“My lady, aren’t you cold?”

“Where did you get the blanket?”

“The knights of the Grand Ducal House had set one aside. They told me to give it to you, so I brought it.”

Amel leaned back against the rock and draped the blanket over her knees.

Although it had been hot during the day, the breeze turned chilly once the sun went down.

Amel closed her eyes for a moment before sneezing quietly.

The cold wind made her cough.

At that moment, the soldiers returned from the mountains, carrying dry branches.

They used these to start a campfire, piling more firewood on top.

Amel watched them quietly before wiping the cold sweat from her face.

As the sweat cooled, her body quickly grew cold.

Since she was sitting in the shade, the chill felt even stronger.

“My lady. Aren’t you cold? Come sit closer to the fire.”

“Make a place for my lady to sit!”

“Bring a log! My lady, please come over here.”

A soldier brought over a log and made a place for her to sit.

Amel stood up and moved to sit in front of the campfire.

She straightened her dress and draped the blanket over her knees.

Cervel approached and sat down beside her.

“Your Grace, please sit.”

Amel shifted slightly to make room, and Cervel sat beside her.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I am.”

“Even if you skipped lunch, you should eat something for dinner.”

Come to think of it, she had eaten only a piece of jerky for lunch and nothing since.

She hadn’t even realized she was hungry at the time, but now the hunger was finally catching up with her.

“……But we don’t have any packed lunches or anything. What should we do?”

They had abandoned the carriages on the way, so they hadn’t been able to bring the packed lunches either.

At that, one of the knights of the Grand Ducal House spoke up.

“Your Grace. Everyone seems a little stiff and sore. Why don’t we have them go hunting?”

“Hunting?”

“Yes. We could catch something small for dinner.”

Amel looked at him with an expression of confusion.

They were tired and sore, so why would they go hunting?

“Go. Leave only a few men behind.”

“Yes! We’ll be back shortly!”

Several soldiers quickly dashed off.

‘Where do they get that kind of energy?’

If anything, they seemed full of vitality.

Amel let out a weak laugh.

It was a tired, breathy sound.

She was exhausted and barely aware of her surroundings.

In truth, she had been walking on autopilot.

‘There’s no one who can walk in my place anyway, so I just have to keep going.’

‘There’s no time to be tired.’

Thinking that way, she had simply kept walking until she finally made it here.

Amel sat quietly, warming herself by the campfire.

Crackle, crackle.

The embers popped softly amid the silence.

Amel stared blankly into the fire before leaning her head against Cervel’s shoulder.

Cervel quietly let her lean against him.

They sat like that for a while.

Lilline stepped away discreetly to give them some privacy.

***

It was around the time Amel had finally regained some of her strength.

“The soldiers are back!”

The soldiers who had gone hunting returned.

But what had they brought back? A squirrel.

A squirrel?

Not just any squirrel, but a baby one.

Everyone gathered around the campfire to look at the tiny creature.

It held its tail up as it scampered along their arms.

Cervel pointed at the squirrel and said,

“This will do for dinner.”

Amel flinched behind Cervel.

“You eat something this small?”

“We do.”

“This little thing?”

Amel turned to him in surprise, but a knight of the Grand Ducal House quickly spoke up instead.

“We brought the squirrel to show you, my lady. It’s a baby that had fallen from a tree. It’s tiny because it’s still young, isn’t it? Ah, of course, it isn’t for dinner. Do you like pheasant, my lady? We caught four pheasants in the bamboo grove. We were thinking of steaming them in bamboo. Would that be all right?”

“So, we’re not eating this little one, right?”

“Pardon? Yes. Of course not.”

“Yes. Ah, and the pheasant? Um…… that sounds good.”

Amel glanced at Cervel.

Then, as though protesting, she spoke quietly so that only he could hear.

“……He said we’re not eating it.”

“That’s what he says.”

“You startled me. I thought you were going to eat it……”

“There’s hardly anything to eat on it. Why would we?”

Cervel shrugged and reached out to take the squirrel.

The squirrel climbed onto his palm.

“Would you like a closer look?”

It was a tiny baby squirrel.

The little squirrel trembled as it scampered along Cervel’s arm.

Amel watched it from up close.

“They said it fell from a tree, but it seems perfectly fine.”

“Yes. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be badly injured.”

“……It’s so small.”

Despite being tired and exhausted, Amel looked at the squirrel with curiosity.

She reached out her hand, then hesitated and glanced at Cervel.

“Can I touch it?”

“Go ahead.”

Cervel nodded to give her permission.

When Amel reached out, the squirrel sniffed her hand.

It sniffed her palm curiously.

When it lifted its head, their eyes met.

She gently stroked its head.

Its fur was rougher than she had expected.

When she stroked the space between its eyebrows, the squirrel squeezed its eyes shut and shook its head with its front paws.

This time, she held out her hand.

The squirrel climbed onto her palm.

Amel cupped her hands together to support it, then froze with worry.

“Uh, what should I do?”

“Why?”

“It’s so tiny. Please do something. What if it falls?”

“Give me your hand.”

When Amel held out her hand to Cervel, the squirrel climbed onto the back of his hand.

“Look. Another squirrel is here.”

Amel pointed up at the tree.

A squirrel was looking down at them from a branch.

It scampered around the trunk before poking its head out above them.

Cervel placed the squirrel he was holding on a branch.

It quickly climbed up the tree and disappeared in an instant.

“It must have been its mother.”

“……I guess it followed us because its baby disappeared. Ah!”

An acorn fell from above.

“Ouch.”

“Did it hit your head?”

“Yes. It’s an acorn.”

The acorn struck her head before falling to the ground.

It rolled to a stop in front of her shoes.

Amel stood there in a daze for a moment before suddenly laughing.

Just then, the rest of the soldiers came rushing back.

“The hunting team is back.”

The hunting party had caught several pheasants.

Some time later, the bamboo-steamed pheasant was ready.

The meat had been cut into bite-sized pieces, placed in bamboo and steamed for an hour.

When the bamboo lid was opened, hot steam billowed out.

After leaving it to cool for a moment, the soldier handed the bamboo container to Amel.

“My lady, it’s still hot. Please be careful when you hold it.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

“It’s hot, so please eat slowly. We have used only the tenderest cuts of meat. We have also scored the meat to make it even more tender. There is also a skewer to help you pick up the meat. If you’re still hungry after eating, just let us know. There’s plenty more.”

“All right. You should eat, too. You must be hungry.”

Amel carefully took the bamboo container.

The joints of the bamboo were naturally sealed, so none of the food could leak out.

Cervel had received one as well and was already eating.

Amel followed his example and picked up a piece of meat.

“Huh?”

After taking one bite, Amel’s eyes widened.

“Is it good?”

“Pardon? Yes. You put herbs in it, didn’t you?”

The moment she bit into the meat, the fragrant aroma of herbs filled her mouth.

Amel cautiously took another bite.

“Is it tasty?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It’s not as tough as I expected. And there’s no gamey smell, either.”

“Eat slowly. You don’t want to upset your stomach.”

Amel chewed the meat thoroughly.

It was tender, light brown, juicy and soft.

She threaded another piece onto the skewer and popped it into her mouth.

She looked around for Lilline.

She was happily eating with the soldiers.

When Lilline spotted Amel, she smiled brightly and called out to her.

“My lady, are you finished?! Would you like some more?!”

“No. I’m fine. I’ve had enough.”

“Let me know if you’re still hungry!”

“All right.”

Lilline had naturally blended in among the soldiers.

“She’s quite sociable.”