On the Hill Where the Wind Blows
"Hah… hah…"
Milia stumbled out of the shop and braced a hand against the nearest roadside tree, gasping for breath. Her heart hammered as if it might burst, and the heat rushing to her head left the world spinning around her.
"An… indirect kiss…!!"
They hadn't even touched, yet a faint warmth seemed to linger on her lips all the same. And somehow, that feeling wasn't unpleasant. If she had to choose between liking it and disliking it, she would have to admit she rather liked it.
"My Lady!"
"Hic!?"
Just then Schwarz followed her out of the shop and called her name. Milia flinched hard and let out a strange little squeak.
"I… I-I'm sorry…"
"D-don't worry about it! It's nothing!"
She waved him off as he hesitated over his words. At once an awkward silence settled between them. What on earth was one supposed to say in a situation like this? Wondering, Milia stole a sidelong glance at Schwarz. He had his head bowed so low he clearly couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes.
He doesn't have to look that sorry…
A faint bitterness rose in her chest, and she let out a short sigh.
"Lift your head. Anyone watching would think you'd committed some capital crime."
"A-are you sure you're all right?"
"Honestly. Do I look like the sort of person who can't even overlook something this small?"
She snorted at the half-doubtful tone of his question. Instantly the dejected look on his face melted into a smile of pure relief.
"…"
The moment she saw it, Milia whipped her head away.
Foul! That expression is foul!
She shouted the words inside her mind and forced herself to steady her breathing. She didn't need a mirror to know her face had gone scarlet; nothing else could explain the heat blazing across her cheeks.
"My Lady? Are you all right?"
"…"
Utterly oblivious to her turmoil, Schwarz tilted his head and peered at her. The sight left her feeling oddly wronged, yet she could hardly scold him for it.
"I'm fine… I just need a moment to rest…"
With that she made her way to a nearby bench and sank onto it as though every ounce of strength had drained from her body.
"Haa…"
"Are you certain you're all right? If you're not feeling well, perhaps we should head back for today."
He watched her close her eyes with another soft sigh and asked the question carefully.
"It's not that… I'm just thirsty. Could you go ask Aunt Delilah if she can spare another of those drinks we just had?"
"Yes, My Lady."
Schwarz bowed to her listless reply and started back toward Delilah's shop. Watching him go, Milia sighed once more.
"Honestly…"
Was he truly that dense, or was he only pretending to be? Either way, it left her thoroughly frustrated.
"Well… I'm hardly one to talk."
She wanted him to make the first move, yet the moment he came even a little closer she fell completely to pieces…
"I really am a sight, aren't I…"
Muttering to herself, Milia puffed out her cheeks in open dissatisfaction.
A small hill on the northern edge of the Valentine Countship. A massive, centuries-old tree crowned the rise, and all at once a fierce wind swept across it. In the next instant a great shadow fell over the hilltop.
"Hup."
With a light grunt Milia leapt down to the ground, and Schwarz shifted back into his human form beside her.
"So this is our destination?"
"Mm-hm."
Milia nodded and turned her gaze to the enormous tree standing nearby. No one could say how long it had stood there; its leaves rustled and swayed in the wind that climbed the hill.
"All right. Let's get ready."
"Yes, My Lady."
After watching the tree a moment longer she looked back at him. Schwarz nodded in answer and drew a pouch from his belt. It looked ordinary enough, yet a spatial-expansion enchantment allowed it to hold as much as a traveler's trunk.
A picnic blanket, cushions, sweets brought from the manor, the raspberry pie they had bought at Delilah's shop only a short while ago, and a flask of black tea—everything was laid out in moments. Milia settled herself on the blanket.
"Aren't you going to sit?"
"Pardon?"
Schwarz answered in a dazed voice as she looked up at him. A servant's duty was to attend his master; no matter how he turned it over in his mind, that duty had nothing to do with enjoying a picnic.
"What do you mean, 'pardon'? You weren't planning to leave me to picnic all by myself, were you?"
"Well, but…"
"Honestly, you're impossible. If you keep thinking about work every single day you'll collapse from overwork. Stop being so stiff and sit down already."
He made a helpless sound at her scolding tone, but Milia cut him off by catching his hand and tugging him down.
