Chapter 44
AFTER returning to Fol, Yuki was sucked back into the pattern of hustling around Fol Castle giving orders. A trip to the castle town showed it to be a completely different place from when they first arrived—people were free to walk around at any time of day. Occasionally people could be seen out during the night hours known as the Witch’s Hour, though not as many as there were during the afternoon. Fol had unquestionably regained its vigor.
Yuki stomped on wet clothes in the washhouse with several women. People who had recovered from the Ten Day Fever started volunteering their time to serve at the castle. Thanks to the influx of helping hands, Yuki’s workload drastically decreased and she even had the occasional break.
“…But you know, Selena…”
“Hmm?”
Yuki addressed Selena without looking at her where she sat on the pool edge just watching Yuki and the other women splashing around in the water, “I get the feeling the number of patients isn’t decreasing… If anything, they’re only increasing. Is it just my imagination?”
With the influx of people, the amount of work she had to manage on her own had decreased, but the overall workload seemed to triple by the day.
“That’s true. The number of people in Fol has increased.”
“The number of people in Fol? Did the people who fled Fol come back or something? That’s a good thing then,” Yuki commented.
Selena swirled her fingers in the water with a conflicted look. “There’s probably some truth to those words, but the biggest reason for the influx is different.”
Yuki stopped stomping on the sheets. “What do you mean?”
Selena sighed like she didn’t want to explain. “Is there even a need to explain? Haven’t you realized it, Yuki? Didn’t you notice the trend in the types of people who have been coming here lately?” she emphasized on a staccato.
Yuki cocked her head in puzzlement. Selena sighed at her. “I guess that’s one of the things I find so nice about you… You don’t expect people to have ulterior motives and accept them exactly as they present themselves. Listen closely, okay? The majority of people coming lately are nobles! Haven’t you noticed the increase in people prattling on about the luxury of wanting a room to themselves?! Those are all nobles!”
“Nobles?”
“Yes! You might not know this, but nobles are people from families who live in the castle, deal with government affairs, and hold all sorts of high positions in life.”
“I see…”
Nobles don’t change much even in another world, Yuki concluded internally.
“I have no doubt noble families caught wind of rumors about the doctor staying at Fol Castle being able to cure the Ten Day Fever and have sent their infected family members as patients.”
“Wow. Is that what’s happening? Do rumors spread so easily here?”
“You don’t get it!” Selena exclaimed, jabbing her finger toward Yuki. “The humans we call nobles have a world of time on their hands! They’ve got nothing to do! They don’t have to fret about their next meal or where they’ll sleep like the commoners do. They just stay in their mansions studying and use gossip as the sugar to sweeten up their opulent tea parties!”
“Heh,” Yuki responded dumbly.
“Well, I guess you could say it’s thanks to them? We’ve benefited greatly from the food and supplies the nobles donate to us. But I still can’t help thinking the abrupt increase in nobles is strange…” Selena frowned.
Yuki stepped out of the pool, wiped her feet off with a dry cloth, and sat beside her. “What’s strange about it?” Selena didn’t answer her. “Selena?”
Yuki leaned over and peered at her face. Selena turned only her eyes to the sky before suddenly spinning around and grinning at Yuki. “This isn’t a conversation we can have here. Do you have plans after this, Yuki? Why don’t we have tea? You don’t look too good. You look whiter than the clean sheets. I’m sure you still have work to do, but let’s take a break together.” She elegantly stood from the ledge.
“Huh? Um, okay?”
Yuki left the rest of the washing to the other women and let Selena tug her out of the washhouse.