To celebrate Coco's return and to welcome her new friends, Ayan cooked a table full of meals that night. Fried grouper fish in sweet and sour sauce with bell peppers, ginger and carrots. Crispy pork knuckles fried to golden perfection. Steamed crab in garlic, butter and chilli dip. Garlic fried rice and lastly, piping hot corn and chicken soup topped with eggs. 

It was evening now so she refrained from feeding the children crabs and fatty pork. While she was cooking, Carmine and Raven trotted to her side to look at the pot eagerly. She knew they wanted to eat seafood. For fear of accidentally scalding them, she urged the two back on the table and pinched one crab the size of a plate for them to taste. 

Milk wrinkled his face looking at the red creature with tongs. It looks ugly, it doesn't taste good for sure. Deciding that it was unpalatable, he turned his butt and licked his paw. But soon after Ayan broke the shell and the bouncy white meat came out, Milk's drool was already hanging on his mouth. 

Ayan secretly laughed seeing the longing in his eyes. "Just a taste okay?"

Raven sipped on the left leg and Carmine chewed on the right making Milk restless all of a sudden. 

Why has no one invited him yet???

He wanted a bite. Just teeny tiny one. That's it!

Done with playing a prank, Ayan picked the meat for Milk ending the poor cub's torture. The meat was soft and sweet, unlike the ones they ate before. They would like to have more, but mother said it was evening. Perhaps tomorrow they can eat more of this yummy crab. 

"Alright, time to wash your hands."

Ayan first fed the Milk and the boys with sweet and sour fish, steamed rice, corn soup and caramel pudding for dessert and let them go near the hearth to play domino. 

The fairies didn't need to eat but the temptation of human food was still too much to bear. The scent from the kitchen has already muddled their heads so the moment Ayan said they should eat, they threw away their fairy's dignity, swooped down the table of dishes and gorged themselves.

Blue who was bitten by a crab when he pulled one from the crab trap laughed menacingly as he cracked the shell to lick the fatty yellow, "I have taken my revenge!"

"Who knew this ferocious-looking creature tasted so good," Red said dipping the soft white meat into the chilli dip. 

Green nodded her head chewing on the crispy pork skin. "Pork as well. I always thought red boars are nasty." 

"They are nasty, they used to eat most of the jade truffles I reserved," Yellow said bitterly then took a huge bite. "But tasty."

Old White looked at the younglings enjoying themselves and poured himself a small cup of pixie wine he personally brewed. Who said fairies don't have to eat other food? It's preposterous! 

"By the way, Old White, did the city council approve our application?" Coco asked. 

"It went smoothly, we can start opening the stall as soon as Milady puts in products on the shelf." 

 

On the fourth day of Clayton's absence neighbours came to knock on their door. Ayan was busy shovelling snow from the front door while simmering something in the pot when she heard someone calling outside the fence. It was a tall woman in a thick winter coat craning her neck to see if the people inside were up already.

"Good morning!" 

Ayan hurried to open the wooden gate to see what she came for. "Good morning, how can I help you?"

"Oh, dear was I too loud? I did not wake your babies, yeah?" 

She hadn't replied yet when Knoll and Beck appeared from the other side of the fence in surprise. 

"You're here too?"

Knoll rubbed his head smilingly, "Aye madam, just this morn along with the rest."

They rode a carriage from the Eustoma until here just to check how they were faring. 

"We were also planning to depart the city that day, but something came up. We could have travelled together." Beck said, patting his coat. 

"Please do come in." she invited cordially.

The chill chased them until the threshold and was suddenly wrapped in a comfortable warmth from the roaring fire in the hearth. 

"Madam Rozenberg, this is my wife, Karmen." Knoll introduced the tall woman with soft features to her. 

"Hello, Karmen. Karmen, may I call you that?"

Karmen's eyes brightened making her look more gentle, "Anything you like madam, I have heard a lot about you from my husband. I never thought it was an acquaintance who occupied the old steward's house." While she spoke she handed over the basket to her. "We are sorry for the short notice though. You see the men are anxious to see how you were doing."

