Chapter 564: Just Like a Baby Bird
Sophia’s eyes and mouth fell open in perfect circles as she stared at the three automatic magic stone crushers lined up neatly before her.
Ah… this was bad.
I hadn’t expected her to come bearing cookies as a gift. From the elegant packaging alone—and the rich aroma of butter drifting faintly through the room—it was obvious they were expensive. No doubt they were a famous confection from some well-known patisserie in the capital.
“They’re already finished? And… three of them? I heard you had just come out of the bath a short while ago…”
“That’s right! It was a wonderful bath. As expected of the bath in Raven Kingdom’s royal castle—truly splendid. I feel completely refreshed. The cookies you brought look absolutely delicious, Sophia-sama. May I ask where they’re from?”
“Eh? Ah—well, these are…”
Good. I managed to change the subject.
Fabienne and Nero were both watching me with strained smiles, clearly aware of what I was doing. But please—don’t say anything more. Not a word.
I knew it myself.
I’d worked too fast.
Building the automatic magic stone crushers in such a short time had been reckless.
After asking about the shop that sold the cookies—and skillfully steering the conversation away from anything dangerous—I escorted Sophia-sama out of the room. She tilted her head slightly at one point, clearly puzzled, but in the end she seemed satisfied enough to leave without pressing further.
That was close.
“These cookies are from a famous shop in the royal capital, apparently. I’m thinking of sending some to everyone in the Heine frontier count’s household. And perhaps to the Baron Amber’s family as well. What do you think?”
“I believe that is a wonderful idea. They truly are delicious. I wonder if it’s the butter they use?”
“Now that you mention it, Sister-in-law Daniela did say that dairy farming is thriving here. I see… if that’s the case, it makes sense that they’d be sensitive about the forests and grasslands withering. If there were concerns about livestock feed, other nations would start to worry as well.”
It seemed that restoring the greenery was even more urgent for Raven Kingdom than I had originally thought.
And because I was on the verge of solving that crisis, perhaps that was why Sophia-sama and Erwin-sama had entered something close to a state of fervent devotion.
Once the situation settled down, surely the two of them would return to their senses.
“By the way, Julius-sama…”
“I’m sorry!”
Before Fabienne could even finish, I dropped straight to my knees in a full prostration.
“I just… I didn’t want Fabienne to feel lonely…”
That was true. But it wasn’t the whole truth. I had also been carried away by my own momentum.
I needed to be more careful.
If the burden were mine alone, that would be one thing. But at this rate, the strain would begin to weigh on Fabienne as well. The woman standing beside me would inevitably be looked at with the same expectations and scrutiny.
I couldn’t allow that.
“Julius-sama, please lift your head. I have properly received your feelings.”
I slowly raised my head.
The next instant, it was gently pulled forward—and then I was enveloped in something impossibly soft.
Wait… could this be—
A quiet click echoed through the room as the door shut.
Nero’s presence… vanished.
“I was never angry from the start,” Fabienne said softly. “However, as Sophia-sama mentioned at dinner, I worry that too much of the burden is falling solely upon you, Julius-sama. I wish you would rely on me a little more.”
“…I’m sorry.”
That was all I could manage.
I tell others to rest, yet I push myself like this. In that case, I have no right to tell anyone else to take a break.
I must be careful.
I must always be in a position where I can grant everyone the right to rest.
That night, I simply surrendered myself to Fabienne’s care and drifted off to sleep.
The sight of her feeding me cookies like a baby bird, piece by piece, is something I absolutely cannot allow anyone else to witness.
The next morning, after finishing breakfast in our room, I decided to go install the automatic magic stone crushers I had built the previous night.
However, if I headed to the indoor training hall too early, people might think I hadn’t rested at all. I would wait until everyone had begun their work.
Until then, a walk in the courtyard would suffice.
“It’s beautiful weather again today. I don’t think there will be any visible changes yet, but I plan to check on the saplings this morning.”
“What about preparing additional fertilizer? If we wait to confirm the saplings’ growth first, it will be another seven days.”
“That’s true… I don’t believe there’s an issue with the fertilizer itself. How about we produce as much as we can on our own for now?”
“In that case, once we see results, we can immediately conduct trials at the actual site. Yes, let’s do that.”
In high spirits, Fabienne slipped her arm through mine, pressing close.
It seemed that learning from last night’s reflection and adjusting my behavior this morning had paid off. I was glad I hadn’t rushed to the training hall at dawn. If I had, Fabienne might truly have lost patience with me this time.
That had been dangerously close.
When we finished our walk and headed to the indoor training hall, the sharp, rhythmic sounds of striking tools echoed energetically through the space.
The automatic magic stone crushers were being carried by servants. I couldn’t let Lionel carry one—if something happened, he wouldn’t be able to draw his sword quickly enough.
When I offered to carry them myself instead, Fabienne puffed up in visible displeasure, so I promptly withdrew the suggestion.
Recently, she seemed almost overly protective. But it was surely out of concern for me.
I couldn’t cause her any more worry. Better to comply.
“Good morning. I look forward to working with you again today.”
“Good morning, Julius-sama!”
Greetings rang out from all directions.
As I looked at each of their faces, I casually activated my Appraisal skill without drawing attention.
Everyone seemed fine.
I would protect their health.
And Fabienne would protect mine.
Fair exchange.
Last night really had been wonderful.
I wonder if she’d do that every day.
…No, probably not.
We’d have to chase Nero out each time.
That hardly seemed fair to him.
“I’ve brought additional automatic magic stone crushers. I believe this should make the work a little easier.”
“Thank you very much, Julius-sama. …Three of them?! I heard that yesterday you were occupied with the gardeners…”
“When exactly did he even find the time to create magical tools…?”
Murmurs spread throughout the training hall. Apparently, some of them were close with the gardeners. Well, that made sense—they all worked in the same place.
Ignoring the hushed whispers brushing against my ears, I focused on installing the machines.
Right now, what mattered was improving efficiency—and restoring the environment.
Everything else could be overlooked.
No.
For the moment, perhaps it would be better to close my ears entirely.