20 — A Little Dissatisfied

20 — A Little Dissatisfied

“It’s good to see you again, Madam.”

“And you as well.”

“I’m terribly sorry about how my sister behaved last time.”

“Ah heh heh heh heh...”

“I never thought that Cercis would be this devoted to you, honestly.”

COUGHCOUGHCOUGH

I followed behind Consul Argenteia as he led me through the crowd toward where my mother-in-law was after he’d kindly freed me from the smooth-talking knight. Make no mistake—I was glad he had come to my rescue, but I could have done without his casual reminder of Mr. Fisalis’ obnoxious bragging episode at the Argenteias’ soiree. He didn’t need to look so wistful about it, either.

“Er... which way did my mother-in-law go again?” I asked him, deciding to change the subject as I was unable to bear rehashing more of my dark past. I looked this way and that for her as I trotted along behind the consul, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“She’s at a table reserved for nobles. When she saw you surrounded by those jerks, she sent me to help you.”

“And that you did! Thank you very much! Those men said they were knights, but their uniforms were a different color than Mr. Fisalis’ ...Is there some sort of meaning to the colors? You’ll have to forgive me, I’m quite ignorant when it comes to military matters,” I inquired, thinking back to what they had said as we headed over to the nobles’ seats.

“So the special division that Cercis is in wears mostly navy, the frontline troops wear deep green, and the Royal Guard is in burgundy,” he explained with a kind smile, without making fun of me for not knowing despite being married to a commander.

“Oh, I see. But isn’t the Special Ops Division a part of the frontline troops? They’re already on-site as an advance party, I mean,” I inquired further, a little worried that it was a silly question.

“Ah, you’re asking if they see actual combat? The special division goes in first to set things up, and then the frontline troops go to war following their instructions. You can think of the special ops as the brain—the ones giving directions—so that’s why they’re the first ones out there, but they don’t actually fight. Hence the different-colored uniforms.”

I get it now. So navy means you’re the brains and deep green means you’re the brawn. The Royal Guard are primarily in charge of guarding the palace and the royal family, so they wouldn’t go to the frontlines.

The consul’s explanation was much appreciated. Mr. Fisalis never told me about all those things, so this was very insightful.

“So that’s how it works. Thank you for explaining.”

“Not at all. Oh man, their faces when they found out who you were! They looked like frightened rabbits! I think they’ll find themselves of use down there,” Consul Argenteia said, his bright smile morphing into a smirk.

“Huh? You do?” What could he mean by that? How weird that his smile turned dark all of a sudden, too.

As we were talking, we made it to the nobles’ seating area where my mother-in-law was waiting for me. Yes, there were seats reserved just for nobles... They were at the highest point of the garden, overlooking the rest of the venue.

That explains it. Lady Fisalis must’ve seen those knights swarming me from up here. This must be where the term ‘high status’ comes from... No, wait. There’s nowhere to hide up here. This is exactly the opposite of what I was looking for! She called for me specifically to get me to sit up here, didn’t she?!

His Majesty the king was sitting smack dab in the middle, the queen at his side, and opposite them were the princes and princesses. The nobles’ seating started to the sides of the royal family, with the Fisalis family occupying the seats closest to them, since they were the highest ranking in the whole kingdom. I felt a little lightheaded when I spotted Lady Fisalis sitting right next to the queen. Seeing her that close to royalty—both physically and in terms of how intimate they are too, really leaves no room for doubt about how elite the Fisalises are.

“Ahh, Vi! Over here!” Lady Fisalis motioned for me to come over, her radiant smile shining all the while, when she saw me. I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t redirect everyone’s attention to me like that, but okay. Like, the queen. Who is sitting right there. I guess I’m obligated to come over now. I should have known you’d find me eventually.

I was reluctant to join them, but in order to keep that from being glaringly obvious, I came out from behind the consul and said, “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Good day to you, Your Highness,” putting Dahlia’s etiquette training to good use.

“How do you do? You look lovely today, Duchess. I do believe you are becoming more beautiful every time I have the pleasure of seeing you,” replied the queen. Her feminine smile was very becoming of her glamorous image.

