Simmering Jams at the Edge of the Forest

tart when Mr.
Hugh fell down flat on his face.
Eh?

“It’s done.”

Apparently, the exploratory magic was over… It was so quick that it took less than a minute of the time.
Oh, what was happening to Mr.
Hugh? I was getting nervous and Mark told me.

“Don’t worry, I think he was mostly hit by magic, we’ll soon find out… Whether he touched the sensitive stuff at all…”

“Hey, Hugh, wake up.”

As he said that, Sir Walter slapped him on the cheek, and Hugh got up, saying, ‘No.’ His cheeks were flushed and his eyes sparkled with some kind of joy.

“Yes, I knew it was connected! It was the same magic that came from the forest!”

… He looked awfully happy, took my hands again, and buzzed up and down.

“After that, I learned one thing! Those eyes, they’re linked to the eyes of the Spirit of the capital.
I was hit by the magic thanks to the genie’s vision, but I could see the face of our boss.
It was a medium.
But still, the first one is in the woods again…”

That was not true.
I didn’t see any different view, but.
I wondered if my eyes would return to normal someday.
I still couldn’t get used to the color of them, and every time I looked in the mirror, I got a minor surprise.

“Maybe it will return once all the wounds are healed and there is no need to send magic power, I don’t know.
If it’s also serving other roles, it might stay that way, so I don’t know there.
I’ll know a little more once I check with the head… In the meantime, thanks, Margaret.
I got to see some good stuff!”

No, I think I’d learned a lot, and it was my pleasure.
I was about to take my hand away from Hugh, who was in an excellent mood, when he suddenly pulled me with a yank and kissed me on the cheek… Eh?

“Hey!”

“That’s overkill.”

When I came back to myself, I saw Mr.
Hugh with his head held down by a dismayed Sir Walter, and Mark stepping on his back.

Well, Mr.
Hugh was currently in the middle of choking on a mountain of my special cookies that were stuffed into his mouth.

While looking at Mr.
Hugh crouching with teary eyes, Sir Walter asked in a small voice, ‘Is this what you call a cookie…?’ It was what he mumbled.
Yes, I prepared it for you.
It didn’t go to waste.
I meant, we were just on the verge of lip kissing just now.
No, I was not going to yak about one kiss when I was old enough to know better, but you couldn’t have a three-way combo of surprise, spectators and without agreement.
It was not a Christmas lodestar.
Mark wiped my face so hard.
It was painful.

Well, so Hugh’s lodging was changed to Dr.
Daniel’s clinic by Mark and Sir Walter, who were worried about the high tension with Mr.
Hugh staying here as it was.
Mark was staying with us.
I didn’t think it was necessary to monitor me.

“Oh, my God, I thought I was going to die…Young lady’s punishment is harsh.
Cough.”

“Be thankful you got away with that much.
You are a total…”

Oh, he was back.
It was powdery, but it tasted good, didn’t it? Please go ahead, there was more!

“Ah, I’m sorry.
I’m so full.”

“Come on, stand up.
It’s getting pretty late, we’d better be off.”

I watched Mark drag Mr.
Hugh away at the front door with a persistent reminder that if I felt anything wrong with my body, even in the middle of the night, I should always let him know.

“…Shall we rest? Margaret and Walter must be tired.
We can clean up the tea tomorrow.”

I thought that perhaps Lady Adelaide was the most tired of all.
I nodded, kissed her goodnight on the cheek, and saw Lady Adelaide off to her room.
Sorry for creating such a big fuss over me that lasted much later than usual.

I bid good night to Sir Walter and did not go to my room…but to the kitchen.
Yeah, I’d like to take a quick breather before sleeping.

After washing the teapot and cups with only the light at hand and without making any water noise, I filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove.
As I stood in the dark and watched the fire boiling water in a daze, I was reminded of the commotion I had just witnessed.

Magic from the forest.
These eyes.
This body… I thought I was the same as the people in this world, just without magic power, but I guess I was not.
Was there something else hidden from me? I read in a book that there were people who lived on the streets in ‘The Spirit Orisons’, but I wondered if people around them felt uneasy or annoyed.

I had to worry about Lady Adelaide as well.
Perhaps if I was here, in the future…?

“…It’s boiling over.”

A voice at the kitchen entrance brought me back to myself.
Oops, the kettle was whistling.
I was surprised to see Sir Walter, who I thought was resting, come to drink some water.
I picked up two mugs and held them up to him, and he replied with a thank you, a wrinkle between his eyebrows.
It was nighttime, and I had tea earlier, so I would have herbal tea.
Some people didn’t like it, so I showed him the tea leaves before brewing and he said it was okay, so I made chamomile tea with Sir Walter.
It helped you sleep well, apparently.
I thought it was boiled with milk and made into milk tea in a Peter Bunny picture book.
Honey was optional.

“…I’ve missed this.
I remember drinking it as a child.”

I wished Lady Adelaide have brewed it.
Chamomile was something you could get your kids to drink.

…I first made this tea with her help.
As I still could not walk well or carry heavy things, I pestered Lady Adelaide by asking if there was anything I could do, and as a result, she cut some chamomile that was blooming in the garden.
The flowers were picked and dried, thus dried chamomile for tea was made.

Sitting across the corner of the dining room table, I sipped a cup of tea of memories while letting it cool down with a whiff.
Tonight, it was quiet outside, with no wind, and other than the occasional quill running over the magic tool on the table, there was no sound.

As I took a sip of my drink and wrote what I wanted to ask, Sir Walter’s gaze moved to the board of magical tools… How should I write it down? I moved my pen, hesitating.

He must have been worried.
Suddenly, a suspicious person called The Orison popped up with his mother.
I didn’t think I chose to come here, but I was the one who said I didn’t want to leave.

Besides, I realized today that I was not a normal person after all.

You never know what kind of trouble you might bring… I also knew that it would be a burden for Lady Adelaide, who wanted to live quietly.
In truth, it would be better to stay away, I knew that was true.

I’m sorry… I really, really love her.
I didn’t want to leave.
I wanted to be here with Lady Adelaide, not just out of the woods.

Sir Walter’s eyes were lightly glazed over, and the crease between his eyebrows deepened.
Somehow, I knew he was not angry, though.

“That’s not what I meant…My mother seems to have a lot of fun with you.
I can tell by looking at her that she doesn’t think of you as a burden or anything.
Don’t worry about it.
You’re here to stay.
No, hopefully you’ll stay forever.”

I was surprised.
I thought you would object more… I never thought you would say that.
I was so surprised that I looked at him closely and he started talking with difficulty.

“There is no need to worry about a problem that hasn’t happened.
That is why I and Hugh are being sent here.
Besides… I’m not a person who has filial piety, you know.
It would be nice if we could be friendly instead.”

Oh, right.
It wasn’t a suspicious interrogation.

Also, he was aware of his lack of filial piety.
But I couldn’t replace him, because he was her only son.
Lady Adelaide would be pleased if he reconnected with her himself.
Since he was saying this, he must be willing to do so.

I didn’t look away, and Sir Walter smiled at me as if he were troubled… Did he smile?

“I’m too pathetic to find the trigger.
I know it’s my fault, but I have no idea how to talk… What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

Thin steeple eyes that went down when he smiled.

… I didn’t think they looked alike, but when they smiled, they looked exactly alike.
They could have done that all the time.