After moving to Lua, Humming's life became busier than ever.
Before, she had only been Kalia's maid1, now Humming was Kalia's sibling2, protector and also assistant in helping Kalia beat up the goblins.
It wasn't just that though. Because of Kalia's pregnancy, Humming was practically an extension of Kalia's hands and feet; within a month, she had become Kalia's right-hand man. Thus, Humming couldn't help but always be busy.
"Mrs. MaCanna, are you done grilling the turkey? Can I take it like this?" Even now, she was loading a trolley up with food for Kalia.
Kalia's appetite had grown significantly since she'd gotten pregnant. After grabbing the plate of turkey, Humming headed to Kalia's room on the 2nd floor with said turkey, a cream cheese walnut pie and cool peppermint tea.
After carefully knocking on the door, Humming gently pushed the trolley inside.
Her head was nested in the armchair's headrest and it looked like she had fallen asleep in the chair. However, at the sound of Humming entering, she lazily opened her eyes and slowly looked up at Humming.
"I'm actually hungry," Kalia muttered in a tired voice, her words rolling, almost slurring, off the tip of her tongue. She pushed herself up and smiled at Humming.
With a satisfied face, Humming pushed the trolley to a stop by Kalia's chair and proudly presented the roast turkey to her.
"You feel hungry just three hours after you eat. Mrs. McCanna said a good turkey came in today so I asked her to grill it. Do you want me to cut it up for you?" Humming got ready to portion off the huge turkey but Kalia raised her hand to stop her.
"I can do it quickly," Kalia took the knife from Humming and swiftly cut up the 5kg turkey into clean pieces.
Several cuts of meat piled up on the platter.
Humming clapped her hands at Kalia's deft handiwork, "You seem to be faster than a cook."
"It's because roasted meat is tender. Compared to cooked meat, raw meat is harder to dismantle. I'll tell you more about it later."
"Okay!" Humming nodded vigorously, looking at Kalia cutely.
"Let's eat together, Humming," Kalia gestured for her to sit down.
"No, it's okay. I haven't fully digested the lunch we had three hours ago. Besides, I don't think this is enough food for you."
"But it tastes better together."
"Even if you eat it alone, it's still delicious. I'm fine, so don't worry and enjoy your meal," Smiling, Humming poured her a cup of cold peppermint tea.
Since she had gotten pregnant, Kalia's food intake had increased dramatically. She ate twice as much as the average adult man per meal and she was hungry again after just three hours of eating.
However, all the food she ate didn't show outwardly on her body3.
Although she had gained some weight, it was safe to say it was very little in comparison to how much she actually consumed.
Seeing her eat so much, Allen was worried about Kalia but after a few checkups, he confirmed that there was nothing wrong with her body. The baby in her stomach was growing up healthily so he only gave her a light warning. But, that didn't mean he had completely let her off; he still kept a close eye on her.
There were so many things to watch out for during pregnancy such as gestational diabetes, obesity…
Even now, if Allen hadn't gone into town on a business trip, the amount of turkey sitting in front of her would only be half.
Kalia chewed through all the meat Humming had brought her then neatly finished the walnut pie. When she was done, she patted her stomach lightly, "I'm a little full now."
Humming looked on with satisfaction, proudly savouring her own cup of peppermint tea.
She was very proud of herself for taking care of Kalia who only seemed strong but was, in reality, like a baby bird. It seems she had the tendency to feel very rewarded from taking care of someone. This was something she had not realized until she got here.
"If you're done, why don't we go for a light walk? It's almost time for Allen to be back," Humming suggested.
"All right. I want to move around a little," Kalia agreed. Humming draped a thick shawl around Kalia's shoulder and the two stepped outside together.
It had been pouring rain nonstop until just last week. After a month of humidity and downpour, the rainy season finally passed.
Over the last month, heavy rain clouds had rolled through the Rohas skies, shrouding the land in overcast and scattering heavy rain. Some places had flooded. In other places, the plentiful rain contributed to a bountiful harvest. However, compared to the past, this rain season was still considered relatively gentle.
After the rainy season, a period of short winter comes.
The Capital was situated up north. In the winter, it was very cold but also very beautiful. White snow blanketed the city and the city glistened in the winter sun. The Royal Family held festivals every year in the middle of winter to soothe the bleakness of winter.
However, in Lua, it was not cold in winter because it was located very south, opposite the Empire's Capital. It was known that snowy days were also extremely rare here.
To Kalia, who had grown up in the Capital, Lua's weather was akin to mild, chilly autumn weather.
Even this period of cold will end in a month or two's time, and soon, spring will come. Lua holds a festival every year when spring comes. Humming was already beyond excited and couldn't wait for this festival.
'...A festival,' Kalia turned the word over in her mind and suddenly realized that she had never enjoyed a festival before.
The past seven years had been spent mostly on the battlefield. Before that, she was always with Simon, either at the academy or at the Duke's estate.
'Let's have a little fun and enjoy myself this time, alright?' She asked herself.
