The day before the Wheat Field Festival. Fresa was busy harvesting fully grown herbs and turning them into ointment. While living at Thorpe Manor, she had made medicine several times without her family knowing — all in preparation for the future. Thanks to that, she could now mix difficult formulas with relative ease. She had completed a few basic medicines, and now it was time to develop an ointment that could be applied directly to the skin.
Fresa had been focused for quite some time in the basement, lights on. After grinding the herbs and extracting their juice multiple times, she felt no more pain in her wrists, back, or even her eyes.
“Oh, this is tough…”
She straightened her hunched back to catch her breath.
“Ouch…”
Fresa patted her waist and blinked, her eyes already beginning to look dim, as if she were developing presbyopia.
‘I need to find some glasses somewhere.’
She was worried that if her eyesight continued to decline, she wouldn’t even be able to distinguish the people in front of her. A healthy mind in a healthy body.
Taking a few deep breaths, Fresa took out the freshly made ointment. Honestly, it was still hard to call it an ointment — it was more like a thin lotion, not sticky at all. She scooped some and rubbed it onto the backs of her hands.
‘It feels cool.’
Formulated to reduce skin heat and inflammation, she thought it would be especially useful during the summer.
‘It’s roughly finished, so now I just need to take care of the herbs.’
Fresa applied the ointment evenly on her exposed arms and the nape of her neck, then headed toward the garden. The vibrant green herbs brightened her dim vision.
“How are you all? It’s hot, right? I should give you some water.”
Humoring herself with a tune, she picked up the watering can. The water droplets on the lush plants looked lively. After growing some herbs, she even considered planting some flowering trees.
Just as she was lost in thought…
Rustling sound
‘What’s that?’
She turned her head toward the source of the noise.
‘Is it a cat?’
Several adorable cats were coming and going in the garden.
“Na-bi?”
Among them was a black cat she had already grown fond of and even named. She had fed him a few times, and he came and went as if it were his own home.
Fresa approached Nabi with water in a small dish, worried he might be thirsty. But crouching behind the bushes was not a small cat — it was an unfamiliar girl.
‘A thief?’
Fresa clenched her fists, ready to use the dish as a weapon if necessary. At that moment, the girl raised her hands high and shouted urgently:
“I’m not a thief!”
‘You’re not a thief if you’re breaking into someone’s house,’ Fresa thought, tightening her grip on the dish.
The girl then added:
“Wait a moment… I’m just hiding! I’m playing hide and seek…”
Hide and seek? Fresa’s brow furrowed. Just then, someone called out from the front door.
“Are you there? I need to ask you something!”
It was a loud, commanding male voice. At the same time, the girl quickly retreated behind the bushes again. Fresa turned her body slightly to look at the man.
“What’s going on?”
He answered with a frown:
“Have you seen a young lady? She’s about thirteen, short, with brown hair.”
A girl about thirteen, short stature, brown hair. Exactly the same as the girl hiding behind the bushes. Fresa was about to point her finger in that direction, but the girl shook her head earnestly.
‘She doesn’t want to be caught?’
Fresa hesitated for a moment, then said:
“It seemed like she was heading that way.”
Her slender finger pointed away from her. The man bowed and hurriedly headed in that direction, disappearing quickly with long strides, probably due to his height.
“Thank you…”
Finally, the girl stepped out from behind the bushes, letting out a relieved sigh. Her leaves clung to her dress and hair like jewelry. Fresa carefully removed them, asking:
“Are you being chased?”
“Oh, no… It’s not like that…”
The girl, wearing a bonnet, blushed slightly. The bonnet covered her face, and she was dressed in long sleeves and gloves, even in the middle of summer.
‘Is it not hot?’
Despite that, she was sweating profusely. Fresa’s calm gaze swept over her.
‘Ah.’
She soon understood why. The girl’s skin was red and inflamed, as if turned inside out. Clearly, she was suffering from sun allergy. Fresa had experienced this firsthand. Even in hot weather, she often wore excessive clothing and scratched her skin from the itch.
‘She looks like a noble lady.’
Still, seeing her dressed so elaborately, it seemed she had sneaked out for a walk. She guessed the situation but pretended not to know. Instead, she took her ointment from her apron pocket and handed it to her.
“Apply this. It’ll help cool your skin.”
“Really?”
