30 - The Man Who Fell and Rolled Inside Bottomless Pit

The day of the snow festival.
They rode an old carriage, that could even be called as antique, to Rindou Village which took three hours of travel one way.
Bernard was the one who drove the carriage.
Gigille said she could be the driver, but she tended to ride fastly and they got scared, so he took over in the middle.

The carriage was shaking and running through a road surrounded by trees.

Bernard was driving safely through the forest road. Why was he driving while the servants were inside, he thought sadly.
On the other hand, the others were having fun inside the carriage.

“Agnes-san, this is a popular snack in the city!”
“Isn’t the packaging so cute?”
“Hey! Aren’t you troubling Agnes-san? Don’t talk at the same time!”

Inside the carriage there were lots of goods they were going to sell later. There were only small gaps for people to sit. In addition, because it was an old carriage, it shook too much. Nevertheless, Agnes was enjoying her first outing.

After taking a break every hour, they arrived at the festival venue, Rindou Village.
The village was blessed with rich nature, a lot of tourists would visit during summer. The snow festival was held to bring in guests during the off season at first.

Before getting out of the carriage, they wore the animal masks first.
Carol and Celia envied the adorable cat and bird masks Agnes made.

Once they stepped outside, the scenery was filled with snow everywhere. However the snow was not that deep. Rindou Village was located deep inside the forest, but the snow wasn’t really piling up.

The village was already crowded with people.
Bernard held three boxes containing cookies, and the girls cooperated in carrying the medicine box.
Gigille went to the reception at the village entrance to submit the documents.
The remaining people waited there.

“I’m excited.”
“I am excited.”

Carol and Celia were in high spirits. It’s their first snow festival so they were being extra restless. Seeing the twins, Bernard gave them a warning.

“Don’t get lost, you two.”
“We know.”
“We’ll be careful.”

On the other hand, Agnes who wore a cat hat was silent. Although he couldn’t see her face because of the mask, from her gesture he could see she seemed to be overwhelmed by the crowd.
Somehow, he felt it would be dangerous if he left her alone, as he looked on her while putting down his luggage on the ground, a man carrying three piles of boxes walked towards her from behind.

It seemed both of them didn’t notice each other. Bernard pulled her arm and prevented their crash.
Agnes was wondering cluelessly what happened.

“You didn’t seem to notice a person carrying some luggage walking from behind you.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Thank you very much.”
“No, it can’t be helped since you are wearing a mask.”

In addition to the limited vision because of the mask, Agnes’s eyes were bad. He thought it was a dangerous place.
While he was being cautious on the surroundings, Gigille returned.
She led them to their stall.
The stall was located at a line of shops that was selling miscellaneous goods.
The organizer prepared the tent and display table for the goods. Exhibitors only need to line up their items when they arrive there.
Gigille laid a cloth on the table and put down the cookies and medicines on top.
Fire was strictly prohibited in the venue. Except for food stalls, so they were selling ready-made foods.
Agnes, who was in charge of the display, was surprisingly good.

“You are good, Agnes-san.”
“Thank you. I’ve been in charge of the display and looking after the stall several times on the orphanage’s bazaar.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes.”

She said that she had been busy with the social gatherings these few years.

“And so, I too am excited like Carol-san and Celia-san.”
“Then that’s good.”

After they finished, lastly they put on the fancy signboard in front of their stall.

It was a handmade medicine and herbal cookies shop, “Kitten and Little Bear Pavilion”.

“What the heck with this name.”
“Isn’t it cute?”

He couldn’t understand Gigille's view on cuteness. Bernard tilted his head.
Carol and Celia put the “Kitten and Little Bear Pavilion” signboard at the storefront.
The cat and bear in the shop name were carved beautifully by Dominic. The passer-by also said that it’s cute.
As it played a big role in attracting customers, Bernard didn’t say anything further than that.

“Now then, let’s do our best.”

In the midst of the cold, Gigille was totally motivated.
The festival’s games were in the morning.
It was important to make Bernard and Agnes close, but it’s also essential to make profit from selling their items.

“Me and my daughters will stay in the shop during morning, so Master and Agnes-san, please enjoy the festival.”
“Is that alright?”
“Yes, we’ll enjoy it in the afternoon.”

Gigille said the same thing to Bernard, and told him to go out.
The two who wore a bear and cat mask got kicked out soon.
Before leaving to the open area, Bernard looked back to Agnes who was following him, and gave her warning.

“Don’t get separated from me.”
“Yes.”

The two unknowingly entered the crowd at the festival.
A variety of items were sold in the general stores located on the same street as their kitten and little bear stall. Soap, candle, handicraft, stationery, and many others.
They couldn’t look closely because it’s crowded.
Bernard turned back to tell Agnes to move to another area, but he couldn’t find her.
He flustered and looked around. Agnes was staggering far behind.
Bernard walked back through the crowd, grabbed Agnes’s arm and moved to a less crowded area.

