Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Flora woke up. She walked Ilya to the edge of town.
There were few people on the road—only a few farmers who had gotten up early to go to market passed by with shoulder poles, their footsteps going pitter-patter. The morning mist hadn’t dispersed yet, a thin layer floating over the fields, gray and hazy.
Ilya walked beside her, saying nothing. When they reached the edge of town, the carriage was already waiting there.
It was a very ordinary one—the driver sat in front, smoking a pipe. When he saw them coming, he nodded.
Flora stood in front of Ilya, looking at her.
“Take care on the road.”
Flora hugged Ilya. Ilya nodded.
“You take care too.”
Ilya paused after speaking, then patted Flora on the head.
Flora shyly lowered her head, and she seemed to enjoy the gesture, letting out a soft mmm.
Ilya smiled, then let go, turned, and climbed into the carriage.
The curtain fell, the carriage started moving, and gradually disappeared from Flora’s sight.
She stood there for a while, then turned and walked back.
There was a small market in town, bustling in the morning.
Vegetable sellers, cloth vendors, and snack stalls crowded the street, their cries rising and falling in a noisy clamor.
Flora wandered around the market and finally stopped at a stall.
The fruit looked fresh. She bought a few pears and a few apples. They were bright red, very eye-catching—small, but they looked good.
She put them all in a cloth bag and carried it as she walked toward Eileen’s house.
When she reached Eileen’s door, she knocked.
No one answered. She knocked again. Then came the sound of patter-patter footsteps from inside. It was Eileen’s voice, very soft and a little hoarse:
“Who is it?”
There was a moment of silence.
“It’s me,” Flora said.
Then footsteps sounded, and the door opened.
Eileen stood at the door, wearing a coat draped over her shoulders. Her face was still a bit pale, but much better than yesterday.
She saw the cloth bag in Flora’s hand and froze for a moment.
“Miss Flora… this is…”
“I bought some fruit,” Flora said. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Eileen quickly moved aside. Flora walked in and placed the cloth bag on the table. She turned around and looked at Eileen.
“You’re here alone?”
Eileen nodded.
“Brother Kaan and the others came by this morning. They brought me some food and then went off to work,” she said, slowly walking back to the bedside and sitting down. “I’m fine on my own, you really didn’t have to come.”
“I wanted to come see you. I’ll just stay a few days and then go.”
Flora watched her walking—very slow, very careful, each step like a test.
She reached the bed, sat down, and let out a soft breath.
Flora said nothing. She took an apple out of the cloth bag, then took out a small knife she carried with her. She sat next to Eileen and began to peel it.
Eileen watched her peel, saying nothing. Flora was very skilled at peeling apples. She cut the skin very thin, letting it fall slowly—she peeled carefully, and the peel never broke.
Soon, Flora handed the peeled apple to her.
Eileen watched Flora peeling the apple and felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Eileen took it, looked at it, and took a bite.
“Is it sweet?” Flora asked.
Eileen nodded, still chewing, and gave a vague mmm.
Seeing Eileen like this, Flora smiled, then picked up a pear and started peeling it.
The two of them just sat there—one eating, the other sitting nearby and peeling.
The room was very quiet, only the sound of the knife peeling and little mouth chewing, very soft, blending together like a rustle.
Flora finished peeling the pear, but Eileen hadn’t finished her apple yet.
Flora glanced at her, smiled, and held the pear in her hand.
***
After waiting three minutes, Eileen finished the apple. Flora handed the pear to her. Eileen took it, took a bite, and nodded again.
“This one is sweet too, very good.”
She said. Flora put the knife away, leaned back in her chair, and watched her eat.
“Do you know?”
She suddenly spoke.
“I heard there’s a kind of fruit in the demon race’s territory that looks really strange.”
Eileen looked up at her.
“What does it look like?”
“Blue,” Flora gestured. “This big, round, with a very thick skin. When you cut it open, the inside is white. The taste is a bit like… kind of like a pear, but not as crisp.”
Eileen listened, blinking.
“You’ve seen it?”
Flora nodded.
“Someone brought me one or two before,” she said. “I heard the demon race people really like eating this. In autumn, they go everywhere to pick it. They bring it back and pile it up in the yard, and the whole yard is filled with that fragrance.”
“What kind of fragrance?”
“Hard to describe,” Flora thought for a moment. “It’s faint, sweetish, not very strong, and it feels really comfortable to smell.”
Eileen listened, a hint of longing in her eyes.
“That sounds nice,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything from the demon race.”
Flora looked at her, her heart trembling slightly.
“Would you like to?” she asked.
Eileen thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I kind of want to, but I’m also a little scared.”
“What are you really afraid of?” Flora asked.
Eileen said softly:
“Afraid of the demon race.”
“Ever since I was little, adults have said the demon race is terrifying, that they eat people and so on. Even though I know now it’s not that scary, I still don’t know what those people are really like. That fear is still there—I’m afraid of what they might do to us.”
Flora was silent for a moment.
“Actually, they’re not much different from humans,” she said. “They eat, they sleep, they live ordinary lives. They have happy times and sad times.”
She paused.
“And they have people they want to protect.”
Eileen looked at her, not saying anything for several seconds.
“Miss Flora seems to know a lot about the demon race,” she said.
Flora felt a little nervous.
“Tell me some stories about the demon race. Just… anything you’ve heard, whatever.”
Eileen nodded, then took a few more bites of the pear.
“Miss Flora has seen a lot—no wonder you’re a noble.”
She suddenly said:
“Miss Flora, have you heard many people talk about these things before?”
Flora looked at her.
“You really want to hear?”
Eileen nodded. Flora thought for a moment.
“Then I’ll tell you one,” she said. “In the demon race’s territory, there’s a festival called the Unification Festival, to commemorate the first generation queen who unified the demon race.”
“That day is very lively—everyone comes out, and the streets are packed with people. There are food stalls, game stalls, and even magic performances.”
Eileen listened, her eyes shining.
“There are magic performances there too?”
“Mm,” Flora nodded. “I’ve heard of a magician who’s really amazing—he can make things appear out of thin air, and even guess what you’re thinking.”
“Really?”
“But it’s just a performance,” Flora smiled. “It’s all fake, but it’s fun to watch, and it makes everyone happy.”
Eileen smiled too.
“What else?” she asked.
Flora told her a few more things. She talked about what games the demon race children liked to play, what their houses looked like, and how they had markets too, similar to here but with different goods.
Eileen listened very attentively, listening while eating, and finished the pear.