“Isn’t she just?” agreed my mother-in-law beside her. “She makes us all so proud!” she said with a look of satisfaction. I don’t think you were supposed to take the queen at her word, Mother Fisalis.

“You hate to see them grow up so fast, but were our own son a little older, maybe he could have a bride of his own!” the queen lamented as the prince cutely bit the corner of her handkerchief. Your Highness, your son is five. It’s obvious you’re just flattering us. I’ll be a tacky middle-aged housewife by the time your son is grown up.

...What am I getting worked up for? These are just pleasantries. Aristocrats are accomplished flatterers! I decided to observe the charade, of sorts, unfolding between my mother-in-law and the queen.

“That is unfortunate, tee hee hee. Viola is ours, though, and we’re not sharing! Oh, Vi, that’s right, I’m sorry for leaving you alone back there! You cannot be too careful around pests. Cercis will be furious when he finds out,” she said with a shrug, unamused.

“There’s no need for that, I’m perfectly fine. This garden is just so big, I got lost, is all. Thankfully the consul was able to help me out.”

“So you found Celosia to be of use, then?” she replied with a knowing chuckle. Oh, that’s right! His name is Celosia! I won’t forget now!

“Yes. He even showed me here. He was a big help!”

“Glad to hear it! Oh, that reminds me. Your parents are sitting over there.” My mother-in-law pointed to the seats for the lowest ranking aristocrats, right at the very edge of the tables: my much-desired wallflower’s paradise! Figures my parents would be seated in the best spot at this whole party, I thought as I looked their way, enviously. My parents just waved for me to come over. I was going to come over either way!

“Oh, yes, there they are. I’ll go say hello to them; it’ll just be a moment, Mother Fisalis. Please excuse me, Your Highness.” I actually don’t plan on coming back here, but I’m sure you sensed that already. I didn’t say that part out loud, of course.

I didn’t particularly get the impression that Lady Fisalis and the queen would mind if I stayed with my family, anyway, given that they were already good friends and back in conversation with each other. It would be a relief to not feel like the ugly duckling anymore next to those two high class women. I hightailed it to the table my parents were at.

I never would have imagined that my parents would be in reserved seating for nobles, even if they were the ones for the lowest ranking. ...Hmm, Father’s clothes look nicer than I remember. Did Mother own that dress before? Did I overlook them earlier because they were wearing nicer clothes than I expected?

“Father, Mother, what are you doing here? I never would have thought to look for you in a place like this!” I’d just found them, and here I was already complaining.

“Someone led us here. We were just as surprised! Isn’t that right, dear?” said Mother. She looked more dignified than when I had last seen her, and was wearing a dress in a suitably dignified shade of dark burgundy.

“We were indeed! I guess we’re getting special treatment because you’re the bride of the Fisalis family head,” agreed Father, looking somewhat uneasy. Seeing him looking very classy there in a gray-blue suit coat made me wish he’d dress up more often.

“That must be it, otherwise impoverished nobles like us would never be invited to sit here.”

“Yep,” both of my parents agreed with me.

I was finally able to relax once I sat down with my parents. Even those seats had a good view of the grounds, too. They really were the best seats in the house, er, garden.

“Hmmm. You’d never guess there was a war going on, looking at this view,” I mumbled in a voice so soft that only my parents could hear as I looked out over the festivities. All I could see were people laughing and dancing, eating delicious food. The whole garden was an image of tranquility, drenched in warmth as the sunlight poured over it, accented by chirps and tweets from the little birds looking for crumbs.

...Mr. Fisalis and everyone in the special division is on the frontlines right now, though. Remembering that makes me... a little depressed, somehow.

“No, you never would. But then again, this rally is all to send a bunch of knights putting on their bravest faces off to fight, isn’t it?” Father said, trying to calm me when he sensed my gloom.

“Mr. Fisalis and his unit didn’t get a rally like this. They only had a secret ceremony, and then they had to leave in secret, too. It’s the same war, so I don’t see why they had to be treated differently,” I grumbled. It wouldn’t have to be anything fancy—just so that they weren’t shuffled away in the dark! They’ve all been down there giving it their all for over a month. That’s a month more than all the people here! ...Heh, I’m probably being unreasonable. Arrogant, even.

