Chapter 82

While Judith anxiously tapped her feet, Rodesha soon announced the start of the competition.

At that moment, everyone immediately began collecting chestnuts as if they had never been chatting. Judith quickly followed her friends, searching for fallen chestnuts.

However, everyone else’s hands moved so quickly that the area around them was soon completely stripped clean, as if a storm had swept through.

‘At this rate, there won’t be anything left for me to pick up…….’

With no other choice, Judith decided to head in the opposite direction from where her friends had disappeared.

Even as she ventured deeper into the forest, the trees weren’t densely packed, so the interior of the forest remained fairly bright.

But the chestnuts themselves weren’t easy to spot.

They blended in with the leaves, making them hard to notice, and even when she did find some, they were often just empty shells, as if squirrels had already taken the nuts inside.

After a while, her back began to ache. When she looked at her bag, it felt heavier than she had expected.

‘……At least with this much, I shouldn’t come in last, right?’

Convincing herself that she had collected enough, Judith rationalized her efforts.

Feeling a bit tired, she sat on a rock to rest. Suddenly, she heard rustling, and someone emerged from the bushes.

It was Rodein.

“Senior Judith?”

Rodein strode toward her.

“Judging by how leisurely you’re resting, you must have collected quite a lot of chestnuts, right?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s a lot, but I did my best. What about you?”

Instead of answering, Rodein smugly shook the bag he was carrying. The sack was so full of chestnuts that it looked like it might burst at any moment.

“Unlike Senior Chase, I know the best spots to collect chestnuts. I just made a round through all the easily accessible areas.”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he sat down next to Judith. Thankfully, the atmosphere wasn’t awkward despite them being alone.

Of course, there had been a time when things felt slightly uncomfortable after Rodein confessed his feelings to her.

But, as they say, time heals all wounds, and enough time had passed for them to become comfortable friends again.

Whenever Judith didn’t know how to act around him, Rodein would always approach her casually, just like now.

He was certainly younger than her, but he had a surprisingly mature side.

“If you didn’t manage to collect many chestnuts, would you like me to share some? You should at least avoid coming in last.”

Judith was startled and quickly waved her hands in refusal.

“No, I can’t do that. A competition has to be fair. And didn’t you want to win first place?”

“Well, that’s true. But even if I give you a few, I’m confident I’ll still come in first.”

Rodein continued in a confident voice.

“No matter how skilled Chase is, there’s no way he could collect more than me when he doesn’t even know the layout of this forest.”

Judith thought he had a point. No one could fill a sack as completely as Rodein had.

As Judith swung her legs and enjoyed the fresh forest air, Rodein hesitated for a moment before speaking in a cautious tone.

“Um, Senior.”

“Yeah?”

When she turned her head, she saw his familiar amber eyes staring directly at her.

“……Are you happy now? With Chase?”

It was a question Rodein, who knew her situation, was bound to ask, but Judith froze for a moment at his words.

She furrowed her brows as she slowly turned the question over in her mind.

“Hmm……”

Was I? 

Ever since she decided to be with Chase, all the problems that had troubled her seemed to have disappeared, and she’d been floating through her days as if on air.

Today, in particular, was the most carefree day she’d had in a long time.

Finally, Judith nodded slowly.

“Yeah, I think so.”

When she finished speaking and smiled softly, Rodein, who had been quietly watching her, also smiled faintly after a moment.

“In that case, I’m relieved.”

As they chatted, the sun, which had been high in the sky, began to set, and the time they had allotted for collecting chestnuts came to an end.

“Let’s head back to the meeting spot, Senior.”

“Alright.”

She was grateful that Rodein was with her. It turned out they had ventured deeper into the forest than she had realized, and the way back was quite long.

Even as darkness fell, Rodein skillfully guided Judith back to the forest entrance.

By the time they arrived, Rodesha and Chase were already waiting near the carriage.

