She hung her head and continued. “I told myself, ‘Such is life,’ but I was still lonely and doleful. The young’uns steadily disappeared, and it became so quiet, like a flame had been put out... I thought, ‘Ah, just as I will grow old and die, so, too, will this village disappear.’”
I couldn’t bear seeing such a sorrowful expression on Gerda’s face, and I frantically searched for something to say. However, before my useless brain could find tactful words to offer, she raised her face. In just a few seconds, her expression had completely transformed.
“But ever since you became our feudal lord, this land has changed. You constructed the medical facility and revitalized the marketplace, and now things are as they were before... No, it’s far livelier than in the past. The children have returned, and our once-quiet village is now full of laughter every day.” Gerda didn’t need to tell me how happy she was, as her smile conveyed everything. “It already felt like I was dreaming, and now our feudal lord is concerned about our festival? I’m prepared to die when the time comes, but now I find myself thinking that I can’t kick the bucket just yet.”
“Gerda...” I murmured.
“Gerda! Pleaze lib a long time!” Zaara said over me. She was half crying—no, she was full-on bawling. She leaped over the baskets and vegetables and dove into Gerda’s arms.
Surprised, Gerda patted Zaara’s head to pacify her. “Dear oh dear,” she said.
The tip of Zaara’s nose and the area around her eyes were red. She sniffled as she wiped her tears. “I’m going to work hard to prepare for the festival, and there I’ll find a wonderful husband. You have to see me when I walk down the aisle, and when I have a child of my own, I’ll let you hold them before I let my mom!”
Zaara’s mother, who had been watching her daughter from behind, quipped, “Now hold on a second, oh daughter of mine!” but she was ignored.
“So you have to live a long time, and please teach my children how to weave baskets!” Zaara exclaimed.
“That’s a heavy responsibility,” Gerda said with a happy smile.
The other women who had been watching them all smiled warmly as well.
“It looks like we’re all set on having that festival.”
“If anyone says they don’t want to have one, then they’ll have to face Zaara’s wrath instead of our feudal lord’s,” a woman teased.
“That’s right! I’ll turn this festival into a big hit no matter what and find my ideal husband!” Zaara shot back immediately.
It seems that I’ve gained a powerful ally by accident.
“Your ideal husband? Don’t you think you’re aiming too high?” Zaara’s mother—who had abruptly lost the privilege of holding her grandchild first—interrupted sulkily.
“I’m free to aim as high as I please.”
“Well, I’m worried that you’re aiming too high. You know, just the other day she was prattling about how a prince riding on a white horse would be nice.”
“Th-That was ages ago! I’m already an adult, so I won’t ask for anything that unrealistic!”
Another woman interrupted the mother-daughter banter. “Zaara, what’s your ideal man like?”
Zaara’s gaze roved the air above her as she tried to find the right words. “Weeell, first off, he absolutely must be kind. He has to treasure me more than anyone else and treat me like a princess. He also has to be able to work, and it’s crucial that he has money to spare. Oh, and it’s important that he’s dependable. He needs to be strong and reliable when push comes to shove.”
Her mother placed her hand on her forehead and slumped to the side to express her exasperation, but Zaara didn’t notice.
“And it’s even better if he likes children. I’d be happy if he would take the initiative to look after our children and shower them with love without me needing to tell him. Of course, I’d hate it if his love for me changed, so I think someone older with a lot of patience would be good for me.”
“Mm-hmm,” the other women replied. Their warm gazes had cooled to an unimpressed lukewarm.
However, Zaara didn’t seem to notice that either as she continued gleefully listing more traits. “Also...I have to think he’s handsome. A man who’s both gallant and refreshing, oh, I’d have nothing more to— Ow?!”
Before Zaara could finish speaking, there was a loud smack. She glared defiantly at her mother. “What was that for?!”
“No such man exists!!!”
“You don’t know that! He might!”
“He doesn’t!”
“He does!”
As I watched the pair quibble, the scene of Mei-chan yelling, “To**ro was here!” flashed through my mind. Nah, the ideal hottie has a higher chance of existing than a fairy.
“A man like that only exists in fairy tales or in your wild fantasies! Good grief, and seconds ago you claimed you’d stopped fantasizing about unrealistic ideals.”
Zaara groaned, rendered speechless. Unable to rebut, she looked around her until her imploring gaze fell on me. “Your Grace!”
“Yes?!”
“Do you also think that a man like that doesn’t exist?”
“Um...” I hummed evasively, unable to give her a firm yes or no.
I’m also quite the dreamer when it comes to romance, so I want to agree with her, but it involves her marriage life, so I shouldn’t be irresponsible. My gaze roamed the area, seeking help, until I spotted Sir Leonhart playing with the children a short distance away. They clung to both his arms, and he lifted them into the air. The other children surrounding him looked like they were having the time of their lives as well—it seemed that he had thoroughly won all their hearts.
Feeling my intense stare, Sir Leonhart blinked. Then he bashfully smiled and waved at me. My husband is as precious as always... Mesmerized, I waved back on reflex.
“There...” someone murmured.
I snapped out of my daze and hastily turned back toward Zaara. She, along with all the other women, was fixated on Sir Leonhart.
“Yeah, right there.”
“It was there all along.”
There? What’s there? To**ro?
“But it’s the same as not being there at all.”
“Right you are. It’s like that ironclad rule in fairy tales—every prince has his princess.”
“Zaara, either face reality or improve your womanly charms. Pick one.”
“Okaaay...”
It looks like the conversation ended while I was floundering for a reply. What was there in the end? I tilted my head to the side, puzzled, but my question was never answered.