Simmering Jams at the Edge of the Forest

“Hugh! Hugh Townsend, good to see you in the right place!”

“… This is this is.
The beautiful Marquise, you are looking beautiful today.
Like a rose with the morning dew on it.”

Covered.
I went to the trouble of complimenting her.

After being summoned first thing in the morning by the head of the Academy of Magic, I had just submitted my report to the royal court and was about to return to my own laboratory.

A young lady with her luxurious golden curls tied up perfectly and dressed in a seamless dress made by a first-class seamstress was seen walking with her attendant through the corridors of the royal palace.

“Because I understand socializing.
Just Rachel, like always.
Hey, tell me a story.
You’ve met ‘The Spirit Orison’.”

A young lady with a carefree expression and light purple eyes that shined.
Although we were old acquaintances, we were still here in the royal palace.

“…Lady Rachel, were you not at your service?”

“A little for my father.
But that’s okay, what we talk about Meissery is more important than that.”

“I just submitted a report to the royal court.
‘The Orison’ is an important person, and I can’t just slip in and talk to Lady Rachel alone.”

“Something like that…”

The young lady who was so obviously disappointed that even her hands were slouched down… She was indeed a princess of a high-ranking aristocrat who could behave perfectly as the Lady of the Golden Rose when she went out for social gatherings.
I didn’t think it was a scam at all.

“T-then… How’s Sir Walter doing over there…?”

The face that she raised after regaining her composure was even beside the point.
Everything was very clear, even the fingertips that crossed in front of her chest.
It was also ironic that only Walter himself didn’t get the message for some reason.

“I heard that it was the first time in a long time that parents and children were reunited, and I think it was generally a good thing.
And he seems to get along well with Margaret ‘The Orison’.”

“Then, you say Margaret, wh-wh-wh-what kind of person is she?”

She was stuttering too much.
The attendant was looking at her with a resigned look on her face.

“What kind of… Well, she was a pretty girl-”

“Hugh Townsend.
Let’s have tea in your lab, let’s do that.
Come on, let’s go.”

Oh, so I didn’t have veto power.
Well, the commoner staff of the Academy of Magical Arts had no choice but to obey the orders of the nobility.
Even if Miss Rachel’s father was behind me, I had to give that up.
No, that was why.

With the young lady leading the way, and the attendant firmly on my arm, I was dragged along to the magic academy.

There were not many tea leaves, but in the hands of a high-ranking aristocrat’s attendant, the tea was different in taste and quality.
Lady Adelaide said that the way of brewing was more important… The food was delicious.
I didn’t know why even just a salad tasted so good, I usually didn’t even like raw vegetables.

“Wait, Hugh.
You look so disheveled, what are you thinking?’

“Well, I thought all the meals at the Meissery were delicious.”

“I see.
So you’ve been getting a stomachful of food.
What should we do, Marie Louise, I should learn to cook after all!”

“My Lady, please be still.
Please refrain from doing anything that could cause chaos in the kitchen.”

She was still not leaving until she heard what I had to say.
Well, there was no particular obligation of confidentiality unless it was magical.
But still, a young lady in this cramped, piled-up laboratory was a very unsuitable combination.

As I was thinking absentmindedly, I saw the young lady sitting on the only sofa in the room stare at me seriously.

“Hugh, you.
Had kind of different feeling.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah, it’s like you lost interest in all possessions.
You seemed better than before.”

…I would be drilled a lot.
She was indeed the princess of that marquis.
After saying that, Rachel brought the tea cup to her mouth elegantly, as if she was satisfied with her work.

The same thing was said by my parents.
It was my parents who worried the most about me going to Meissery and were the most happy to see me back.

I must have caused them a lot of trouble with my magic, but they never complained… This also caused me to feel guilty, but now I could say that it was a luxury.

Really.
I was glad that the ‘orison’ showed up at this time in Meissery.
I was glad ‘The Orison’ was Margaret.
The spirit was the one who arranged this world, and the orison was its assistant.
If not the world, at least her appearance was certainly the key to saving.

When my mind returned to me, the lady in front of me was noiselessly returning the cup to the saucer on her lap.

“As long as you can talk.
Tell me, what is she like?”

“That’s right…Her black hair is beautiful.
She is twenty-six years old and a good cook.
Sometimes she’s a nanny at Dr.
Reynolds’ practice, and the kids loved her.”

“Twenty-six… Four years my senior… She’d be a match for Sir Walter… Cooking, nanny… She’s very homely and feminine.”

“You said she’s a woman who is calm with a cute side.”

Oops, I hoped she didn’t look so sad.
It was not my fault, but Marie Louise was staring at me so hard it was scaring me.

“…Hey.
I’m going to ask you a simple question.
How was her relationship with Sir Walter?”

“Margaret is not the type of person who is shy.
I got the feeling that Walter had let up a lot.”

“Sir Walter had!?”

“Yes, he helped out in the garden.”

“Count Dustin helps a lady…!?”

There, the attendant was not so surprised, although I stood how she felt.

“H-hey, was Ms.
Margaret ever afraid of Sir Walter? You see, that person, he’s big, and his face is a little severe… And that’s nice, too, but.”

