A/N: I keep forgetting to keep up with the updates on this site…

Chapter 30

Jiroh

Taking over for Mr. Howard left Jiroh with terribly big shoes to fill, but he'd like to think he was doing a decent job. Not just anyone could survive in the household of Duke Yuy, after all, and Jiroh had not only persevered through the turbulent time of the former Duke's untimely passing, but also through Duke Heero Yuy's succession and marriage to the infamous dandy, Duo Maxwell.

Which is why this current situation felt so unfair.

"Kaori, your tears are going to stain the Duchess's clothes," Melissa pitilessly chided, carefully and efficiently boxing up the various accessories that the Duchess would be taking with him to the Capital.

Kaori was sniffling over an armful of patterned silks that she was responsible for packing and didn't seem likely to stop any time soon. "It's just… I thought I'd be able to go too!" she cried out. "Can't they just throw me in a trunk?!"

"That would only make the motion sickness worse," Melissa pointed out.

Jiroh felt a headache coming on. "And the Duchess only needs to bring two attendants with him," he added. The last time the Duchess had traversed to the Capital from the Yuy provincial home, he'd only brought Miss Hilde as an attendant; back then, that had seemed like a godsend to his maids, who dreaded any amount of time spent with the man.

Now, however, it had resulted in a fierce debate: Miss Hilde was a given, as she held a dual position as both attendant and guard to the Duchess, leaving only one open slot for the Duchess's other three maids to compete over. Melissa had been the first to step down - looking very regretful about it - but as her aging mother was still frail in health and could not travel, Melissa opted to stay behind with her and help Jiroh manage the estate. Coralina and Kaori were left to battle it out, but Coralina emerged as winner for two reasons: namely, a desire to travel and also being unaffected by long journeys. Kaori would be utterly unresponsive if forced to travel by carriage for that long a distance.

"You could join the Duchess Guard," Coralina smugly suggested. Indeed, the entire Duchess Guard would be making the trek as well; Jiroh would have paid good money just to see how that worked out. According to Coralina, the Mikhail vs Simon match-up had finally resulted in Mikhail's retaking of the title of Captain, and now they only had to deal with their lingering unresolved sexual tension. Jiroh had a fair bit of money riding on Simon breaking first.

"Kaori, stop packing all that silk," Melissa interjected. "The Duchess has his own closet at the Capital estate, and he'll likely plan to reorganize his wardrobe since his style has changed."

Jiroh had only really meant to check up on the maids' progress, since he was coordinating everything to make sure everyone was ready. He had undergone this many times in the past, and the only real change this time around was the addition of the Duchess Guard and the packing up of the Duchess's inventions.

The latter was actually being dealt with by the Duchess himself, along with Miss Hilde and Lady Meilan, since there were specific accommodations for some of the machines. Jiroh had dropped by earlier to see if there was anything he could do to help but ended up caught in the Duchess's folding screen maze for a good few minutes, to Miss Hilde's annoyance.

Since it looked like Melissa had things well in hand here in the Duchess's closet, Jiroh decided to leave them to it. The Duchess was all accounted for, since he had so many capable people helping to prepare; Commander Barton was taking care of the preparations for the knights, and Masters Winner and Chang were helping the Duke with organizing the provincial affairs.

Jiroh himself was responsible for the household management. Since the Duke and Duchess had already organized their side of things, that left Jiroh to take care of the servants. Since the Duke preferred to only travel with a small number in order to make the journey quicker, Jiroh would have to select who could go and who could stay among the household staff.

The Duchess was taking Miss Hilde and Coralina, while the Duke had agreed to bring Tsubasa along; the Duke's personal attendant didn't often journey with him, since most of Duke Yuy's trips were for battle-related reasons, but the move to the Capital was safe enough that the Duke could bring him along this time. Commander Barton, Master Chang, and Lady Meilan were self-sufficient and had refused attendants, so they were not a concern. Master Winner was bringing along a small contingent of Maguanacs, which would only be more helpful with the travel.

There would be no need to send any butlers or maids; the Capital estate had its own staff, and during the journey, their personal attendants would take care of any needs for the Duke and Duchess. Miss Cathy was also going to the Capital but would be leaving her two new stable boys to handle the horses back here. Chef Morris and his new apprentice Daigo would be going along too; the reasoning given was that only Chef Morris and Daigo were familiar with the new menu the Duchess had put in place, so they could train the Capital estate staff.

"Mr. Jiroh!"

Jiroh turned at the call, locking eyes with a frantic Sir Frederick. The man was one of the newest additions to the Duchess Guard, having entered under Sir Simon. He was generally kind and loyal, electing to stay in the guard with his former captain; unlike his more easily-riled compatriot, Sir Takeo, Sir Frederick rarely chose active combat as his preferred means of communication - although he was anxiety-ridden enough that it was more likely all his combat was internal.

Jiroh also remembered that Sir Frederick was part of today's guard rotation, and had been posted outside the Duchess's study.

