Chapter 5: The Witch’s Hermitage Floating in a Puddle
ROSE carefully removed the mud from the fresh green herbs using lake water. Even in the sweltering heat, the cool lake felt pleasant.
The bright-blue sky reflected on the water’s surface. Rose’s eyes were drawn to the sky by a peculiar scent carried on the wind. It might rain today. Rose shook out the freshly washed herbs, pulled the small boat to shore, and flipped it over.
After entering the hermitage, she worked in silence until she heard the jing-a-ling of a bell. The sound informed her that a visitor had arrived at the forest’s dock.
She peered stealthily out the small window to find a man she knew well standing outside. It was Harij, who she hadn’t seen for a few days. He seemed to have dropped by on his way home from work. He even had a basket with him. Yes, it was that basket!
Rose excitedly cleared the table and laid out the tablecloth. She flipped the boat back over and rowed it out to meet him.
“Welcome. Thank you for coming.”
“…Sure thing.”
When she arrived at the dock, Harij was staring at her, speechless. She tilted her head with the unvoiced question of “What’s wrong?” but his eyes remained glued to her face.
She rubbed her cheek with her robe’s sleeve, assuming it must’ve gotten dirty while she was washing the herbs. But there wasn’t anything on her sleeve when she checked it.
Harij boarded the boat and cupped Rose’s cheek with his hand—it was the opposite cheek from the one she had just wiped.
“Is that the one that’s dirty?”
“No…well, yeah. Let’s say it is.”
Another vague answer from him, but Rose let it pass. After all, Harij’s other hand held the basket.
I wonder what sweets he brought me today. She had been treated to delicacies daily since she began staying at the Azm mansion, but she had even greater anticipation for the ones Harij delivered to her personally.
Rose peered up at Harij, and he gazed down at her, the corners of his eyes softening slightly. He seemed to be in a good mood. Work had kept him busy lately, but something good must have happened while he was away. Harij’s happiness was Rose’s happiness.
Once they arrived at the island, Rose assisted the basket—which happened to be carried by Harij—off the boat, escorted the basket to her hermitage, and opened the door so the basket could come inside. Harij followed her, smiling from ear to ear.
Rose planned to ask all about his day over snacks and was about to show him to the chair when she realized there was something she had to do first.
She slinked up to Harij and held out both hands, careful not to let her excitement show.
“What?”
“Thank you for the souvenirs.”
Well, I botched that. She had been trying so hard to control herself, but her lips had quirked up in a goofy grin.
“……”
Meanwhile, Harij’s good mood took a sudden nosedive. His smile flipped upside down and he sullenly looked at the basket.
“So the basket was why you were so happy to see me?”
“H-Happy? Me? Never.”
“I can tell even if it doesn’t show on your face.”
How can that be?! Rose was speechless. Keeping her face devoid of expression was necessary to protect the secret that witches don’t tell lies. Letting her emotions show now that she would be interacting with humans more than ever meant she wouldn’t be able to protect that secret any longer.
“I can’t believe it… Has it become that easy to read how I’m feeling?”
Rose was in shock that Harij had seen through what she believed was an impenetrable mask. He patted her several times on the head as if she needed that extra consolation.
“Don’t worry—you only become that way around me, and I can always back you if you slip up.”
That seemed even more embarrassing in its own way, but Rose pretended not to realize it as she quietly bowed her head.
Harij had brought her an apple pie pocket, which consisted of sweet sautéed apples sandwiched between cookie-like rectangular pastries.
The scent of cinnamon permeated the sweet and tart apples. With every bite, the tender fruit delighted her teeth.
The basket smelled of cinnamon, so she left that spice out of the tea she prepared, giving it a different flavor. It married perfectly with the pie pocket’s sweetness, doubling how delicious everything tasted together.
They ate the pastries in their usual seats. How strange for it to have become only natural for her to enjoy a peaceful snack in the witch’s hermitage with Harij. You never know what life has in store for you.
“What have you been up to lately?”
It had been four days since they last saw each other and even longer since they had the chance to sit and have a relaxing chat. Rose swallowed her mouthful of pie before answering.
