~Chapter 43~
Leah had breakfast with Johann, who looked like he hadn’t slept at all, and then quickly got moving.
She grabbed a raincoat and boots from the storage room and packed the tools she needed to pick the flowers.
Soon, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and rain started pouring down.
“It’s raining pretty hard.”
“The more, the better! That way, the petals will get nice and full.”
Leah answered excitedly.
About an hour or two later, the rain was still coming down. Ria had on her boots, raincoat, and backpack.
“Why are you all ready so early?”
“Because I need to go now.”
“What? But it’s still pouring outside.”
Johann pointed at the wind and the heavy rain outside.
“By the time I get to where the flowers are, the rain will probably slow down.”
He raised his eyebrows like he didn’t get why that mattered.
“It’s best to pick raindrop flowers before the rain stops, so I need to go now.”
“That still sounds way too dangerous.”
“I know this mountain better than anyone, so don’t worry.”
Leah looked confident.
“I’m not worried, but who climbs a mountain in this weather?”
“…Well, if you’re not worried, then don’t lecture me.”
“…”
Leah was annoyed by his sharp tone.
‘If he’s not worried, why does he have to say it like that?’
‘Would it kill him to just say “Be safe” or something?’
Even Johann looked annoyed at her attitude, but she was irritated first.
She forced down her frustration and opened the door.
“I’ll be back, so wait here.”
Thick raindrops hit her face as soon as she stepped out.
“She’s nuts, going out in this weather without a second thought…”
Johann watched as Leah disappeared into the rain.
She walked without any hesitation, despite the storm.
‘She did say she’s gone out in the rain plenty of times before.’
If she said she’d be fine, he shouldn’t worry.
Still, sitting around waiting for her was going to be a miserable experience.
‘…I’m not following her because I’m worried. It’s just… annoying to sit here. That’s all.’
Trying to justify himself, he ran off in the direction she’d gone.
He hoped she hadn’t gotten too far.
As he rushed through the pouring rain, he finally spotted her walking up ahead.
‘…She looks smaller than I thought.’
She was always beside Raphaella, so he hadn’t noticed how small she was.
He watched her skillfully avoid puddles as she walked.
Johann was nearly 190 cm tall, so everyone looked small to him—but he’d never really paid close attention to Leah like this before.
He shook off those random thoughts and walked up to her.
Leah was trudging through the muddy trail toward the flower patch.
The ground was slippery, but her boots made it manageable.
“…Hey!”
Through the sound of heavy rain, she thought she heard someone calling her.
She stopped walking.
‘Is someone calling me?’
She turned around just in case—there
wasn’t supposed to be anyone out here.
“…Duke?”
She was shocked to see Johann chasing after her with no raincoat or boots.
“…Why are you walking so fast?”
“Wait, you came out here without a raincoat?”
“…”
He caught up in a few long strides.
‘He’s already soaked… seriously.’
They still had more than an hour of walking left.
He’d definitely catch a cold like this.
“There was a raincoat in the storage room—why didn’t you at least look for one?!”
“I didn’t know. Anyway, I don’t need a raincoat. Don’t worry about it.”
He calmly replied as Leah got flustered, unsure whether to speak formally or not.
“Still! I told you to wait at the cabin. Why did you follow me?”
“I had nothing else to do. And since we’re collecting herbs for Penelope, I thought I’d help.”
“So… you’re not going back?”
“Nope. If I was gonna go back, I wouldn’t have come out at all.”
“…If you catch a cold, that’s on you.”
“I’ve fought monsters in worse weather and never got sick, so don’t worry.”
“…Who’s worried?”
Leah muttered bitterly, throwing his earlier words back at him.
‘Well, he seems confident enough, so I guess he’ll be fine.’
She turned and started walking again.
“Just be careful and follow me.”
Johann said nothing and quietly followed her.
He watched her nimble, squirrel-like movements and was quietly impressed.
“This is a longer walk than I expected.”
“Normally it takes less than an hour, but in the rain, it takes longer.”
She answered without turning around.
“We’re almost there though, so hang in there.”
“I’m not tired.”
He was baffled to be told to “hang in there” by someone so much smaller than him.
‘Who’s cheering who on here…’
As she said, they soon reached the entrance to the raindrop flower patch.
“This is the place.”
She shifted slightly to the side so he could see the whole area.
“…Wow.”
Even stoic Johann was impressed by the scene that looked like something out of a dream.
‘Can’t believe something this beautiful was hiding in the mountains.’
The translucent petals of the raindrop flowers sparkled in the misty rain.
“Amazing, right?”
Leah smiled, watching his awed expression.
Then she stepped into the patch to start harvesting.
The rain had died down to just a light drizzle now, so visibility was good.
“You have to pick them before the rain stops, when the petals are full of water. You need to pull the whole bulb out carefully.”
Leah explained clearly while demonstrating.
Johann watched her gently pull a flower out using a tool and place it in her bag.
“Here, want to try?”
“Wait, do I have to do it too?”
“Why else would you follow me?”
“…Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”
He mimicked what she did and managed to pull out a flower.
“Whoa, I guess your body remembers stuff even if your head doesn’t. That was perfect for a first try… which doesn’t even feel like a first.”
“…”
“Maybe it’s a knight thing. Your body remembers even if your mind doesn’t, unlike lullabies.”
Johann frowned as she mumbled things he didn’t understand again.
But Leah didn’t notice—she was already focused on harvesting more flowers, impressed by his first try.
Johann didn’t say anything more and crouched beside her to keep harvesting.
“…Ah!”
About halfway through, Leah suddenly gasped.
“What happened?”
“I totally forgot—someone else is supposed to come help collect flowers today.”
“Who?”
“She’s a mage I randomly met the other day…”
A mage? Out here?
Johann was about to say something when, from the opposite direction, a woman appeared.
“Leah!”
The woman called out. Leah stood up and waved.
“Dorothe! Be careful coming down!”
Leah looked worried as Dorothe carefully made her way down.
Johann stared at Dorothe—she looked more like a wandering vagabond than a mage.
‘She’s a mage? She looks like a beggar…’
Dorothe walked over and greeted Ria, then turned to Johann.
“Oh, you came with your husband!”
“…Huh? No, no.”
Leah frantically waved her hands.
“Not your husband?”
“He is Raphaella’s dad, but… he’s not my husband.”
She looked flustered as she tried to explain.
Johann just stood quietly beside her and didn’t say a word.
‘Well… she’s not wrong, even if it sounds weird.’
Dorothe looked briefly confused, but quickly recovered.
“I guess I jumped to conclusions. Sorry, Leah.”
“No, it’s okay. Anyone would assume that.”
Dropping her curiosity about Johann, Dorothe focused on collecting flowers while listening to Leah.
They picked enough for both Leah and Dorothe’s research.
Eventually, the rain completely stopped, and the sun came out.
“If I’d woken up any later, I would’ve missed this beautiful moment.”
The three of them leaned against a big tree to rest.
“Oh, right! If you’re hungry, want some of this?”
Dorothe dug around in her robe and pulled out some jerky.
It looked a little suspicious—who knows where or when she got it—so both Leah and Johann politely declined.
Dorothe didn’t push and just munched on it quickly by herself.
Then Leah lightly tapped Johann’s shoulder, remembering something.
“Oh! I totally forgot to introduce you earlier. This is Dorothe, she’s a mage.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Dorothe nodded at Johann.
“And this is… the father of my child…”
Leah hesitated, unsure how to introduce him.
“Johann,” he said.