"No trouble at all, I'm glad you came by," Ayan waved smilingly and accepted the basket. "Wait a minute, I have something in the pot." 

A few minutes later she returned holding a tray with three cups of hot cocoa and cookies placing them on a low table in front. 

"Have it while it's still warm."

Beck cheekily took one cup and sipped. The hot liquid almost burned his tongue, however, instead of spitting out, he swallowed it down. Such a waste to spit this delicious brown drink!

"What is this?" he asked incredulously. The nutty and sweet flavour danced in his palette along with a hint of bitterness. It's a drink, but it tastes more like a… a dessert! He took another sip and sighed with delight. 

"This is from the cacao seeds we got from the mountains. It had been dried and ground to make into this drink."   

Knoll gave a cup to Carmen and both of them also began to taste gaining a more hearty reaction. 

"It's sweet!" Carmen gushed. This must-have precious sugar or honey!  

"Madam, you always surprise us with new things." It has been a while since they have eaten the sandwiches she made and the fruits they brought. The taste of those things was so rare they can be regarded as delicacies.

And now this. 

"You can also add milk if you like to make the taste more mellow. I usually put milk on it for the children." 

As the trio drank, they inquired about their situation. If it were a few days ago, Ayan might have tearfully complained about how heartless Clayton was for leaving them four here with nothing. Fortunately, she was saved by the fairy ring so a simple, "Pretty well," was her answer. 

"I'm glad to hear that." Knoll nodded. "Eustoma has undergone a lot of changes since the governor was removed. You should have seen it, the people from the Holy Temple came marching into the city and cordoned the governor's house. His wife and children have all gone mad it took five warlocks to complete the ablution ceremony. Boy, it was such a sight! I have never so many warlocks all my life… oh, yes! Master Schon was also there. Never knew the young lad had such a prominent background and Beck here didna even warm me. I almost soiled my--"

He was interrupted by a smack from his wife. "Mind your words, you're talking to a lady."

Ayan bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing. Beck wasn't as polite as hers on the other hand.

"Most warlocks did come from good families, I thought you were aware of it."

Knoll scoffed at him, good families yes but the emperor's nephew? Knoll was lucky he did not try to engage Master Schon into talking dirty. But they did pull him into the tavern though… 

"You should have seen him drunk and you'll enjoy every minute of it. The brat's a treasure, I tell ya. But my guess is that you'd be long under the table before he starts acting funny."

Oh, looks like Schon has a large alcohol tank. It doesn't show on his gentle face though. Ayan thought amused. 

The children heard there were visitors downstairs and peeked from the steps.  

"Big brother Beck!"

"Uncle Knoll!" 

Two furry heads jumped down and hurtled towards the men excitedly. Carmine hugged Beck's waist and Raven climbed on Knoll's lap. The fruity and milky smell coming from the two wafted on their noses making them smile. 

"Heya lads." Beck greeted. 

"Children, a lady is present," Ayan called out.

The two immediately corrected their behaviour and turned to Karmen. Raven was the first to hold her hand and kissed it.

"A pleasure to meet you, madam, my name is Raven Elford-Rozenberg."

Karmen was absolutely smitten by the tiny gentleman who took her hand. She had never seen a child so handsome as this one-- no two, there are two of them! And they were wearing adorable clothing. Carmine introduced himself next unaware of the jelly stain in the corner of his mouth. 

"It's nice to meet you as well. My name is Karmen and I am the wife of your uncle Knoll."

"Hello aunt Karmen." they chorused sweetly. 

Looking at the furry tiger and wolf, Karmen's heart swelled. She realized that although they share almost the same face, their demeanour aside from their hair colour is their most distinguishing feature. One has a reserved, calm and soothing disposition while the other was outgoing, full of enthusiasm and as vibrant as the sun. That pink stain on his lips made him look even dearer. 

