Simmering Jams at the Edge of the Forest

ted with poison.
You’re lucky you didn’t die instantly.”

“He wanted me gone so badly, didn’t he? Well, it seems to have been for nothing.”

“No, I don’t think that’s the part where you should get mad…”

He introduced me to the patients visiting the clinic as an intern assistant.
Life in the moderately sized country town was peaceful itself.

During office hours, I stood by Dr.
Daniel’s side, followed his instructions, helped him with the details, and at night I borrowed his books to read.
It was interesting to learn about medicine.
It was the first time I had studied something and found it interesting, which surprised me.

Few people were injured, probably because most of the residents had a calm temperament.
Why was he only dealing with patients who were under his skills as the first physician of the royal court?

He could make as much money as he wanted by staying in royal capital and treating the nobility, but why was he here for an almost free consultation?

Why did he pick me up in the first place? Even if he was right and couldn’t overlook the injured, why would he keep me here when he would just send me home and be done with my treatment…? There was so much about Dr.
Daniel that I didn’t understand.

“My, Daniel, it’s been so long.
Ah, so that’s the new assistant.”

‘It’s nice to meet you’, said an elegant woman of the same age as Dr.
Daniel, smiling softly.
I was taken to a nobleman’s mansion on the outskirts of the village, backed by a forest, to make a house call.
Buddy, the big dog, and this former Countess Adelaide Dustin lived here, one person and one dog.

“Addy, how are you? He’s Mark Disraeli.
I picked him up in royal capital.”

The afternoon tea was naturally prepared while they laughed peacefully at the fact that something good had fallen… I thought we were here for a house call.

On the table in front of us were two kinds of baked sweets and cups of fragrant tea, both of which were probably made by the madam.
The boss was completely at ease, and I understood that this was a regular occurrence.

I saw nothing modern about the way she dressed or lived.
If you called her outdated, you were right, but she seemed appropriate for this place where time seemed to have stopped.

Apparently, these two old friends met occasionally for a cup of tea and called it a house call.
The time passed peacefully, and we left the house, making no plans for the next appointment.

We walked back to the clinic in a blazing sunset.

“… The only reason you’re in this village, Doctor, is because she’s here.”

“That is so.
She’s very important to me.”

When I was a little surprised to see Dr.
Daniel asserting himself without hiding, he paused and looked straight at me.

“Mark.
Status and money are meaningless if you don’t have them when you need them.
I couldn’t help her.
That fact will never go away.”

I wondered what he was going to blurt out.
After a moment’s delay, I realized that this was a topic that he had talked about once before and had never come up again.

“If you can reach out your hand, you should.
One day, it will help you.
It’ll come in handy when you have something to protect.”

“… I have nothing to protect.”

“Protecting women and children is the true meaning of a man’s life, I believe.”

His tone was joking, but his expression was bitter.

“In the meantime, you should start by accepting the favors you are given.
I will not ask you to suddenly fall in love with someone.
You don’t have to reply, just receive the words and feelings first.
Then you’ll start to remember that you’re human….
You know, you’re just one person, Mark.”

Because I didn’t treat myself as a person, they would do the same to me.
That was why it was so easy to kill me.
Of course, the fault laid entirely with the other side.

The words, tinted by the setting sun, pierced the back of my mind and would not leave.

In the end, I spent about four months in Meissery.
After returning to royal capital and graduating from the academy, I spent some time learning the basics at the academy’s medical department while staying at the Royal Academy of Medicine under the arrangement of Dr.
Daniel.

My entry into the medical clinic suspended the succession struggle, and with Daniel Reynolds behind me, the outward attacks on me were muted.

When I had gained most of the knowledge and skills, and had made some acquaintances, if not friends, I returned to Meissery.

“… I didn’t call you.”

“I’d like to be your apprentice.”

‘You are still a funny kid, you know that?’ Having said that, this mentor with deep pockets accepted me again.
I wanted to live beside this person more than my birth parents.

“Don’t worry; I’ll take care of you in the end.”

“I’ve become an old geezer to miss that kind of talk, haven’t I?”

Before I knew it, I was smiling, looked back into the eyes that were watching me happily, and I thanked him profusely.

Before the clinic started, I went to the forest to gather some medicinal herbs that might run out.
Healing magic was effective for external wounds, but not for internal diseases, so medication was required.
This forest, protected by the Count Dustin’s family, was home to many kinds of medicinal herbs, which the doctor and I had permission to collect.

I found what I was looking for, and as I approached the path that led to the backyard of Lady Adelaide’s mansion, I heard the light, joyful squeal of a friend.

When I looked over, I saw Margaret spinning around, twirling the basket in her hands as if she were dancing.
Black hair fluttering near her shoulders, the hem of her skirt spreading gently….
The sun was shining softly around her as if it was only there, and the waltz that was supposed to be inaudible could be heard on the wind.

As I stopped to stare, she suddenly crouched down and clasped her ankles.
That was probably true, she was not healed yet.
If it weren’t for the doctor’s treatment, she would still be in bed.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, for some reason I felt warmth in my chest.
Just as I was about to go help her, she stood up and walked slowly with Buddy as if nothing had happened.

I watched her go back to the villa and went back home.

I found myself always looking for her.

When I met my teacher, I became a “human”.
And now, I couldn’t hold on to my newfound emotions.

She had a straightforward gaze, a smile with no hidden agenda.
The carefree look she had on her face when she was with Lady Adelaide or my teacher.
White fingertips touching the palms of conversing hands… everything that was far away from me.

I held them in my hands and didn’t want to let them go.

I knew the name that will be attached to this feeling.
But I didn’t want to use such trite words to describe this urge I felt for the first time in my life.

Margaret dismissed as unnecessary many of the privileges she should have received as the Spirit Orison.
It seemed that what she sought was not the ostentatious adoration of many people, but only the affection and gratitude of those closest to her.

I wondered what the world looked like in her two-colored eyes, which always wore an air of serenity.
I wondered how different the world she saw from my own.

It would be full of light, and I hoped one day to know it.