When My Enemies Began to Regret

“I heard the knights say there is a soup-sharing event in the village this afternoon.”

“Soup?”

“I heard they’re calling a bard as well. Would you like to go taste the soup together?”

But in the end, he brought up an entirely unrelated suggestion.

It was easy to take down a castle, but conquering just one person’s heart was like facing an impregnable fortress.

Fanora replied as if she had a rough idea of what he said. In that case, the next schedule must have been decided. She, who had regained her energy, closed the book and got up with a brighter face. “If it’s an event, is it something that is held in the square?”

“Yes! I guess you already know.”

“I guess it’s going to be fun because the soup contents change every year.”

Fanora took the lead toward the town square. Carl thought as he followed her half a step away.

Like Aloken, Carl was not good at understanding other people’s feelings. But the difference between him and the late duke was that he made a sincere effort to overcome his weakness.

Carl frowned heavily while she didn’t look back. He couldn’t stand the thought of Aloken, who was the reason Fanora had put a wall to her heart.

Nothing would change by blaming someone who was already dead. He made a fuss and kicked the stone that caught his toe.

He couldn’t express his feelings to Fanora. Carl, who isn’t good at interacting with others, judged that it was not his job to force open another person’s heart when their heart was already closed. That means he was fine if he couldn’t become a lover with Fanora in the end.

“…”

Carl just wanted Fanora to live happily for one more day and the day after tomorrow.

For that purpose, he could suppress his own feelings as he could.

* * *

It was one hour later. They headed to the capital square. When they arrived at the square, a bustling crowd greeted them.

“I never thought there would be this many people…”

“Have you been here before?”

“I only came here a few times when I was young. The atmosphere is a little different than back then.”

Fanora looked around, taking care not to be swept away by the crowd

The name of today’s event is ‘Holy Supper’. There were already simple tables and chairs set up in the square.

“I think it’s a good culture. No one suffers from hunger like this on days like this.”

“If it weren’t for the fact that they decided to do it once a year or not…”

Fanora and Carl talked in line, handing out soup. The atmosphere of the village was bustling like an ordinary festival, and not only the commoners but also the nobles were seen from time to time.

“Lady Fanora, there are a lot of noble participants here.”

“Isn’t that always the case?”

“In our territory, nobles don’t participate in holy supper. They think it’s vulgar to eat the same things as commoners.”

“Really?”

At that moment, the question came up to Fanora’s throat. Fortunately, there was no such thing as an unfortunate situation where reason remained, and words were spoken out loud.

“Maybe it’s the cultural difference between the west and the center.”

“Culture?”

“Exactly… the holy supper in the central region was a festival in which the year’s harvest from the estate was used as cooking ingredients and served to the lord to show that the farming was successful. So the nobles also participate without feeling uncomfortable.” She gave a simple answer to the question of why nobles also eat soup.

Then Carl spoke with a look of respect. “That’s amazing. How do you know all this?”

“I just remember seeing it in a book.”

“Lady Fanora, you know everything!”

Fanora looked embarrassed at his compliment.

“Carl, I think you’re being generous with your praise,” said she in a tone that made her grumble for no reason because of her embarrassment.

But no matter what she said, Carl always smiled.

“You’re laughing too hard.”

Looking at his smile without a single wrinkle, she felt like the worries weighing her heart disappeared for a moment.  Fanora turned to the waiting line, thinking so. There were not many people left in front of them, so they could soon receive the festive soup.

“I’m looking forward to it! The holy supper held at my family estate only serves small bread and tasteless soup that doesn’t make you starve to death…”

“You said you never participate?”

“That’s what I overheard from my fellow knights. I heard that the soup here is so delicious that you have to try it. Is it true?”

Carl participated in today’s event because he was curious about the taste of the soup.

Fanora managed to answer him back by tracing her childhood memories. “I’m not sure because the ingredients are always different, but the evaluations were good every year.”

“Wow.”

“Since this is a soup that even nobles eat together, they must have paid attention, right? Of course, they must have already tested for poison.”

As they talked like that, it was their turn.

“May this year be full of blessings from Mother Goddess.”

“Thank you.”

A priest who was stirring soup in a large pot greets them. Carl and Fanora soon received a creamy soup in small wooden bowls.

“It’s warm.”

“What’s in it?”

They moved quickly to the outskirts of the square. The purpose was to find a suitable place to eat while avoiding crowded places. And in the midst of this, Fanora looked at the soup in her hand.

