You Can't Catch the Wind - Chapter 29

“Well… she’s in a severe state of malnutrition. And overworked too. That’s why her wounds don’t seem to be healing well.”

“Malnutrition? Overworked?”

Kalon muttered in disbelief for a while.

“How are the wounds?”

“The bruises are mostly from beatings. The wounds also seem to have been caused by something with a sharp end. They would normally disappear naturally over time, but given her current physical condition, the scars could last for a very long time. For now, eating well seems to be the most important thing.”

“…”

“And I think it’s best not to ask too much about the wounds. She’ll probably feel very sorry about receiving concern from others. Well then, I must go now. I need to prepare some medicine.”

The doctor hurriedly left, and Kalon looked at Ino.

“Ino.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll bring something easy to eat right away. And I’ll ask the kitchen to prepare a separate meal.”

Once again, Ino quickly understood what Kalon was about to say and left.

After Ino left, Kalon paced the corridor irritably before knocking on the branch manager’s office door.

A moment later, Nisha’s voice was heard from inside, telling him to enter.

When he went in, Ael was still wearing her hat and fiddling with the collar near her neck.

It seemed Nisha had been examining the wounds around her nape.

“Um…”

As Ael hesitated, not knowing what to say to Kalon, he spoke.

“I won’t ask any more about the wounds.”

Ael let out a small sigh of relief at his words. Kalon didn’t miss that.

“I was informed that you spoke to the reception about ancient language classes.”

“Yes. A lot of time has passed, but if you’re still looking…”

“Of course we’re still looking!”

Nisha jumped into the conversation. Kalon had gestured for her to speak, but they really were still looking.

“Then… could I do that job?”

“Of course! We’d be delighted to ask you.”

Nisha’s words were filled with desperate sincerity.

Ash Company really needed someone skilled in ancient languages right now.

They had found a few people who could use ancient languages since then, but they also struggled greatly with deciphering old documents.

It often took days to decipher a single page of documents brought by nobles.

Moreover, knowing that Ash Company was in urgent need, they began to demand increasingly unreasonable amounts and schedules.

So Ash Company dismissed them all. There was no point in working with such people, as it would only reveal their situation to outsiders.

“Then, how should I teach the ancient language…”

At that moment, there was a knock and Ino entered.

He must have run very hard, as he put down the plate he was carrying on the table while panting.

On the plate were several pieces of bread generously buttered and filled with ham, cheese, and vegetables.

Kalon quietly pushed the plate in front of Ael and said,

“For now, how about having a simple meal first, before that?”

“But haven’t you all eaten already?”

It was well past lunchtime.

As Ael felt sorry, thinking this much had been prepared separately for her, Kalon looked at Nisha and Ino and said,

“No, we haven’t eaten yet because of the meeting. Right, Branch Manager, Deputy Branch Manager?”

Faced with Kalon’s gaze as he said this, Nisha and Ino could only smile painfully.

Do we have to eat lunch twice today?

* * *

“That’s really enough now. Thank you.”

Ael smiled and declined the plate that kept being pushed towards her. Usually, it would have been a polite refusal, but today she was sincere.

At first, she started eating hesitantly.

It had been so long since she had eaten with anyone other than Jena that it felt extremely awkward.

Were the dining etiquettes of the Empire and Deneruthum the same? What if she made some mistake?

But such worries soon disappeared. The meal she took a hesitant bite of was just too delicious.

The oval-shaped, elongated bread was crispy on the outside when bitten, but soft and fluffy inside. Moreover, it was generously spread with high-quality butter.

Well-baked bread with butter.

That alone would have been a good meal, but between the bread slices were so many other ingredients that they seemed about to spill out.

Ael had been cutting back on her meals due to money issues. She had no appetite anyway, and if she ate less, Jena and the other servants could eat more.

As those days continued, Ael herself came to think that she was someone who hardly ate anything…

‘I guess not.’

Looking at the plate in front of her with only crumbs left, Ael realized she had been mistaken.

It wasn’t that she had no appetite. There was simply nothing to eat.

Even after finishing one sandwich, her hunger didn’t subside.

Still, she was happy thinking she could hold out until tomorrow after eating something so delicious today, when the company’s chef entered pulling a handcart.

He opened the lid on a plate next to Ael.

A savory aroma wafted out. What the chef had brought was cream stew and a dish made with finely minced meat.

Before Ael could say anything, the food was set before her. Of course, in front of the others as well.

‘Do people in the Empire usually eat this much?’

She thought the meal would end with one sandwich, but it was continuing.

She glanced at Kalon, who was holding his utensils as if eating this much was natural.

So Ael picked up her spoon without feeling burdened and scooped up the stew in front of her.

There were so many ingredients that just lifting the spoon brought up various vegetables along with a large chunk of meat.

Ael carefully swallowed it. She almost cried the moment the warm, savory stew went down her throat.

‘It’s delicious.’

Like the bread earlier, her jaw tensed the moment she put the stew in her mouth.

It seemed her mouth, used to chewing only dry bread and boiled potato pieces, was surprised by the sudden richness of flavor.

Lunch ended after quite some time. Ael had to eat slowly because her stomach, used to eating only small amounts for a long time, quickly struggled with the food that came in all at once.

Kalon looked at the plate in front of Ael with dissatisfied eyes.

‘She ate too little.’

Even after struggling to eat for over an hour, only half had disappeared.

He wanted to urge her to eat more, but Ael looked so strained that he feared she might really faint on the spot if he did.

‘Well, we have plenty of time.’

There was no need to push too hard on the first day.

They could take time and effort to get her used to it slowly. That was the plan anyway.

After clearing away the meal, he had only strong tea prepared for dessert, without any cookies.

Not only Ael, but also Nisha and Ino, who ended up eating lunch twice, were throwing resentful glances as if they couldn’t eat anymore.

While drinking tea, Ael briefly explained why she had come back.

Her family had temporarily left for an acquaintance’s villa, and there had been a fire at home. And she needed money to repair the damage.

Kalon didn’t ask further. Ael wouldn’t have told him in detail anyway, and he could roughly guess what had happened.

What was certain was that Ael was in trouble and needed money, and that she had come to them.

That was enough.

“…So if there’s still a position at Ash Company, I’d like to work.”

“Of course there’s a position. No, to be honest, we’re grateful you came. We’ve been looking for someone skilled in ancient languages, but we haven’t found anyone at the level we want.”

At the mention of the desired level, tension briefly crossed Ael’s face.

Ael only knew that her ancient language skills were decent. That was understandable, as she had only received lessons from a home tutor as a child, and everything after that was self-taught.

Usually, male nobles go to the academy to have their abilities evaluated. For women, it was common to invite a professor from the academy to confirm.

Of course, Ael couldn’t do either, so she couldn’t be certain of her skill level.

“To be frank, we have a more urgent task than the branch manager’s ancient language instructor position.”

“Another task? I… other than ancient languages…”

“Ah, of course it’s a task that requires ancient language skills. It’s just that among the documents our company needs to review, there are many ancient texts. We’re urgently looking for someone who can decipher them.”

At the mention of ancient texts, Ael’s face clouded over.