Chapter 31
"Looks like it's almost time to say goodbye to these meals..."
Glancing at Dan, who muttered while stabbing a thick piece of meat with his fork, I shared some meat from my plate with Sasha, who was nodding beside me.
"Seeing the last of these chunky meats, vegetables, and fruits... I hate winter. And Dan, who reminded me of it, should just get buried in the snow."
"Don't say such ominous things! We're heading out on an expedition soon, you know!? Celes, give me a piece too."
"No way."
Brushing off the hand reaching to snatch my meat, I pointed at Tom, who was silently eating away. If you're going to steal, that's the sure bet.
"Hey, wait, that's my last piece!"
"Mmm, mm, mmmm."
"Spit it out!"
"...Even if you spit it out, I can't eat it, can I?"
"True, but it still makes me mad!"
While watching the three of them playfully bickering, I dipped my bread into the soup and took a bite.
Crumbly, hard bread, raw vegetables, and a simple chunk of meat seasoned only with salt and pepper. These are the familiar dinners at the fortress.
The focus on meat dishes is the same whether at the Count family estate or the fortress, but you can't lump together the aristocratic meals with various sauces and the fortress meals with just salt and pepper.
As for vegetables, I had never eaten raw ones before, so I cautiously brought them to my mouth.
I always thought bread was soft and slightly sweet, but the bread served at the fortress is crumbly and hard to eat, so you have to soak it in soup to soften it or wash it down with a drink, or it'll linger in your mouth forever.
Perhaps because I desperately ate, thinking that meals were part of training, it didn't take long to get used to it.
However, I was shocked when I learned that this was the typical meal for commoners.
"They said we're preparing for winter hibernation starting tomorrow, right?"
"I'm glad there's no training, and butchering pigs is fine. But the smell during processing is just unbearable."
"Sausages are delicious, though."
"Dan, you should just eat sausages for the rest of your life. No, I'll make sure you only eat sausages."
"Huh...?"
"Tom does what he says, you know?"
Dan should really learn by now that grudges over food are scary.
"Celes, you're joining the pig-butchering group, right?"
"After butchering, I'll join the pancetta team."
"That's tasty in its own way, isn't it?"
Before winter fully sets in, we have to butcher pigs and make preserved foods like salted meat and sausages. Of course, fresh vegetables won't be available either, so the vegetables we have now need to be processed into pickles with a strong bitterness and vinegar tang.
During this time, whether you're a soldier or a town resident, it doesn't matter—everyone comes together to prepare for winter hibernation.
Experiencing the harshness of winter in this freezing land, realizing that things I took for granted as a noble weren't the norm, and feeling gratitude for a privileged life—when I said this in front of Grandfather, he laughed heartily and stroked my head, saying, "You've grown."
"So, why is Renato in the cafeteria?"
Renato, sitting to my left, silently devouring his dinner.
Are his slightly teary eyes because of the sheer amount of food, or is it the meat that won't break down no matter how much he chews?
"He got permission from the Marshal. Hey, eat your vegetables too."
"...Mm."
"After coming back from town, it seemed like he was talking with the Marshal about something. Here, have some steamed potatoes too."
"...Mmm."
"I'll give you some fruit as well."
"This is from Sasha."
"..."
When I placed the fruit Sasha pushed onto me on Renato's tray, he stopped moving his hands...
"Renato?"
"...Mm."
I tore my bread in half, grabbed Renato's hand that wasn't holding a fork, and placed half the bread in it with a genuine wish for him to hang in there, but he looked up at me with a despairing expression, and I ended up taking back the steamed potatoes Tom had added to his pile...
The next day, when the soldiers, more fired up than during training, gathered outside the building to process pigs, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Renato mixed in among them, bustling about.
Could it be...? I looked around and saw Rudo and Altried peeking out from the building, watching the soldiers with keen interest. I headed over and knocked on the window frame, tap tap...
"Amazing. I've never seen a pig being butchered before."
"Is this your first time?"
"Yeah. When there are visitors at the fortress, I'm told not to leave the guest room."
"...Then, what's the deal with that and this?"
"Renato has permission from the Marshal, and for me, I'm allowed to watch under the conditions of not leaving the building and not straying from Altried."
"He threw a tantrum, saying it's unfair that only his younger brother gets to do it."
"Altried..."
"I've been seeing Renato a lot since last night."
"Yeah, you have."
Rudo, shrugging with an indescribable expression, probably has no intention of explaining.
If that's the case, there's no point in asking, so I changed the topic.
"When are you heading to the Royal Capital?"
Honestly, this was what I wanted to know the most.
"In three days. We have to leave before the snow falls, or we won't make it in time for various things."
"I see."
"This is the last time I'll come here this year. The next time we meet will probably be at the debutante ball."
"...Don't laugh if the dress doesn't suit me, okay?"
"Are you still mad about yesterday...?"
Naturally, I didn't say it out loud, just smiled silently in protest.
What is he even saying when he kept laughing for a while after we left the clothing store?
"That was indeed my fault. Forgive me, we're best friends, aren't we?... Why do you look so surprised?"
"Uh, no, it's just..."
I was surprised... because "best friends" was such a shocking word.
'I got glared at by the royal family, so Father is sending my older sister to a convent.'
I came to Ransheen Fortress to escape, thinking I wouldn't attend the academy, would keep some distance from my fiancé, and avoid the royal family, but in reality, I met Rudo and Renato here and started interacting with them for a few months each year.
"I thought I wasn't hated... but best friends?"
"Do you dislike it?"
"No... best friends... so, we're best friends, huh?"
My mouth curled into a soft smile, and my cheeks felt hot.
"I'm happy."
"...It feels like a cat that was baring its claws and hissing has finally warmed up to me."
"You're going to make me mad again, you know?"
Coming here wasn't a waste.
Turning my back on Rudo to hide my still-warm cheeks, I fanned my face with my hands as I returned to the group processing the pigs.
The temperature is dropping, the air is getting drier, and soon, snow will fall in earnest.
"Well, see you again."
"Yes. Take care."
To see off Rudo and Renato as they return to the Royal Capital, I skipped early morning training just for today.
The annual farewell gesture of lightly bumping fists is a tradition.
Thinking this is the last time makes me sentimental, but normally, I wouldn't even be able to interact with someone like him so casually.
"Renato, take care too."
Seeing him look envious, I offered my fist, and Renato, with a full smile as if a flower had bloomed, cautiously bumped his fist against mine.
"I'll come back next year."
"Next year, neither Rudo nor I will be here, though."
"Even so... ah, I have to go now."
Urged by the escort, just before boarding the carriage, Renato turned back, holding out his fist again with a "one more time," and I couldn't help but smile at how cute it was.
"Celes."
I strained my ears to catch the words spoken just before the door closed.
"We won't see each other for a while, but in two years, we'll meet again."
...Huh?
"Two years...?"
Tilting my head, I watched the carriage leave through the gate.