Chapter 29
“Alright then.”
Ailesia chose a suitable spot and swept her hand through the air. The ground dug itself smooth, and firewood seemed to pop out of nowhere, stacking itself neatly.
She set up a stand beside it, hung a large pot, then snapped her fingers. Fire leapt onto the wood. The whole process took no more than a few blinks.
“…Was all of that magic too?”
“You’ve never seen this before?”
“Subspace artifacts are among the highest-grade magical tools. People don’t just carry those around.”
“Well, that’s true.”
She didn’t actually have any artifact like that, but since he was misunderstanding on his own, she went along with it.
I’ll tell them someday—but not yet. There are too many ears around here.
It wasn’t that she suspected a traitor within the Tiger Knight Order, but you could never be too careful. They still hadn’t uncovered who was behind the attack on the ducal family, after all.
“Alright. Dinner tonight is shabu-shabu.”
She had a whole stockpile of dried mushrooms she’d gathered from the forest. They were already prepped—just tear them apart and toss them in.
Add thinly sliced meat from lunch, washed and frozen vegetables, and a few herbs to eliminate odors. For the broth, she poured in plenty of the special tsuyu she’d painstakingly made herself.
Man, I really suffered to make this stuff.
As she dumped the tsuyu straight from the bottle, Ailesia’s eyes turned distant with nostalgia.
Training magic alone in the forest had been unbearably boring, so she’d mastered all kinds of cooking based on memories from her previous life. When she’d first discovered a soy-sauce-like seasoning somewhere in the northern continent, she’d actually shouted with joy.
“What kind of dish is this?”
“Something like a traditional food from my hometown? You just throw in lots of ingredients and seasoning and let it boil. Simple, right?”
“That’s exactly what people who are good at cooking always say.”
Termion watched from the side, clearly fascinated by the unfamiliar dish.
Well, it wasn’t every day you saw ingredients pour out of thin air.
“Teacher! What are we having for dinner?”
“Shabu-shabu. Lots of mushrooms and meat.”
“Waaah! Sounds yummy!”
Eleonora shouted excitedly from atop Whitey’s back. She’d already tried it before, back in the forest.
“…Blanky. Could you put Elly down?”
“Woof.”
As usual, Eleonora was covered in fur. Dangling from Blanky’s mouth, she was gently lowered to the ground, then naturally spread her arms wide.
Clicking his tongue, Termion pulled out a handkerchief.
“You did this on purpose to mess with your uncle, didn’t you?”
“What did I do?”
“You always end up a mess after playing with Whitey. At least his fur is long.”
“Heehee, you caught me.”
“What?”
“I like it when Uncle makes me pretty.”
“…You little rascal.”
His expression stiffened for just a moment before Termion dropped to one knee. He gently brushed Eleonora’s hair and carefully picked the fur from her clothes.
“Still, don’t bully Whitey too much. What if all that pretty fur falls out?”
“That fur falls out on its own when he sheds. Elly couldn’t pull out a single strand even if she tried.”
“…I see. I’ve learned something today.”
Completely unhelpful. Termion shot her a sideways glance, but Ailesia just stirred the pot with a ladle, as if nothing were wrong.
“I wanna watch them set up the tents!”
“Shall we?”
Eleonora suddenly latched onto Termion’s neck. He smoothly supported her legs and hips and stood up.
“Then I’ll leave things to you, Ailesia.”
“Told you—you’ll ask me to do it again later.”
Just as she boasted, dinner was met with overwhelming praise. In the cold weather, a light yet steaming broth packed with fresh meat and mushrooms was enough to make the knights’ eyes light up.
“Lady Milenov, where did you learn to cook? I’ve never even had stew like this at the estate.”
“It’s not greasy at all—I could eat several bowls. There’s so much meat, yet no gamey smell.”
“With your cheap tongue, who are you to judge? Just say thank you and eat.”
“Hey, stop picking out only the meat! You shameless bastard!”
Judging by how nonstop their spoons moved, it wasn’t empty flattery. Termion, seated beside Eleonora, was no exception.
Watching him quietly, Ailesia asked,
“Does it suit your taste?”
“It’s… acceptable.”
At his flat response, Eleonora puffed out her cheeks.
“Wow, Uncle, you’re really bad with words. You’re already on your third bowl.”
“Oh my. Is that so? Uncle must really have a bad personality, huh?”
“Yeah, mean uncle. But he’s handsome, right?”
“That part’s true.”
“…Please don’t use my face as a side dish.”
Before he knew it, his bowl was empty again. Despite his complaint, Termion avoided their gazes and reached for the ladle once more.
* * *
As darkness fully settled over the camp, soft conversations echoed from here and there.
There were eight tents for the knights. Using Kubera’s tent at the twelve o’clock position as a reference, six tents formed the outer ring, while the carriage and two tents sat in a triangle at the center.
“Our kids sleep just fine outside.”
“Blocking the wind and night dew will make them much more comfortable. They worked hard all day—this is nothing.”
One large tent was reserved for Whitey and Blanky. According to Termion, the knights themselves also slept in tents alongside their horses.
“What time is it now?”
“It’s almost eight o’clock.”
After checking his pocket watch, Termion answered. Ailesia surveyed the camp once, then pulled her staff from subspace.
“Just in case, I’ll set up a simple barrier before I go.”
“A barrier?”
“Could you call Sir Dayfold? I should explain first.”
“Of course. Sir Dayfold!”
At Termion’s shout, Kubera emerged from the twelve o’clock tent, a rolled-up map in one hand.
“You called, Your Grace?”
“Ailesia has something to say.”
“The lady teacher? What is it?”
“I’m going to put up a barrier around the camp. Nothing fancy—just a simple night alert.”
“A night alert…?”
Kubera tilted his head. Normally, barriers required careful consideration of terrain and the installation of magical tools—it was no simple task.
“It’ll be faster if I show you.”
Ailesia twirled her staff once, then tapped the ground. From beneath her feet, a soft golden light rippled outward, enveloping the entire camp.
“If an outsider enters within a ten-meter radius of the outer tents, you’ll hear a bell. Animals and monsters will naturally avoid it.”
“Hoo…”
“Alright, I’m off to sleep. Elly, come to Teacher.”
“Okay!”
Scooping up the trotting Eleonora with one arm, Ailesia opened the carriage door.
“I’ll be back around sunrise. Good night, everyone. Whitey, Blanky—guard the carriage well!”
“Woof!”
With that, Ailesia stepped inside the carriage. A faint light leaked through the window.
“…Huh?”
Startled, Kubera checked inside—but Ailesia and Eleonora were nowhere to be seen.
“Y-Your Grace! What is the meaning of this?!”
“She went to sleep.”
“Weren’t they sleeping in the carriage? Where did they go?!”
Arms crossed, Termion gazed toward the distant southern sky.
“To Elly’s room.”
* * *
Madam Herman sat perfectly upright on the sofa in Eleonora’s empty room.
She’d already instructed the maids to clean and air it out during the day, and had informed them that she herself would inspect the room at night.
Some might have called it excessive—but this was the young duchess’s room. No one found it strange that the head maid would personally attend to it.
Why did the teacher specifically ask for the young lady’s room… and at night, no less?
In all her years serving the Letis family, Madam Herman had met many people—but none were as difficult to read as Ailesia. They said mages were all eccentrics, yet Ailesia didn’t quite fit that mold.
If only I’d asked the Dowager Duchess… she might have had an answer.
Madam Herman had reported recent events to the ducal castle, but had deliberately minimized any mention of Ailesia—hoping the Dowager Duchess would judge her without prejudice.
