Episode 27
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Lilia ’s answer came without hesitation. As if she had always been thinking that way.
“……Hmm. Then what kind of job do you want to have?”
“Mom, do I really need to have a job? Lilia just wants to stay with Mom forever.”
“When you grow up, you’ll need one. For example, Mr. Alma is a farmer, and Grandma Hilde used to be a farmer too, right? She’s just resting now because she’s sick. When people become adults, everyone has to work.”
Lilia fell into thought for a moment. It didn’t take long for her to come up with an answer.
“Then, when I grow up, I want to be a farmer.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to help Mom.”
Ranié stiffened in surprise. She couldn’t hide her bewilderment as she heard Lilia say the exact same words she herself once thought as a child.
“……I think I’d rather have you grow up and do something you want to do, not just help me……”
“But helping Mom is what Lilia wants to do.”
Lilia didn’t seem likely to change her mind anytime soon. In the end, Ranié decided to stop the conversation there. If she pushed further, she might end up saying something she couldn’t take back. The child was still young; with time, she could be persuaded.
Instead of answering, Ranié simply held the child tightly in her arms. Lilia closed her eyes and leaned into the warmth, taking that as a cue to sleep.
“Mom.”
“Yeah?”
Lilia murmured softly.
“……You’ll always stay with Lilia , right?”
Could Lilia somehow read her mind? Sometimes the child would say things that pierced right through her heart. Ranié forced herself to answer calmly.
“Of course. Mom will always be by Lilia ’s side.”
She still didn’t have the courage to ask. The courage to tell the child the truth and ask if she wanted to reclaim her true identity.
A long-awaited day off had come. She had planned to spend it resting and enjoying time with Lilia . But that plan fell apart before it could even begin.
“You want me to go to the neighboring village?”
“The owner of the fruit shop there has been sick lately. I heard only his daughter has been running the store. Ranié, could you go check on him and lend a hand?”
“Did the owner get hurt? He was always so strong—why all of a sudden…?”
“That’s why I’m asking you to go and see. While you’re there, check on the fruit prices, too.”
Ranié turned her head toward the room where Lilia was sleeping. She was worried because she’d promised to play with her today. The child had been so excited about it just yesterday.
“Then, can I take Lilia with me?”
“It’s still a bit dangerous to bring a child along. I don’t think they’ve caught all the bandits yet… Just to be safe, go quickly and come right back.”
“……Alright, I will.”
Ranié nodded. She had planned to visit the neighboring village soon anyway, so it wasn’t a bad errand—except for breaking her promise with Lilia .
“I promised to play with her today, so please tell her that Grandma will talk to her when she wakes up. I’ll help out and come back before sunset.”
“Don’t worry about that, dear. Oh, and wear this. You can’t go see someone who’s sick in your work clothes—it wouldn’t be polite.”
As if she had been waiting for the moment, Hilde pulled out a dress from somewhere. It was a neat olive-colored one-piece. Ranié looked awkwardly between the dress and the old woman. It seemed like something one would wear only on a special occasion.
‘Do I really need to dress up this much just to visit someone who’s sick?’
Feeling puzzled, Ranié still accepted the dress. She couldn’t bring herself to refuse something Hilde had prepared for her.
Up until that moment, she didn’t realize that Grandma Hilde had tricked her completely.
The fruit shop Hilde mentioned was one that Leclere Village often did business with. Ranié felt guilty that she hadn’t visited the shop owners for a while.
She thought it would be rude to go empty-handed, so she packed a few apples from the village and hurried her steps.
The shop owners were leisurely working when they spotted her from afar, and their faces lit up with warm smiles.
“Ranié! How long has it been!”
Wait—hadn’t Hilde said that only the lady owner was running the shop? Ranié stared in confusion at the healthy-looking man behind the counter.
“Sir, didn’t Grandma say you weren’t feeling well?”
“Me? Sick? Ha! I can still lift three crates of fruit at once without breaking a sweat!”
Then who exactly was this “sick shop owner” she’d been told about?
“……I’m glad to hear you’re healthy. Then who’s sick? Grandma clearly told me—”
“Ranié, dear, could you go here for a bit? I’ll finish this up and come right after.”
The woman cut her off and handed her a small note. An address was written on it.
“And take this basket of apples, too. I’ll hold onto your things for you.”
“Ah, alright…”
A bit bewildered, Ranié handed over the apples and followed the address on the note. Before long, she arrived in front of a quaint little café.
‘……A café?’
She lingered at the entrance for a while before stepping inside. A staff member greeted her with a smile and guided her to a seat. After she ordered from the menu, her thoughts began to clear a little.
‘What am I even doing here?’
She was supposed to visit the sick fruit shop owner and lend a hand.
Something was definitely off. The woman who had cut her off mid-sentence, Grandma who had dressed her up for no reason…
Ranié sipped her tea with a doubtful expression. Just then, the bell over the café door chimed as someone walked in.
A man she had never seen before. He glanced around, but instead of taking an empty seat, he walked straight toward her. With a pleasant smile, he greeted her.
“Nice to meet you.”
‘Ah…….’
That was when she finally realized it. Grandma Hilde and the fruit shop couple had conspired together to trick her.
And so, Ranié found herself dragged into a matchmaking meeting she never agreed to.
To put it simply, the blind date was a disaster. It was bound to be—only one side had any interest in the idea.
Her match had clearly been carefully chosen by Grandma. Objectively speaking, he was a good man: a respectable job, polite manners, gentle and kind nature. He even knew she had a child and said he’d treat her like his own daughter. A rare, ideal suitor by any standard.
‘……How did Grandma even find someone like this?’
So why did the date go so poorly?
Because, despite how good a person he was, she felt absolutely nothing. As if her heart had simply died.
‘If you’re free next week, I’d like to see you again.’
‘……Me? Why me?’
She had only answered his questions out of politeness, with no enthusiasm at all. She hadn’t expected him to ask to meet again.
When she asked, dazed, the man replied shyly.
‘Actually, I’ve seen you a few times before. You always take care of the villagers and keep smiling even when things are hard. I fell for that side of you, so I asked your grandmother if I could meet you.’
He wanted to keep seeing her. But Ranié knew she wouldn’t grow feelings for him no matter how much time passed, so she declined firmly.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘……May I ask why? If there’s something you dislike about me, I can change.’
‘No, it’s not that. You’re really a wonderful person…….’
That wasn’t a lie.
‘It’s just…… I don’t think I want to get married.’
Ranié thought of Grandma Hilde waiting at home. She would surely be disappointed when she learned the date had failed.
But there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t force herself into something her heart rejected.
She knew why Grandma had done it, though. The old woman must have been worried about her granddaughter, who would one day have to raise Lilia alone.
‘Grandma must want me to build a proper family.’
But she still couldn’t picture it—herself as someone’s wife. She had become a mother by accident, but becoming a wife and building a family felt like something she wasn’t meant for. As if she lacked the right.
Ranié propped her chin on her hand and looked out the window. The sky was gray; it looked like rain might fall soon.
Would she regret living this way someday? That vague thought passed her mind.
Just then, a woman with long black hair walked past the café window. Ranié’s eyes widened.
She couldn’t see the woman’s face clearly, but her silhouette looked strikingly similar to Celine’s.
‘No way……!’
Ranié jumped to her feet and ran out of the café. The street was crowded. She pushed her way through the people, chasing after the woman.
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
