Springtime in Leslie is the most beautiful place in the world.
Doug had once thought that Anje’s words were merely the exaggeration of a newlywed in love with her new home.
Chirp, chirp, chirp—
But as he sat in his chair, rocking gently and listening to the birds singing from the trees above, he couldn’t help but agree with her.
‘Ah, this is nice.’
Unlike the capital, where smog and rain clouds often loomed, the clear weather here made him instinctively squint. The warm spring air, carried by the breeze, was refreshingly crisp.
As he gazed at the trees, painted in vibrant colors by blooming flowers, an unfamiliar emotion slowly filled his heart.
A sense of tranquility and oneness with the peaceful scenery around him. A deep contentment, enough to make even an insensitive man like him blink away an unexpected sting in his eyes.
He cleared his throat and wrinkled his nose. He had nearly let himself tear up in an unmanly way.
‘I’m glad I volunteered to watch over the farm.’
Of course, it wasn’t as simple as him just stepping up and claiming the role.
When the Fitzroys left for their honeymoon, a near fistfight had broken out among the students of Dilton School over who would take care of the farm.
‘I’m amazing at pulling weeds!’
‘I was the one who got an A on the last plowing assignment!’
Originally, Mrs. Meg was supposed to house-sit, but she had to rush off to another town after hearing that her younger sibling had fallen ill.
With no authority figure to keep the rowdy contenders in check, they all fiercely declared themselves the most qualified to look after Dilton Farm.
‘Let’s entrust the farm to the person Pa-Pi-Pu follow the most.’
In the end, Mrs. Fitzroy proposed a solution, and everyone agreed. After all, Pa-Pi-Pu were the true ruler of Dilton Farm.
Tension filled the air as the men cautiously approached the pigsty, all waving their hands desperately.
‘Here, little one, come to me!’
‘Oink oink, over here! My nickname is even ‘Pig’!’
However, Pa-Pi-Pu didn’t so much as glance at anyone else and made a beeline straight for Doug, deciding the winner in an instant.
‘It was all thanks to the cake crumbs hidden in my sleeve.’
Doug wasn’t much for reading, but he had heard plenty from Mrs. Fitzroy about pigs, so he knew what he was doing.
“Excuse me?”
Just as Doug was basking in the pride of his glorious victory, a voice from the front porch made him spring to his feet.
“Who could it be?”
A visitor? But surely, everyone around here knew that Aiden and Anje weren’t home.
Knock, knock, knock—
This time, the knocking came more firmly. Scratching the back of his head, Doug headed for the door.
“Alright, I’m coming.”
Creak—
He froze in place, halfway through opening the door.
“Who is this?”
The smiling, rosy-cheeked woman before him was definitely not Mrs. Meg. She was much younger, much prettier…
Doug blinked, tilting his head slightly. She looked vaguely familiar.
“Hello, I’m Mary Penny. We met at the wedding, remember?”
“Ah, right.”
The memory was faint but coming back. Among the group of young women scrambling to catch the bouquet, she had been the most aggressive, snatching her target like a bull charging at a red cloth.
At the reception, she had also sat beside him, repeatedly pestering him with questions like ‘Could you pass the salt?’ and ‘Would you like more pie?’
Not being used to talking to women, Doug had found her overly familiar attitude uncomfortable and had eventually slipped away to hide among the men.
“S-So, what brings you here?”
But now, as the honorable caretaker of the Fitzroy household, he couldn’t just run off and abandon a guest on the doorstep.
Mary cheerfully lifted the basket in her hands.
“We made too much homemade apple cider, and I thought you might like some since you’re working so hard looking after the house.”
“Cider?”
Doug swallowed reflexively before frowning. Apple cider usually contained a bit of alcohol, and it hadn’t even been a full year since he had sworn off drinking.
He had resisted even touching the fine wine offered at the wedding reception, so he couldn’t possibly break his commitment to sobriety for mere cider.
He straightened his shoulders and responded in a composed voice.
“Hmm. I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine. It’s been a while since I quit drinking.”
Mary, who had been unable to take her eyes off Doug—or rather, Doug’s thick forearms—clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘Tch, now that I think about it, he didn’t drink any wine at the reception, did he? He looks exactly like a heavy drinker, but I guess not.’
But who was she? Mary Penny. She had grown up keeping an eye on her unpredictable older brother, Jean Penny, and was more than used to handling surprises. She had already anticipated this and had a second plan ready.