The girl’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden kindness. Fresa smiled brightly and explained:
“I made it for experimental purposes, so I don’t need any money. Just let me know if it works well. Oh, is this suspicious?”
She opened the container and squeezed some onto the back of her hand.
“It’s a safe medication. Now, are you okay?”
“Ah.”
The girl’s big eyes flickered. She seemed to consider for a moment, then quickly took the ointment.
“Thank you.”
The girl looked unsure what to do. Fresa didn’t want to keep her standing under this scorching sun.
Applying the ointment might help her feel better, but it wasn’t a cure. There was no allergy medication in her past life either. She opened the front door and spoke gently:
“Next time, please come through the front door. I almost threw the dish away because I thought you were a thief.”
The girl held the ointment container with both hands and headed out. Fresa waved her hand lightly.
“I’m Daisy! I’ll definitely come back again, for sure.”
As she took a few steps, the girl looked back at Fresa and shyly smiled. Fresa looked down at her, then smiled and nodded.
“I’m Resa. Goodbye, Daisy.”
Daisy gazed at Fresa with excited eyes for a moment, then disappeared. Fresa watched her tiny figure until she was out of sight. It was a shame to throw away the medicine she had only just made a few hours earlier.
‘Well, I can make more.’
She had plenty of ingredients, so she could just create a new batch. She hoped her connection with Daisy would help ease her suffering just a little. As she was about to enter the house, Fresa suddenly looked across the street.
This time, she should make a little more and give some to Daisy too. By the way, where did Daisy live? Why was she hiding? Though curious, she wasn’t mean enough to ask a nervous child about it.
‘If it’s meant to be, we’ll meet again.’
Fresa resumed humming, a bit distracted but content.
~~* * *~~
The Wheat Field Festival had begun. Fresa, dressed in a light green summer dress and wearing her straw hat — an essential under the scorching sun — arrived at the wheat field, which was quite crowded. Luckily, a cool sea breeze blew through.
She was slowly walking toward Lycaon and the lighthouse. Under the blazing sun, Lycaon looked as if he might disappear at any moment. His skin was paler than a few days ago, and his lips looked bloodless.
“Shouldn’t you rest?” Fresa asked worriedly.
Lycaon, who had been staring straight ahead, turned his gaze toward her.
“I’m fine. It’s okay.”
“You really don’t look fine at all.”
Fresa muttered inwardly, trying to think. Lycaon grinned.
“Are you worried?”
“It would be problematic if you collapsed.”
Fresa responded somewhat coldly, handing him the ointment she brought.
“This is a gift — my reward for breakfast. Apply some now. It’s so hot.”
“What is this?”
“It’s an ointment that protects the skin.”
“Did you make it yourself?”
“Of course.”
Then, as Lycaon slightly opened his eyes, the crowd around them cheered. Fresa’s gaze followed the noise — it was in front of the lighthouse.
Lycaon opened the container of ointment and sniffed it.
“The lord himself has come to visit.”
“The lord?”
“The Wheat Field Festival is a pretty big event. He must have come to celebrate, to welcome tourists, and to make his presence known.”
He explained as if he had researched beforehand. Fresa, who had just arrived on the same day, knew nothing of this.
In truth, what mattered most to her was not the festival or the village master — it was living a wonderful, happy new life within the story’s ending. That was the only thing that moved her.
“But is it okay to apply it like this? My face feels so cool.”
Before she knew it, Lycaon had spread the ointment all over his hands, face, and neck. His skin looked shiny, almost as if bugs were crawling and sliding across it. Fresa quickly snatched the container from his hand.
“You can’t put it on like that all at once. Take a little and spread it out.”
She clicked her tongue and gently spread the ointment over the overly applied areas. To do so, she had to stand on tiptoe. Lycaon’s expression showed a strange smile, but she didn’t notice. She was only focused on wiping the shiny ointment from his face.
Just as she was about to wipe the ointment from his face and move to his neck, Lycaon whispered softly:
“Resa, you’re too close.”
“Huh?”
Fresa blinked and looked up. Lycaon’s face was right in front of her nose. He was handsome — his eyes had an unusual color…
“Ah.”
What? Wasn’t this close enough to at least touch lips? Fresa hadn’t considered that before suddenly losing her footing.
“Be careful.”
She would have fallen if Lycaon hadn’t caught her. But the problem was that she hadn’t fallen — she was pressed against him because Lycaon was holding her so tightly.
~·~·* . * . *·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
