“Huh?!”
The woman couldn’t believe her ears.
Actually, it wasn’t her ears she doubted.
“Umm, mother, are you sure that really happened…?”
She spent every afternoon alone with her husband’s mother. Her husband brought lunch to work instead of returning home to eat, and her children had already grown up and started their own families, so while they hadn’t left the village, they no longer lived with her.
That meant every afternoon, she—a woman in her fifties—was left alone with her mother-in-law, who was in her eighties. And she had just been given reason to doubt the older woman’s sanity.
Her mother-in-law was quite old. Her physical health had declined, but her mind was still sound. However, this might have been the first sign she was finally losing it.
“Oh, stop it. I haven’t gone senile yet.”
Her mother-in-law was offended. But could she really blame her for reacting this way? Senility was the only explanation for what she’d just said. And if her story was true, then she had lost her mind for a different reason. Either way, she was off her rocker.
“Mother, can you repeat that one more time?”
She couldn’t overlook this. If what her mother-in-law had described had really happened, they could be in big trouble.
As her anxiety grew, her mother-in-law spoke with an irritatingly proud expression:
“A sorcerer hit on me.”
Yep. She’s definitely lost her marbles, she thought. Her mother-in-law was old, and it had been punishingly hot outside. I suppose it was only a matter of time before this happened.
“Hold on. I can explain.”
And yet when her mother-in-law—who insisted she had not lost her mind—explained the story from the beginning, she believed her right away.
In fact, the story was quite plausible.
Apparently, the old woman was about to collapse from the heat when a sorcerer who happened to have been nearby saved her.
The sorcerer had been watching her with concern from a distance after noticing how unsteadily she’d been walking. Then when she began to fall, he rushed over and grabbed her. Afterward, her mother-in-law had promised to make him lunch to show her gratitude.
It sounded like she really had been hit on, though perhaps those words didn’t carry the same meaning she’d assumed at first.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah. I just needed to drink some water. I have my appetite back, as you can see.”
That was great to hear. In that case, the woman was free to move on to the next issue.
“So is the sorcerer coming here?”
Sorcerers often visited their village, though most people had no chance to interact with them.
Even from a distance, you could tell they were all dressed in fancy clothes like nobles. Would one of them really come to this totally unremarkable villager’s house?
“Yes, he is. I told him to come at noon tomorrow.”
This is a disaster! A noble was coming to eat at their shabby little hovel. Her mother-in-law had lost her mind after all.
“My cooking days are behind me,” said the old woman. “You’ll have to do it for me.”
“No way! I can’t make anything fancy enough for a sorcerer!”
“Don’t worry. That boy won’t be picky.”
“That’s not the problem…”
“He was nice enough to treat an old hag like me as if I was a beautiful lady. He won’t complain about the food unless you serve him a plate of dirt.”
He’d treated a woman in her eighties like a beautiful lady? What kind of kid was this? Had he lost his mind?
One day later, the boy arrived.
“Greetings.”
He’d really shown up. The sorcerer who’d hit on her mother-in-law was here.
He was a well-dressed boy wearing a mask over his eyes.
She had been doubtful he’d come… Thank goodness she’d prepared.
“Thank you very much for inviting me today.”
His manner of speech and the way he carried himself were immaculate. He must have really been a noble.
“Yes, well, please come in. This is only a shabby commoner’s house, so, uh, we don’t have much to offer.”
She had never spoken to a noble before and had never thought she would. There were terrifying stories of nobles who would behead people for a single slight. Panic welled up within her; she had no formal education and no idea how to behave.
But then…
“Be at ease, my lady.”
…she felt something soft touch her.
She looked down and saw the boy had taken her hand.
“Acting flustered doesn’t suit a woman of your stunning beauty. I want you to mesmerize me by smiling as bright as the sun.”
Ah. He really is insane, she thought.
“Something smells delicious. Thank you very much for cooking for me.”
He might be crazy…but he seems like a good kid.
“Please sit here, Mr. Sorcerer,” her mother-in-law said from within the house.
“Of course,” the boy said. “My lady, would you do me the honor of escorting me?”
There was no escorting to be done; the table was right in front of them. It was only a few steps away.
“Uh, yes… Right this way.”
However, while his eye mask and behavior were eccentric—and she still had reason to doubt his sanity—his smile contained an elegance absent from the village children. He was adorable.
“You called this house shabby,” he said, “but I think it’s wonderful. I can tell from how clean it is that its residents are hard workers.”
He showed no dissatisfaction with their poor commoners’ house.
“Mmm, this is delicious. I love a woman who can cook. I’d take you for my companion if I could.”
She’d put her all into cooking every dish, and he praised all of them. When they were young, her husband had complimented her cooking as well. But these days, he never said a word.
“You can tell a cook’s consideration for the people they are serving by the way they cut their vegetables. Cooking is said to be a form of affection, and that is certainly the case here. I feel nothing but love from this food. I’m in Heaven.”
Each of his statements was more frivolous than the last, but he was full of nothing but praise. The woman would be lying to herself if she said that didn’t make her happy.
“Did you fill this food with love just for me?” he asked, and she couldn’t deny it.
By the time the boy left, she found herself thinking one thing: True gentlemen were a treasure.