“Hello! My name is Faith-Deshinery, but please, just call me Deshi—everyone does, you see… I’m a nurse from the hospital department, and that’s all I’m allowed to say! Oh, and… I reside on the eastern border of Lick Street! I’ve only just moved in!”
The young woman, appearing incredibly timid, had rattled off a torrent of words in a single breath, yet entirely neglected to state her purpose.
“There’s no need to be so flustered, little Deshi,” Konehl-Ghervil began gently. “I am… well, if your Chief wished you or anyone else to know my full identity, she would have surely informed you by now. For the time being, you may simply call me Veil.”
Given her recent experiences, Konehl-Ghervil knew the abbey’s reputation loomed large throughout the kingdom, and many had, to some degree, heard the name of its last nun. While traveling, discretion was paramount; it certainly wouldn’t do for rumors to circulate that a nun had taken up residence in a noble’s private estate.
This was, after all, an undeniably affluent noble quarter.
“Alright, Miss Veil,” the nurse declared, “I must, if you please, correct a small misconception you seem to hold.”
Her face growing serious, the young nurse pursed her lips, revealing a hint of displeasure.
“I am no ‘little sister’,” she asserted, “I am twenty-five years old!”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than she visibly deflated, her gaze falling to her hands as she nervously kneaded the hem of her uniform, asking in a voice barely above a whisper,
“Did you… understand me?”
Konehl-Ghervil blinked, a moment of surprise passing before she truly focused on the ‘young woman’ who stood roughly fifteen centimeters shorter than herself.
Streaks of black were subtly woven through her grey hair, which was styled into two exceptionally long braids, each reaching the full length of an outstretched arm.
Her complexion was a healthy, rosy white, subtly tinged with yellow, and her large, expressive eyes were framed by grey lashes.
Judging by her facial contours and features, she appeared no older than fourteen or fifteen.
Her hesitant, fidgety expressions and gestures further contributed to an overall air of childlike innocence that permeated her entire being.
Her custom-made nurse’s dress cascaded to her ankles, featuring a slit of more than ten centimeters along the seam at the calf, allowing the color of her stockings to peek through.
Black ones…
Upon closer inspection, the slit bore irregular mending marks.
‘Was she intentionally revealing them, hoping the stockings would somehow convey that she wasn’t a child?’
‘Perhaps a change of hairstyle would be more effective.’
“If you truly don’t believe me,” the nurse mumbled, “then you can just call me Little Deshi. That’s what everyone actually calls me anyway…”
When Konehl-Ghervil remained silent for a prolonged moment, the grey-haired nurse drooped, a picture of utter dejection.
“Nonsense, Madam Deshi,” Konehl-Ghervil replied, her voice filled with warmth.
Snapping back to the present, Konehl-Ghervil promptly gathered her skirts and offered a slight curtsy.
“My sincerest apologies. It was entirely improper of me to judge by appearances. Please, forgive my oversight.”
This formal address immediately won the young nurse’s immense approval, rendering her so flustered that her words tumbled out incoherently.
“Miss Veil, you not only possess impeccable manners and show respect to others,” she gushed, “but you are also incredibly… incredibly, truly beautiful! The most stunning person I have ever laid eyes upon!”
With remarkable precision, she placed the full weight of her emphasis on the latter part of her compliment.
Though Konehl-Ghervil still felt a flicker of awkwardness at being complimented on her beauty, it did not prevent her from offering a warm smile to someone so genuinely kind.
In the very next moment, however, the young nurse’s subsequent words caused her smile to falter, then freeze entirely.
“No wonder the Chief took such a liking to you,” she chirped, “choosing you as a friend and inviting you to live in her house! No one else receives such special treatment!”
‘That sounds suspiciously like…’
‘Never mind.’
‘Children’s words are innocent… children’s words are innocent.’
“Little—er, Madam Deshi,” Konehl-Ghervil interjected, carefully correcting herself, “do you, by chance, recall the true purpose your Chief sent you to me?”
Between cleaning the house and standing here chatting, Konehl-Ghervil was growing impatient.
While her earlier confrontation with Dr. Callan might have contained elements of exaggeration, her current hunger was undeniably real and rapidly becoming unbearable.
Reminded of her task, the young nurse flusteredly clutched her braids, shaking her head profusely as she offered hurried apologies.
“My apologies, Miss Veil! I was so caught up in our conversation!”
“The Chief instructed me to bring fresh ingredients for you… How could I be so utterly foolish…”
“Madam, I would be eternally grateful if you could simply tell me where one might procure fresh ingredients,” Konehl-Ghervil offered, “or, better yet, accompany me to purchase them now. I assure you, your Chief will remain blissfully unaware of this temporary lapse.”
To both soothe the anxious nurse and appease her own rumbling stomach, Konehl-Ghervil decided to employ a subtle tactic.
“…I haven’t forgotten,” the nurse mumbled, her voice regaining a hint of confidence. “The ingredients are right here.”
The young nurse ceased her frantic head-shaking, her gaze flickering to Konehl-Ghervil with palpable hesitation.
“Please, close your eyes,” she requested, “it will only take a moment.”
‘A magic trick, then?’
‘Can she really be trusted…?’
A blend of curiosity and skepticism swirling within her, Konehl-Ghervil turned her back and covered her eyes.
There were no conceivable hiding places nearby.
True magic, she knew, demanded meticulous preparation, elaborate stagecraft, and frequently, a skilled assistant.
‘She would simply have to witness how these ingredients were to be conjured from thin air.’
****
*Whoosh—*
A sudden, violent gust of wind swept through the courtyard, setting the tree leaves rustling wildly and tugging at her skirt hem.