As soon as Chase heard their footsteps and turned around, he frowned at the sight of the two of them together.

“Why are you two coming back together?”

Before Judith could answer, Rodein spoke up first.

“We ran into each other along the way, so I just guided her back here.”

Rodein’s expression seemed to say, 

“So don’t get mad for no reason.”

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s head back to the villa.”

Rodesha cheerfully called out, confirming that the group was all accounted for.

The return to the carriage didn’t take long. As soon as they arrived in the yard in front of the villa, Rodesha immediately approached the luggage compartment.

“Before we go inside, let’s see who collected the most chestnuts!”

With that, she dragged her sack over.

Gulping nervously, Judith swallowed hard.

Please, just don’t let me come in last……

While Judith silently prayed, each person began bringing their sacks forward and dumping their contents in the center.

Thud.

Rodesha’s sack was the first to be emptied, and it was clearly more than twice what Judith had managed to collect.

While Judith stared blankly, Rodein also emptied his bulging sack next to hers.

As expected, the amount was overwhelming.

Please, let Chase be the one……

Clinging to her last hope, Judith turned her gaze to Chase, but she had to abandon all expectations the moment she saw him.

Not only had he filled one sack to the brim, but he also emptied chestnuts from the hood and pockets of his cloak.

“Ugh, that was heavy. Carrying it all was exhausting.”

“Wow, Chase. How did you manage to collect so much? Then how much did Judith……?”

Rodesha looked at Judith with a mix of anticipation and concern, prompting Judith to reluctantly place her small sack on the ground.

The stark difference in size made Rodesha exclaim in surprise.

“Oh no, Judith came in last.”

“…….”

Judith lowered her head in embarrassment. She had thought collecting over 30 chestnuts was a decent effort, but it was nowhere near enough.

But just as Judith was wallowing in disappointment, something unexpected happened.

“Here, take this.”

“……Huh?”

Chase suddenly placed his sack of chestnuts in front of her. Judith looked up at him in confusion.

Then Chase addressed everyone.

“With this, Judith is in first place. No objections, right?”

“What?!”

Rodesha looked utterly baffled. Placing her hands on her hips, she scolded him.

“Did you join this competition just to make Judith win? Was that your plan all along?”

No, that couldn’t be it.

Chase had probably acted on impulse after seeing how upset she was.

But to her surprise, Chase replied simply.

“Yeah.”

Judith stared at Chase with wide eyes.

“But if you give away all your chestnuts, you’ll be in last place. Don’t forget, the person in last has to grant the winner’s wish. So now you’ll have to grant Judith’s wish.”

Judith was clearly the rightful loser of the chestnut-collecting competition. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Chase, the true winner, to grant her a wish.

She decided to return the sack to Chase and thank him for his kindness.

However, Chase didn’t accept the sack. Instead, he placed it back in her arms and said,

“It doesn’t matter. I’d grant Judith’s wish even without a competition.”

“…….”

Rodesha and Rodein, who had been watching with exasperation, soon declared they were hungry and headed into the villa.

But Chase didn’t seem to care whether they stayed or left. He turned to Judith and said,

“Judith, you worked hard today. You must be hungry too. Shall we go inside?”

“……Yeah, let’s do that.”

Judith replied, clutching the sack of chestnuts tightly in her hands.

* * *

As evening fell, the air grew even chillier. However, the servants of the villa led them to the terrace for dinner.

When Judith stepped outside, wrapping her shawl tightly around her shoulders, she was surprised by the unexpected warmth.

Thanks to the brazier burning nearby, the outdoor setting didn’t feel cold at all.

Gathered around the crackling fire, the atmosphere felt cozy and romantic.

In the center of the fire, some kind of meat was roasting to a golden brown. The delicious smell wafting through the night air made her mouth water.

Crackle, crackle.

As she watched the glowing embers, Rodesha suddenly spoke up.

“This feels like the perfect setting for a scary story, doesn’t it?”