With fatigued steps, Siffia finally came back to her room, closing the door behind her and flopping herself down onto her bed with the basket placed carefully onto her lap. She rested there for a moment, simply breathing and relaxing, before straightening up and taking a look at what was waiting for her in this ‘care package’.
“Let’s see what you sent me, Lady Eris...”
Gingerly, she parted the lovely embroidered cloth that had been concealing the basket’s contents, and reached in to pull out the first thing she could find.
“...Oh! It’s that cake!”
Held in a sparkling, overly fancy-looking translucent box was the cake that she’d so enjoyed from the cafe that she’d gone to with Eris. Siffia lifted the cake up to the ceiling with both hands, admiring it like she was praising some kind of a treasure, before placing it gently off to the side of the bed and giving it a few happy pats on top of its box.
“I’ll save you for after dinner!”
From the moment she’d seen the cake, a large smile had spread across Siffia’s lips. While it was true that this was a ‘get well soon package’ in a sense, it would have been easy for Eris to procure any fancy cake or sweet to send to her, as was customary. But the fact that Eris had gone out of her way to remember what cake she’d enjoyed the most made Siffia’s heart tickle, almost making her even happier than receiving the cake in the first place.
With her mood already lifted many times higher than when she’d first started, Siffia began to hum a little off-tune melody, nodding her head side to side along with the tune and kicking her feet like a child.
“Alright, what else is in here~! Next is-”
But her joyfully childish antics immediately stopped as she pulled out a suspicious looking jar of green, brackish liquid.
“...What is this?”
She turned the large jar around and around for a bit, finally managing to find a small label and squinting her eyes to read the messy handwriting.
“A… nutrition tonic? One made by a registered royal physician… And a mid-grade one at that!!!”
Siffia’s eyes went wide. She almost fumbled and dropped the jar from how quickly she pulled the precious thing away from her face in surprise, before clutching it tightly against her chest to protect it. Such a thing, such a precious tonic, was quite expensive to get. Just buying a lower tiered one would cost as much as one of the dresses that Eris had bought her, and would be able to cure a minor illness in under a day. And now Siffia was holding something at least five times as expensive and effective as that!
“What does Lady Eris believe I’m afflicted with?!”
Siffia stared appalled at the jar that was clutched tightly in her arms, somehow feeling offended at the over the top gift. However, the longer she stared at it, the more her arms began to relax, and the more her expression relaxed as well, until her eyes began to glance shiftily around the room. The temptation was mounting. Even a lesser potion from an unregistered physician would have usually been deemed as 'too good' for her with this stingy family, so her curiosity about these renowned tonics was actually quite large. And now, for the first time ever, she had a very good one in her hands. The urge to try it was impossible to resist.
Like a child sneaking a forbidden treat, Siffia swiftly popped the lid of the jar open, taking the briefest of sips before quickly resealing it.
Smacking her lips a few times against the bitter flavor, Siffia tilted her head and stared down at the jar. Did she feel anything? Perhaps a slight boost in energy? ...Or maybe she wasn’t supposed to feel anything at all if she wasn’t truly sick. It would only make sense for nothing to happen, considering she was already perfectly healthy.
With a shrug she placed it back into the basket from whence it came, and instead pulled out the final waiting gift. It was a box, similar to the kind that one might store their jewelry in. However, this particular box, when opened, revealed only one single shining gem, slightly bigger than Siffia’s fist.
When she realized what it was, Siffia immediately froze in place.
“No… She couldn’t have...”
Though her gaze was filled with disbelief, as she finally worked up the courage to stroke her fingertips over the shining emerald, Siffia could only clench her teeth. The magical reaction that she could feel flowing from the gem all but confirmed her suspicions.
This emerald was a tool for learning beginner healing magic, the kind that was usually only found inside of a temple.
