Whose Scent Is This...?
It was around sunset when we finally parted ways. Choosing Eve’s “gift” had taken every last ounce of my concentration, but the bulging shopping bag felt wonderfully reassuring just to look at. With a much lighter heart, I turned to the teacher and offered my sincere thanks.
“Thank you so much for today.”
“Not at all~ It was nice to get some fresh air and enjoy a walk for once.”
I hadn’t meant to keep her so long. When I smiled apologetically, she gave a light shrug.
“Actually, the reason I helped you this time is because we have a personal connection.”
“…With me? Do you… happen to know me?”
“Yes. I’ve only ever heard stories, so this is my first time meeting you in person.”
The unexpected answer left me momentarily flustered. I stared at her face, searching my memory, and her elf ears gave a tiny twitch.
“Oh dear, you really don’t remember~ How disappointing.”
“…I’m sorry. Nothing comes to mind. Could you give me even the smallest hint?”
“Hehe. It’s a secret.”
“…I see.”
My reaction must have amused her; she laughed softly.
“It’s nothing important, so please don’t think too hard about it.”
“Saying that only makes it impossible not to think about it.”
“Does it? Then here’s a hint: you know one of my family members. I only know about you through stories.”
“Family…?”
“If I say any more, that person will get annoyed, so I’ll stop here.”
She smiled brightly and handed me a small box. It was clearly an attempt to change the subject, but I couldn’t very well call her on it.
“And please pretend you simply found this while walking by. It’s for Eve.”
“……?”
“Oh, and you absolutely mustn’t say I gave it to you. She may become my student soon, and if word got out that I celebrated a student’s birthday, it would cause quite the scandal.”
Being a teacher really wasn’t easy.
“…Thank you for being so thoughtful.”
“Not at all. Please wish Eve a happy birthday for me.”
“I will. Of course.”
“I hope you have a wonderful time. I should be going now.”
The moment she handed over the gift, she waved and walked away. It almost felt as if she were deliberately avoiding any further questions.
…Come to think of it, I never even learned her name. Oh well. If we meet again, I’ll just have to ask more directly.
I searched through every memory I had of encountering elves, but nothing stood out. Red-haired elf… red-haired elf… For some reason the phrase left me with a vague sense of unease. Maybe it was just my imagination.
*
“I’m back.”
“Ah! Welcome ba—”
The moment I stepped into the pharmacy, Caramel marched straight up to me with a rigid expression.
“Sniff sniff.”
“…Why are you suddenly smelling me?”
“Did you know, Professor? You always carry the scent of medicinal herbs.”
“Hmm. And?”
“Right now you smell like a woman’s lovely perfume!”
Caramel flashed a wicked grin. She looked like a child who had just discovered a new toy. I tried to hide my discomfort and sniffed my own coat. Did this… really count as a noticeable scent?
“Oh? Oho~ You went out to buy a birthday present and ended up meeting a woman! I thought you had zero interest in that sort of thing!”
“……”
“Who is she? How old? What race? How did you meet? Judging by the perfume, she seems older—am I right?”
I gave Caramel a light flick on the forehead and answered.
“Yes, she is older. So much older that I can’t even guess the exact difference because of her race.”
“Gasp! So older women are your type, Professor??”
She was clearly just having fun teasing me.
“Anyway, how can you even recognize a perfume scent?”
“Of course I can! It’s called feminine intuition!”
“……That makes no sense…”
“Hehe~ I should go tell Eve right away.”
“…Tell Eve? Why would you do that?”
“I wonder how happy she’d be to hear she might be getting a new mom~ Or maybe she’d be sad instead.”
“New mom? I only got a little help choosing a birthday gift, that’s all.”
Caramel clapped her hands as realization dawned.
“That’s right! So what did you get our Eve?!”
“I bought something. You didn’t think I’d come back empty-handed, did you?”
“What is it? What is it? A toy? Clothes? A book? Paints? Tell me, tell me!”
“Well… after all that agonizing, I ended up with a rather standard choice…”
I was just about to pull the gift box from the shopping bag when the bell above the door tinkled and Eve slipped inside.
“……!”
“…Eek.”
In the same instant, Caramel and I frantically hid the box. My movements were flawless, but Caramel was the weak link. She was an absolutely terrible liar. I was willing to bet she didn’t even have the nerve to sneak a single snack from the refrigerator.
“I’m back.”
Eve greeted us first.
“U-uh, u-uh, welcome home!!”
Caramel’s face looked ready to explode as she stammered. Eve blinked, then trotted straight over to me.
“Is Sister sick…?”
“Seems that way.”
“Sister can’t be sick… Could you examine her…?”
“It’s fine. It’s the kind of illness that gets better if she just… stays like that.”
From behind us came a whispered “Eve is worrying about me…! How adorable!” followed by a creepy “ehehehehe” laugh. I chose to ignore it.
I gently smoothed Eve’s wind-tousled hair and asked,
“Did you have fun with your friends?”
“Yes.”
“That’s wonderful. They seem like good children, so keep getting along with them. Since you’ve been outside, go wash your hands first.”