"I did not expect that you were from this place as well," Ayan said to Knoll. "I wasn't able to say goodbye to you when we were in Eustoma before because the travel was abruptly decided." 

Knoll was a little incredulous, "Did Clayton forget to mention it to you?"

She knows nothing.

"Truthfully, we have talked about it and agreed to meet here in the village as soon as the things in Eustoma are done. I told him my family was here and some of our brothers in the team as well. We were meant to follow the morning after you, unfortunately, we were delayed on the road and as a result, we only arrived now. Though he did not say much I knew Clayton felt more at ease leaving his family with acquaintances." 

That surprised her. So the reason why he chose to make them stay in this village instead of his friend's mansion like in the novel was that he knew Knoll and the mercenary's families live here? That made her feel relieved for some reason.

Peh! Wait, what? 

No, she's still furious at him for taking off without leaving a word.

Knoll's house was in the middle of the village where the drying area and a small market was located. Just a short ten-minute walk from here as described. 

"Oh, by the way," Karmen chirped. "If you have nothing to do later, do come to the village square this afternoon. The steward from the manor is going to open the communal bakery and because it is winter starting today we can bake our bread and pastries once every two days."

Speaking of pastries, the one Ayan brought out tasted marvellous. They crumble at first bite and they are creamy, mellow and smells very nice. 

"The steward…" Beck mused. "Perhaps Old Tom?"

"That's the one," Karmen confirmed nibbling on a peanut tart. 

Ayan was slightly confused for a moment before she remembered that the tenant houses of this era have no oven of their own. Firewood and upkeep had to be paid and the villagers need to ask permission from the lord to let them use the facilities of the manor. But here in Morrigan estate, the lord built a communal bakery for his tenants supervised by either the village chief or a person from the main house rather than let them take a long trek. 

In order not to evoke suspicion, Ayan decided she needed to participate in this group bread making activity. Their visitors left shortly after making sure they really were alright. Knoll and Karmen brought in a dozen eggs and half a bag of whole wheat flour and beans for their house visit and in return, Ayan gave them ten sweetened cocoa blocks and a bag of smoked ham.

Now she needs to prepare the dough for baking and she chose the simplest bread she could think of. She has honey, butter, flour and active dry yeast. 

As much as she wanted to make it simple, she remembered that white bread here is eaten according to status. What common people eat is the brown chunky bread that people crave in modern times and are a little pricey. The kind of whole wheat bread that was ground with unextracted bran rather than the meticulously milled white wheat flour. 

Now aside from flour, she added three more cups of whole wheat flour to make her brown loaf. They do not use butter and honey here because these things were too expensive for the household to make. She doubted if there was even butter. 

They wouldn't see the ingredients inside anyway since she is going to be putting it in the oven soon so Ayan began mixing without worry.  

At about two o'clock in the afternoon. The dough she covered has already risen and ready for baking in the oven. Ayan told the boys she will be going to the square in a little while, she might take long so she took out coloring books and crayons for a short exercise for them to do.  

In the square, Karmen stood near the entrance to wait for Ayan's arrival. The snow fell non-stop last night covering the ground, thankfully, the men who worked outside returned and began to collectively clear the path making it easier to walk on. 

"Karmen!" Ayan called. She was wrapped tightly like a burrito. It looked funny when she walked. She had a large wicker basket on hand hugging it like a baby. 

"Glad you made it here, lass." The change of address was decided when she found out that Ayan was five years younger than them. Her husband also said that the couple may be from a well-off household but they do not intend to let anyone know so to avoid trouble, she had to agree with her Knoll.

"Did it begin?"

"Nah, don't worry. Some are still kneading their dough and the oven is just being heated." as they talked, they continued on the path towards the bakery.

Ayan looked around at the white frosted surrounding and inadvertently recalled the village Christmas cake she ate with Monica. It looked a lot like this thus increasing her good feelings towards this place. 

