“There might be too much for him to pick by himself. I’m planning to make jam with the raspberries.”
“Jam?”
Anje now grabbed Meg’s hand tightly.
“Is it okay for me to watch from the side while you make it?”
Thanks to Aiden taking her to the basement and showing her all the jams and pickles he had made himself, Anje was already starting to get interested in making jam.
Meg smiled broadly and patted Anje’s hand.
“Well, of course it is. So you two should pick plenty. Very plenty.”
“Got it.”
Anje nodded, grabbed two baskets hanging on the kitchen wall, and headed towards the field.
“Sir Aiden! Are you very busy right now?”
Meg, who was watching the scene, sniffed contentedly.
“After all, a date for just the two of them is the perfect way to strengthen their bond.”
Sending the young couple, who usually spent all their time around the house, to a new place might give them a fresh perspective on each other.
In addition, as Meg remembered, the raspberry bushes near the steam had beautiful scenery and there were cut trees and large rocks scattered here and there, making it the perfect place for the two to sit down and have a nice chat.
“I wish this knitting would be useful soon.”
Meg looked down at her knitting. It was the exact same design as the socks she had given to Anje and Aiden, but the size was clearly smaller baby socks.
TL/N: SHE’S SO CUTE!!!!
She had pretended it was a new gift for the pastor’s son so they wouldn’t feel burdened, but she actually wanted to give it to a baby who would be born in this house someday.
“How cute a child would be who resembled the two of them.”
She lost herself in her daydream, staring into the air, and then started her hands moving busily again. She had to work diligently to make not only socks but also other things ready.
* * *
The path leading to the wild raspberry patch, where the berries grew in abundance, was flat and easy to walk on. The straight branches and vibrant leaves formed a canopy that blocked the afternoon sun, making the walk even more pleasant.
Anje now tilted her hat slightly back. Thanks to the shade, she was less worried about getting sunburned, so she wanted to feel the spring breeze mixed with flower scent a little more fully.
Swish-Whoosh―
The sound of leaves rustling in the wind was loud. She looked up at the tree and let out a small exclamation.
“Beautiful.”
The mountain ash tree that was rooted at the edge of the path they were walking on was proudly showing off its brilliant flowers, true to its nickname “May’s Flower.” The long stamens extending over the round, pink petals were as pretty as delicate eyelashes.
Anje picked up a few fallen twigs in the breeze and carefully put them in her pocket.
The apron she wore for work was not very appealing in terms of design in her eyes, but she liked that it had generous pockets.
The somewhat rattling apron pockets sometimes contained licorice or mints that Meg had given her, sometimes scones or cookies she had sneaked from the kitchen, and sometimes cute wildflowers.
Meanwhile, Aiden, following behind her, was so nervous that he could barely see the spring scenery.
‘Why did she suddenly ask me to pick raspberries? What’s gotten into her?’
Meg, who was waving at them, winked at him with one eye, only for him to see.
What could that wink mean? She even clenched her fists as if to emphasize the gesture.
He was very curious about Meg’s intentions for sending the two of them far away.
“Why are you looking so glum? Are you having indigestion again?”
“Huh? Oh, no. No, I’m not.”
While he was lost in thought, Anje, who approached him, placed a mountain ash flower in his shirt pocket.
“What’s this?”
“Your clothes look boring, so I wanted to dress you up.”
The flower didn’t really match the big, burly man, but maybe it would be nice if he smiled a little more at seeing the pretty flower.
Unlike her intentions, the wrinkles between Aiden’s eyebrows only deepened.
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, come on, just accept people’s kindness.”
“Kindness?”
Aiden snorted. Kindness? She must be teasing him.
Anje replied in a serious tone.
“It’s really kindness. I’m giving you something in return for telling me where the raspberries are.”
In addition to that, he taught her how to make butter and pudding, and even got rid of the bugs on the sunflowers… Thinking about it, she owed him a lot.
“……I appreciate the sentiment, but it doesn’t really suit me.”
He took the flower that was precariously stuck in his pocket and tucked it into the hair behind Anje’s ear.
The simple flower buds complemented Anje’s hairstyle, which Meg had loosely tied to one side earlier.
Anje’s face flushed for a moment as Aiden’s rough hand brushed against her ear, but he quickly dispelled the blush with his incessant nagging.
“And just in case, don’t go picking raspberries alone just because you found a place where they grow. If you get lost again, it will be a big deal.”
“Tsk, I’m getting used to the forest now too.”
“You never know when a snake might come out of the bushes…”
“Ah, I understand. I won’t go alone.”
