<CHAPTER 6>

Chef Bill presented a special roast duck he had prepared just for the occasion. Everyone enjoyed it, but Kavill didn’t seem to care much for the unusual spices.

“……”

Elodie offered the dejected chef a few words of consolation, assuring him that the dish had been absolutely delicious and telling him not to lose heart.

However, his other ambitious creation, the cake, was completely devoured.

Perhaps because everyone had shared it together, it tasted even better.

Kavill, in particular, ate two whole plates of cake.

For today, Elodie told Kavill that he didn’t have to worry about minding his table manners.

And Elodie herself ignored proper etiquette for once, sitting down to eat and happily chatting together with the servants.

Finally, it was time to open the presents.

Norman gave Elodie and Kavill a book each, while the maids presented them with clothes they had sewn themselves.

Brienne gave Kavill a wooden sword made of expensive ebony. To Elodie, he gave a cute hairpin.

Thinking about how that grumpy Brienne must have personally picked out the hairpin made Elodie let out a quiet chuckle. It was certainly an unexpected side of him.

“Here, Kavill. This is the present I prepared for you.”

Elodie proudly held out her gift to Kavill. The maids waited eagerly for his reaction.

“Woooow.”

Kavill clumsily tore open the wrapping paper and seemed startled when he saw the large stuffed rabbit. Then he immediately threw his arms around it and hugged it tightly.

The sight was so adorable that the maids couldn’t help but let out little gasps of delight.

Elodie also smiled proudly as she watched him. I gave my favorite character a handmade stuffed animal myself! This is what a successful life looks like.

“I love it.”

Kavill hugged the rabbit tightly and gave her a beautiful smile. Even though the rabbit’s ears were lopsided, Kavill didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

“Now, My Lord……. You should give her the present you prepared, shouldn’t you?”

“Yes……”

At Norman’s prompting, Kavill held out what he had been hiding behind his back. Elodie’s eyes widened at the unexpected gift.

The maids seemed to have known about it beforehand, because they clapped their hands in delight.

Elodie looked down at the present Kavill had given her. It was a wrapped piece of candy and a letter.

He gave me the candy he loves so much. It’s practically the same as giving me everything he has.

With a proud, happy heart, Elodie opened the letter.

[Tank you.

I like you, Madam.]

The letters were clumsy, almost like drawings, since it hadn’t been long since he had properly begun learning to write.

But to Elodie, it was the best birthday present she could have received.

***

After the party ended, Elodie and Kavill washed up, changed into their pajamas, and arranged their presents in front of the fireplace.

Then they lay down side by side on the blanket spread out before it and fell asleep.

When the maids came in much later, they smiled at the sight.

“Oh my, they’re absolutely adorable.”

The hairpin Brienne had given Elodie was now clipped into Kavill’s bangs. Marie and Emily giggled at the sight.

The two maids each carried one of them to bed.

“Oh? What’s this?”

“I know……. What is it?”

Just before they left, Marie noticed a small scribble drawn on one side of the wall.

It was a little mark Elodie and Kavill had made to record their heights.

“Looks like they measured their height. That’s so cute.”

“They’ll both grow by leaps and bounds before we know it, won’t they?”

“I’m sure they will.”

Marie and Emily left the room with happy smiles.

Before long, two more lines appeared on the wall where their heights had been recorded.

Kavill had grown a handspan taller than before, and Elodie had grown by about the same amount.

A year passed quickly, and the seasons changed one after another.

Warm spring arrived, followed by a sweltering summer. Autumn passed, and winter came with winds a little sharper than the year before.

And just as spring was about to return once more with its gentle warmth,

***

Over the year and a little more that followed, Elodie spent her days busier than ever, barely finding a moment to rest.

She went in and out of the library every day, researching magical potions while also overseeing Kavill’s lessons in reading and writing.

She also made sure to gather medicinal herbs from the fields behind the castle with a couple of the maids.

“My Lady, this one really is a weed, right?”

“I think so.”

Whenever Elodie went out into the fields with a basket, she felt as though she were going on a picnic. So she always packed snacks, usually something like sandwiches.

“The clouds are especially beautiful today!”

“They are. It’s perfect weather for gathering herbs, My Lady.”

Marie and Anna were the maids who always accompanied Elodie whenever she went out to gather herbs.

Anna loved flowers and plants, so she was surprisingly helpful.

And Kavill, now eight years old, was still smaller than other children his age, but he had grown quite a lot nonetheless.

He was also noticeably more outgoing than before.

“Kavill, let’s go for our walk today, too.”

“Okay!”

Elodie never missed her daily walks with Kavill. It was practically like walking a puppy……

She also continued to personally watch over Kavill’s swordsmanship training.

Hmm……. He’s already starting to look pretty impressive.

Even his stance when holding the sword was different. They said he was a natural-born genius, and apparently, they hadn’t been exaggerating…….

Elodie asked Brienne with a proud smile,

“Kavill has improved so much, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, well. He does have a natural talent for it.”

Elodie made absolutely no attempt to hide her doting nature. If she wasn’t entirely satisfied with a lesson, she had no qualms about confronting Brienne about it.

