A letter from Lem Town reached the headquarters of the Crusaders. The Cross Knight who received the letter removed his barrel-like helmet and tucked it under his armpit to read the contents clearly. Once he skimmed through it in one go, excitement gleamed in his eyes.
He hurried toward the cafeteria without even putting his helmet back on. The moment he pushed the door open, he raised the letter high.
“It’s a witch! A witch who can command werewolves has appeared at Lem Mine! The mayor of Lem Town and the mine chief of Lem Mine request that we set out immediately to eliminate the detestable witch and the ferocious werewolves!! Brothers! Rejoice! The time has come again for us to serve the Lord faithfully! May the Lord bless us!!”
“”“May the Lord bless us!!”“”
The knights in iron armor rose together, the clanging of their armor and boots nearly shaking the ground.
Far away at Lem Mine, Ye Tang, who had grown even more radiant after the Queen’s birthday celebration, was working.
Her energetic back-and-forth delivering meals healed the weary hearts of many miners and stirred the affections of the younger ones toward her.
“M-Mary! P-Please accept this!”
A brown-haired miner had dressed much cleaner than usual, wearing the best clothes he owned. The young man looked quite respectable that day, and the bouquet he held was vibrant and fresh.
Ye Tang did not refuse. She took the bouquet, sniffed the fragrant flowers with a smile. “Thank you, sir. I like them very much.”
The brown-haired young miner’s face lit up, but upon seeing Ye Tang’s smile, he fell speechless. His workmate timely elbowed him in the stomach, snapping him back to reality. Blushing furiously, he said to Ye Tang, “M-Mary… Do you have a dance partner for the Harvest Festival yet? If n-not… could you consider me?”
The Harvest Festival was usually held in September or October, depending on when each village or town finished their harvest.
Just as nobles used the social season to debut their children in high society, introducing them as “this is my family’s nth child, skilled in this, with these virtues,” villagers and townsfolk also revealed their romantic inclinations on Harvest Festival day. Dance partners were typically couples or spouses; those without could rope in parents, siblings, relatives, or friends to fill the role.
Once paired as dance partners, young people could openly go on dates under the pretext of “practicing dances.” After spending such intimate time together, on the day of the festival, mutually enamored youths had a high chance of announcing their engagement. Those who confirmed the other was the one would simply get married in a blaze of passion.
It was only just entering June, yet this young man was already planning ahead for the Harvest Festival. Anyone could see he was trying to court Ye Tang.
As the only woman appearing at Lem Mine—and a young one with a decent appearance to boot—Ye Tang was not surprised to be pursued.
A customer was a customer. Ye Tang did not want to ruin relations with her patrons, so she always brushed off or ignored ambiguous advances.
This was the first to formally give her flowers and invite her as a dance partner. Ye Tang thought she should probably clarify things.
“Sir, I am a widow. I have a six-year-old daughter. I am here selling food so she can go to school in the city.”
Ye Tang smiled sweetly, but the young man before her could not smile.
A widow, and one with a young child at that. This widow not only showed her face in public but even wanted to send her daughter to school in the city… which meant she had no intention of dumping the burdensome child on others or simply raising her to marry off young.
Even if there were men at the mine who did not mind a widow’s bad luck, which man would want the blood and sweat money he risked his life for to go toward raising her daughter and educating her?
City school fees were exorbitantly high. Girls’ schools were especially scarce and limited in number. Usually, only noble families had the funds to send daughters there. And when all students were nobles, non-nobles had to pay even more for a chance to study.
Yet for commoners, the knowledge and etiquette a woman learned in school could not directly turn into money, nor ease life’s toils. Better to have daughters learn early how to feed cows, raise rabbits, cook, and clean—at least that made them more marriageable, without fear of spinsterhood.
The brown-haired miner slunk away after mumbling a few polite words. The fervent gazes that had clung to Ye Tang cooled and gradually peeled away.
Ye Tang paid it no mind.
“…”
A glint of intense interest shone in lake-green eyes. The dirt-smeared boy miner thought for a moment, then headed to Ye Tang’s cart without a word to his companions.
The two young men behind the boy paled in alarm and moved to stop him, but a raggedly dressed middle-aged miner blocked them.
The middle-aged miner shot the two youths a look. Though reluctant, they shut their mouths and watched the boy miner worriedly as he approached Ye Tang.
No one was pestering Ye Tang for free smiles anymore, so she worked even more nimbly. She deftly flipped a browned burger patty with her spatula, placed a thick slice of cheese on it, and drizzled a thin layer of black pepper sauce over the cheese as it began to melt.
This was Ye Tang’s latest new dish: cheeseburger patty.
The boy swallowed hard at the sight of the cheeseburger patty. He rasped first, “I want this…” before fumbling at his chest.
He touched the straps of his overalls. Only then did he seem to remember his shirt had no chest pocket. A embarrassed flush rose on his pale face. He hurriedly patted his pants pocket and soon pulled out a few shillings.
“I’ll pay with this.”
The boy handed over a shilling, but the one who took it was not Ye Tang—it was Lang.
Lang, who had been collecting wooden plates and cups from behind, had somehow darted to Ye Tang’s side. He glared at the boy with an extremely cold and terrifying gaze. In his eyes, the proffered shilling looked less like money and more like a bomb.