“!”
She instinctively pressed her hand down to secure it.
Before she could even begin to comprehend what had transpired, the furious gale abruptly ceased. Leaves on the trees and pebbles on the ground settled back into stillness, as if the disturbance had never occurred.
“I’m not sure if this will be enough…” the young nurse’s voice drifted from behind her. “The Chief’s request was so sudden, I could only manage to gather this much…”
Turning, Konehl-Ghervil found an enormous, open cloth sack materialized abruptly between them. It was, without a doubt, filled with provisions: a varied assortment of meats, vegetables, seasonings, and fruits.
Stunned, Konehl-Ghervil dashed out into the courtyard, only to find the street beyond utterly deserted.
She returned, her expression still disbelieving, and knelt to inspect the contents of the sack.
It weighed nearly twenty kilograms; these were no mere stage props!
“How did you *do* that?” she demanded, looking up at the nurse.
“…That is a very important secret, one I cannot divulge,” the young nurse replied, her fingers nervously twirling one of her long braids.
Resigned, Konehl-Ghervil understood. She held no desire to forcibly uncover another’s confidential matters.
After offering her thanks, Konehl-Ghervil motioned for the nurse to help carry the provisions into the kitchen.
As she placed them into the refrigerator one by one, she noticed a few minor imperfections in the foodstuffs.
The vegetable leaves were slightly wilted, sections of the meat had dulled in color, and the assortment of seasonings was notably incomplete.
In essence, the bounty was a curious mix of fresh and less-than-fresh.
Coupled with the young nurse’s evasive glances, Konehl-Ghervil swiftly deduced the origin of the provisions.
Most of it, she surmised, had likely been brought by the nurse herself, rather than purchased anew.
“I’m so sorry, Miss Veil!” the nurse blurted out, bowing her head in preemptive apology. “The Chief specifically instructed me to be swift, and I feared I wouldn’t make it in time, so I brought some of my own provisions…”
“I don’t mean to scold you,” Konehl-Ghervil reassured her.
“My only concern is this: what will you eat upon your return, now that you’ve brought these to me?”
“I’ll go buy more… No, I’ll purchase fresh ingredients and exchange them with you! Please, you absolutely *must not* tell the Chief!”
Konehl-Ghervil merely stared.
‘Could this truly be a twenty-five-year-old woman?’
‘It appears her colleagues have ample reason to call her Little Deshi…’
“Tell you what,” Konehl-Ghervil proposed, “I’ll be needing an assistant for the cooking later, and I was hoping you might be able to lend a hand.”
“Can I truly do that… enter the house and help cook without the Chief’s explicit permission…?”
“Whether you agree or not, as far as I’m concerned, the task of acquiring ingredients has been perfectly fulfilled. Let me tell you a secret: your Chief is, in fact, a remarkably kind individual. She wouldn’t concern herself with such trivialities. You should try to befriend her.”
Konehl-Ghervil genuinely felt as though she were consoling a child, restraining herself just barely from patting the young woman’s head.
She invited Deshi to stay and share the lunch she would prepare, considering it a token of gratitude for the delivered provisions.
“You must be a nun from the church,” the young nurse exclaimed, looking up with eyes shining with gratitude. “I’ve never encountered anyone as gentle as you!”
“Haha… is that so?” Konehl-Ghervil chuckled, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. “Perhaps, rather than dwelling on such matters, we should focus on preparing lunch, don’t you think…?”
‘I can’t let this child keep guessing; her intuition is disturbingly sharp.’
With an extra pair of hands, preparations moved considerably faster.
Deshinery’s culinary skills proved far superior to what Konehl-Ghervil had anticipated; her cooking techniques were precise and unhesitating. Midway through, Konehl-Ghervil found herself relegated to the role of assistant.
At half past three in the afternoon, having finished their belated lunch, Konehl-Ghervil once again donned her apron and resumed cleaning the house.
The young nurse, however, eagerly volunteered to help prune the branches and foliage in the courtyard.
Assuming it was merely a burst of childlike energy and an eager playfulness, Konehl-Ghervil indulged her.
Their original plan had been to proceed slowly, tidying until evening.
The drastic change of plans occurred when Deshinery returned to the house after only half an hour, having finished pruning the entire yard.
“It’s all done outside! Haven’t you finished cleaning yet?”
“Almost, almost…”
Who could possibly keep up with a child’s whirlwind of activity?
Konehl-Ghervil mumbled a perfunctory reply, deliberately slowing her pace.
Working without a break for half an hour had proven quite tiring.
*Whoosh—*
The wind howled, sending her skirt billowing.
‘Again?’
‘Inside the house? This must be a joke!’
Since it was the second occurrence, Konehl-Ghervil’s initial panic had subsided considerably. As she pressed down on her skirt, she managed to observe her surroundings, searching for the source of the wind.
Then, she froze in stunned disbelief.
All the debris swept from the house, the wastewater, and even the dust on the floor, were flying in a single direction—straight into the young nurse’s wide-open mouth.
An endless stream.
“*Hiccup!*”
“Cleaning complete, Miss Veil! You may rest now!” Deshinery announced, having ‘eaten’ everything in five minutes. She then pulled out a tissue, wiped her mouth, and casually tossed it into her mouth as well.
Konehl-Ghervil offered no reply.
Deshinery looked over, puzzled, to find the young woman standing utterly dumbfounded, her jaw slack with shock.
The young nurse, realizing her blunder belatedly, clapped a hand over her mouth, cold sweat trickling down her brow.
“…Could you perhaps pretend you didn’t see that?”