I knew she was saying with a maiden heart, but that was some serious colored glasses she was wearing! I was amazed that she could get away with ‘a little tough’ on that strong face with that damsel in love filter.
When he stared at someone, a rookie got shot, really.
Oh, that made Margaret’s interpersonal skills very high.
Was that what salespeople in other worlds were like, how well trained were they? If I remember correctly…No, no.

“Come to think of it, she didn’t seem particularly concerned about it.
And they greeted each other normally from the first meeting.”

“…From the first meeting, it was normal?”

“Yes, very normal.
Oh yes, she did an exquisite bow.”

Can you write “gah!” in the background? Lady Rachel… Not many young ladies could get an attendant to quiet her.
Oh, she better put the cup back on the table, it was dangerous if she dropped it.

“…Does Ms.
Margaret have a husband or a lover in her former world?…”

“They broke up a while ago, and now she’s available.”

“…A lover in Meissery…?”

I wondered what happened to the young doctor.
If she’d dumped him, I would comfort him the next time I saw him… I thought they’d make a good match, those two.
But it was Margaret who decided.

“You know.
I’m thinking the closest thing she has to a close person is Buddy.”

“Buddy?”

“He’s Lady Adelaide’s dog.”

She stared at me with tearful eyes.
They got along great, I was telling the truth.

“…I understand.
I’m going.”

“Eh?”

“If I could go there and meet them with my own eyes, I think I would understand.
I’m going to Meissery.
Come on, Marie Louise, we’re going back.
Contact father immediately.”

“Eh, m-my lady!?”

Wow, her eyes were scary.
Oh, were she serious? No, she couldn’t.
Marie Louise, stall her more! No, she got up.
Oh, don’t knock over the pile there, it was in order, I mean.-

“As I mentioned earlier, Lady Rachel, the ‘Spirit Orison’ is an important figure for the entire continent.
Even if you are a marquise’s daughter, it is not an acceptable thing for a nobleman to just barge in on a visit without permission.”

As soon as I finished, a wonderfully crafted fan came out of nowhere and thrusted squarely in front of my chest.

“Hee!?”

“…Hugh Townsend.
You do understand who you are talking to.
Do you think I’m a fool who can’t even recognize that?”

Lady Rachel, who was holding a glamorous posture, smiled softly and spread out her fan, gracefully hiding half of her beautiful face… Scary! What was this power? The young lady had become a queen.
That majestic fan handling was scary!

“Fufu, I would never barge in on them.
Walter’s stay was only for a few more days… I will pick him up.
We are only bringing the carriage home, not to Meissery’s ‘orison,’ but to Walter, who is seeing his mother.”

“”

“Lady Rachel, that is a very aristocratic excuse.
Do you think it will work for Walter?”

With that one word, where was the young lady she had been a moment ago? The moment I saw the young lady’s normal face… Was she okay? She’d been busy with the ups and downs of tension today.
Was this also a maiden’s mind?

“…S-So, I’m worried!! Who wouldn’t love such a wonderful person! S-someone like Sir Walter…”

Ah, I’d been gone for a while and the floor was dirty.
I didn’t think she should kneel.
Ah, Marie Louise, yes pull her up quickly, it’s hard on the dress.

I had known this young lady for over ten years now, and she had not changed at all.
She had been drilled into a high level of a young lady education and could act accordingly, but in front of her own people, she was a childish child at full throttle.
Well, I guess that was why the master doted on her so much, because she was totally the right age, but she’d sifted through it all, and there was not even the word of arranged marriage.
Her light purple eyes sparkled as they spilled large tears.

“You are still a crybaby.
You are ruining the name of the Lady of the Golden Rose.”

“I-I don’t want that name, I want, to be, a woman worthy of Sir Walter.
Uuuuu..”

No, my lady, you had a high enough spec, hadn’t you? Walter was just being dense.
I guessed his ex-wife was still haunting him… I was very surprised when I found out they were getting married.
Maybe you tired of saying no, Walter.
I pity them, I pity them, for both sides.

“It can’t be helped… Here is good news for such a crybaby girl.
I have made a couple of suggestions in the report I just submitted.
I’ll tell you about one of them specially.”

“W-What is it?”

Coincidentally.
Well, I was sure Lady Rachel would be fine with Margaret.
I felt they would get along.
They were people who didn’t make decisions based on appearance or status.

“In the village, there are hardly any single women of Margaret’s age.
Few of them were young to begin with, and all of them were either married or their single daughters were at least ten years younger than her.
I’m sure she’ll be in the capital soon, and it would be nice to have someone close to her age to talk to who knows more about this side of the city.”

“Hugh, that…”

“If you run for the office at this point and ask the Marquis to turn you in, you have a high probability of going to see him, don’t you?

Lady Rachel’s eyes shone in a different way as she quickly recovered.
Ah, this was a sure thing.

“Leave it to me.
I will definitely grab that assignment and leave tomorrow! Let’s go, Marie Louise!”

No, indeed, you couldn’t do it tomorrow of today.
There were some adjustments to be made, maybe next week at the earliest.
I had underestimated Lady Rachel’s energy and bargaining power.

The young lady left the laboratory in a rush, and true to her word, she departed for the Meissery at sunrise the next day.