She thought that because it's winter, people would prefer to stay indoors but she seems to think wrong. Everyone shuttle here and there despite the cold, some are checking their roofs and others are ploughing the snow.

"The lord specifically assigned people to help clear the surroundings to avoid accidents. At first, the manor offered salary but everyone disagreed and voluntarily signed up for the job." Karmen informed when she noticed Ayan's curious gaze. 

"The lord himself ordered it?"

"Of course, it's rare to have a good employer like him you know."

Male lord number three doesn't seem like the eccentric type as described in the novel. Where was the playful yet twisted character? Or was Karmen talking about an entirely different person here? 

"Someone like him should be in the imperial capital living a good life if not for his illness, more's the pity."

Ayan growing even more lost: ???

Author, something is wrong with one of your sons. What happened to that perfectly healthy playboy casanova lord number three? 

 

Later in the manor, Butler Tom held the key to the bakery, a tray of neatly sliced brown bread with translucent blue and pink jelly dripping on the side and finally a letter. He carried them oh-so-carefully as he ascended the steps towards the lord's chamber. 

A maid holding a tray of unfinished food came out and looked at him with dismay. 

"Lord Lachlan doesn't have an appetite," she said. "He is still awake and dealing with the estate's issues."

The sweet fruity scent coming off from the butler's tray made her mouth water involuntarily. Then her eyes rested on the food. 

"I understand. You may take a break now." Old Tom replied mildly before making three knocks on the door.

A hoarse masculine voice sounded from the inside, "Enter."

Lachlan was poring over documents of the estate's finances and the condition of his tenants this year. There were no major issues to handle making his hanging heart settle down. The snow this month is rather heavy, and it was during this season that casualties cannot be avoided. Fortunately, there were no problems during the harvest and they have stored enough food for paying taxes and reserves.  

He left Ava under the guise of managing the land his mother left him while the truth about his stepmother's decision to throw him out remained hidden. He thought he would have more resistance to the decision but after coming here, he realized how foolish his father was for voluntarily handing him this inheritance. 

The stepmother was just once a daughter of a low-ranked noble dealing with a minor textile business and had no land. She has no interest in these things and thought it was only just a few acres of fields with some dirty serfs running it. In short, this is trouble. What she was aiming at was his father's noble title to be inherited by her son. 

Had she known Morrigan estate is as vast as three townships and six villages here in Arpeggio, she would froth in the mouth and fall into a coma? True nobility doesn't just have a high rank but a large wealth and properties as well attesting to their power rooting from hundreds of years! 

From a former marquess's heir to a viscount, Lachlan wasn't feeling resentful about the drop in title. After all, Viscount Lachlan Morrigan is what he earned through his strength and in the end, didn't he effortlessly snatch back his mother's dowry?   

A pity his body is crumbling. All this wealth will return to the government in case something happens to him. Just when he managed to stabilize it for the past years. 

"Milord, a letter from your brother." Old Tom called.

Lachlan received the sealed envelope, broke the wax and began reading. It doesn't have much content in it except informing him that the younger brother who wanted to come to visit his fief could no longer make it because he has to attend to some matters in the capital.

Instead of getting dismayed, Lachlan looked relieved. He did not have time to entertain him knowing his true intention for this sudden attack of brotherly concern.

He was silent for a few beats then his nose caught on something very appetizing. Strange, when his body grew weak, his senses dulled as well and being unable to smell the scent from food became normal to him. Whenever he ate, he would put them into his mouth mechanically just to satisfy the necessary nourishment he needed. As for enjoying or appreciating the food? He had long given up on it. 

Lachlan's eyes moved to the table near the balcony where Old Tom placed the tray. 

There were six triangular slices of brown bread with colourful substance pressed in between. He felt his dry mouth suddenly moistened. His throat moved and his stomach made a helpless gurgle. 

"Old Tom, I would like to have a taste…"

His valet, Olson, who stood nearby put his hand to his mouth. The lord asked for food on his own?! The little improvement almost made the grown man howl in tears.