"Ah…!"
In the end he found himself seated beside her, fidgeting and glancing at her face for cues. Whether he fretted or not, Milia only beamed.
"Beautiful view, isn't it?"
"Yes. It truly is."
The landscape of the countship spread out below the hill was not quite spectacular enough to be called a masterpiece, yet it held a quiet charm of its own. Farmland rolling across the plains, the Limon River cutting through the territory, and beyond it Franzberg and the Valentine manor… In a word, the peaceful, unhurried face of a country town—something entirely different from the glittering bustle of Barenberg.
"Schwarz, could you take out a slice of that pie we bought?"
"Yes, My Lady. Shall I pour the tea as well?"
"Please."
He set a piece of pie on a plate he had prepared and handed it to her.
"You have no idea how long I've been craving this."
With a soft nom she popped a small bite into her mouth and let out a low, blissful hum, smiling in pure happiness.
"Want a piece?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine."
Watching her eyes sparkle over the plate, Schwarz answered awkwardly. He had good reason.
That pie is ridiculously sweet…
It was nothing but sugar so intense it numbed the tongue. Years ago, when Milia was little, he had carelessly accepted a piece she offered and lost his sense of taste for days. He had no desire to repeat the experience.
"Really? Don't come crying later."
"Understood."
Not that I'll have any reason to regret it.
Thinking as much, he nodded and poured tea from the flask into a cup for her.
"Home really is the best. No need to think about all that endless work."
"Indeed."
Classes, General Affairs, sleep. Classes, General Affairs, sleep. Her days at the academy had been nothing but that simple, grinding cycle; he could hardly blame her for feeling this way.
"Still, I'm so glad you're here. Without you I'd probably be in the infirmary by now."
"It's a little sad that I can't deny it…"
Milia gave a short laugh, and Schwarz answered with a wry smile of his own. Considering the mountain of work he currently shouldered in the General Affairs office, it was all too easy to imagine what would have happened if she had been forced to carry the entire load alone.
"I'm always grateful, you know. Being able to enjoy a moment like this is thanks to you, in a way."
"I'm only doing what I should."
As long as he could be of help to her as her servant, that was enough for him. He only hoped he could remain at her side from now on as well. A faint smile touched his lips—
"Mmm… Now that I think about it, I really ought to repay you somehow."
"Pardon? Repay me?"
He tilted his head at the low, thoughtful sound she made. A servant assisting his master was only natural; expecting a reward for it was pure nonsense.
"Yes. How about a lap pillow? I hear men like that sort of thing…"
"…"
After a thoughtful hmm, Milia clapped her hands together and made the suggestion. Schwarz could only stare at her with a blank expression. He simply could not fathom how her mind had arrived at that particular conclusion.
"What's with that face? You don't want it? I'm offering you a lap pillow, you know."
"No, it isn't that I dislike it, it's just… how should I put this…"
A mild dizziness washed over him as he scrambled for a way out of the situation—
"Oh, for heaven's sake! Stop muttering and just say thank you and accept it!"
Apparently fed up with his dithering, Milia snapped in an irritated voice and yanked on his arm.
"Wha—!? My Lady!?"
Caught completely off guard, Schwarz was dragged down without resistance and found himself half-forced to rest his head on her lap.
"How does it feel? Comfortable?"
"Yes… it's comfortable. Comfortable, but…"
How was he supposed to describe this feeling? A complicated, hard-to-name emotion stirred inside him, and he let out a low murmur.
"Then that's all that matters."
"…"
She cut him off with a gentle smile. There was little he could do about it.
Then, still looking down at him, Milia slowly raised a hand and began to stroke his hair.
"Um… My Lady?"
"Shh. Stay still."
She clicked her tongue softly at his trailing words.
"This is the first time I've stroked your hair since that day."
"Ah…"
A quiet sound escaped him. The day his human form had been discovered—she had stroked his hair then as well.
"It's kind of annoying. You were so much smaller than me back then."
"Ahahaha…"
He gave an awkward laugh at her grumbling tone. Judging by her soft chuckle in return, she hadn't meant anything serious by it either; she simply looked down at him with a quiet smile.
And so the two of them let the time drift gently by.