The Duke’s house is now a two-families residency. However, my husband is on a expedition and my parents-in-law are going to live in a separate building, the annex.

As soon as they arrived, Mother-in-law said.

“Don’t mind us, Vee-chan, you can continue to be your normal self!”

She said with a sparkling smile, but…

“… No I suppose it’s impossible…”

Whisper

“…… Well, certainly ……*

Whisper

Mimosa replied me in another whisper, so the former duchess doesn’t hear.

“Oh my God, what’s wrong?”

Mother-in-law, who did not hear anything but noticed something was happening, tilted her head and looked at me.

“Uh! I don’t know~~ Ufufu~”

I fooled her… I think.

‘If you excuse me, I’ll change my clothes before father-in-law came here to join us.”

In my private room.

Oh, my beloved simple dress, which I’ve grown so accustomed to, I have to say goodbye… Tearfully, I look at it in the wardrobe.

Dahlia laughing at me, says

“What an exaggerated sense of tragedy! For tomorrow, you’ll use these dresses, what do you say? “

“Yes, if you only use the usual three ones you love, people will believe that you don’t have any other clothes, so let’s wear seven dresses per day! I wish I could prepare more, but I’ll have to put up with this. Fu fu fu.”

From the dressing room, Mimosa is happily checking and coordinating the dresses for tomorrow events, in addition to my usual dresses for using inside the house. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the last part, though.

“Yes, that’s fine! Well, since your parents-in-law are living in the annex, you can use you beloved simple dress most of the time.”

“That’s true. Yes, but they’ll still come each day to join me for the meals.”

Dahlia’s eyebrows lowered, caringly, but she didn’t stop reviewing the dresses to see which one I’ll use next.

“Ugh, I know it… I can’t eat in the servants’ dining room like always, right? And about the dress, it isn’t that simple, there is no way to know when they will come to visit the main building, right?”

…And sometimes they don’t come, and I eat alone… oh no!

I can easily imagine how it will be in the future. Too lonely, alone eating in that big empty table, just thinking about it makes me cry.

Even eating with my husband is better, yes it felt awkward at first, but later it wasn’t that bad, I got used to it, and lately he started talking about funny interesting thing, so I ended enjoying having dinner with him.

… When I remember those moments my sadness comes back.

“It will be just for a short while, My Lady!”

Mimosa looks at me encouragingly, fists clenched and eyes saying ‘Hold on!’.

“Very soon, everything will return to its usual self.”

Dahlia also comforts and smiles at me.

“That’s right! What was I complaining about?”

With their encouragement, I am finally ready for the fight!

That’s right, they told me to keep doing what I usually do, so I’ll take their word for it!

As usual, I dressed up in a neat dress in the morning and had Mimosa give me a natural-good-wife makeover before heading to the main dining room.

These last days before the expedition, my husband joined me for breakfast, but the procedure was the same.

But this is where it gets unusual…

When I entered the main dining room with Dahlia, Lotus was there, but the Master of the house was not.

There is only a large dining table in the middle of a larger room. 

When I look at it this way, I feel a sense of loss, perhaps I became to accustomed to see a man so shiny that makes this space look too small.

“Good morning, My lady”

“Good morning, Lotus. Mmm, are you alone today?”

Lotus offered me a chair and I sat down there.

“It can’t be helped, please hold on for now. I hope this simple meal, like the ones you like, is at least a consolation to you.”

“Yes, I appreciate it! But if it’s a bribe, I would change it for being able to eat with everybody like always!”

Forks and knives in hand, I sighed loudly.

For a while, the only sound in the dining room was the slight clinking of dishes and cutlery.

What is this! Oh yeah, Déjà vu.

As I recall, the first day after I got married and came to the mansion was like this.

At that time, I won their okay by crying ‘Don’t let me alone!!’, which is not proper of a duchess, right? But… If I do that again, will it work this time too?

You’ll never know unless you try… I looked down, tearfully eyes like a kitten and ready… Go! 

Turning my gaze to Lotus, I tried my best but…

“My Lady, this time it won’t be possible.”

Give up, uhm? I sighed.

“So did you see through me, uhm?”

As expected of Lotus, we ate from the same pot for more than six months, so he knows what I was aiming to even without me opening my mouth.

The first times, they didn’t understand me until I expressed it verbally. Above that, they were pitying me for my husband’s behavior, I guess that’s why my request was easily granted.

After successfully destroying my brilliant strategy, Lotus smiled with his usual gentle smile and said.

“Obviously. Now, please eat up. Bellis told me that the flower seeds that your husband bought on his way home the other day have arrived.”

Oh, a sweet reward in front of me!

He is telling me that if I endure it for a bit longer, my reward will be there, gardening time!!

