23. A Little More Speculation

Frey insisted on going back to the caves to find out more about the Chipsqueek and also to get Venti's charm back. Arganan was just glad Frey wasn't going to dash off by herself this time, though, having heard that she was taking Illuminata and Amber with her.

Unfortunately, this meant Arganan had no choice but to tend to the shop alone. Illuminata instructed him, before she left with Frey and Amber, to just close the shop a bit early if there weren't any customers coming in. And there weren't any that came in, not really. There were a couple tourists that requested some seeds to take home, or a few blooms, or simple bouquets, but not much as much as usual. He supposed the town was still shocked by Ventuswill's collapse and the people weren't in the right mood to get any flowers. A sigh left him as he looked around the empty shop, then leaned against the shelf.

It was far from the first time he was left alone at this point. He still recalled when the Outsider's power came to life within him, when Forte and Kiel stopped by the one time. Of course, he hadn't realized that was the Outsider itself at the time, but still…

He looked down at his right hand, at the Outsider's mark on it. Is there any way this power can help Ventuswill? Surely there has to be something, right?

"Arganan? Good afternoon!"

His gaze shot up to see Margaret, and he quickly pushed himself away from the shelf so he wasn't leaning on it. "Margaret, good afternoon." He managed, looking towards her eyes. "I didn't realize you just walked in. Sorry."

"No, it's fine." Margaret offered him a soft grin. "I figured I'd pay you a visit since I heard it's just you tending the shop, today. And I'm on break today from work, so why not? Are things holding up okay?"

"Yes." He nodded. "What about you, Porcoline and Dylas?"

"We're doing well, though," She offered him a sheepish glance, "All of us heard you yelling at Arthur the other day. I didn't realize you could be that loud. Dylas was especially shocked for the rest of the day."

He grimaced at that. "Did you hear the whole thing?"

"Most of it was muffled, but we definitely heard the yelling about you making him help Frey help Venti, or else."

Arganan knew he had no one but himself to blame. "I haven't blown up at anyone like that for a long time." He admitted. "Apologies, for the disturbance."

"It's okay. Just be careful next time." She paused, looking at all the flowers on display. "Do you have any flowers on sale, by any chance? Or any ones that are great for cheering up people?"

"Well," He took a quick glance around, before his gaze rested on the nearby white Fireflowers, their petals bursting open like they were fireworks (hence the name), "We do have some Fireflowers I can probably sell to you on discount. They just started blooming, so they'd make a nice gift. Why do you ask, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well…" Margaret sighed, her gaze drifting towards the Fireflowers, then Arganan, "The thing is, since Ventuswill collapsed, Forte hasn't been the same lately. I mean, she's working as hard as ever, but I can tell that the stress of Ventuswill collapsing is really affecting her. I think it's because of Forte's duty as Dragon Knight."

"I see." He supposed that made sense. The knight, whose specific role was to protect Ventuswill from harm, and yet now Ventuswill was on the verge of potential death with nothing Forte herself could do to help…it mad sense, that she was particularly down. Arganan looked towards the Fireflowers, before walking over to grab them. "Should I arrange this into a small bouquet for you to give to Forte, perhaps?"

"That would be great. Thank you so much!"

As he took the flowers back to the counter, getting some nice-looking paper to wrap them up in as well as some ribbons, he looked up at Margaret again, before asking. "How long have you and Forte been friends, anyway? I'm just curious, that's all."

"Well," Margaret paused, putting a finger to her chin briefly, "It's been quite a few years, now. I was here some time before Forte. She was quite serious, but she warmed up to me in time. In a way…ah, that's it!" She snapped her fingers. "She reminds me of Sir Therius when he visited! He was super-formal like she was, too."

"Therius?" Arganan could certainly understand the similarities, given that Therius and Forte were both on the formal side, but Forte? Being as formal as Therius, of all people? "That's hard to believe. Therius is the most formal man I've ever met in my life."

"Maybe it just takes him a while to warm up to others…" Margaret mused. "I think he and Forte were getting along well when he visited, though, which is nice."