Her days were peaceful now; neither lifting a sword nor seeing blood. The tense past few months seemed like a distant dream now. She didn't have to kill anyone nor did she have to worry about being killed by someone else. This sort of daily routine was both a boring and beautiful way of living.
Feeling the cool breeze on her cheeks, Kalia thought, 'This is peace.'
Strangely enough though, a part of her mind was still heavy.
'Simon…..'
Simon's actions kept getting weirder and weirder.
Maybe he decided to switch from being a mage to a knight, but these days, he goes training every day. Coincidentally, he was training at the knight school Kalia had established.
When she saw all these big and small news of Simon making headlines in the newspaper and magazines, Kalia had mixed feelings.
"…I can't understand what's going on," she murmured4.
"What? What did you say? You're feeling empty? Are you hungry again?" Having heard Kalia utter something inaudible, Humming was surprised and asked with fear in her eyes.
"No matter how much I can eat, I can't be hungry after just 10 minutes Humming."
"Thank goodness. I was almost surprised again. Kalia, phew… I almost suspected that Miss might not be a real human being! Hohohohohoho!" 5
'….Um, Humming?' Kalia was a little dumbfounded. Kalia looked at the lively Humming, who was currently wiping away her nervous sweat, and was suddenly reminded of past Humming. Back then, Humming always looked at Kalia with eyes brimming with awe and reverence. Seeing her now, Kalia kind of missed that version of Humming. 6
***
"Oh, my God! On such a cold day again…"
A shrill voice came from behind Kalia, interrupting her stroll. The sound seemed to stab her in the back of her head. Kalia winced at the startling sound, her shoulders bunching.
She slowly turned around and came face to face with Mrs. Blair, a fruit shop owner who was currently staring at her with a pitiful expression.
"Hello, ma'am. The weather is nice today," Kalia greeted the approaching Mrs. Blair first.
Mrs. Blair stepped around a stall and came up to Kalia, grabbing her by the hand. She continued to persuade Kalia with worry-filled rebuke, "What beautiful day? Don't go walking around outside when it's so cold out. Why did you come out again? What would we do if you were blown away by the wind…. Humming, can she do this? Can she come out in this cold weather?"
She didn't know what rumours were circulating around the village but somehow, the villagers labelled Leah Rayman as someone extremely fragile and vulnerable. They thought her to be very, very weak with an extremely delicate vitality that could fly away if the wind blew too harshly or if the rain pelted down too hard.
The villager's strong interest in Kalia and her companions was almost explosive because Lua was such a rural town and there rarely were any newcomers. A pregnant woman who moved to the countryside without her husband and only a doctor was practically unheard of.
It evoked everyone's protectiveness; feelings of wanting to pay attention and care for Kalia arose in their hearts.
Kalia didn't bother to correct the rumours but instead, tried to live up to the villager's expectations.
She had never been protected by anyone in her life, so it was refreshing to be treated like this7.
"Don't go around too much. Just take a short walk and go in, okay?"
"Yes, I will. Thank you very much for your concern," Kalia laughingly responded. She looked away for a second as if she was forgetting something8 before deliberately coughing once.
Though she had coughed only once, Mrs. Blair's head immediately whipped up, her eyes wide with fright, "Oh look at you, you're coughing! Hold on, I'll get you a hand warmer!"
"Here's a warmer, here's a warmer! Take this!" The kind, mustached, middle-aged man, who ran the vegetable store nearby, came over and quickly handed over a warmer.
Kalia looked at the two adults and clasped the toasty hand warmer, watching the two fuss over her in a daze.
Other residents, who were just passing by, stopped because of the commotion from the two store owners. They gravitated towards the small group and also added in their own words of concern or kind greeting.
"Pregnant women must be very careful. You can't get sick. If the mother is sick, the child in the stomach is also hurting. So, don't overdo it and go inside quickly."
Despite the well-intended nagging she heard almost everyday, their concerns warmed Kalia up every time. Her heart was as warm as the hand warmers they had given. Their worries were so warm that Kalia unconsciously came out for walks often because of it. Perhaps, this played a part in why she continuously pretended to be weak.
From a distance, Allen and Humming laughed, watching the situation unfold with quiet smiles, as if they understood Kalia's feelings.
After buying some fresh fruit, the 3 decided to slowly head back home at the behest of the villagers for Kalia to not overdo it.
Before parting ways, Mrs. Blair handed some apples over, not letting Kalia buy it from her, "This new batch of apples are very delicious. Take some to try."
"Thank you. The apples smell really fresh."
Upon being handed a very round and appetizing apple, Kalia unwittingly swallowed her saliva and before she could stop herself, she split the apple cleanly into two.
Kacha!
Before anyone could blink, she had already split the hard apple straight down the middle with her bare hands. Startled, Mrs. Blair and the vegetable shop owner looked at her with wide eyes; both were speechless.
Only then did Kalia realize what she had done wrong and tried to pass off the action with an awkward smile, "…apples are really easy to split."
After a hasty farewell, she hurried away, munching on half of the apple she had split. Humming and Allen could only shake their heads at the scene and follow after her.
It seems pretending to be weak isn't easy, they muttered in low voices behind her.