Chapter 11

Jeffrey returned about an hour later.

"I'm back. There was a rather large field of red rhombus flowers. They probably didn't want anyone to see the field and must have mistaken us for officials investigating the existence of the field."

"Even though we had Nonna with us?"

"Clark, people who are doing something shady tend to become suspicious of everything."

Red rhombus flowers are plants that bloom with bright red, square-shaped flowers. I remember that if you cut the roots and soak them in alcohol, the plant's components dissolve, making you drunk faster and deeper. It's cheap because even a little alcohol can get you drunk, and it feels good. However, if you get the dosage wrong, your breathing can stop, and you can die, which is why cultivation is strictly prohibited.

"I'll contact the guard unit first thing tomorrow morning."

Jeffrey's words were heard by the four men with resentful faces.

They will probably face severe punishment for attacking us with weapons, not just for cultivating red rhombus flowers. If Jeff and I had been weaker, we would have been killed and buried, and the children would not have been safe either. They will have to pay for their actions.

At night, the men were left tied up outside. Lord Clark offered to take turns keeping watch with Jeff, saying, "I won't be able to sleep anyway."

The next morning, at sunrise, Jeffrey rode to the town of Cibyl to contact the guard unit.

While waiting for Jeffrey to return, Nonna and I thoroughly searched the house for a signpost. There was nothing of particular interest inside the house. So, we stood at the entrance and looked around.

The most unnatural thing I noticed was the slope of the ceiling. At first glance, it seemed to follow the slope of the roof, but it was slightly off. Normally, houses like this have exposed beams, so why was the ceiling boarded?

"Maybe the ceiling was boarded to retain heat from the fireplace in winter. Or perhaps to store something. But there's no entrance or exit."

"Mom, if we're going to check the attic, I'll go up into the ceiling!"

"Okay, I'll let you do it."

We chose a spot that was damaged by water leakage and broke it with a carriage axle that was stored below. We moved a table underneath, stacked chairs, and Nonna climbed up, grabbing the undamaged part with both hands. Using the technique of a pull-up, she lifted her body and climbed into the attic. She was impressively agile. I wouldn't have been able to do it so easily. I would have probably fallen through the rotten ceiling.

After a while, Nonna called out,

"Mom, I found a pot wrapped in rags!"

Nonna came down from the attic carrying a bronze pot about thirty centimeters tall, wrapped in rags. The lid and the pot were sealed with melted wax. We peeled off the wax with a knife and were surprised to find tightly packed rolls of parchment inside.

The many parchments in the pot were in good condition with little deterioration. When we took them out and arranged them in the order of the pages written on them, they formed a thickness of about one book. At the end, there were two pages without page numbers.

One read, "Proceed north until you reach the waterfall. Look at the wind. Be brave." The other was filled with incomprehensible text, which we folded and put in a pocket. Lord Clark and Nonna were eagerly reading the stack of parchments, their heads almost touching.

When Nonna leaned in closely to read the text, Lord Clark would look a bit troubled and pull back. Then Nonna would lean in again.

This repeated, and in the end, Lord Clark was reading the novel in a slightly reclined position. I'm sorry, Lord Clark, for making you uncomfortable because of my daughter.

"Teacher, this might be a great discovery. It's probably an unpublished work by Elmar Archibald. I'm so excited, I have goosebumps all over my body."

"Are you cold? Do you want to borrow my jacket?"

Lord Clark looked excited. He glanced at Nonna but didn't correct her childish misunderstanding. Thank you, Lord Clark. You've grown up.

Soon, we heard multiple voices from outside. We rushed out to find Jeffrey returning with over ten guards.

"Victoria, I'll guide the guards to the field of red rhombus flowers."

"Be careful."

After that, I explained the attack to the guards.

I said, "We came here to let the children experience 'camping.' I was very scared when we were attacked. I couldn't sleep last night out of fear. If my husband hadn't taken care of them, we would all have been killed."

By evening, the field of red rhombus flowers was burned. Black smoke rose straight from the forest into the clear blue sky. This is good. No one will die from this plant anymore. The men were loaded onto horses and taken away. What a relief.

At dinner, Jeffrey and Nonna said, "It's delicious! When you're hungry, it really is delicious," and finished their meals, but Lord Clark seemed lost in thought and had no appetite.

"I'll talk to him since he's my nephew."

"Actually, I might be better at talking to him since he calls me 'teacher.'"

Jeffrey and I discussed who would be better to talk to him, and in the end, I decided to talk to him secretly. After dinner, we sat on an old, large tree stump, and I started the conversation.

"Lord Clark, is something bothering you?"

"Teacher, I feel so useless. I couldn't do anything when we were attacked by those bandits. It's embarrassing to be protected by a girl six years younger than me."

I understand. I'm sorry. It was a sudden situation, and prioritizing safety is important, but saying "Nonna, protect Lord Clark" was a thoughtless comment. I don't think Jeffrey had any ill intentions, and I believe Lord Clark understands that.

"Lord Clark, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You excel in your studies, which not everyone can do."

"But being smart and weak is no good."

"The idea that men must be strong and women must be modest is just a preconception. It's someone else's idea. It's a waste of life to suffer because of someone else's ideas."

"But isn't that what's normal?"

"Compared to what you consider 'normal,' Nonna and I are far from it. Hehehe."

Lord Clark must have thought (indeed). His expression brightened a bit.

"Nonna and I can act like proper ladies, but in reality, we are incredibly active and mischievous. Still, Jeffrey loves us, and we are happy. If you're happy, you don't have to listen to what others call 'normal.'"

"Is that true?"

"Yes! Life passes by in the blink of an eye. The five years we spent in the Shen country felt like a moment when they were over. If you let others' ideas control you, you'll be an old man before you know it."

"Teacher,"

"Yes?"

"You really are a wonderful teacher!"

"Thank you. Please look at Nonna and yourself with your own heart. She's a bit mischievous, but she's a cute girl."

"Yes, Nonna is cute."

After saying that, Lord Clark had a (oh no) look on his face, the delicate face of the boy I knew.

"Well, we wasted a day, but let's set out tomorrow."

"Yes. Let's follow the message: 'Proceed north until you reach the waterfall. Look at the wind. Be brave.'"

"Mom, this is fun!"

"It is, Nonna."

While we were having this conversation, Lord Clark was writing a lot in his notebook. When he's working as a recorder, he has a responsible and mature look.

The next day, we resealed the bronze pot with candle wax and buried it in the ground instead of the attic. Since the ceiling was broken, anyone entering the house would notice it first. I dug a hole a little away from the house, buried the pot, and covered it with leaves to make it less noticeable.

"Yep, you can't tell from a distance."

"Mom, let's go soon!"

"Okay, I'm coming."

I plan to read the parchment in my pocket calmly later.