Twelfth Night: A Amourshipping and Rocketshipping Story

Chapter 4

The life of Lady Sonia's lady-in-waiting was a frustrating one for Jessie.

The Magnolia estate was once a cheerful place where Count Magnolia lived with his adult children, Milo and Sonia, by his side. Jessie had little to worry about outside of her regular duties when serving a count of good renown. But when the count passed away, Milo was challenged to take his father's place and comfort Sonia. And when Milo himself suddenly grew ill and died, Jessie and the rest of the staff were left with a young countess overcome with grief. Since then, the estate became a sad place with the staff dispirited by Lady Sonia's gloomy presence.

It didn't help that Lady Sonia's steward, Giovanni, was a stuck-up, no-nonsense man who managed the staff as though he were the new head of the estate. Giovanni always thought himself superior to others, and with all male members of the Magnolia family gone, excluding Sonia's cousin, James, Giovanni felt more self-entitled than before as the oldest among the men in the estate, even if he was still only the head of the staff. He was very strict with the staff, making unreasonable demands and having the staff do extra chores. Such things were pragmatic if Lady Sonia was hosting parties for her fellow members of the nobility, but she found no cause to celebrate anything. Not even her birthday two weeks prior. So, Giovanni was merely abusing his power as steward while the countess was focused on mourning for the loss of her brother Milo.

Such was on Jessie's mind as she walked in the Magnolia estate courtyard Sunday morning. Lady Sonia left to attend church with Giovanni and a few attendants as her escort. Jessie wished to join them, but Giovanni coldly rejected the idea, seeing her white and red maiden dress and her long magenta hair curled in a comet-tail behind her head uncouth for mass. Jessie didn't mind missing mass, for she wasn't a devout Christian, and Giovanni attending mass with their mistress meant Jessie had time to take it easy. One might say that the few hours Giovanni was away was technically a sabbath for Jessie. Still, Jessie wished to be by Lady Sonia's side, so someone other than Giovanni and a handful of attendants would be there for her.

As Jessie passed by the courtyard fountain, she stopped to see a man with shoulder-length periwinkle hair sleeping on a bench. He lay on his side as he snored while spooning a half-empty bottle of wine like a child with his teddy bear. Jessie rolled her eyes and scooped water from the fountain to drop on the periwinkle-haired man's face, instantly waking him up.

"Huh? Wha -? What is it? What time is it?" the man asked as he sat up, still holding the bottle.

"Time to quit lying on the bench like a homeless drunk, you lazy baboon," Jessie said. "Honestly, Sir James, I hope the next generation of my lady's family isn't going to inherit an empty wine cellar."

"Next generation? Don't make me laugh," James said with a wave of his hand. "If there's ever going to be a next generation while my cousin weeps daily, I will eat the bottles I empty."

"With your intoxicated mind, I'm sure you'd try," Jessie said. "Furthermore, you don't help your cousin by partying and drinking instead of trying to cheer her up."

"That's hardly my fault when Sonia refuses to let anyone try to cheer her up. If it were up to me, I'd get her to drink with me to lift her spirits and then help her find a husband," James said.

"Her refusal to drink with you hasn't stopped you from trying to get her to marry," Jessie said. "Lady Sonia was complaining yesterday that you let that knight from Alola into the estate to stay and attempt to woo her."

"And why shouldn't I have let Sir Faba stay and try to woo her?" James challenged. "I have no claim to the title so long as she lives, but I am her only living male relative and a knight of Kanto. As such, I should ensure she gets a husband. Besides, Faba is a fine suitor. He's cheerful, rich and can speak four languages word for word from memory. His personality alone makes him a perfect suitor."