“Thank you.”
“Squeak!”
As thanks, I gave the squirrel a walnut, which it happily took with both paws.
The next squirrel brought me a torn piece of luxurious velvet cloth.
“What is this?” I asked it. I tilted my head in confusion, and the squirrel tilted its head in the same direction. It would seem that it didn’t know what it was either, but I didn’t think that it had brought it here for no reason.
The squirrels kept providing me with enigmatic clues. It would be my job to decipher the meaning of all these trinkets.
“Thank you for all your work, everyone. You may all get some rest now. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
The squirrels raised their paws and squeaked in unison.
The following day, I finished all my work and headed to the palace orchard with Madeleine and Parfeil. Trees from all over the world were growing in the orchard. There was also a greenhouse that must have contained trees from the tropics. Since mountain peaches naturally grew all over, there was no need to raise them in a greenhouse.
I heard a voice calling from a distance.
“You are all late!!!”
Lady Opera was already there. Our meeting time wasn’t for another ten minutes, but it seemed that she had arrived even earlier.
“Oh my, Her Highness seems to be quite excited for today,” Madeleine remarked.
“Indeed. Let’s hurry before she yells at us again.”
We jogged to the area where the mountain peach trees were planted.
To our surprise, Lady Opera was wearing not a dress but masculine horseback-riding attire today.
“What? Did you two expect me to wear a dress?” she asked. “I would not be able to pick peaches to my heart’s content if I did.”
“I apologize. I did not think of that,” I said.
“Neither did I...” Madeleine added.
There wouldn’t have been any problems even if she were in a dress today, but I bowed my head in apology regardless.
“In any case, teach me how to harvest the peaches,” Lady Opera commanded.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The gardeners brought over a large chair used for picking fruit. I climbed it like a ladder and sat at the top. Charlotte, on the other hand, had climbed trees and picked fruits without using a chair, but of course I wouldn’t do such a thing in front of Lady Opera. Charlotte really had been quite a tomboy princess back then.
“First, sit on the chair, and then reach out for the peaches—”
“Hold it! I am...still climbing...!” Lady Opera wheezed.
“Th-This is quite a tall chair...” Madeleine’s voice trembled.
While both Lady Opera and Madeleine struggled to climb up, I cheered them on silently.
“I-I did it! I-I am seated!”
“Wonderful work, Lady Opera.”
“Be more enthusiastic when you say that!” she cried.
“Perhaps you just couldn’t pick up on my mood because you were so far away,” I said.
At last, it seemed that both of them were ready. I began to explain how to pick mountain peaches. “It’s not too difficult. You don’t need to put too much force into picking ripe ones. Just pull on them gently.”
“I see. I shall try it.” Lady Opera held on to the chair’s armrest with her left hand and reached out with her right. However, perhaps due to the location of the chair, she was unable to reach any fruit.
“Wh-What should I do?”
“I believe you can reach it if you squat,” I suggested.
“D-Do you mean to have me squat on such unstable footing?!” she cried.
“Um... How about reaching out a bit more?”
“Then I will be unable to hold on to the armrest!”
What should we do? She needs something to hold on to...
I looked around our surroundings and caught sight of Parfeil’s long ears. I called out to her. “Parfeil!”
“You got it, milady!” Parfeil approached Lady Opera without me having to say anything. “Your Highness, please grab on to my ears!” she offered.
“Oh, the bunny! I shall borrow your ears, then.”
“Of course! Please do.”
Lady Opera held on to Parfeil’s ears and leaned forward. While doing so, she managed to grab a peach.
“I-I did it!!!”
Lady Opera had finally managed to pick her first mountain peach. Her escorts gathered and gave her a big round of applause.
After we finished gathering peaches, we washed them and would expose them to the moon’s light overnight.
“So this is the witch herbalist’s method of saving our women,” Lady Opera said.
“Indeed it is,” I replied.
“Thank you.”
“Hm?”
“I thank you for accomplishing the task that I could not,” she said. “This is a remarkable feat that will leave its mark in dragonkin history.”
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined Lady Opera acknowledging my deeds. I didn’t know how to react.
While I stood there dumbfounded, Lady Opera bowed her head. “I also apologize for my actions. I treated you as a criminal out of jealousy and punished you for your deeds.”
“Lady Opera, I understand where you are coming from,” I said. “It must have felt like I came out of nowhere to steal all of the glory despite all your years of effort.”
“That is no excuse for my actions. You have managed to find a method to save all of dragonkin through your own efforts,” Lady Opera said. She took hold of my hands. “Will you continue to pour your efforts into helping our kin?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
Just as I thought, Lady Opera really was a person full of love for all of dragonkin. She had been working so hard for all these years to no avail. Now, we were here to help direct her efforts. Picking mountain peaches today had helped to bring us closer together than ever.