“There, there, Viola. Simmer down. A rally even grander than this awaits them when they come home. There’s no reason to be upset, see?” Father said with a concerned smile.

Huh? Another rally? That was the first time anyone had mentioned that to me, so I was a little perturbed that I hadn’t heard about that until then.

“...An even grander one?”

“Of course. The frontline troops owe everything to the advance parties’ efforts, after all. They’ve always had events for the advance parties afterward.”

“You mean like prior to this war?” Now that I think of it, I remember hearing somewhere that there’s a ‘repatriation ceremony’ for when soldiers and knights come home from war and that the aristocracy is obligated to attend it. Which would mean that Father has been to one before, even though we’re basically nobodies. That must be how he knows.

“Exactly. Did you not know about that, Vi?”

I didn’t say anything because of course I hadn’t known, so I just stared at my shoes.

I mean, all the other times he left were just like business trips, so I didn’t know there’d be some sort of ceremony like this. What was I supposed to do? Heck, I only learned about deployment ceremonies this morning! Even Mr. Fisalis never said a peep about these things. And there was even a war right before we got married, I angrily explained to absolutely no one but myself.

“...so you didn’t know, then?”

Stop staring at me, Father!

The rally came to an uneventful end while I whiled away my time with my parents, and the next day, the frontline troops marched out of the capital to much fanfare.

The lady knights continued to deliver messages even after the deployment ceremony. Up until the frontline troops marched off to the front, I had been receiving letters from Mr. Fisalis at a laidback rate of one every three or four days, with each letter about three full pages long. After the troops left, however, the system changed; I began to receive not letters but oral reports every other day. No matter which knight relayed the information to me, she always said she felt like she was racing back and forth between the capital and the front lines. They were certainly very busy and working very hard.

Mr. Fisalis himself seemed to be completely unchanged.

“The commander was grazed by an arrow on the front lines the other day!” Alkanna, the lady knight with the bronze hair, reported to me that day over tea.

So it sounds like there was a brief brush with the enemy, then... but I thought that since Mr. Fisalis was part of the ‘brain,’ he wouldn’t be involved in actual combat?

“Er, may I ask you something? I thought Mr. Fisalis was stationed in the war room, since he’s part of intel. He’s not actually going to fight, is he?” I asked her timidly.

“Uh, well, he’s stationed there for now.” Alkanna’s smile turned strained as soon as the question left my mouth.

“What do you mean... ‘for now’?” I asked with a tilt of my head, hoping she would clarify.

“Er, yes. So, Commander had been saying that he wanted us all to finish our work quickly so we could come home early... but then he rushed off to the front lines.”

“Uh oh...”

Mr. Fisalis had foolheartedly decided to go on a one-man mission away from the war room. And then Corydalis and the others had followed. ...Actually, that’s not hard to imagine.

“And it was that battle where his chest was grazed by an arrow...” Alkanna said, cutting her sentence short with a meaningful drop to her voice.

...What? What did you say? An arrow grazed his chest?!

“Um, but he’s fine, right? He’s not hurt, is he?!” I couldn’t possibly imagine someone as confident as Mr. Fisalis getting hurt, but Alkanna paused at a weird place, and it’s just making me really worried! An injury on your chest would be very serious, right? Oh no, what if it knocked him off his horse?!

Now extra nervous, I pressed Alkanna for even more details.

“Erm, it seems that he had been carrying a letter from you in his breast pocket, and that’s what the arrow grazed. So his uniform was ripped, but the commander himself wasn’t so much as scratched. He was livid that your letter was torn, and that anger is driving him now.”

Oh. My. God. How could you put my letter in your breast pocket of all places, Mr. Fisalis! And to go out there without a single piece of armor, wearing just your uniform coat! It doesn’t sound like you take WAR very seriously! Aren’t you supposed to be smart?!

I let out a sigh of relief and let my shoulders unclench when I learned he was alright, but I was pretty perturbed to hear what he’d been up to and embarrassed to hear he’d carried a letter of mine with him.

Just... Focus on the fact that he’s not hurt. That’s the most important thing... right?