“Cheeseburger patty is ten pence. Here’s your ten pence change.”
Lang took ten pence from the iron can hanging on the cart and let them drop onto the cart’s board.
“!!”
Seeing this, the two youths held back by the middle-aged miner both glared angrily at Lang. The middle-aged miner sighed helplessly, grabbed their necks with both hands, and dragged them back a distance.
The boy picked up the pence from the board and pocketed them. Then he stared at the cheeseburger patty in confusion, unsure how to eat it.
Ye Tang was no fool—how could she not notice Lang’s abnormality? She had seen the odd movements of that trio nearby clear as day.
She knew the overly delicate and handsome boy before her—who could pass for a cross-dressing beauty if silent—was no ordinary little miner. But she had no intention of making a fuss and alerting them.
Whatever came, she would handle it. No matter who they were, there was nothing for her to panic about. So Ye Tang simply offered her usual business smile, pushing the plate with the cheeseburger patty and a wooden fork toward the boy.
“…M—no, miss, may I ask you a question?”
The boy took large bites of the cheeseburger patty. Yet this could not hide the natural elegance emanating from him. Every gesture carried an indescribable fluid grace, confirming his identity to Ye Tang.
“What do you want to ask?”
The lake-green eyes blinked. The boy hesitated, then looked at his plate and asked, “…Why do you want your daughter to go to school? In a place like this, even if she studies, it won’t be of much use, right?”
Ye Tang smiled. She found the boy interesting.
Not because a boy of his status asking such a question felt like a noble mocking a commoner’s pipe dream. But because a sharp glint filled his eyes as he asked. Even as he forced his gaze down to the patty, his eyes still told Ye Tang: he did not want her answer—he wanted everyone around to hear it.
In other words, the boy had already seen through Ye Tang’s intentions. At the same time, he wanted to vindicate her. He wanted Ye Tang to shock these miners who thought her mad.
That was indeed interesting, wasn’t it?
“Yes. In a place like this, a woman studying might really be useless. After all, once she marries, bears children, a woman’s life is done.”
Ye Tang turned the conversation with a smile. “But I don’t want my baby, my daughter, to have to look at others’ faces just to eat meat in the future. I don’t want to see her scrimping on meat for her own children, dipping dry bread in broth. Nor do I want her to go years without buying new wooden shoes just to make new clothes for her kids.”
“I want to give my Angeline the best gift— the power to stand on her own two feet. I want my Angeline to have the chance to become whatever she wants. Maybe a botanist, maybe a linguist, maybe a fairy tale author, maybe a court chef… What does it matter? As long as Angeline wants it, she can become anyone.”
Amid the miners’ stares—as if she were a fool, a lunatic, a madwoman—Ye Tang met the boy’s eyes.
The boy realized at once: Ye Tang had seen through him long ago. Understanding his intent, she had chosen to speak her true heart.
No more words were needed.
The boy smiled too. He quickly finished his patty and bid Ye Tang farewell. “Miss, until next time.”
Ye Tang waved to the boy. “Until next time.”
Seeing that Ye Tang had understood his subtext and given her reply, the boy walking away with his back to her had expectation shining in his eyes.
Lang felt extreme discomfort at Ye Tang’s friendliness toward the boy. Worse, his displeasure stemmed from very personal reasons. Rationally, Lang knew he should not let his likes and dislikes bind Ye Tang. But emotionally—
On the road back to Abe Village, Lang could no longer hold back.
“Mary, that person earlier… that boy, you should stay away from him.”
He swallowed. The image of the werewolf village turned into a sea of fire flashed before his eyes again.
“…He and his companions have the same scent as the humans who invaded our village.”
It was the acrid mix of gunpowder, kerosene, and some pungent fragrance.
“I don’t think that young man is with the ones who invaded your village.”
Seeing Lang’s hurt expression at her words, Ye Tang stopped and explained, “I’m not doubting your sense of smell. It’s just… that young man is Earl Ulysses Grant himself.”
“From what I know, the earl only arrived in Lem Town recently. As for the three with him… the oldest gentleman is probably his butler, the red-haired youth his personal manservant, and the black-haired youth his guard captain.”
Ye Tang observed carefully. Although Earl Ulysses Grant and his subordinates were disheveled and filthy, their bearing clashed with their surroundings. Especially Earl Grant—even with a layer of coal dust on his head, his thick golden curls still shone brightly and smoothly. Moreover, no matter how naturally handsome someone was, no miner could prevent grime from seeping under their nails or clinging to their scalp.
Earl Ulysses Grant’s scalp was not only impeccably clean; his fingernails were also neatly trimmed, with almost no dirt in the nail beds or the creases of his hands.
As for the butler, the valet, and the guard captain… Different occupations used different muscles. Their walking postures and the way they sat or lay also differed. The butler stood tall with chest out; the valet was slender and nimble; the guard captain was burly, instinctively leaning forward with weight on his toes into a vigilant stance, hand reaching toward where his sword should have hung at his waist.
“He cannot be the human who invaded your village. The timing doesn’t match.”
Ye Tang’s words hit like one bombshell after another, catching Lang off guard. But none of those bombshells compared to Ye Tang’s final statement.
“But I know who destroyed your village.”