Spirits, Secrets, and a Swarm of Summer Trouble
The day after arriving at the villa was also our first full day of vacation. Without any lazy dawdling, we woke at our usual hour. With the servants' help we prepared ourselves and made our way to the dining room for breakfast.
“Lene, René. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. But why is Brother sitting in Father’s seat?”
“Shouldn’t we leave that seat empty?”
“…I was only sitting there for a second.”
Aran, who had been waiting at the head of the table to greet us, let out a low groan when he heard what Lene and I said. As he started muttering that we were being too harsh and how could we speak to our brother like that, my sister and I exchanged glances and firmly assured him there hadn’t been the slightest trace of malice in our words.
“Want me to say something mean for real this time?”
“…No. There’s no need.”
Aran gave Lene a bitter smile—she had just declared she could insult him on the spot if he wished—then quickly rose and returned to his proper chair.
Soon the servants brought our dishes and we siblings began breakfast. As though we had made a silent pact, we focused entirely on eating without exchanging a single word.
“Right. I’m off to fish, so you two behave yourselves. No trouble, no accidents—be good.”
Aran, who finished first, left us with that reminder not to cause him any headaches and strode out of the dining room.
“Young Master Aran. Where are you going? Training comes first.”
“But we came here to rest…”
“Hehe, training must be kept up without fail.”
The knight waiting by the door immediately redirected him from fishing to training the moment he stepped outside. Through the open doorway we heard his sullen footsteps retreating, followed by a sigh heavy with resentment. Lene giggled at the sound, then promptly worried aloud that we might end up stuck studying just like him.
“Hehe, you don’t have to worry about anything like that.”
The servant who had accompanied us to the villa seemed to find Lene’s concern adorable. She gently swept the worry away, telling us that unlike Aran we were free to rest comfortably and play as much as we liked.
Lene’s face brightened into a sunny smile. The instant she finished eating she began pestering me to hurry so we could go play.
“What about dessert?”
“We can have it after lunch!”
I had just wiped my mouth with the waiting napkin and asked about dessert. Lene apparently couldn’t bear to give it up entirely, so she suggested we postpone it until after the midday meal. The servant quietly nodded and promised to prepare it that way.
We bowed our heads in thanks for the thoughtful consideration, left the dining room, and hurried back to our room to change. We switched into sturdy, simply cut clothes that wouldn’t tear easily even if branches snagged them, tied our long hair back tightly so it wouldn’t get in the way, and stepped outside. In a clearing not far from the villa we could clearly see Aran training with the knights.
“It looks like he’s asking for help. Should we go over?”
“No, let’s just go.”
Aran’s face was crumpled from the unwelcome training. When he jerked his chin and sent us pleading looks, I asked Lene what she thought. She shook her head without the slightest hesitation. Following her lead, we pretended not to notice and walked on. Before long Undine appeared, greeting us with a smile brimming with all sorts of meaning.
We followed her around just as we had done the previous summer, roaming everywhere and playing. Undine had taken special care of the secret spot for us, and we gasped in admiration at the even more breathtaking scenery.
Seeing our reaction, the little spirit hopped down from my shoulder as if to lend a hand and began busying herself here and there. While she worked I turned to admire the trees, which were now heavy with even more fruit than before.
“Huh? Isn’t that an apple?”
“Ah, that’s a crabapple. It’s a fruit similar to an apple.”
When I showed interest in the fruit that looked identical to the apples grown in the territory’s orchard yet was only a third the size, Undine kindly explained what it was. She plucked one that had ripened to a vivid red and brought it over. I took it at once and lifted it to my mouth, but then last year’s disaster with the liar strawberries flashed through my mind. I shot her a suspicious glance.
“It doesn’t taste weird or anything, right?”
“Sigh, for such a little kid you sure are suspicious… It’s perfectly ripe and delicious, so just eat it.”
Undine shook her head in exasperation. Convinced nothing was wrong, I took a big bite. The crabapple was more tart than sweet, with less juice than a regular apple. Each chew produced a crisp crunch closer to “oh-dok oh-dok” than “ah-sak ah-sak,” and the flesh broke apart finely in my mouth—more like a tangerine than an apple.
“Hmm. Can we really call this an apple?”
Still pondering seriously after I swallowed, I handed the rest to Lene, who was watching with open curiosity.
“This tastes like an apple-flavored cookie.”
Lene accepted it, took a bite exactly as I had, and declared it reminded her more of fruit-flavored candy than actual fruit. I thought that was a fair comparison and nodded in agreement. As we wandered on, the little spirit—who must have heard the word “snack”—suddenly reappeared with sparkling eyes that clearly said she wanted to try some too. I gave her what was left of the crabapple.
We smiled while watching her eat it with a blissful expression. When it was time to head back for lunch we gathered several more well-ripened crabapples, intending to let Aran taste them, and returned to the villa.
“Huh, Brother. What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Um… it looks like you’re sprawled out.”
“…No. I was resting.”
Aran had spent the entire morning training with the knights and was now lying under the shade of a tree near the clearing. He looked annoyed at our chattering as we approached, but tilted his head curiously at the crabapples we carried.
