The knight Daniel, too, gradually settled in with everyone. But lately, little Luna had picked up a bad habit. She absolutely loved teasing and mocking other people. And the one who suffered the most from it was none other than the poor knight himself. Seeing this, Hazel tried to talk Luna into toning down her sharp tongue. But how could Luna ever give that up? Just looking at that attitude, no one could deny she was truly the Grand Duke's own sister. The two siblings shared the exact same trait. Both a bit rude, and both loving nothing more than teasing others.
Just then, little Luca came running over excitedly. "Sister Hazel, are we having fried rice today?"
It had started one time when Hazel was frying up leftover rice for a late night snack, and the two little ones had happened to catch her in the act. They tried it once and got hooked instantly, and ever since then, they'd been pestering her endlessly to make it again and again. In no time at all, a pan of fragrant fried rice was ready. Normally, a humble dish like this would have raised everyone's suspicions right away, but the children never overthought things like that. Besides, being able to gather warmly together over a meal at the cottage meant something to everyone.
So Hazel asked the knight if they might switch to a slightly smaller table. To her surprise, the knight actually agreed to Hazel's request. I suppose once his highness the Grand Duke returns, I'll have to leave, won't I?
At that very moment, over in the eastern part of the empire, the Grand Duke had his troops setting up camp to rest. On this campaign, it was fortunate he'd brought along the necklace Hazel had given him. He couldn't help wondering whether the children back home were eating well and behaving themselves. Mealtime rolled around before long, but looking at the plain, simple food laid out before him, the Grand Duke couldn't bring himself to touch his chopsticks. It was then he thought of Hazel's cooking skills, hoping only to finish his duties quickly so he could get home to eat her food again. He'd completely forgotten he was supposed to fire Hazel the moment he got back.
Suddenly, a woman came sobbing and stumbling toward him, wailing for him to please save her child. "My boy was taken by the man-eating bees in the forest."
The Grand Duke thought grimly, this isn't good. Man-eating bees, true to their name, were monstrous creatures that preyed specifically on humans. They must have taken the child to feed their larvae. If he hadn't been eaten yet, there was still a sliver of hope.
The scouts under his command had already located the swarm's nest. The Grand Duke immediately ordered the vanguard to assemble and move out. In the end, they found the vicious swarm on a mountainside. A hail of sharp arrows sliced through the air. The man-eating bees were nearly wiped out entirely. The missing child was found safe and sound. The Grand Duke happily scooped the child up into his arms.
But right at that moment, the queen bee suddenly came charging straight at them. Shielding the child, the Grand Duke took the full force of the queen bee's poisonous sting. In that split-second life or death moment, he'd accidentally revealed a top secret power that no one was ever meant to see.
The army medics rushed over in a panic to administer first aid. Fortunately, thanks to the protective necklace, the poisoned stinger failed to pierce through his chest. Staring at the shattered pendant in his hand, an ominous feeling suddenly rose up in the Grand Duke's chest. He needed to head home immediately.
Meanwhile, the two children remained blissfully innocent and carefree. Still completely unaware of the storm brewing, little Luca asked hopefully how many more days until his brother came home. Hazel had heard rumors that the emperor had ordered the complete extermination of every monster in the forest before the troops could be withdrawn. By her estimate, that alone would take at least fifteen days. And yet ten days had already passed with no word at all.
She had no choice but to coax the children, promising that once the cauliflower in the garden had fully grown, their brother would be back. "Let's take good care of the cauliflower together and make it grow fast, and wait for big brother to come home."
"Okay."
Little Luca was thrilled, too, eagerly looking forward to the day he could eat cauliflower together with his brother.