AN assortment of fresh fish floats to the surface, their white bellies face up.
Abigail turns to us, a proud look on her face.
✦ ✦ ✦
“That wasn’t even the right incantation…” I sigh.
The point isn’t to yell random words before you cast a spell!
“Oh, Master! The fish are floating away! It would be such a waste!”
“L-Let’s go!”
The guards dash into the river without a shred of hesitation and begin to toss the fish toward the bank.
I am blessed to have such men serving my family.
Abigail is starting to kick off her shoes, and I stop her quickly before dumping all the mouse grapes into her basin. I load my bucket with the stunned fish.
She insists on holding the basin as we walk back, and her bouncing gait sends grapes tumbling out with each step. But that doesn’t matter as long as she’s happy. Mouse grapes are normally so sour that only rodents like them, yet ours are sweet and tasty… Well, I guess that’s part of her Gift too.
Rodney is already cooking when we return to camp, and although we weren’t expecting additional ingredients, he glances at the pail of fish and nods as if he has an idea. “As expected of the lady.”
“Right.”
Abigail passes her basin to Tabitha and wanders toward the fire, likely because it’s larger compared to when we first kindled it. “Potatoes! I smell potatoes!”
“They’re not ready yet,” Rodney tells her. “They need more time to cook through.”
“Yes! So Rodney can cook too, not just brew tea!”
He coughs, yet his knife doesn’t slow. “Th-Thank you.” Unlike the surrounding guards who are choking back laughter, he is accustomed to her strange remarks.
“Step back from the fire, Abby,” I warn as I tug her from where she kneels by the pot. I did so merely because I didn’t want her to get too hot peering at the flames, and as I watch Tabitha brush a hand over Abigail’s bangs, I am additionally glad I intervened. She’s just too clumsy.
Abigail crouches a little further from the fire, bobbing happily on the balls of her feet. I position myself behind her just in case she loses her balance. I mustn’t take my eyes off her. I ignore the affectionate gazes of everyone watching us… Argh, stop it already! I have no choice but to stand here!
“Oh.”
Rodney is adding the chopped ingredients to the pot, and Abigail quickly queues behind him. I spot some strips of salmon jerky in her hand. Does she want to add that?
She spends so much time in our kitchens that she’s probably tried to cook on her own, though the way she wields a knife makes the chef and even myself occasionally feel faint. After numerous attempts, we managed to convince her that cooking is not a lady’s job. Indeed, most noblewomen only do so as a hobby. We’re all thankful that she gave up.
The guards have also gathered close, keeping an eye on the grilling fish as they check their weapons and monitor the clearing. It’s good that they relax while they can before I assign the night rotation. I’d been hoping to reduce their number, but that is out of the question since we’re camping outdoors. They’re all used to such duties, as are Rodney and I, but the inn’s denial has hit a nerve.
The last time we stayed there, the staff expressed fear and disgust at Abigail’s golden eyes, though they have no idea who she really is. They claim no availability, yet I have no doubt as to the real reason they won’t let us stay overnight again. The locals in the city of Longhurst were similar, and in lying to nobility, both have gone too far. I could have used my authority to force their hospitality, but I refuse to make Abigail or the servants uncomfortable or give the inn a single cent of my money.
Longhurst as a whole is simply too entrenched in outdated tradition and lore. Once again, I wish it nothing but ruin.
Certainly, Abigail is a little different from others, but that’s only because of her upbringing. Once someone bothers to spend time with her, they quickly realize that she harbors none of the evil that people expect. That’s why everyone in the Noel household has come to accept her unique Gift without suspicion. And, of course, because I hire only the most outstanding servants.
“What are you doing? Are you cracking something?” Abigail approaches one of the veteran guards who is fiddling with a couple of walnuts while watching the fish.
“Hmm? Oh, it’s just something I do to keep my hands busy. Would you like one?” He cracks open the nuts with one hand and her golden eyes widen.
“Wow, you’re strong. I want to try too. Huh…?”