“The other day, Tien brought wedding shoes for me to try on. Every single pair had stupidly high heels. He made me try on dozens, saying I need to increase my height if I want to look good standing next to you…”
She could never speak of the confidential information pertaining to Tien as her client, but she could talk about him as a friend. Plus, she was just so happy to have something to share with Harij that concerned him, too, she became all the more talkative.
“I think I ended up trying over twenty pairs before Tien gave the okay. By the end, I didn’t have the strength to move, so Mr. Safina lifted my feet and changed my shoes for me.”
Rose continued talking without realizing Harij’s temples were twitching.
“And one of the footmen, I forget which one”—the Azm mansion employed two footmen, but Rose could never remember who was who—“lent me his hand because I was so unsteady on the high heels, a newborn goat could walk better than me—”
“I’m sorry, Rose.”
Harij elegantly set down his teacup.
She was just getting to the good part, too! Even though Tien had been a guest, the clincher was that he ended up getting a scalding lecture from Ms. Tala for bossing Rose around until she nearly tripped and fell into the wall. Harij directed a pointed look at Rose, who was on pins and needles with anticipation to tell him that last bit.
“I forgot to tell you: I don’t want to hear you talk about other men today.”
“…Oh? Okay. Shall I tell you the rest tomorrow?”
“I don’t want to hear it tomorrow or the day after.”
Then when am I supposed to finish my story? Rose tossed a piece of pie into her mouth. As she savored the taste, her cheeks turned redder than an apple.
Oh yeah, this man is in love with me.
She occasionally—or rather, quite often—forgot that. It didn’t help that she also didn’t know what topics were off-limits between couples.
Furthermore, there were probably things that were okay or no good for others that did and didn’t work for both of them and vice versa. This was one thing they would have to discuss and learn about each other as a couple.
Harij was very interested in learning about what kind of life Rose was living at the Azm mansion. He spared no effort in making sure it was peaceful—of that, she was sure.
Nevertheless, he likely didn’t enjoy imagining her getting along well with other men in his absence.
“Okay… Let me see, oh yes, a fawn was born in the forest. As I was watching, the mother brought her face near the amniotic sac and…”
She had picked the topic at random, but Harij happily listened to this story without a word of complaint.
✦ ✦ ✦
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ONCE they finished eating, Rose left her seat to wash the dishes. She needed to do that right after eating since she spent her nights at the Azm mansion. She couldn’t be as lazy as before.
“Phew. That should do it.”
Rose turned around after scrubbing the dishes so thoroughly that not even Harij could complain—and was met by a surprising sight.
“…Are you sleeping?”
She thought he was awfully quiet, but she never imagined it was because he’d fallen asleep. She tiptoed over to him just in case and stole a peek at his face.
“…He’s asleep.”
What skill he had to fall asleep sitting perfectly upright in the kitchen chair. Maybe his crossed arms were what kept him balanced, because he looked as stable as if he were awake. His expression was far from peaceful. He must have been tired, to look tense even in his sleep.
Crouching, Rose propped her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands. She studied every facet of Harij’s face, beautiful as it was even when taut and asleep.
Harij continually took extra steps to ensure Rose was adapting to life at the mansion even though he had recently been reassigned to a new post. He also had his hands full running around preparing everything for the wedding, which Rose had no interest in dabbling in.
The opportunities for them to eat together had been steadily decreasing, showing just how incredibly busy Harij was these days. He might have been pushing the limit coming home as often as he did in the beginning to make sure she settled in all right.
Today over the pie pockets, he’d told her he was finally able to get some time off. His break would be short-lived, though, because he needed to return to the palace just past noon tomorrow.
If he was going to rest here anyway, she wished he would do it in bed, but Rose was incapable of carrying Harij without assistance. She couldn’t possibly roll him onto the floor and heave him onto the bed like a log. And if she happened to wake him, he definitely wouldn’t consider going back to sleep.
Rose was surprised that instead of worrying that she would have to touch Harij, she was more worried about him. She had grown exceptionally accustomed to being with him.
“…Goodnight,” she whispered, sitting with her back leaning against the leg of Harij’s chair. She reached for one of the books littering the messy floor and softly opened it on her lap.