When it came to giving a gift, timing was everything.
No matter how luxurious the present, hand it over at a garbage dump or a public restroom and you'd get hit with a "Why here?" retort.
Therefore, when giving a gift, one had to set the scene appropriately.
(That said… I'm really terrible at this sort of thing.)
His experience was sorely lacking.
Rest had almost no experience giving gifts to women.
Since being taken in by House Rosemary, he had given birthday presents to Viola and Primula on their respective birthdays.
But… back then he'd had no money to speak of, so he'd only given small, simple trinkets.
(Still… this is obviously not something I can brush off that casually. It's not the kind of thing you can just hand over with a wave.)
Rainbow crystal was an extremely rare ore, and the ring he'd had processed through Andrew's arrangement cost more than ten years' income for a commoner.
On top of that… structurally, this would count as an engagement ring.
There was no hard rule about "the ring finger of the left hand," but the concept of an engagement ring existed in this world as well. He'd even had one of the maids at House Rosemary measure the size.
The problem was… finding a place and situation befitting the delivery of an engagement ring.
(Cheesy, I know, but… maybe over dinner at a restaurant…?)
That was what Rest was thinking, but… that proved rather difficult lately.
Rest had been stationed in his domain for some time now, involved in the construction of the town.
Viola and Primula each had their own work, so opportunities to see them were few.
Even when they had time to meet and talk, arranging a restaurant dinner never quite worked out.
In the end, even after the ring was finished, Rest never found the chance to give it to her and simply tucked it away in a drawer.
○ ○ ○ "Rest, it'll be complete any day now!"
"We're looking forward to it, Master Rest!"
Gazing up at the mansion under construction, Viola and Primula called out in cheerful voices.
The location was the County of Clover — a place that would one day be referred to as the "domain capital."
At its center stood a mansion being built in real time, and it would be finished within half a month at most.
This was the mansion Rest would eventually inhabit — the lord's residence.
The town itself was still far from complete, but the lord's mansion, which would serve as the town's symbol, was being built on a priority basis.
"Yeah, almost done… Still, isn't it a bit too big?"
The mansion was three stories tall — quite large by this world's architectural standards.
The grounds were also expansive; it looked like a whole forest could fit inside the garden.
"This is plenty, if you ask me. If anything, why would you skimp?" Viola replied with an exasperated air. "This is frontier development. There's nothing here, sure, but when it comes to the size of the land, we're second to none. With this much usable land at our disposal, what's the point of building a small mansion?"
"Well… I suppose that's true, but—"
"Master Rest is the up-and-coming young count, after all. To demonstrate our strength both inside and outside the domain, the mansion has to be impressive."
Primula piled on right after Viola.
At this point, Rest had no room to argue.
(Having been poor in my past life… honestly, an overly spacious mansion just doesn't feel comfortable.)
If he were being completely honest, something the size of a stable would suit him best.
Of course, he couldn't very well make Viola and Primula live in a shabby place.
"Oh! Once the mansion is finished, we'll have to throw a party!" Primula clapped her hands as if the thought had just struck her. "We don't need to invite a huge crowd since the town isn't complete yet… but let's at least invite Father, Mother, and family for a small-scale gathering!"
"A party… do nobles really do things like that?"
"Socializing is a noble's bread and butter. Of course we do," Primula declared with a puffed chest, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Nobles held parties at the drop of a hat.
It wasn't purely for fun. Gathering intelligence, strengthening factional bonds, flaunting economic power to political rivals to keep them in check… the purposes were varied.
"In truth we should invite far more people, but inviting nobles from other domains to a town still under construction would be rude. Family alone will do."
"That sounds lovely! The debut of our new mansion!" Viola clasped her hands together, clearly delighted with the idea.
The two of them carried on the conversation without Rest.
"Well then, we'll need to arrange all sorts of things. Tables and chairs, food, dresses and tuxedos — and entertainment, too, perhaps?"
"How about an orchestra? Might be a bit grand for a family-only affair, though?"
"There's no such thing as too grand! This is our very first party, so let's go all out!"
"Then let's prepare a guest list as well."
"Oh, it's going to be busy! I'll have to call in help from home!"
"…………"
(Why do they both look so happy about this? Wouldn't most people find party preparations exhausting?)
Rest tilted his head, but as someone who wasn't a noble by birth, he didn't know.
Social preparations like parties were the work of noblewomen.
In other words… this was Viola and Primula's first job as "Rest's wife."
They weren't even officially registered yet — or perhaps that was precisely why they were so eager.