"The Duchess said I need to get something cold," Sir Frederick reported nervously. "Do we have anything like that in the estate?"

Jiroh stared at him. Where were they supposed to get ice from in the middle of summer?

"...What were His Grace's exact words?" Jiroh asked carefully. The Duchess, for all his discontent before the greenhouse and his wild change in attitude afterwards, hardly ever made such impossible requests.

"He said I need to 'find my chill,'" Sir Frederick dutifully repeated. "But I don't have any ice either!"

Jiroh made an expression of understanding. "Oh, no, that's… That's not what the Duchess meant by that," he explained. "It's a turn of phrase he sometimes uses. He means that you should relax."

Sometimes the Duchess will quip something that they had never heard before, as if he'd picked up a certain way of speaking somehow without their knowledge. Jiroh had never personally visited the Maxwell province, but from the few guards he'd encountered from there, they didn't seem to know those phrases either; Sir Asahi looked just as confused as they were the first time he heard it.

Jiroh gave Sir Frederick a long once-over. It was true that he should "find his chill."

"Perhaps just stop by the kitchen and grab a quick snack," Jiroh suggested. "Then get the Duchess something not too sweet."

Sir Frederick agreed, looking less worried but a little more embarrassed. Sharing food was a good way to get into the Duchess's good graces, as Jiroh had seen when it came to his relationships with Lady Meilan and Master Chang. He was quick to leave, heading in the suggested direction with harried steps.

There was still much to do as Jiroh continued monitoring progress within the estate. He'd seen Mr. Howard do this dozens of times, so he was not overwhelmed, but it definitely felt different being the one everyone turned to when it came to those hard decisions, such as what was considered essential goods and preferred goods.

At the very least, what was before him now was definitely considered an essential good. Jiroh was convinced that the Duke would behead him for thinking otherwise.

"We will present it to His Grace before we head out," Sir Mifune explained, dark eyes critically roving over every nook and cranny of the ornamental cabinet. "According to Master Winner, he hasn't yet remembered or learned the rituals of worship for the Harvester, so Asahi will be teaching him throughout the journey."

It was nice to be kept more in the know of things as the head butler, but Jiroh knew what Mifune was really trying to imply with her explanation: like all Death's Doors, this beautiful altar was still disposable. He would be in charge of crafting more so that there was now a steady supply being kept at the provincial estate, as their lack of oversight had resulted in the Duchess being misled about his own beliefs.

"The level of craftsmanship is astounding," Jiroh commented reverently. He may be a follower of Peacemillion, but it was hard to deny the very art inherent in the altar.

It was of a manageable size, no bigger than a grown man's torso, made of dark-polished wood. With the doors closed, the polished brass handles were in view, sculpted into the shape of winding flowers with long, woven stems.

The inside was the most breathtaking part of the ornate altar: they had embedded amethyst along all of the interior walls, the gems of various sizes but each gleaming prettily when struck by the light. The back of the altar had been hollowed out into an arched shape, as small as a hand, and weaved around the hole was thin, smooth grating that had various flowers sculpted out of wood pinned to it.

It was almost a shame that it would be destroyed once the Duchess paid his respects. Jiroh really couldn't understand the tenets of the Harvester faith, and even less so when it came to the nobility who worshipped it since their altars tended to be the most exquisite. At least for commoners like Sir Asahi, their Death's Doors were made simply.

"Will the ones we make here need to be as elaborate?" Jiroh asked.

Mifune shook her head, "This was specially commissioned. Asahi invited a native craftsman from the Maxwell duchy down to make it, but he will be joining us on our trip to the Capital."

Jiroh couldn't help but be intrigued. Being a native of the Maxwell duchy would explain the excellent craftsmanship of the Death's Door, although it was surprising that he'd come down personally to make it instead of just sending the finished product. "Did he have business here or did he come down specifically to make it?" he asked.

"He came down just for this," Mifune answered. "He was the one who sent the Duke the blueprint for the greenhouse too."

Jiroh made a sound of acknowledgment. The Duke had helped build the greenhouse with his own hands, but the actual blueprint for it had been commissioned from an architect in the Maxwell province since the Duke wanted it to resemble the architecture from the Duchess's home.

Well, at least this would be the creation he intended to be burnt to cinders, Jiroh thought idly. Given how sensitive artists could be, he was a little surprised the man had agreed to work for them again. Still, money was always one of the most persuasive means, and he imagined it would be difficult to say no to Duke Yuy and the son of Duke Maxwell.

"He's both an artist and an architect? How versatile," Jiroh mused aloud.

"He's an odd guy," Mifune nodded in wry agreement. "He calls himself professor, although as far as I'm aware, he's not actually a teacher of anything."

People from the Maxwell duchy are usually pretty odd, Jiroh kept to himself. "But Asahi recommended him?"

"Yes, said he's the best around - the talented Professor G."

A/N: As if I'd forget those assholes. ;)

And as always, please be kind and drop a review!