Chapter : 32
【Moth, oh moth, hand over the silk】
“Are you not going to work?”
“Kku-ung!”
“Hey, if you’ve eaten that many strawberries, you should work!”
“Kku-ung!”
“Beep!
“No, Donggeul. I’m not angry, it’s just…….”
The silk moth did nothing but gorge itself on strawberries and showed no intention of producing any silk. Its daily routine consisted of eating strawberries, eating tomatoes, flying around the flower garden, and lying around rolling in the yard.
At first, people found the silk moth fascinating, but before long, seeing it do nothing but loaf around, they began shaking their heads. Even Maverick seemed to think of the moth as a useless pest.
Ugh, that good-for-nothing. Eats a ton without doing any work.
I’d once seen Maverick mutter that before heading off to work.
I grabbed the silk moth and begged it.
“Please spin some silk! I don’t have any clothes! Can’t you see the hole in my sleeve?”
“Kku-ung?”
“It’s not your problem? Hey, then spit out all the strawberries you’ve eaten!”
“Kkuu! Kku! Kku-ung!”
As if offended and disgusted, the moth gagged and spat something out.
“Hey, I said spit it out— huh?”
It was neatly folded silk.
Pure white, pale, soft silk.
“People of the world! The silk moth made silk!”
I ran all around the village, showing off the silk. I couldn’t help it—silk of this quality was something even a noble like me rarely got to see.
Sure enough, when I returned to where the silk moth was, it was standing proudly, chest puffed out. As I stroked its soft white fur, I said,
“Thanks, silk moth. I went around bragging about you to everyone.”
“Kyuu-ung? Kku-ung?”
The silk moth seemed to think it should go show off its greatness in person and fluttered off toward the other people who were working.
I quickly handed the silk to Dora, George’s wife, who could make clothes. She hugged the silk to her chest reverently.
“With this, I can make dresses for the lord and Lady Leila!”
“No, dresses are fine—”
“I want to make them! When else would I ever get to make a noble lady’s dress? Just a moment. I’ll hurry and make them!”
“Wait—!”
Before I could stop her, Dora rushed into the hut.
While I was pestering the silk moth for silk, the school construction and rice field reclamation had been completed. I distributed rice seedlings to the people, and under Matt’s instructions, they planted the rice efficiently.
And that evening, we planned to teach the children letters for the first time. The teachers would be the crown prince and me.
“The school’s done, the fields are done. What’s left now?”
Once we harvested the remaining chili peppers and potatoes, we could get through the year. Corn had started to grow as well.
I should steam some corn.
With wheat, corn, potatoes, and rice, food wouldn’t be a concern.
The children were running around holding steamed potatoes. It looked like they were playing cops and robbers, which I’d taught them before.
“Kids, don’t step on the fields.”
“We’re not!”
The adults scolded them now and then, but the kids were so absorbed in the game I’d taught them that they didn’t pay much attention to their surroundings.
Maybe I’ll check the barns for the first time in a while.
“Hey guys, long time no see.”
“Cluck cluck!”
“I’m not stealing eggs today.”
The chickens were perched on their roosts. Judging by how the hens were guarding their already-raided nests, it seemed Leila had at least left one or two eggs for them to brood.
The chicken coop was clean, as if someone had already cleaned it. The water trough was filled with fresh water, and unhulled millet was scattered on the floor.
“Eat well.”
“Cluck!”
Next, I moved on to the pigsty and the cattle barn. The calves bounced around the wide barn, while the adolescent pigs were busy rolling in the mud.
Looks like the barns were repaired.
It seemed Maverick had checked them and fixed things himself. Ever since the wine-making incident, Maverick had changed noticeably.
Doing what he was good at again seemed to give him confidence. He took care of all sorts of chores without waiting for me to ask.
“Vanessa.”
“Oh, I’m coming.”
I started harvesting potatoes with the crown prince. Plump, healthy potatoes piled into the sacks. Eric and Leila picked chili peppers. Half would be dried into chili powder, and the other half stored fresh.
“What do you plan to plant in this field?”
“Well, shouldn’t we plant potatoes again? Potatoes are good for feeding lots of people.”
At my words, the crown prince nodded obediently.
“That’s true.”
Sweat dripped from both our foreheads. It was already midsummer. The temperature difference wasn’t as extreme as in Korea, but summer was still summer—it was hot.
“We should rinse off at the well to cool down.”
“Shall I help you?”
“N-no, it’s fine!”
The crown prince shook his head, his face reddening. He was blushing so much that I stared at him. Freckles dotted his nose, his pale arms flushed red without tanning, and blue veins stood out clearly.
