my hand!

I let out a silent scream—reminiscent of The Scream, in fact. My heart was beating so fast when I realized this (or rather, was forced to realize it) that I thought it was going to burst. Mainly due to embarrassment, mind you! My cheeks felt like they were on fire.

How could I do this in front of other people?! Not that I’d be down for doing it in private, either—I am a fine, upstanding woman! (Wait, what now?!)

And it wasn’t just his eating out of my hand that was embarrassing. If I had been giving Mr. Fisalis pieces of cake that I wasn’t eating, then I essentially was feeding him my leftovers, right?! Just great! I did exactly what I said I wouldn’t!

—

It seemed like only a matter of minutes to me, but some time later when our dessert party was winding down, Corydalis asked, “Hey, Commander, we reserved the bar for an after party, ya know. Care to go for a round?”

I glanced outside at the languid, late-afternoon sunlight. The sun will be setting soon. My stomach was feeling pretty good, but more importantly, it was getting dark. That would mean larger, rowdier crowds, so just when I was thinking that maybe we ought to call it a day:

“Sorry, guys, I can’t. Let’s head home, Vi,” Mr. Fisalis replied, gently turning them down. And so Mr. Fisalis and I left the knights with their warm (if not downright self-satisfied) smiles and the little green shop behind us, leisurely walking back to the manor.

“So, did you have a good time today? I wasn’t expecting that surprise party at the end,” Mr. Fisalis asked once the shop and the knights were out of sight. He smiled, but not before he let out a disappointed sigh.

“I did! And we still get to bring something home for everyone!” I said, referring to the parcel he was carrying. Far from mere leftovers, the neatly wrapped box was filled with one of each dessert from the shop. The servants were sure to like them. Plus, I can enjoy them too once we get home! Pretend I didn’t think that.

There was no denying that I had been super embarrassed at the end, but what was one more thing to erase from my memory? I had a good time overall, though, so looking into his dark brown eyes, I gave him a smile of my own in return.

“I’m glad you did. Those guys really pulled one over on us, though.”

I blushed just thinking about it. Something that felt like my soul was trying to escape my body.

“...As long as you weren’t too bothered by it, it wasn’t a bad thing, right?” I asked him.

“Well... I still had fun, yes. Ugh, I just wanted to give you a chance to satisfy your sweet tooth before I had to leave for my campaign. But then they went and launched a surprise attack on us when we couldn’t escape!”

Um, you sound a little resentful there, Mr. Fisalis! Oh well, at least this time our “date” actually qualified as one! Even though it would’ve been nice if we hadn’t been interrupted.

“I still had fun, though! I’m really glad I got to stroll around the city with you!”

“Was I that impressive?”

“Heh heh, it doesn’t take a lot to impress me. You bought me some lovely flowers, we had delicious sandwiches and cakes, and I got to see so many new sides of you, too: delighted, amazed, restrained... dark.” Oh, is he blushing now? “Mr. Fisalis?”

“...Sorry. I was just... thinking. Ah, if nothing else, we tried our best!”

Now that was something worth celebrating!

“All that’s left now is for you to come home safe and sound.”

“You know I will!”

No, his determination was what made it worth it.