Warmth
I spent the day watching the elf plan the flower garden. The quality of the soil in the garden was decent. We could plant the flowers once we stir it around for a bit. Before that, we needed to repair the fountain due to the water source issue. It wasn't the type of fountain we were familiar with in the world I came from. It relied on a machine that ushered water up and was responsible for watering both sides of the garden. We just needed to turn it on for a while daily; otherwise, we'd drown the flowers.
The elf was also going to repair the fountain. According to him, elves constructed the fountain in the first place. Apparently, it wasn't easy to fix. For a certain period of time, we couldn't plant flowers, so it wasn't a one-day job. If we didn't have the Elven Queen residing at our place, I would've happily invited him to stay the night at our place. Nevertheless, he didn't plan to accept the offer.
The elf left on horseback when the sun began to gradually set. He only brought seeds instead of saplings. He was busy examining the quality of the soil and how to fix the fountain. However, he needed stone, apparently. A team of elves was going to come and help us deal with the soil tomorrow.
I discussed the flavouring trade with the elf in charge of it. We discussed its price, volume and transportation means. Compared to negotiating with humans, it was very simple to discuss terms and conditions with the elves who resided in the forest. The simplest way was to switch between playing pitiful and talking about how it was just to get by. I led the elf by the nose with my lies just as I expected. I literally bought gold for a dirt cheap price. We were going to receive shipments once per month, and each shipment was to be two horse carriages' worth. Needless to say, I wouldn't sell all of each shipment off in one go. You need to be able to withhold such goods to sell them for adequate price.
Queen Sisi and I had an agreement. It was just that I was no longer certain as to whether or not the agreement would come to fruition anymore. I planned to go to the city to purchase a property and pretend it was a place where goods exchanged hands. The plan was to smuggle the flavouring into the imperial capital via different means. It was best if we could avoid Queen Sisi catching us.
I was sure that Queen Sisi would find out, not that I cared if I could make money off her. Having said that, I needed to be careful. If I blatantly strutted through, was arrested and Queen Sisi wouldn't bother with me, I'd likely be executed for smuggling flavouring. Clearly, I was going to be busy for a while.
I had signed the documents, and that was all that could be done with the garden. That was all that I could do for the day. I stood up and took the water pot upstairs. I gently pushed the door open and went into the room. As I thought, the elves were just weakly lying on the bed. I went up to the diplomat and wiped the corner of her mouth with a damp towel. Then, I gently poured half-a-cup of water into her mouth. She had yet to fully regain her conscious, so she only had an instinct to swallow. Additionally, I mixed the milk and bread and breakfast to pour into her mouth. Angelina said that we still couldn't feed her too much.
Next was the bodyguard. She was in better shape, albeit barely. She opened her eyes and was carefully rolling over. She kept her gaze on the Elven Queen the entire time. When she saw me enter, she tried to get up, but she couldn't. She wasn't even able to make a peep. I walked up to her and crouched down. I pressed her down despite her desperate attempt to get up: "Don't get worked up. You're still hurt and very badly for that matter. Your exterior wounds aren't too bad, but your internal injuries are very dangerous."
The elf still didn't make a sound. She desperately looked at her Queen, seemingly wanted to go over to her. I pressed her down on the bed then went up to the Queen.
Compared to the other two, the Queen was in the most critical condition. Lucilia and her allies must've hated the Queen to her core. Not only did they break her legs and organs, they even dug her eyes out. To avoid frightening Leah with her empty eyes, I covered her eyes with a black bandage. Nothing that Veirya and I did was helpful. I thought of using strong alcohol to disinfect her wound… I gave her eyes a simple wipe then bandaged her eyes. I took the fabric off and switched it for a new length of fabric before feeding her food and water. That was all that I could do.
From my perspective, the Queen was dead. Her breaths were so weak that I couldn't feel them even when I leaned in to her nose. Her body temperature was very low. If she couldn't hang on until nightfall, she probably was a goner. The elves wouldn't provide her with treatment. As for me, I wasn't sure human doctors could treat an elf.
The sun was already slowly going down. I covered the Queen with a blanket again and checked out the fire. To maintain warmth in the specific room, I had to have the fire extra intense. I picked up two lengths of wood and tossed them into the fire before I left. That was when I heard horse hooves from outside, which was quite surprising to me, as I thought the three of them were just going to run around outside, not ride off somewhere.
I went downstairs to open the door. Leah weakly dropped into my arms and let out a long sigh: "Papa… so tired… so tired… Papa… Leah is truly so tired… fooooo…. Leah… Leah truly can't physically keep up…"
"I promised you I wouldn't let Leah get hurt. I just let her get some exercise. I must say, though, she's quite physically fit for a child." Angelina gave Leah's head a scrub from behind, and then came inside with a smile.
Angelina didn't mind that I just gave the three elves a drink with the water on the table; she picked up a tub and poured it on her head without any reservation. I looked at the water quickly spreading on the ground and exclaimed, "Oi, oi, oi! Go outside if you want to rinse yourself!"
"Ah? Go outside?" coyly asked Angelina.
Angelina walked up to me with a playful smile. She shook her short silver hair, thereby getting water everywhere. Then, she tossed aside her coat and undid the top two buttons on her shirt. She revealed the top of her cleavage to me. She pressed my head onto her blessings with one hand and mischievously grinned: "How are you supposed to enjoy this blessing if I go outside? Moreover, I'm identical to Veirya; you can't play favourites. You could happily have hot baths with Veirya, yet you're making me go outside in the cold? We're the same, so how we bath together tonight? While we're at it, I'll give you a massage?"
Before I had the chance to respond, Veirya smacked her mother over the head. She ignored Angelina's, "Ow!" and dragged her away by her hair. Veirya then turned to me: "Go. Fetch water. I want to bath. I'm very sweaty. It's uncomfortable. Where are the flowers?"
"Sure. The flowers haven't been planted yet; we need to repair the garden. The elves will come again tomorrow."
Veirya's speech was always fragmented, which made it difficult to understand. Nonetheless, after spending so much time together, I was used to it. I picked up the water bucket and went to fetch water.
Leah was too exhausted to even make a scene. She struggled upstairs with her shoulders slouched and weakly said, "Leah is going upstairs for a nap first. Papa, call Leah when it's time to eat."
"Sure."
Veirya and Angelina sat down at the table. Neither of them uttered a word, but it was evident that it was a lot incredibly lively. When I first came to the North, Veirya didn't speak, while Leah was afraid of Veirya, therefore minimising her speech. The house was cold and murky, whereas that day, the setting sun was still bright and the house was warm. There was life downstairs and upstairs, which just made everyone happy.
It would be so nice if life could continue that way forever. It was an ordinary life. At the very least, though, we were all together.