“Okay.”
As she toddled toward the counter, I asked casually,
“Are you seeing your friends tomorrow?”
She shook her head.
“…What about the day after?”
Another shake.
“We’re meeting next week.”
“I see.”
The friends’ attendance was supposed to be part of the birthday surprise. I had considered inviting them naturally if they already had plans, but it looked like that wouldn’t work.
After washing her hands, Eve returned and stuck close to my side—closer than usual. Almost like… the way Caramel had been sniffing me earlier.
“……What’s wrong?”
“………It smells strange.”
“On me?”
She nodded.
What day was it today that everyone suddenly wanted to smell me?
Eve fiddled with the hem of my coat, then looked at Caramel with an oddly anxious expression.
“Hehe, Sister is completely innocent, Eve.”
“……”
What was with this silence?
“…What are you two talking about?”
“There’s just something, that’s all. Right, Eve?”
“Yes.”
Were they making secrets without me? It stung a little, but it couldn’t be helped. There would only be more things they kept from me as she grew up. I couldn’t let myself get depressed over something so small.
I left Eve with Caramel for a moment and quietly tucked the gift away in a corner of the storage room.
“…I wonder if Eve will like it.”
I had chosen it with great care, yet now that it was bought, my confidence had vanished. No… no. I shouldn’t trust my own judgment; I should trust the teacher. That was the only anchor I had left.
Before the sun went down, I contacted Lucia’s, Chris’s, and Nina’s parents one after another. The excuse was simple courtesy, but the real purpose was to invite the children to Eve’s birthday party.
In truth, this part had worried me. Inviting people with only two days’ notice wasn’t exactly polite when they would need to prepare gifts. That was why I had reached out to the guardians instead of the children directly.
“Ah, yes. I wanted to invite your child to my ward’s birthday party. I promise to take full responsibility for them until they return home safely.”
Lucia’s older brother answered the phone. The young man, who had left the main family to attend the academy independently, politely asked me to take good care of his little sister.
Next, Chris’s father was remarkably calm. I could hear the faint strains of an instrument in the background—an old classical symphony that had enjoyed minor popularity among critics two centuries ago. Perhaps music ran in the family.
Finally, Nina’s mother had a refreshingly bright voice. She was clearly used to conversation; her warmth came through the phone so strongly that I found myself chatting about all sorts of things. Even through the receiver, her good nature was unmistakable.
Click.
“…Phew. Invitations complete.”
Only after the calls ended could I finally set down the pleasantly warm receiver. Most things were proceeding smoothly. All that remained was to make sure the birthday party itself was a success.
*
Before bed, Eve stared blankly at the calendar. She hadn’t meant to. Her eyes had simply drifted there. A familiar yet strangely distant date was drawing near. That was all.
To Eve, a birthday held no more meaning than that. Of course she had been curious once. She was a child full of questions, after all.
The person who first explained birthdays to her had been a new maid who had only recently started working at the ducal estate. The young woman had told her,
“Um… a birthday is the day we celebrate the day you were born. It’s a day when everyone blesses you! You eat delicious food with family and friends, exchange presents… that sort of day!”
“……Will Father and Mother celebrate it too?”
“Of course! The master and madam from the main house will come see you, young lady.”
I see. So that’s what a birthday is.
From then on, Eve had carried that vague expectation. But when the day arrived, it was no different from any other. The mother who always scolded her, the perpetually busy father, even the grandfather she feared meeting eyes with—none of them came to see her.
She never learned why. Why she was supposed to be congratulated, why her family showed no interest in her birthday, or why the new maid had looked so flustered that day. To Eve, it had simply been a natural part of life from the moment she was born.
This year was the same. Normally she might not have paid the date any mind at all. If Nina hadn’t suddenly asked her a while ago—
“Eve, when is your birthday?”
“…Birthday?”
“You said you wanted to go to school, right? But you don’t want to keep being a burden to the pharmacist, do you?”
When Lucia and Chris caught on to Nina’s intention, they clapped their hands in delight.
“Aha, so you can just say it on your birthday is what it is-wa yo!”
“That’s actually pretty smart, Nina. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
At the word “birthday,” Eve felt her breath catch. She didn’t understand the logic that allowed her to ask for whatever she wanted simply because the day carried that name.
Lying in bed, she slowly opened her eyes. For some reason her mind was wide awake tonight, and sleep refused to come.
Simon, who had been watching her from across the room, came closer.
“Eve, can’t sleep?”
She shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
His hand rested gently on her forehead. Eve closed her eyes obediently and let the warmth sink in. The turbulent feelings that had been swirling inside her gradually settled.
Birthdays don’t matter. I’m not sad at all. Because Simon is here. Because it’s so warm. Because he’s always by my side. So it’s okay.
Still… even if birthdays feel unfamiliar, if it’s a day when it’s all right to be a little… just a tiny bit spoiled… then maybe, following Nina and Lucia’s advice, it would be okay to ask Simon for something…?
As she drifted off beneath his gentle touch, those thoughts lingered in her mind, soft and unspoken.