“Just following your wishes,” Challe replied. “This is what you wanted, right?”
“Yes, I did ask you to act on your feelings. But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”
“A promise is a promise.”
Although the two appeared to be arguing, in reality, they were far more relaxed with each other than they had been before. Something about that made Anne happy. It was like they were all becoming one big family.
“You two are sure getting along well.” Anne grinned.
Keith’s eyes went wide. Uncharacteristically, Challe sounded tired as he grumbled, “Thanks to the influence of a certain someone.”
Upon hearing this, Mithril scratched his head bashfully. “Aw, shucks. You mean me? I haven’t done anything you need to thank me for… Hang on a sec. Did I do something?”
“…How does your brain even work…?” Challe pressed a hand to his forehead.
Keith laughed out loud. “I think you’re going to live a long life, Mithril Lid Pod!”
“You’ve got that right! The great Mithril Lid Pod is going to outlive Challe Fenn Challe!” Mithril puffed out his chest in pride. He looked so funny that Anne started laughing, too.
“You people… You’re really havin’ a good time in here, huh…?” A man’s low, belligerent voice startled everyone.
Kat, also known as the Silver Sugar Master Alph Hingley, was staggering down the corridor toward them. Evidently, he had returned from his trip to the fairy market in Lewiston.
Kat was dressed in a stylish shirt, well-cut trousers, and a well-tailored jacket with intricate embroidery adorning the collar and cuffs. In contrast to his gorgeous clothes, there were dark circles clearly visible under his eyes, and he looked dead tired from all his efforts. The green-haired fairy Benjamin, who was riding on Kat’s shoulder, wore his usual buoyant smile. Unlike his master, the little fairy’s cheeks were rosy and full of color.
“Everyone made it! Hooray!” Benjamin waved at them, his face glowing. “I can’t wait for things to get busy tomorrow.”
“Have you been slacking off around here, Mr. Kat? You should try getting some work done.” Challe had nothing but scorn for the man.
“What, you want me to die or somethin’?! I’ve been at that dim-witted bastard’s beck an’ call for two an’ a half months! Hardly slept a wink! This is my first half day off in forever, and it’s gonna get stupid busy again tomorrow! So don’t you go around stickin’ a ‘mister’ on my nickname!”
Even Kat’s shouting showed a concerning lack of vigor.
“Kat, I think you’d better get some rest right away,” Anne said.
Kat groaned. “I’ll do that. I’ll rest, all right… But make sure you wake me up for dinner. Hear that, Powell? Make sure you get me up. Don’t you dare forget. Otherwise, I’ll sock ya one.”
Kat directed these last, insistent words at Keith, then he staggered off toward his room.
“Kat must be starving.” Anne cocked her head quizzically.
Keith put on a strained smile. “Despite how he looks, Mr. Hingley seems to have a sweet tooth. Someone said there will be walnut cake after dinner, so I bet he doesn’t want to miss out.”
“There’s cake?! Why?!”
“Anne, aren’t you forgetting something important? Today is your birthday, right?”
“Ah. Oh… Now that you mention it!”
She had completely forgotten. In this pleasant season, before the real heat of summer set in, Anne turned one year older. She was seventeen today.
“Challe and Mithril told me a little while ago. We tried to make tonight’s dinner extra fancy and picked up some nice ingredients.”
“You did?”
She looked at each of their faces in turn. Keith smiled, and Challe nodded. Somewhat embarrassed, Anne expressed her gratitude in a quiet voice.
“…Thank you.”
Mithril stood up, sprang over to Keith’s shoulder, and pounded his chest. “I’ll put all my cooking skills on display, so you better look forward to it! Keith and I are going to get started on dinner now! Let’s go, Keith.”
Keith smiled, but he looked rather disappointed. “I wanted to check out the storehouse with you, Anne, but we’ll have to save that for later. Looks like dinner comes first.”
With that, Keith and Mithril headed downstairs.
Aside from the walnut cake, that night’s dinner wasn’t especially extravagant.
They had potato soup and sautéed potatoes, grilled chicken with herbs, a deliciously fragrant herb salad, and dark bread with herb-infused oil. Keith and Mithril had worked hard to devise many different dishes out of few ingredients.
Ostensibly, this was Anne’s birthday celebration, but at the same time, everyone was full of excitement over the start of work the following day.
Until she turned fifteen, Anne had celebrated her birthdays alone with her mother, Emma. Her mother would light a small bonfire or sometimes a single candle, and they would sit on either side of it as she wished Anne a happy birthday. It was always just the two of them, but they had quietly filled their little corner of the world with shared happiness.