Red and green vegetables were floating in the thin soup. Although it was a soup without any meat, it smelled soft and good. 

After a long walk, a quiet place finally appeared. They approached the fence at the end of the square and began drinking soup. The soup was still warm even though it had cooled down a while coming here.

“It’s delicious.”

“Yes. I know, right.”

Far away, in the center of the square, the bard can be heard singing. If you look at it this way, the capital of Kasius was a collection of peace and prosperity. Everyone who came out to the square had bright expressions. But…

On the surface, it looks peaceful, but on the whole, the overall situation in Kasius wasn’t good. The economy, which had become unstable due to successive wars, was on the verge of collapse, and the tyranny of the royal family and nobles reached its peak, leading to numerous exploitation of commoners.

There’s no sun in the world that never sets. So, how many years does this kingdom have left to live?

She munched on her soup, lost in thought.

When she returned to her normal daily life, the first thing she thought of was the worry about war, which she had forgotten about. Fanora had a serious expression.

“Do you have any concerns?”

“Ah, that’s it.”

Carl was the quickest to notice such a change in Fanora’s expression. Because his eyes stayed in one place all the time.

“Just worry about the kingdom…”

“Too much worry won’t be good for your health.”

“Yes… by the way, does Carl know anything about foreign affairs?”

“Not really. But if Lady Fanora has any questions, I’ll ask the head of the family.”

What followed was a normal conversation.

“Then, I would like to know the situation in the Gamiel Kingdom these days.”

“Gamiel?”

Carl looked puzzled as to why the name of Gamiel, a friendly kingdom to Kasius, came up. Still, he nodded calmly without saying much. It meant that he would find out the information she wanted.

“Thank you.”

But for some reason, her face didn’t brighten even though he would help her. To be precise, her face became paler, her lips turned blue, and the bridge of her nose wrinkled.

The reason was simple. As she was talking with Carl, it was already getting close to night. She thought the daytime walk would be the end of today’s schedule, so she only wore a thin coat.

As the sky darkened, Fanora felt a chill. Fortunately, the cold wasn’t unbearable. She ignored the cold and continued to chew her soup.

“Lady Fanora, look over there! The priests are lighting the decorations.”

“It’s part of the event. Let’s light a tower made of dry grass and watch the burning bonfire together…”

Moreover, the holy supper was a great event to feel warmth even in winter. In the distance, you could see priests setting fire to decorations as if raising beacons. Carl was curious as he pointed at it, and Fanora explained with a relaxed expression.

“There is a choir singing near the bonfire. Would you like to come closer and listen?”

“Yes!”

Fanora certainly thought today’s event would be boring. It might have been surprising for her younger self, who was young and full of faith, but now she had lost not only her faith but also her sensibility. However, seeing Carl happy like a boy at the sight of the bonfire, at least she didn’t regret coming to the holy supper.

“I just wanted to walk and digest my food. Is it because I ate too quickly? Actually, I’ve been feeling sick since a while ago.”

“Carl…”

Fanora looked worried for a moment when she heard that he had an upset stomach.

“If you have an upset stomach, you could die, so be careful.”

In fact, Fanora had been starving for a few days, so she wasn’t in good condition. However, Fanora didn’t collapse because she had eaten half of the soup. The amount she consumed was insignificant, and her slow eating pace allowed even her unsettled digestive system to manage.

“I wonder what face the head of the family will make if I suddenly die.”

“Anyone would be shocked to hear such news.”

At the same time, Carl once again tried to point in the direction of the bonfire. “Lady Fanora, over there—”

“I’ll pat you on the back. Bow down for a moment—”

Because the two moved their arms simultaneously, their hands accidentally hit in the air.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Fanora brushed this incident off as if it wasn’t a big deal. However, after that, Carl’s talkativeness drastically decreased.

“When I was young, Purson often had an upset stomach. Countess always does this all the time. Does it work?”

Fanora patted him on the back a few times with her palm. However, Carl was concentrating all his attention on the back of his right hand rather than the shock he felt on his back.

It was quite unusual. In sparring, bodily contact with others was a common occurrence. However, for some reason, this minor contact with Fanora made Carl’s heart race. 

The difference between patting his back over his clothes and touching his bare hand was like heaven and earth. Carl thought about the time when her hand touched him and cleared his throat for no reason. He felt embarrassed because he was the only one paying attention to it when the other person had no idea.

“

”

“Uh?”

Carl, who was alone in his thoughts, belatedly looked back at Fanora and said, “Lady Fanora, are you feeling cold right now?”