“T-thank you very much. That, I was wondering how to move forward then I lost sight of Master--”
“No, it’s alright.”

If they stayed like this, the same thing would happen again when they walk around the festival. Thinking that, Bernard came up with a suggestion.

“You can walk while holding on to my jacket. Otherwise you will be swallowed by the crowd.”
“Is that fine?”
“Don’t mind it.”

With that, they proceeded with Agnes holding a basket in one hand, while the other grabbed Bernard’s jacket.

***

The place Agnes and Bernard came to was a street where they sold sweets.
Scones, cookies, chocolates, candies, and others.
The sweet scent flowing around in the air.

“Do you like sweets, Master?”

Bernard was stunned for a moment at Agnes’s question.
He really likes sweets, but he was too embarrassed to say that.
And so, he answered with, “It’s not something I can’t eat”.

Agnes was glad to hear that and smiled as she took a sweet made from almond glazed with light colored sugar.
She just got her payment and she bought that with her own money.
She also bought other things like cake and chocolate.

On their way back, they bought some lunches for everyone.
What they bought were chocolat chaud and sandwiches with ham and vegetables.
Gigille and the twins were overjoyed because they’ve been keeping the store in cold.
They took turns to eat lunch, and in the afternoon, it was Bernard and Agnes turn to watch over the store.
That said, the items mostly had already been sold.

“Aren’t they almost sold out.”
“We worked a little too hard.”
“It doesn’t seem like your main job is a servant.”
“Right? I myself am surprised that I have this kind of talent.”

The work during the afternoon was not that much.

Seeing the mother and daughters servants off, Bernard and Agnes sat down on a chair and watched over the shop.

“.....It’s cold.”
“It is.”

While talking like an old married couple, they recommended their products to some passer-by.
In less than thirty minutes, all the items were sold.

“It will be good if we prepare some more-- but, Allen might die.”
“Looks like it’s hard for him.”

Even after they sold out, some customers asked where they usually sell them.
They were surprised by the unexpected popularity. For the time being, to avoid suspicion, they only said they were doing it for hobby, and didn’t have any plan on opening a shop.

By the time the people didn’t come anymore, Bernard was hungry.

“I’m hungry.”
“Should I go buy something?”
“You’ll be lost, so no.”

Bernard said it’s not to the point she should go buy something. Besides, he already ordered Gigille to buy some snacks. He could endure it for a while.

“Then, this,”

Agnes took out the sugar almond from earlier.

“You bought it for yourself right?”
“No, I’m going to give it to Master.”

Agnes said, since it was only put inside a paper bag, she intended to tie it with a ribbon when they got home.

“Why me?”
“I want to thank you….”

Since he had no reason to refuse, Bernard accepted it.
He sat with his back facing the main street, and removed the bear hat. He told Agnes to remove her hat too and rest.

He immediately threw the sweet he received into his mouth.

“You don’t eat it too?”
“No.”
“Is that so.”

The sweetness of crispy sugar coating, and the pleasant aroma of roasted almond were strangely went well together.
He remembered he ate it long ago, but not often.
He felt like it was a special sweet, but he couldn’t remember.

“Hey, what is this sweet called?”
“It’s dragée.”
“It’s the first time I heard it.”
“It is a traditional sweets that’s only served during celebration day.”
“Ah, so that’s why I rarely eat it.”

He remembered something. The last time he ate it was at a tea party the day before his eldest brother’s wedding. He even remembered the time his mother said not to eat it too much.

“If I remember correctly, Gigille once said that when I was a child I ate almost everything without much thinking, even weeds.”
“Uhm, was it wild grass that you ate?”
“Probably so. I think I heard that it was edible from Dominic, but I don’t really remember.”

Hearing that story, Agnes covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
So she could laugh like that too, Bernard absentmindedly looked at her, but as their eyes met each other he turned away his gaze.

“Setting aside wild grass, I think dragée is not something you would eat too much.”
“Mother too, if she told me that first it would be good…..”

Bernard was around seven or eight years old that time, he had a good appetite.
As he talked about his childhood, he threw another dragée into his mouth.

“What’s the meaning of dragée?”
“.....May your seed of happiness sprout.”

Bernard looked at Agnes’s face without thinking.
Once their eyes met he looked away and his cheek grew hot out of shyness.

At that moment, he felt a strange feeling, like he was falling into a bottomless pit.
The man who didn’t know what love is, was unaware of that.

==========================

This is it guys! The moment Bernard finally goes dokki! And he ate a wild grass before XD

Support me on ko-fi!

Prev | TOC | Next