T/L:
h.e.l.lo! This one is unexpectedly a shorter chapter than the other. Usually there is around 7 pages, but this one is only 5 pages. I"m glad it was shorter though, so I can bring it to you guys faster.
So, enjoy~
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In the morning, Agnes was preparing Miel"s breakfast giddily.
The cat with a huge appet.i.te mewed at her feet cheerfully.
Gigille came with breakfast in the middle of it.
“Morning.”
“Good morning.”
“Your face is pale.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, are you alright?”
“Yes, I am fine.”
“Then that"s good.”
Gigille laid the plates containing the breakfast on the table, picked Miel up and put it in a basket, then covered it with a blanket.
Agnes nursed Bernard the whole night. It was to repay him, Agnes requested to do it herself.
The person she took care of was an adult man, who would get better after he took the medicine.
The doctor also said if he rest overnight, he would be healed immediately.
So, even if Agnes fell asleep during the nursing, it would be no problem, was what Gigille thought as she left his care to her.
Agnes"s face was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked extremely worn out.
One could see she seriously nursed him.
“How was it?”
“I don"t think, I did pretty well…..”
When she was a child, she said she remembered her wet nurse would take care of her all night long if she caught a cold.
“My mother would make some honey lemon and bring it to me during those time--”
It was delicious and made her relax.
When you catch a cold, you would feel insecure. Agnes shyly said if she could make the burden less, it would be good.
“It"s alright. Your nursing went well. Master looks very well now.”
“Yeah, I"m glad.”
Hearing it, she showed deeply relieved.
Seeing her calmed down, Gigille asked her to eat breakfast.
Today"s menu were big biscuits, cheese, boiled egg, and a slice of apple.
Since Allen who was in charge of the kitchen was taking a day off, the breakfast was pretty simple.
It was unfortunate that Agnes, who stayed awake all night, couldn"t eat too much. In place of her, Gigille ate the remaining foods.
“I"m sorry. You"ve even prepared it for me.”
“Things like this happened.”
She cheered Agnes up with a light tone while softly patting her depressed back.
After breakfast, she was informed of the next schedule.
“Agnes-san, can you do your work after noon?”
“Eh?”
“Dominic will take care of Miel, so you can rest.”
“T-that.. I am fine.”
“You have been working since yesterday right? This is an order.”
“.....Yes, I understand. Thank you very much.”
Gigille stroke her head as she obediently followed her order.
Agnes was resting during the day as she was told to.
***
Agnes, who was able to get some sleep, changed her clothes and went down to first floor enthusiastically.
She went to the garden to pick up Miel first.
Dominic cleared up the soil on the surrounding garden trees, and filled it with various fertilizers such as oil cake, dried leaves, and stock animals" dung.
These would fermented in the soil, and during the spring, they would be nutritious.
Since he looked busy, she waited for a good chance to call him out.
Miel was sleeping peacefully inside Dominic"s pocket. She took it after thanking him.
Miel, who curled up as if it was in its mother"s womb, was warming itself.
She hugged the kitten and laid it on a sunny spot on the third floor. She put its food on the usual place for it to eat when it"s hungry. Just recently, it could eat by itself, so there"s no need to be worried about that.
Looking into the kitchen, Gigille was preparing for lunch. Agnes joined to help her.
All the servants were having lunch.
The foods were sandwich with grilled meat and a heap of fried potatoes.
Allen, who had a day off, also came down to the first floor and astounded by the foods his mother made.
“So Mother is the one doing kitchen ch.o.r.es today….. How do I say it, as usual it"s coa.r.s.e.”
“No complaining!”
Allen"s cooking was delicate and colorful.
On the other hand, Gigille mostly only made brown colored dishes.
Dominic, Eric, and Agnes ate silently. Following their example, Gigille taught her second son.
“Even Master never complained to the food I made.”
“Master has always been a good kid who eats everything.”
“What did you say!?”
Eric came between them to calm them down expressionlessly.
The quarrel between them ended easily.
As the dining table became quiet, Agnes couldn"t hold it anymore and a laugh slipped out.
“Look, it"s Allen"s fault we are being laughed at.”
“The one which is interesting is Mother"s dish, not me.”
“You, again.”
“So, sorry, even though we are in the middle of eating….”
“It"s okay. It"s much more noisy when Carol and Celia were here.”
Agnes learned to enjoy eating while chatting since she came here.
It was an impossible conduct between the n.o.ble circles, but she was no longer the daughter of an earl.
Without being constrained with various rules, she was enjoying a modest life as a commoner.
She had a fulfilling days which she never experienced before.
In the afternoon, she was taught on how to make the medicine for wound.
Under Gigille"s guidance, she started the procedure to make it.
“First, I will explain from the ingredients.”
“Yes.”
The first item she picked up was a lump of something that looked similar to wax with dull yellow color.
“This is beeswax. It has moisturizers and antibacterial effect, it can also makes the skin beautiful.”
Agnes worked hard to write down what was taught.
“Then, these are essential oils.”
Lavender, which the fragrance had a soothing effect, an anti-inflammatory and bactericidal action.
A tea gra.s.s plant that was said to be panacea.
Then there was a desert fruit which had moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties.
Dominic created the essential oil from the three plants that were harvested during summer.
“The method to make it is very simple.”
Pour some water into a pot, then put a small bottle with beeswax and the essential oil from the desert fruit in it to the pot.
Melt the beeswax inside the pot with the temperature set just before it boiled. After it melted to some extent, removed it from the pot and wait for it to melt completely by the residual heat.
After the beeswax completely, drop some essential oil from lavender and tea gra.s.s plant into it and mixed.
Put the finished product into a sterilized can, gently hit it to the desk to let the air out. Then, close the lid and it"s completed.
“And well, something like this.”
“Thank you for your guidance.”
“No problem.”
She also taught her to make medicines with various combinations of essential oils.
One that relieves muscle pain, or one that makes sunburns marks disappear.
“I will give this medicine for Agnes-san.”
“Is it alright?”
“Yes, feel free to use it.”
“Thank you very much!”
Agnes held the medicine she made for the first time tightly.
***
The sunset during winter was early.
By the time the bell rang to signal the end of work for the knights, it was completely dark.
After he bid farewell to others, someone came and stopped Bernard from going home.
“Hey, what a coincidence.”
“.....Hi.”
“There is something I want to talk about.”
The one who obstructed him was Ernest Barthelemon.
Bernard didn"t want to talk to him, he thought it would be something related to Agnes anyway, but he responded to it reluctantly.
The room they entered was dusty and his throat became sensitive to it and he coughed.
Seeing that, Ernest gave an unpleasant look.
“--Then, what do you want to talk?”
“It"s about Agnes Le Verges.”
“Guessed so.”
He was impatient.
He talked that Agnes once again had gained the attention of the society, and, just like Ernest, some had begun searching.
“Before you know it, she has become the tragic saint.”
“Now that is pitiful.”
Bernard returned it with something that said it was completely irrelevant to him.
“This situation is not interesting. I was the one who have an eye for her first.”
Bernard was stunned by the sudden change of the society.
The story written in the article was exaggerated so many times that Agnes"s image became distorted.
She was no saint.
She was just an ordinary, common woman you can find anywhere.
“And then?”
“Nothing, I just want you to listen to me.”
“Ha?”
“It"s surprisingly refreshing to talk it out to people.”
Ernest left the room, leaving a stunned Bernard behind.
He, who couldn"t make any sense of it, was alone in the room and got angry.
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HAHAHAHA! Silly old Ernest, I missed his dorky smug att.i.tude :”)
He never failed to make Bernard angry for nothing