“By the way, how long are you planning to keep sitting in on his lessons?”

“Until Kavill tells me he doesn’t want me there anymore.”

“……”

Brienne glanced at Kavill, as though hoping for an answer. Kavill pursed his lips and firmly shook his head.

Elodie tried to soothe Brienne, who looked utterly disappointed.

“Kavill is still a baby. Just let me watch until he gets a little older.”

“Good grief. Is there such a thing as a baby that big? A baby is a newborn.”

“He’s a baby in my eyes.”

At Elodie’s unwavering declaration, Brienne shook his head.

Even when he grows up and becomes an adult, Kavill will always be my baby. My precious boy.

Elodie was absolutely firm on that point.

Brienne continued grumbling, but he diligently carried on with the training.

After spending a year together, he had apparently grown quite attached to Kavill without even realizing it. Kavill no longer feared him, either.

Brienne had done an excellent job leading the knights over the past year.

The renovated knights’ quarters and training grounds within the castle were now filled to capacity with existing knights and apprentice knights.

“My Lady, I’m afraid we’ll need to hire more servants for the castle.”

“All right. Norman, please take charge of the hiring.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

With the servants struggling to prepare meals for the knights every day, Norman decided it was time to hire more workers.

Elodie left the matter in Norman’s hands. He was rather easily swayed by what he heard, but when it came to hiring servants, he seemed to be surprisingly meticulous.

And a few days ago, Kavill had stood proudly before the knights for the first time as their lord.

It was a ceremony where several apprentice knights who had earned the recognition of their qualifications were formally knighted.

Throughout the ceremony, Elodie stood beside the anxious Kavill, holding his hand.

And Elodie had made a rather significant decision.

She planned to use some of the remaining gold coins to repair the greenhouse. She also intended to build a laboratory beside it.

She really should have started the project sooner, but she had delayed it because Kavill’s growth had been her top priority.

But now, it was time to give it a try.

“My Lady, the repairmen are scheduled to arrive tomorrow as well.”

At Norman’s words, Elodie set down her cup of cocoa and asked,

“Yes. How long do they expect the repairs to take?”

“There isn’t much that needs repairing, so I don’t believe it will take very long.”

“That’s a relief. Oh, right! I’m planning to go see the market with Kavill today.”

“Yes, I heard. You’ll be going with Marie and Sir Bedos, correct?”

“Yes. Though Kavill doesn’t seem very eager to go.”

“It will be his first time leaving the castle.”

Norman smiled at Elodie and Kavill like a kindly grandfather.

Throughout the conversation, Kavill stayed glued to Elodie’s side. Elodie sighed as she looked at him.

She had spent the entire year feeding him well and raising him with care.

But perhaps because she had kept him too close, Kavill hated being separated from her.

He used to be afraid of crowded places and tall adults.

That had improved considerably by now, but…… whenever Elodie wasn’t by his side, he became extremely anxious.

Isn’t this basically separation anxiety……?

Elodie quietly gazed at Kavill.

Kavill blinked his round eyes as he looked back at her.

At this rate, he’s going to throw a tantrum and insist on coming with me to the battlefield……

It would have been wonderful if she could simply take him along, but unfortunately, if she brought him, he would obviously only become a burden. She might even put Kavill in danger.

Do I really have to start teaching myself to let him go already……?

She considered it for a moment, but there was simply no way she could do it.

“Madam, do you really have to go?”

How could she possibly leave behind her beloved favorite when he clung to her this adorably?

Besides, Kavill listened to everything Elodie said without question or complaint.

Like an obedient little puppy.

“Yes, I have to go. We need to buy medicinal herbs when the traveling merchants visit.”

By then, Elodie had already collected a decent number of herb samples from the fields and forest behind the castle. But they weren’t enough.

She needed specimens from other regions as well. To get them, she had to visit the market herself, inspect the goods brought in by the traveling merchants, and purchase what she needed.

“My Lady! My Lady! They said the carriage is ready. Come on, let’s go!”

Marie, the maid Elodie was closest to, approached with an excited expression.

Marie was a tall maid with red hair. She had such a cheerful and bright personality that she and Elodie had quickly become close.

“Come on, let’s go, Kavill.”

“……”

Elodie smiled when she saw Kavill’s sulky expression, clearly protesting the idea of going. She carefully fastened the buttons on his clothes and took his hand.

***

The market was livelier than Elodie had expected.

Perhaps because they had reduced this year’s taxes to a quarter of what they had been, the faces of the territory’s residents were bright.

After all, with less of their income going toward taxes, they could afford to put more food on their family’s table.

On the other hand, the traveling merchants who had come to the market seemed disappointed by how small it was.

It was true that the market was not particularly active for a territory of this size.

Elodie held Kavill’s hand as they looked around from one stall to another.

“There are quite a lot of people. Please be careful, My Lord and My Lady.”

“Yes, thank you, Sir Bedos.”

Brienne kept sneaking glances at Marie while pretending to be concerned about Elodie’s safety. And Marie didn’t seem to dislike his attention, either.