“It’s not apple season yet…”
He clearly knew the real apples weren’t due yet, even if he didn’t know the details. We explained that these were crabapples, similar to apples. When we offered him one to try, he examined the tiny fruit with fascination, turning it this way and that before popping it into his mouth. Apparently it was good; he nodded, then devoured the entire crabapple in seconds as though he had been starving.
“Wow, these are actually really good… Where did you find them?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Sorry, but we can’t tell you.”
When we shook our heads and insisted we absolutely could not reveal the source, he looked disappointed. Still, he understood perfectly—after all, he had also wanted a secret place no one else knew about when he was young. Instead of pressing further, he simply ate every last crabapple we had brought on the spot.
During lunch and the dessert we had postponed that morning, the chef—having heard the story from Aran—asked where on earth the crabapples had come from. We kept our lips sealed tight and protected our secret.
That afternoon we returned to the hidden spot, played with Undine and the little spirit, and whenever we grew hungry we snacked on the tree fruit. We set aside the especially tasty ones and carried them to Aran, who was fishing by the water’s edge.
“Oh, so you two don’t only cause accidents and trouble after all.”
“Ugh, even when we do something nice…”
Aran accepted our thoughtful gift with a teasing laugh. He picked out only a few crabapples for himself and generously left the rest for us.
“You should eat more of the wild strawberries, at least.”
“Ah, wild strawberries are fine.”
When he recommended the perfectly ripe, sweetly delicious wild strawberries, he waved both hands and refused outright. Seeing his disgusted expression, we sisters easily guessed he had suffered through the liar strawberries in the past. Laughing, we shared what we had brought and watched him fish.
“Ah, you should have listened more carefully.”
“Yeah. Why are you so slow?”
“Tsk. Stop interfering and go play somewhere else.”
We teased Aran when he frowned at our unsolicited advice, then rose from our seats when the time felt right.
After that we spent the rest of our vacation enjoying the clear weather without incident. When the day to return to the mansion drew near, Lene and I were resting in the shade to escape the glaring sun. We followed the busy little spirit with our eyes, then noticed Undine gesturing as she watered the trees heavy with flowers and fruit. We stood up.
“Undine. How about coming back to the mansion with us this time?”
We invited her to join us and explained that Father had been so busy he had nearly prevented us from taking this vacation at all. Thanks to Aran we had managed it this year, but once he entered the academy next year even that would become impossible. At our additional words she smiled with a troubled expression and came closer.
“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think I can do that.”
She said she liked it here and would remain. Lene let out a sigh, openly disappointed.
“You promised you’d make a contract with me later. Will you still refuse then?”
“Haa, that definitely won’t happen.”
Undine declared that once the contract was made she would naturally stay by Lene’s side forever. Lene’s smile returned at once. She dropped the idea of bringing Undine to the mansion but added that even if we couldn’t visit, Undine mustn’t feel too sad about it.
“All right. When the time comes for you to contract with me, if something prevents you from coming, I’ll come find you instead.”
“Uh… do you know where our house is?”
“We can just ask for directions while we look.”
Undine’s answer that there was nothing to worry about made us chuckle. We spent the rest of our time on the island and at the villa making sure no regrets remained, then returned to the mansion.
“This is how you scatter it.”
“Ah, thank you.”
While spending the remaining summer days at the mansion after our return, I was strolling through the garden and showed interest when I saw someone feeding the fish in the pond. The servant kindly taught me how it was done. Praising me for learning so quickly, she scattered all the feed she had brought and left.
Once she was gone I watched the fish swimming lazily after their meal. Noticing a carp with greenish scales that I seemed to see quite often, I spoke to it on a whim.
“By any chance… are you a spirit too?”
It vanished without answering, leaving me feeling awkward. Then I saw Lene sprinting toward me in a panic and tilted my head in confusion.
“What’s going—whoa!”
“Run!”
Before I could finish asking what had happened, Lene grabbed my hand and bolted with all her strength. I tried to ask again but heard a loud buzzing behind us. When I saw the swarm of bees chasing us I ran for dear life.
“What exactly did you do?!”
“It looked different from normal bees, so I asked if it was a spirit and followed it… Ah! Brother!”
Lene was explaining that—just as I had done with the fish earlier—she had gone around asking other beings if they were spirits and had apparently upset the bees. Spotting Aran entering the garden after finishing his training, she called out to him.
“Lene! René! Over here!”
He had been about to say something when he noticed we were being chased by bees. His expression turned serious as he beckoned us over. Without hesitation we dashed past Aran, who had dropped to one knee and stretched out both arms, and fled inside the mansion.
“Lene? René?”
He stood there calling our names with a stunned face, then a beat later came running inside himself—too late to avoid the bees now targeting him. He must have been stung several times in that short delay. A little later, seeing his swollen face, Lene burst out laughing and thumped him on the head.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“You earned that one.”
Even I thought Lene was clearly at fault this time, so I took Aran’s side—only for him to declare that I was guilty too and thump me on the head in exactly the same way.