“Just in case you didn’t drink alcohol, I also brought some delicious tea and tarts.”
“Tea and tarts?”
“Yes, a cream cheese tart loaded with strawberries. The tea is a foreign blend that just arrived in town yesterday.”
She pulled off the cloth covering her basket, revealing a glistening red tart. The sweet scent of spring strawberries wafted into Doug’s nose.
He swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on it.
‘That looks delicious.’
Since quitting alcohol, Doug had developed a strong fondness for sweets. Pies and cakes tasted even better after a long day of hard work at the farm school.
The school cafeteria occasionally served desserts, but with so many students with voracious appetites, it was rare to get an entire tart like this to himself.
Besides, as a man, openly expressing a liking for sweets felt a bit embarrassing. It was difficult enough to ask the cafeteria staff for extra dessert.
‘But dealing with a stranger alone is a bit…’
More than the awkwardness, he worried about making a misstep while talking alone with her and accidentally tarnishing the Fitzroys’ reputation.
As if determined not to give him any time to think, Mary boldly stepped forward, her foot slipping through the small gap between the door and Doug’s stance.
Her assertiveness was the same as when she had caught the bouquet.
“It must be boring being here alone. I’ll keep you company.”
“Uh, no, I mean… wait…”
Before Doug could stammer out a proper response, she had already slipped inside the house.
Standing by the entrance, he scratched his unruly curly hair before finally justifying the situation to himself.
‘It’d be rude to kick her out, wouldn’t it? She seems smart. Might as well ask her for help with my assignments while she’s here.’
At the school he attended, they didn’t just teach physical farming work—they also taught how to read and interpret contracts, as well as the mathematics needed to calculate land rents and interest rates.
These subjects had been added at the suggestion of Miss Casey, the new vice principal, and were especially well-received by students like Doug, who had never received a basic education before.
But at the same time, they were incredibly difficult for him. He often felt that physical labor suited him far better than studying.
“Should I use the kettle here?”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Later, whenever this day was brought up, Doug would insist that he never could have predicted how the bright spring weather would turn into a raging storm.
If he had known, he would have sent Mary home right after drinking tea. He would not have let her stay until dinner. He would also adamantly claim that he had absolutely no ulterior motives.
But whether Mary had truly not anticipated the sudden change in weather…
Well, every time someone asked, “Did you really not know?” she would simply drag a finger across her throat in a cutting motion—leaving the truth an eternal mystery.
TL/N: YES, MARY GO GET YOUR HUSBAND XD
* * *
Someone was touching Anje’s hair. Half-asleep, she felt the sensation and fluttered her eyelashes like dragonfly wings.
“Mm….”
The hand, which had momentarily stopped for fear of waking her, soon couldn’t resist the urge and moved again.
This time, it gently caressed her forehead, eyebrows, and nose in turn—carefully, as if handling a delicate sugar sculpture.
The fingers traced along the lines of her face for a while before finally reaching her chin. A deep yet endlessly soft voice let out a quiet exclamation.
“Amazing… How can eyes, a nose, and a mouth all fit so perfectly on such a small face…?”
“Pfft.”
Anje, who had been pretending to sleep while enjoying Aiden’s touch, couldn’t hold back her laughter at her husband’s hopeless infatuation and slyly opened one eye.
Kneeling beside the bed, her husband was playing with her hair and face, his entire expression filled with a radiant smile.
Judging by his damp hair, he had woken up before her, taken a shower, and returned.
“You see this face every day, yet you’re still surprised? Fool.”
“Yes, I was foolish enough to only realize it now.”
Anje smiled softly and opened her other eye as well. She, too, wanted to get a better look at her husband’s handsome face.
This time, she reached out and tickled his chin.
“You may be a foolish husband, but since you’re good-looking, I suppose I’ll let it slide.”
“I should thank my mother for blessing me with this face, then.”
Although they were teasing each other as married couples do, in reality, they were currently in Rodmandy—the place where Aiden’s mother had once studied painting.
Famous for its sunny weather and beautiful sea, it was a popular honeymoon destination. However, they were there not just for the scenery, but also because Anje had wished to visit a place that held meaning for Nancy Dilton.
‘When I first came to Leslie, she was the one who taught me the names of wildflowers. I owe her so much.’
Though they had never met face-to-face, as their interactions had been through a notebook, to Anje, Nancy was like a spiritual mentor.
Selling a few of the many paintings Nancy had left behind in the attic had also greatly helped in running the school.
* * * *
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