Evening fell.
Though he’d left the house in good spirits that morning, Cercis came home with despair written all over his face. Something must have happened at work.
“I’m home...”
“Cercis?! What happened?”
Worried he was feeling under the weather, I rushed over to him and put a hand to his forehead. He didn’t seem to be running a fever.
“Are you feeling sick? Should I call a doctor?”
Now that I’m getting a better look at his face, hmm... He looks like death, sure, but I don’t think it’s from physical distress.
“No... I’m fine. Yeah. Absolutely fine. Anyway, why don’t we head inside?” he said, his gait unsteady as he led the way. He didn’t have an ounce of his usual pep. Worst of all, he hadn’t even given Violet her hug yet! Seriously, was he okay?!
I handed Violet off to Mimosa before I placed a hand against his back, falling into step beside him as I guided him toward the parlor.
But moments later...
“Wait, a business trip?”
“...Yeah.”
Seriously? That’s why you look like your whole world came crashing down around you?
The two of us had settled down on the sofa; after a few sips of the pick-me-up drink the maids had brought out for him, a bit of the color had returned to his cheeks. Just as a wave of relief washed over me, the first words to escape his lips had been: “Business trip.”
You’re all doom and gloom over one dumb work trip? His aversion to travel is still in full effect, I see.
“When do you leave?”
“The day after tomorrow. I’ll be gone for seven days or so.”
“Only seven days? Why, it’ll be over before you know it!”
“Hardly. As far as I’m concerned, that might as well be a year.”
“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that bad!”
For something that was only going to take a week, he was taking it pretty hard.
“I won’t be able to see you and Lettie for seven whole days! I can’t imagine anything worse,” he argued. He stood up, took Violet out of Mimosa’s hands, and held her tight against his chest.
Cercis, please. It’s not like you’re never going to see us...hm?
It was as I was watching him with an emotion halfway to exasperation that a sudden possibility occurred to me—a possibility that involved his position as the “brains” of the chivalric order.
Typically, his job was to keep the royal family safe as a member of the Royal Guard, but that was just a front. Behind the scenes, he was running the same intelligence operations he always had. Though high-risk missions were less frequent than they used to be, he was still bound to get sent on them from time to time.
Don’t tell me... Is this trip going to be a really dangerous one? Is that why he’s so miserable?!
“C-Cercis...”
“Huh? Say what? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Mr. Fisalis was startled to see the color drain from my face.
“Is...is this business trip—no, this mission—going to be a dangerous one?” I asked him, bracing myself for the worst case scenario.
And yet.
“Not particularly? Babysitting the prince is going to be a drag, but there won’t be much risk involved.”
EXCUSE ME?! Don’t you give me that blank, “where-did-this-come-from” look! I mentally tore into him.
“So you’re going away to serve as the prince’s bodyguard?”
“Yeah.”
“And you won’t be heading into any danger zones?”
“Of course not. Do you really think we’d put the prince in harm’s way?”
“Yeah, I figured! Then what had you so down in the dumps?”
“As if being away from you and Lettie wasn’t hard enough on its own, I’m stuck guarding that awful prince? Of course I’m torn up over it!”
Silence.
“Vi?”
“Quit whining and do your job.”
There was a smile on my face, but I could practically feel the blizzard raging behind me. I was starting to understand how Rohtas felt.
“I will, I will! It will be my pleasure, even!”
The moment he saw the look on my face, he got his act together. Good—he better have!
“Oh, that reminds me. The Bombshell Trio sent us another letter asking if they could come see Lettie. How many times does that make it now?”
“I can’t believe those girls... I won’t give them the answer they want to hear, so they go behind my back and ask you?”
“That’s what you get for always checking them at the door. If they want to meet her that badly, don’t you think it’s about time we let them? Lettie and I are going about our lives normally at this point.”
The doctor had said that Lettie shouldn’t see too many people right after she was born for fear of her catching ill, but that window of time had long since passed.
“Hmm...” Nevertheless, Mr. Fisalis gave a shake of his head.
“It’s not just the trio. Miss Verbena and Miss Iris want to see her too.”
“...Fine. But it’ll have to wait until I get home from my trip.”
“Why? There’s nothing to keep the latter two from coming over while you’re away.”
“That’s not the issue.”
“Then what is it?”
“It wouldn’t be fair for them to see her when I can’t!”
That’s your problem?!
“The mere thought of it makes my blood boil,” he went on.
Wow, petty much? And he’d said it with no small amount of chagrin, to boot. It was all I could do not to start laughing in disbelief over his ridiculous behavior.
I mean, that’s classic Mr. Fisalis for you.
He must have noticed me giving him the stink eye, because he decided to talk to Violet instead. “Daddy’s going to be gone for a while, Lettie. I’ll miss you lots, but be a good little girl for Mommy. I promise to bring you back something nice,” he told her, pressing his forehead to hers.
Violet bopped him on the cheek with a teeny hand. “Ptoo!”
“‘Do your best, Daddy,’ is that it? I hear you, Lettie!”
“Ga!”
Pat. Pat.
Mr. Fisalis looked pleased as punch with the dubbing job he’d done. Hey, I was glad to see him back to his usual optimistic self, at least.