From the day after our late-night herb gathering.
A substitute for Shanly, who still couldn’t leave home while nursing her beloved daughter, started coming around.
Every day around noon, lavish catering would arrive along with a carefully written letter.
Steamed rice wrapped in large leaves, tenderly simmered whole chicken soup, and more. They were sending us the most extravagant feasts possible.
This is truly a blessing.
Quality of life improvement!!
Apparently, these were all dishes arranged with great pride by Shanly, the highly skilled merchant who came from the continent. Honestly, it felt like too much for just the two of us to eat. Or rather, it was definitely too much.
This feast bombardment was probably caused by Fuuka stubbornly refusing the substantial monetary gratitude Shanly offered when we left her house, saying “As the daughter of the Hamilton family, I cannot accept this.”
“Ugh~, I-I can’t eat anymore!”
“Indeed…”
“Hey, Fuuka-chan? What if we shared some of this with others?”
“Shared? …What is that?”
Fuuka tilted her head cutely.
The concept of “sharing food” didn’t exist for a count’s daughter. Of course, that made sense.
“It means giving away the portions we can’t finish.”
“Hmm, that certainly seems reasonable.”
“We could serve the soup to people, and for those who aren’t hungry, we could give them steamed rice to take home.”
“Well, given the current situation, quite a few people will likely come this afternoon too.”
“Yeah! I never imagined things would turn out like this.”
Miyako’s gaze grew distant.
“Somehow, being helpful to others isn’t easy either, is it?”
“That’s right, Fuuka-chan. But…”
“What is it, Miyako?”
Miyako pressed her softening cheeks with both hands, going “ufufu.”
“Somehow, Fuuka-chan, you look really happy!”
Miyako had been planning to enjoy a slow life in the countryside with her beloved Fuuka-chan!
But recently, the winds had started shifting slightly.
Because.
“Miyako-sama! Fuuka-sama! Please, some medicine!”
“I’m the one who received herbs from you yesterday – my son’s cough stopped completely!”
“You two are the famous saintesses we’ve heard about in rumors!!”
…And so it went.
The tragedy of ‘self-produced miasma poisoning’ that happened to Shanly’s beloved daughter, who probably had many connections in that village. And the rumor about the two young ladies from the royal capital who solved it overnight spread rapidly through the village. Then to neighboring towns and villages.
And over the past few days, people hoping to have medicine made for them had been flocking to our cottage.
“Fortunately, we still have plenty of moonlight grass,”
Fuuka said as she diligently continued listening to symptoms and preparing medicines.
No payment required.
Just one condition, don’t tell anyone else about Miyako and Fuuka’s existence.
‘Nyahoo, medicine blessed by my protection is basically national treasure-level, nyaa~’
“Now now, Umi. Thank you very much.”
‘Mufuu, I’ll compromise with back pats as thanks, nyaa’
“Okay okay. You’ve become quite the cat, haven’t you?”
Remembering how she used to pet cats at cat cafes, Miyako patted Umi’s back. Umi shook her fluffy fur contentedly.
‘Nyah♡ Nyahaaah~♡♡♡ There! There, more please nyaaah~♡♡♡’
“Wait… Umi”
“A-hem”
She’s a cat.
A fluffy Persian cat.
Even so, when she expresses her pleasure with that bell-like girl voice, it’s very problematic, Water Spirit-sama!?
“Thank you, Saintess-sama!”
“I told you, I’m not a saintess!”
With that exchange, the last patient left just around snack time.
Even though it takes several hours by carriage from neighboring villages, everyone must have headed for this cottage since early morning. By the time they return home, it should be completely dark. Miyako and Fuuka gave them leaf-wrapped steamed rice from Shanly’s super luxurious catering—amounts that the two of them couldn’t possibly finish.
“Sharing was a great success! Or rather, it’s basically packed lunches now!”
“Packed lunches?”
Fuuka tilted her head cutely.
So adorable!! Miyako desperately suppressed her grinning face.
“Packed lunches are meals you take with you when you go out.”
“Like catering?”
“Hmm~~”
This is where you can tell she’s a proper young lady, Miyako thought.
This was Fuuka, our beloved villainess young lady, a natural-born aristocrat.
“Ah, then. Let’s go on a picnic together next time.”
“Picnic… Whose hospitality is it?”
“It’s not hospitality! It’s a picnic just for the two of us!”
For Fuuka, picnics were essentially extensions of aristocratic social circles.
For the hosting family, it was a burdensome event they desperately prepared for months in advance to avoid bringing shame to their family name. For participants, it was the perfect opportunity for political maneuvering and preliminary discussions about arranged marriages.
That’s why picnics naturally involved extravagant catering by private chefs, and their purpose was hospitality.
“Just for the two of us.”
“That’s right. I’m sure it’ll be fun, Fuuka-chan!”
Miyako said in a sing-song voice as she warmed the whole chicken soup.
Where should we go for the picnic?
There should be a famous flower field nearby.
What should we put in our packed lunches?
Sandwiches are the standard, right? I used to be good at making egg sandwiches.
Haven’t made them in a while.
When you’re busy, you can’t really cook.
Six days left until the promised deadline.
Will Fuuka say she’s “happy”?
“…But even if she doesn’t say it”
“Huh?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Fuuka laughed.
Yes.
Even if Fuuka doesn’t say she’s “happy.”
Even if this life doesn’t continue.
If Fuuka remembers this life as having been happy.
That might be okay too.
I want to be with her forever.
But even if that’s not possible, if Fuuka is happy.
“Strange Miyako”
Miyako thought that she really loved Fuuka’s smiling face when she laughed like that.
Just then.
“Heeey, is anyone there!?”
“Huh, who!?”
A voice came from outside the cottage.
I could hear horses neighing too.
Someone had arrived by carriage. They felt different from previous visitors.
Umi, who had been curled up by the window, twitched and stood up, her ears trembling.
I hurriedly opened the door.
Seeing the figure standing there, Miyako screamed.
“B-Big Brother!?”
“Ooh, so you were here after all, Miyako!!”
“Haah, isn’t that… the carriage that was stolen from us the other day!?”
Standing there was—
The man who had gracefully descended from the carriage stolen on the mountain path at night.
“Wait, big brother? You said big brother, Miyako?”
“Yeah, I am indeed the second son of the Florence family, and the brother of Miyako over there… Odina Florence”
Odina, covered in mud with an exhausted expression, narrowed his eyes framed by dark circles.
His expression held the sorrow of a man forced into an unreasonable business trip by his employer after working excessive overtime.
And.
“By order of Klaus Reinhardt-sama, I’ve come to retrieve my sister…., gakuri”
Thud.
“B-Big Broooooooother!????”
Odina Florence collapsed from exhaustion in the front yard mere seconds after his appearance.