Her palm is too small to hold two at once. She lifts her hand high as if that will help, and naturally it doesn’t. The guard tries to show her the trick of rubbing the nuts together to crack them, but unfortunately, she lacks the strength to grip them correctly.
“Show me the trick again please!”
“…Of course.”
“Wow! Again! Again, please… My lord?”
I take one of the walnuts from her and crush it in one hand.
“Wow! My lord is so strong!”
“…You’ve crushed the nut inside as well, Master.”
Oh, it doesn’t matter, does it?! Stop looking at me like that! Stop!
✦ ✦ ✦
THE grilled fish skewers are so tasty, and so is the vegetable and salmon jerky soup. I learn that I must eat fish from the side and not begin with the head. I also learn that salmon jerky turns soft when boiled.
And finally, one of the potatoes hidden among the hot coals is placed onto my plate.
“Here you go, my lady. Please wait,” Rodney says. He grills a cube of cheese and… Oh! He puts the melted cheese on top of my potato!
“Wow…” I pierce the potato with a fork, mix in the melted cheese, and wait. I know it’s really hot, yet I’ve waited for a while. It must be cool enough to eat: the melted cheese has become a solid lump!
Hot! It’s still hot! But…
“Delicious!”
“Y-Yes, Abby. Here, have some water.”
“Yes!”
The potato is soft and fluffy, so smooth in combination with the cheese. Scrumptious!
“It’s amazing. It’s not crispy even after being roasted! It’s so fluffy! Rodney is great with fires!”
“Thank you for the wonderful compliment, my lady.”
“Yes!”
The red and yellow flames light my lord husband’s and the others’ faces. The nights are no longer cold, yet the warm feeling that settles inside me doesn’t come from the weather or fire but from everyone’s smiles.
Having fun feels nice and warm.
A sleeping area is set up for Tabitha and me inside a carriage, and I ask to sleep in my lord husband’s lap instead. That’s what camping outside is all about! But he says that won’t make me feel rested, so he layers three blankets on the ground for me.
I remember falling asleep with my head cushioned by his arm, but when I wake, he’s no longer there. I spot him seated by the fire with Walnut the guard, chatting quietly. He frowns, then his eyes crinkle in laughter. He looks like he’s having fun.
His low whispers sound like a gentle breeze through a forest canopy. They make me feel fluttery inside… Huh?
“Oh, sorry. Were we too loud?” He’s sensed that I’m awake. He places his cup on the ground.
No, he wasn’t too loud. I sit up, shaking my head. “It sounded nice.”
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t wake because of your voice, my lord. I woke because it’s calling me.”
“Calling you? ‘It’?”
I’m closest to the fire, and Rodney and the other guards are resting in a ring around us. I told them that monsters wouldn’t come, yet my lord husband insisted on a watch in case of bandits. Tabitha is sleeping in the carriage.
“We’re the only ones awake,” says my lord husband.
“The monsters are awake too,” I say.
“…Are they coming here?”
Walnut crouches, ready, as my lord husband reaches for the sword by his side.
“Not to attack. The ones who live here are weak—and smart.”
The air is clear, and a short distance separates our grassy clearing and the woodland. The trees aren’t too dense, so I can see the many tiny eyes peering at us from amid the foliage.
“They’re just watching, see?”
“What…?”
I point and both my lord husband and Walnut turn, squinting, though I doubt they can discern anything.
Speaking with monsters isn’t the same as speaking with humans. In fact, it’s not a language at all, and different types communicate in different ways. And I understand every single one. And our onlookers aren’t who woke me.
“Those monsters called to you?”
“No. They’re just watching and talking among themselves.”
“I see.”
Although the night is still, windless, the leaves on the trees sway. Occasionally, insects chirp. Unripe nuts fall from branches with soft plops, and mushrooms puff spores into the air. A stream murmuring nearby seems to slow while the stars overhead twinkle faster.
My lord husband wraps me gently in a blanket.
“Goodbye,” I whisper.
“What?”
“It said, ‘Goodbye.’”
It was silent when I left for the Noel household the previous year. I would have heard it otherwise, even while in the capital.
Since it is saying goodbye, I say goodbye too.