“Wow! You got those flowers? Let’s eat quickly and go to see the Demon Ki– I mean, Bellis immediately! Dahlia, Mimosa!”

The mood improved greatly, so I ate fast ready to go to plan the flower’s seeds that arrived.

This seems to be a game of punishment and reward, doesn’t it?

After a too large breakfast for one person, I went to the greenhouse.

There, Bellis was already waiting for me, ready to plant the seeds that had just arrived, there are some seedlings too.

In the store, they used to forced to grow fast, so the flowers can be cut and sold as little bouquets, but now I see these plants are so beautiful, they look better planted and loved in a garden than just grow to be cut, and die in a short period of time.

I picked up a pot, it looks like a plant with small peach-colored flowers and small leaves.

“Yes, it blooms many times a year, so it’s a year-round delight to the eye.”

Bellis explained.

“Heh! That’s right! So he was right in buying the seedlings instead of the bouquet then?”

“Yes”

Maybe you didn’t know that, husband, but you made a good wise choice!

“By the time he comes back home, will it be in bloom again?”

The ones that have flowers already probably won’t make it in time, perhaps in two months or so.

But the idea of showing him the plants he bought in full bloom is wonderful, like repaying the debt, but I don’t know if it’s necessary since he bought them for me.

“Yes, I’m sure they will be in bloom by then!”

Mimosa answered very happily.

Anyway, I thanked my husband again for buying me the flowers, he knows he has my gratitude, that counts too.

“Where shall we plant it? It’s not easy to find a place to plant these kids because the gardens are already organized by season. The flower beds are also packed. Even in the corner of the garden, if we plant it in a random place, the fury of the Demon King Bellis will be unleashed upon us! “

“Yes, but if these so beautiful flowers are planted where no one can see them, it’ll be a waste! Mmmm”

Mimosa is too thinking hard about it, without noticing we started to grunt in the middle of our meditation.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if you could plant it in the duchess’s personal flower bed?”

Bellis, who was secretly sighing in signal of giving up, suggested that.

“Oh yes, I had forgotten all about it! The only place in this garden that allows me to have whatever plant I want! Yes, there’s a space for me!”

“Yes! There is still plenty of room to plant more flowers there, and these flowers will be visible from everywhere!”

My private space was completely turned into a nameless flower paradise as I planted random things I liked. 

It’s just like my parents’ garden back at home. 

But it’s surprisingly soothing to me, isn’t it? Long live to the simple gardening style!

Once that was decided, the procedure was quickly completed.

Bellis was holding a tray of flower seedlings as we went to the “Vee’s Own Garden”.

It’s located in a corner of the garden, but isn’t a dark and damp place.

Surrounded by low bushes, there are no large trees to block the sun, so the sunshine and ventilation are great here.

There is a watering system in a flowerbed nearby, so watering this one is easy.

“Is this place around here okay?”

When I found a good place, I planted the seedlings there.

There were three kinds of flower seedlings, fifteen in total. 

Some have peach-colored flowers, some have red flowers, and some have several small white flowers.

After organizing them correctly, it looked like a giant bouquet of flowers.

“It’s quite an interesting mix of colors. I think … is a good place to start.”

Whaaat?! I got a compliment from Bellis!　

At first glance, he looks expressionless, but if you look closely, you can see a slight smirk. 

This is proof that he is in a good mood!　

It’s a very subtle change in expression, so it’s usually easy to miss it.

“Wow~~ I got a compliment! Demon King Bellis complimented me!”

“… Since when did you start putting me strange nicknames?”

It was a rare occasion, or rather the first time, that I was so perversely emotional, and Bellis was staring at me as if dumbfounded. I don’t care about that! Beside me, Mimosa is laughing at the exchange between me and Bellis, while holding a parasol over me.

“Well, let’s plant the rest then!”

I grabbed a shovel and dug in the soft soil.

“Oh, the earthworms are coming out, like saying hello!”

“… Madam, it’s dangerous! Mimosa behind you is going to drop the parasol over your head. Don’t do it, Mimosa! Hold on!”

“My Lady, your face is dirty!”

“Huh?　Oh, here?”

“Oh my God!　Now it’s worst, there is soil all over your face and even hair! Oh! I’ll do it, ma’am, don’t touch it and stay put!”

While we were having such a conversation, the three of us were happily planting the seedlings.

“Viola?”

“Vee-chan?

From behind the bushes, my parents-in-law suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Father-in-law, Mother-in-law!”

“What are you doing here?”

Speaking of which, this is a corner of the garden… Oh, that’s right, it’s near the annex.

Ahhh. I was found fiddling in the dirt…

Translated by Djurasico (dot) home (dot) blog