And now her mother, with whom she had shared that joy, was gone. But in her place, Anne had Challe and Mithril.
Last year, the three of them had slept around a campfire, and when Anne woke up the following morning, she’d found that Challe had put small flowers in her hair. Mithril, meanwhile, had sneaked into the cargo hold of her wagon and used some silver sugar to make an eerie copy of Anne’s face. It was a bizarre gift, but she had been happy to receive it. The two fairies had kept her from feeling like she was alone, which was a relief and a blessing.
And this year, she not only had Challe and Mithril but also Keith, Kat, and Benjamin.
How strange.
Anne drank a little wine. As she sat there in comfort, gazing absentmindedly at the fairies and humans enjoying a pleasant meal together, her chest swelled with happiness.
When you divide a loaf of bread among many people, everyone ends up with a small piece. Yet the more people you share happiness with, the greater everyone’s portion becomes.
It was a mysterious and joyful phenomenon.
Mithril indulged in far too much wine, and by the end of their meal, he was completely sloshed. Everyone was fairly exhausted, and soon they all slipped off to bed, helped along by the alcohol.
Anne was just tipsy enough to feel floaty, but she couldn’t sleep. When she thought about the following day’s work, all feelings of drowsiness left her.
She went out into the garden to sober up. In the light of the half-moon, every blade of grass cast a deep shadow on the ground. The cool, summery night breeze brushed gently against the lace at the hem and collar of her white cotton nightdress. The strong scent of greenery told her the vegetation was growing fast.
Fifteen fairies will be coming here tomorrow.
Starting the next day, and every seven days after, fifteen new fairies would arrive at Hollyleaf Castle.
Those fifteen fairies would spend a week doing tasks related to sugar candy, and Anne and the others would evaluate their talents as they worked.
After seven days, Hugh would purchase the wings of any fairies who showed promise. He would take responsibility for them, and they would remain at the castle and undergo training as candy crafter apprentices. The fairies without a talent for candy crafting would be sent back to the fairy market.
Then a new batch of fifteen fairies would be brought in. By Kat’s calculations, if they continued this process, they would be able to assess the talents of every fairy at the Lewiston market in about a year.
But when Anne thought about it, her heart ached.
The path to becoming a silver sugar fairy would open up for those fairies with talent, and Hugh had said he would eventually return their wings, enabling them to live and work freely as candy crafters. But on the other hand, those without talent would be forced to return to the fairy market.
That seemed incredibly cruel, and the happiness Anne felt now only made it seem all the more heartbreaking.
But we all knew that when we decided on this plan.
That included Hugh, Kat, and Keith, too. Even Challe had been willing to accept the risk of identifying himself as the fairy king in order to ensure that his people had the chance to learn the skills of their forebears. It wouldn’t do for Anne to be the only one hesitating.
“I thought I told you not to go wandering off on your own.”
Suddenly, there was a voice from behind her, and Anne jumped in surprise.
“Challe! Why do you always sneak up on me?!”
The fairy walked over to her from the front porch.
“I was hardly sneaking. You were just staring into space and didn’t notice me. What possessed you to go out in the middle of the night in a stupor? It’s like you completely forgot my warning. Are you the same old scarecrow brain, even at seventeen?”
“S-sorry. I guess I haven’t really matured at all…”
Anne was at a loss for words and shrank away. At this, Challe stood directly in front of her and chuckled. Anne thought it strange, and raised her head to face him.
“No. You’ve changed a bit,” Challe said. “You’re pretty now.”
“What did you just say?!”
Anne’s eyes bulged in shock, and Challe placed one hand on her cheek.
“I said you’re pretty now.”
His words stunned her. Under the gaze of his lustrous black eyes, she felt her cheeks grow hot.
“You’re on the road to becoming a beautiful woman,” Challe said, perfectly serious. “Say, what would you like for your birthday present? Would a kiss suffice?”
“Uh… Uhhhh. Um…well, you…don’t usually choose your present? What I mean is, that’s what makes it a present, so…”
When she faltered, Challe grinned broadly. He brought his lips close to her ear and whispered conspiratorially.
“Just kidding.”
“…………Huh?”
Challe removed his hand from Anne’s cheek and quickly turned around. “We’re going back inside the castle. Come on.”
That was all he said before briskly walking away. Anne felt the strength leave her body; this was the first time in a while she’d been so thoroughly teased.