Anje felt a pang of regret, thinking it would be nice to pick raspberries for Pa-Pi-Pu when he was hungry.
The pigs, whose appetites had increased dramatically, seemed to be saying that the gruel wasn’t enough, poking her apron with their snouts as she fed them.
But snakes… ugh. Even for her, who had gradually become accustomed to the bugs that popped out from between the dirt and behind plants, they were still a disgusting presence.
“Especially be careful of brightly colored snakes.”
“That’s similar to the mushroom you mentioned last time.”
They said that poisonous mushrooms are often brightly colored.
“That’s right. That way, they can reveal their toxicity on the outside so they don’t get eaten by predators.”
“They’re smart?”
“On the contrary, there are also some that are not poisonous but pretend to be.”
“They’re really smart.”
Even such small creatures have such wisdom. Anje exclaimed in admiration and tapped a mushroom that was right by her foot.
“This one is edible, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Wait a minute, it’s too early to pick it now. It’s too small, so it would be better to pick it when it’s grown a little more.”
“When is it best to pick it, in terms of size?”
“The mushroom head should be about the size of a coin…”
As they walked through the forest, talking about mushrooms for a while, they soon arrived at their destination. Anje asked in a voice she couldn’t contain her excitement.
“This is the place, right?”
“As you can see.”
The scattered red dots visible between the green leaves were so numerous they couldn’t be counted.
Including the still green berries, it was a wild raspberry paradise so abundant that even a whole village could eat until they were full.
“There are still a lot of unripe ones, so just pick the ones that are bright red and ripe.”
“Are these all ripe?”
The wild raspberry that Anje picked as a test was as red as wine, and as red as Aiden’s eyes.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Alright! I’ll take this side, and you take that side.”
As they always did when they worked in the fields, Anje and Aiden divided the area between them. Aiden cautioned her against picking too much.
“Don’t pick too much, or it’ll be hard to handle all of it.”
“Anything extra can be made into jam, right? Oh, and it would be great to make wine too.”
Imagining sweet wild berry wine, Anje’s hands became busy.
“The wine that Mrs. Meg personally makes is famous throughout Leslie.”
Aiden replied and then slowly began filling his basket with raspberries.
“Let’s have a contest to see who fills their basket first.”
“You’re obviously going to lose.”
“Who says? I’m shorter than you, so I have an advantage picking the ones that are lower down.”
“If you say that again, you’ll be twice as embarrassed.”
Not wanting to lose to each other, the two of them moved their hands diligently.
It wasn’t that difficult to pick the red raspberries from among the lush raspberry bushes, so the two baskets were filled in just over an hour.
Anje, who had filled her basket before Aiden, greedily filled her apron pockets and hat with raspberries as well.
Aiden watched her do this and was reminded of a squirrel diligently hoarding acorns and nuts.
“Look at this, I won! I beat you in both speed and quantity.”
Aiden pointed out to her triumphant expression,
“Your hat and apron are going to be stained red with berry juice.”
“Ah.”
She hadn’t noticed it because she was concentrating, but the tips of Anje’s gloves were also slightly red from the juice from the berries.
“……I’ll just ask Mrs. Meg to help. She’s fond of me.”
“You’ve gotten spoiled, it seems.”
Looking at the glistening raspberries, Anje suddenly felt hungry.
‘What do freshly picked raspberries taste like?’
She had often eaten raspberries at the mansion, but they were usually bought from outside the capital, so they weren’t as fresh as these.
“Can we eat these right away? I’m curious what they taste like, so I want to try just a few.”
“I usually eat them as is, but…… If they’re sour, it’s better to wash them in the stream before eating them.”
She handed Aiden her hat filled with berries and ordered him,
“Then, loser, go wash them.”
“All of this? This isn’t ‘just a few’.”
Anje yelped in response to Aiden’s comment.
“Ah, I mean I want to eat them together! Stop complaining and hurry up!”
Aiden, who had been about to tell her to eat a little bit because it was almost dinner time, softened his heart at the thought of eating them ‘together’.
“Very well, my lady.”
He bowed respectfully and walked away. He thought he could have washed them much faster without her bustling around beside him, but now that he thought about it, any complaint he made would just be an excuse from a loser.
Anje sank down onto the soft grass, savoring the joy of victory. She looked forward to the sweet and sour taste of the fruit.
‘Ah, this is peaceful.’
Her peaceful break, enjoying the breeze alone, was interrupted by Aiden calling her.
“Lady, could you please come here for a moment?”
* * * *
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