Flür National Day passed without the mid-ceremony delivery we’d been so worried about. The New Year’s festivities went off without a hitch, and life at the manor slowly but surely returned to normal. The servants began to take down the boughs of mistletoe, which were then recycled as kindling for the hearth.
“Our baby didn’t make it in time for a mistletoe blessing. Too bad.”
“Hm?”
“I was hoping to give our little one a kiss under the mistletoe if they were born before the end of the year. A New Year’s birthday and a blessing of good fortune? That’s a happy life guaranteed right there!”
“Oh, I see.”
While I was chatting with Mr. Fisalis and watching the mistletoe come down from the walls with a tinge of disappointment, my parents-in-law came over from the cottage.
“By the way, how long are you two planning to stay?” my husband asked his parents.
“Hm? Until the baby is born, of course.”
“What?”
“All our work back in the territory has been put on hold for the New Year holidays, so it’s not like we have anything better to be doing.”
“Sorry?” Mr. Fisalis and I unwittingly sounded off in unison.
As a general rule, my parents-in-law wouldn’t stick around Rohze too long after the event they’d traveled here for, so I had thought it strange they’d shown no signs of getting ready to leave. Now I understood why.
We didn’t know exactly when the baby would be born, but it was surely due any day now. If they went home to their territory, I gave birth the next day, and they were forced to double back...then yeah, that would be a pain. Though it wasn’t too great a distance, making the trip back and forth between Le Pied and Rohze was still exhausting, so I assumed this was an energy-conserving strategy on their part.
“You won’t have much to do here either.”
“Oh, you needn’t worry about that!” Father Fisalis assured his son. “Ever since word got out to our friends that we’d be staying here for a spell, we’ve been positively drowning in invitations to tea parties, soirées—you name it!”
“...I’m glad to hear you’re having fun, at least.”
Mr. Fisalis watched his parents chatter away with delight, a somewhat disapproving look on his face. Whenever they came to Rohze, those two certainly did know how to have a good time.
Since we hadn’t accounted for their extended stay, we had to let Rohtas and Cartham know before our food supply suffered a serious blow. The merchants always took off for the New Year’s holidays themselves, which meant we had to stock up on food and drink before the end of the year rolled around.
Just as I was thinking about how I would need to go looking for Rohtas later, the man himself entered the room. “Lord Fisalis, we’ve received word from your territory.”
So, about that food supply... Wait, something tells me this isn’t the time for that. What’s this now? Did something happen back in Le Pied?
“From our territory, you say?”
“Yes, sir. According to a messenger from Le Pied, a new discovery has been made down in the mines.”
“A discovery in the mines?!” Mother and Father Fisalis cried out in sync. They rushed to skim the letter Rohtas had handed to them.
“My goodness...”
“You said it. We’d better check this out straightaway.”
“Agreed.”
“But I want to witness the moment my grandchild is born! Cercis—could we ask you to go to Le Pied and look into this in our stead?”
“Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”
“Figures!”
Mr. Fisalis’s staunch refusal (which shouldn’t have come as a surprise!) put a sullen look on his father’s face.
“What did the letter say?”
“A digger happened upon a new cavern in the mines, and it seems there’s another type of gem buried down there.”
Mother Fisalis ran her eyes over the letter. Then she declared, “My, what wonderful news! Those mines are what put money in our family’s pockets. It’s your duty as the overseer to go see it for yourself, dear. Just think of the fortune you’ll be able to leave to your grandchild if we can boost our earnings even further!”
Though her tone was matter-of-fact, a glowing smile on her face, I found myself in awe of the ex-duchess. She sure knew how to make a fast decision.
“I suppose you’re right. I want to give my grandchild the world!”
And she knew how to pull her husband’s strings too!
Mother Fisalis’s decree was all it took to settle my in-laws’ return home. They left in a hurry, keeping their packing to a minimum on the assumption that they would be back soon enough.
That took care of the food dilemma for us.
Now all that was left was to wait for the baby to come!