Of course, it wasn’t as if it were illegal or seen as wrong for one to be taken out of a temple; It was just that doing so would cost a great deal of money, as the temple held a monopoly on them. Healing was their exclusive product. Of course they wouldn’t want to part with the basics of such secrets without a special fee!
Siffia’s hands couldn’t help but shake. Truly, Lady Eris had gone overboard with her kindness. Such a gift like this was far too much to just give to a friend. It blew absolutely everything that Eris had ever gifted her, even the tonic and all of the dresses, well and truly away. Even if Siffia worked as hard as she could and used her magic to make money for the rest of her life, she’d only barely come close to making enough money to repay the cost of this emerald.
She wanted to march over to Eris and demand that she refund the gem right this instant! However, in the end, all that Siffia could do was sigh and give up on such thoughts.
After all, it was well known that the temple didn’t accept refunds of any kind.
“...Perhaps that’s why Lady Eris gave it to me like this before I could decline.”
A loud sigh escaped from her lips. Even if she tried to give the gem back to Eris, no use would come out of it. The Mescal family was devoted to the sword; Neither the Margrave nor any of his children were known to use magic. With how much money and influence they had, it was highly likely that they already had a dedicated healing mage on the premises as well, so the family would have absolutely zero use for a beginner healing magic tool like this one. Of course, simply reselling the gift would be idiotic, rude, and would likely harm her relationship with Eris, so there was no way that that was an option either.
Yes, it would seem that there was no other choice... Siffia would just have to gratefully accept the gem and make as much use out of it as she could.
***
Eris looked out the window, her steely gaze concealing her thoughts. Her fingers slowly combed through her wavy hair again and again in irritation. She’d already sent the maids away, and now she was finally truly alone just as she liked. Like a tiger resting in her den, being alone in her room was where Eris found herself the most at peace, free from the weight of others.
But for the first time, instead of feeling at peace, the solitude of her room was causing her to feel restless.
She couldn’t understand why such a thing was happening. She’d spent the morning going to a charity auction, and the afternoon attending a tea party; Surely she must have been tired of the constant boring interactions, just as she always was. Even simply remembering having to sit through all of the inane chatter was enough to feel like Eris’s energy was sapping away. It was impossible after all that to feel like she needed any more company. If even the slightest hint of the maids being near her was irritating, then who could she possibly-
Suddenly her hand stopped in place as a familiar face flashed through her mind.
“...Ah, I see. So that was it.”
For the first time in days, Eris had gone without seeing her latest obsession. Clearly that must have been why she was feeling so odd. It was only natural to feel out of sorts when someone suddenly didn’t do something that they’d grown accustomed to.
...Although it was a bit concerning to her how quickly she’d grown used to spending time with Siffia, considering how she’d never done such a thing with anyone else before.
Eris scanned through her thoughts, thinking of everyone she knew, trying to picture herself spending as much time with them as she had with Siffia over the past few days. Of course, the results were disastrous; Even just thinking about it was enough to make her unhappy. How tired would she be after every day? Perhaps just as tired as she was before she’d given everything up. It would be like returning to that hell all over again... Eris would rather go back to her days in the war than to live her life like that a second time.
So then what was it that made Siffia so different? Was it simply her interest in the woman? How Siffia was so much more selfless than anyone else? How she was so modest and lacking in greed? Or how she could sometimes look at Eris with the most hypnotic of smiles?
Stuck in serious contemplation, Eris flinched when she heard the sudden knocking coming from the door. Sensing that her rest was about to be disturbed, Eris tensed, her words coming out just above a growl.
“...Who is it?”
“...Listen to how my lovely daughter speaks to me. It’s your father. I want to speak with you.”
Eris couldn’t help but sigh and glare at the door. If he’d asked if she wanted to speak with him, then she would have certainly said no. Perhaps that’s why he hadn’t even tried to phrase his words as a question. Though what he'd said had a kind tint to it, Eris knew that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. She would be unable to deny him access as the master of the house.
Grimacing, she got up and padded her way to the door, letting in her unwanted father.