"That's good." He paused as he finished putting together the bouquet, remembering the letter Calista sent him earlier, before looking up at Margaret. "Speaking of Therius, my niece is sending him back here to assist Frey with Ventuswill's condition."

"Really?" Margaret's eyes widened. "That's good to hear. More help on this would be nice." She paused, pushing a few strands of hair out of her face, before asking, "Do you know if Venti will be okay?"

"Honestly? I have no clue." He wasn't an expert on dragons, after all. He looked down at his right hand again, and then up at her. "Do you ever wonder if you feel like you might be able to do something, but at the same time…you're not sure?"

"Is that your way of saying you think you can do something about this, but you don't know?"

"Yes." She could tell too well, he guessed. And he was also sure his own crumbling frown was helping her, too. "I feel like I can do something. And honestly, I don't want Frey getting hurt, but…if there's anything I learned, I can't stop her from doing what she wants or needs to do. And the best I can do is support her. But, I wish I could do more to help."

"Do you know what I think?" Margaret managed, looking him in the eye. "I think you're doing a lot to help her. Sure, maybe she's not taking on adventures outside of town, but you tried to get help for her…even if it was a bit more explosive than I thought it might be."

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that, briefly thinking back to when he told off Arthur. "You have a point there."

"And Vishnal, Volkanon, and Clorica are for sure doing their best to help Frey, too." Margaret smiled. "I'm sure as long as we do our best to help Frey out in any way we can, maybe there's still hope."

"Thanks, Margaret." He took a deep breath, before he heard Margaret giggle. "What?"

"Well…" Margaret paused, just as he handed the finished bouquet to her and after she handed him the payment for the Fireflowers, "Speaking of Vishnal and support…don't you think it's interesting that Frey's been spending more time with him, recently?"

Arganan blinked. "She has? I know she brought him along to the Haunted Mansion, and he's a fine person." Sure, Vishnal had his clumsiness and lack of cooking, but he was overall decent fellow, even if enthusiastic in being as great at being a butler as Volkanon currently was.

"I think, and this is just between me and you," Margaret raised a brow slightly, "That she and Vishnal might be together."

"What?" Frey? With Vishnal? Memories of Zael and Calista getting closer came back to Arganan's own mind, and all he could do was just stare at Margaret for a good minute. "You actually think so?"

"I haven't asked her, but it's pretty obvious, don't you think?" The other managed. "They have been spending more time with each other, and I've seen her make a lot of fried rice for him—which is his favourite food, by the way. And he's tried cooking for her, too, but the results are less edible…but it's the thought that counts, right?"

He tried to think back to when Vishnal had tried to ask if Frey was okay, back when Ventuswill collapsed, and then it all seemed to click. "How did I not know this sooner?"

"Well, you were busy with a lot of other things…so I don't blame you if it went over your head. I only pieced it together recently, too." Margaret shrugged a little, reassuringly smiling back at him. "Of course, again, let's keep this between us."

"Of course." He managed. He looked towards the bouquet of Fireflowers he just handed to her, before asking. "Margaret?"

She blinked, looking up from the bouquet of Fireflowers. "Y-yeah?"

He couldn't help but ask the next question. "Do you like Forte?"

She nodded. "Of course! She's my friend!"

"I mean…you two seem close." He pointed out. "Like lovers, almost."

"Wh-what!?" Cue Margaret's face turning a soft pink. The former Count couldn't help but find it adorable. "How?"

"You've known her for a long time, as you mentioned earlier. And you seem very fond of her, and…"

"Look!" She suddenly jumped a little, pointing behind him. "A Wooly doing a Leekspin!"

"What!?" He turned on his heel to look behind him, only to realize that he was tricked. He turned again, just in time for him to realize that Margaret just ran out of the shop with the bouquet of flowers in hand. "Margaret!"

Margaret was gone. There was no way he could catch up to her, for sure. So much for asking.

At least she paid before she ran off. He sighed, looking towards the cash register, then the doorway leading out of the shop, a chuckle leaving his own lips. She definitely admires Forte, doesn't she?

In a way, he found it endearing. He hoped he was right.