He silently shoveled potatoes into the sack, his lips pressed together in concentration—manly—and his sky-blue eyes, like an autumn sky, were clear and beautiful.
Now I understand why the madam fed Dolsoe so much.
A man at work—especially a handsome man working in the fields—was beautiful.
The crown prince smiled brightly and handed me a potato.
“Vanessa, this looks like you.”
“Huh?”
The potato was just round and round. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what about it resembled me, and he burst into hearty laughter.
“Isn’t it similar? Look how round it is.”
“What part of me, exactly?”
“Hmm, the back of your head?”
He took off his glove and ruffled my hair. His rough, calloused hand—hardened by martial training—scraped over the back of my head.
Grinning, the crown prince said,
“Vanessa.”
“What now? What are you going to say this time?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to call your name once.”
If you say that so innocently with that face, I don’t know what to say. I quickly looked away at the potatoes and grumbled.
“Your Highness, are you really not aware of your own face?”
“Hm? What about it?”
“Just dig up the potatoes already.”
“All right.”
I pulled my straw hat down low so he wouldn’t see my flushed face. That annoyingly pretty face was the problem.
“You haven’t forgotten we’re teaching together tonight, right?”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“There aren’t many notebooks, so we’ll probably have to draw letters on the ground.”
“That’s fine. It might actually be more fun for the kids.”
Chatting about nothing in particular, we crouched down and filled all the sacks with potatoes. By the time we finished harvesting all four rows, the sun was already setting.
“Let’s finish the rest tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. You worked hard today, Vanessa.”
The crown prince smiled softly, patted my back, and left—probably to wash up with Eric.
Dinner, as always, was grilled fish and steamed potatoes. After eating together, the crown prince and I headed to the school.
Calling it a school was generous—it was just a single hut.
Using a small generator Oliver cranked for an hour, we turned on the lights and began class. Keeping four children focused was quite difficult.
Their wandering attention returned once they started writing letters in the dirt. By the time we corrected each child’s writing and came back, the moon was already up.
A full moon will be rising soon.
Oliver had asked us to chain him inside the house when the full moon rose. He said he’d completely lose his reason and turn into a werewolf. As he said that, he twitched his ears nervously, afraid I might abandon him.
I reassured him that I would never abandon him.
But if I break the chains and come out, please kill me.
That won’t happen.
As the full moon drew closer, Oliver grew more anxious. At least in this world, full moons were far less frequent than on Earth.
If they came often, it would be that much harder.
For me, for the people, and for Oliver.
Tomorrow, I should pick olives.
When we built the fortress, we’d brought in several olive trees from the estate. They were heavy with fruit now, ripe and ready to harvest.
I should pull some lettuce too. Then plant seeds again in the empty spots.
Maybe it was my fault for bringing so many different seeds. The fortress land was vast, and there were still many crops left to plant.
Thinking that I should finally get the kids to eat some vegetables tomorrow, I went to sleep with Donggeul.
When I woke up, the first thing I did was cut the monster beast’s hind legs into small pieces and soak them in olive oil—the final step in making jamon.
Then, together with the crown prince, I harvested potatoes, spread chili peppers out to dry, pulled lettuce, and picked olives.
After that, I had people plow the fields again to plant more potatoes, and we harvested zucchini as well. Lunch was my turn for the first time in a while. Today, I planned to make zucchini pancakes.
I brought all the remaining eggs from the storage and made an egg batter. I sliced the zucchini thin, coated them in flour, and dipped each slice into the egg mixture.
After coating both sides evenly, I poured oil onto a well-heated iron lid.
Chii-i-ik—
As soon as I placed the zucchini on it, a delicious aroma rose, accompanied by a sizzling sound. Pancakes always smelled wonderful.
I piled the zucchini pancakes high on a large tray and called everyone over.
“Come eat lunch! Today it’s zucchini pancakes!”
By now, people didn’t even act surprised when I made unfamiliar food. They probably assumed it was something the Eastern Continent chef I’d once employed had taught me.
Once the pancakes cooled a bit, the children held them with both hands, blowing on them as they ate. Fighting heat with heat—hot food really was best in summer.
In summer, I should make samgyetang too.
The problem was, I couldn’t slaughter our chickens, so I’d have to catch another bird from outside.
But regular birds probably wouldn’t taste the same.
I didn’t know.
Still, I thought I should at least ask the crown prince. He might very well come back from the monster forest with a chicken-like monster beast.
Fortunately, the mage tower lord seemed busy experimenting on zombies and didn’t appear at the fortress often.
So I was just about to say that I was happy—when—
“What’s this? It looks delicious.”
End Of Chapter : 32
