WHIT

28 - PATIENCE

After the siblings came out of the manor and walked enough distance, Edgar asked, “Weren’t we supposed to get them to owe us? Why did you choose to come out like that?”

“We shouldn’t appear as desperate, especially because of the symbol on our ankles,” replied Fabby, startling Edgar. “In times like these, patience is our best asset. If that woman is smart enough, then she will realize that it was her and not the slaves that were in the wrong. And if she is good enough, then it makes things easier for us when we meet her again.”

“Sounds good, but why did you say that the white seeds are bad?” Edgar couldn’t help but ask. “Didn’t we also have white seeds back on Shushui?”

“Well, did you see white seeds grow on plants, or did you see them afterward?”

Edgar paused for a bit and then said, “I never went into the coriander plantations, so I saw them after they were packed in bags.”

“Mm, then it’s no wonder that you didn’t notice,” she remarked. “The thing is, I, too, didn’t go to those plantations, but I’ve seen them adding color to the seeds.”

“Color?” Edgar was greatly puzzled. “What for?”

“What else? You can guess.”

“Is it… for the same reason as to why the rice gets shaved?”

“Partly, yes,” Fabby nodded. “Rich folks like polished rice. Though it’s unhealthy, they still prefer to eat it, probably because it looks nice, and maybe it represents some status or something for them. In the same way, you color these coriander seeds to make them look pretty. And the rich folks buy it. However, what these rich customers like that lady Raha don’t realize is that, not only these white coriander seeds aren’t good for health, they aren’t good for cultivation either.” She looked at Edgar, who was busy picking his teeth with his little finger. “Are you listening?”

Edgar’s shoulders jerked. “O-Of course. You were talking about white rice being unhealthy.”

Fabby sighed and shook her head. “Never mind.”

“So, how are the white coriander seeds different?” asked Edgar.

A vein bulged out in Fabby’s forehead, but she smiled. “Let’s just say that they are adulterated.”

“O-Okay,” Edgar broke eye contact with her. (What’s she angry about?)

Later they went to Doce, what the locals said was the cheapest inn, and rented a common-class room there, for four bronze per day without the food and drinking water in the equation.

Fabby went into the washroom and didn’t come out for hours, causing Edgar to come out of the room in frustration. He wanted to take a bath, but what could he do when his sister settled in the washroom as if it was her bedroom? Every time he asked her to come out, she replied saying only five minutes, but even after five hours, she wasn’t out. No wonder Edgar walked out of the room, because he thought he might destroy something if he stayed there longer.

However, the moment he walked out, he got startled when a dog ran past him. It was chasing after a rooster. “What the heck?” He was surprised to see them freely running around in the inn, but they were gone before he knew it. He turned around and took a step, but then noticed that the opposite room was open. He peeked inside, and nobody was there. “Who’d leave with the door open like this?” he was about to close the door, but then an idea suddenly popped in his mind. Giggling to himself, he hurriedly ran back into his room and brought a towel and ran into the opposite room and then into the bathroom.

And when he opened the door, he was slack-jawed.

There was a big bathtub with foam right up to the top. “Eh? Now I know why she isn’t coming out!” He had never bathed in a bathtub, even when he was young. After all, the water that bathtubs required was too much, and for poor families, it was too much of a luxury to have. “Yay!” he quickly undressed and jumped in, wearing only underwear.

The moment he immersed himself in that mildly warm water, he couldn’t describe the bliss he felt. He kept splashing foam all around for a few minutes and then somehow fell asleep before he knew it.

A few hours later.

Edgar came back to his room, looking fresh. Fabby was also out and sleeping on the bed without a care in the world. He felt warmth flowing through his heart. It had been so long since he saw her sleeping on a wooden bed. It felt as if he suddenly went back in time to back when he was still a child, sleeping in between his mother and sister on the same bed. His sister always liked to pull the blanket over her face, but he didn’t like it. If she pulled it up, he pulled it down. And they always kept opposing each other, and in turn, spoiled their mother’s sleep.

Edgar walked over and covered her with a blanket. Tears formed a layer in his eyes, but his mouth was making a smile. He planted a kiss on her forehead and then walked out of the room, while rubbing his eyes with his fingers.

“Who was it?” A hooded man in a green cloak decorated with silver was talking with the innkeeper. His voice was cold but not rough. “Who broke it into the room? Not only did they steal our things, they even took the time to use the bath.”

“I-I’m extremely sorry, sir,” the innkeeper bowed and sincerely apologized. He was a bit fat, but he had a face that could make many expressions, thanks to his exceptional usage of eyebrows and lips. “We’ve already found the culprit and fetched all the stolen items. They are on their way.”

“I don’t care about some lost jewelry more than I care about punishing the thief,” that tall man stood straight, with his arms folded. Most of his skin was covered, except his hands, and they were pretty pale, almost as much as his face. The fact that most of his face was hidden in the hood only added to the intimidation the innkeeper felt. But his barely grown beard at the chin only suggested that he was still a pretty young fellow, so the innkeeper persuaded him earnestly.

“H-He was my brother-in-law, so please forgive him, sir,” the innkeeper pleaded, his mouth downturned heavily, with the stress marks showing on the chin. “If you report it to the baronet, he’ll be slashed to a cripple. Please be kind. I beg you. Please.”

However, he got no response.

“Sir, I’m a well-known innkeeper in this province,” he raised his brows a little and lowered his shoulders and made himself look small. “Please give me some face.”

“Hmph!” the tall man snorted and went back into the room, “Don’t expect that you can solve everything when your brother-in-law’s the one who committed the crime. Bring him here, and then we’ll talk.” He shut the door in the innkeeper’s face.

The innkeeper’s face lost quite a bit of glow.

Edgar placed his hand on the innkeeper’s shoulder and patted twice. “It’s going to be okay, sir. Just let the thief take care of his transgressions.” Saying that, he went and knocked on the door, puzzling the innkeeper.

“Didn’t you get—” the tall man opened the door, but seeing Edgar, he stopped midspeech. “What?”

“Actually, it was me who used that bathtub,” Edgar said, scratching the back of his head. “The door was open, and I really felt like bathing, so… I’m sorry.”

“Oh…” the tall man’s face turned toward the innkeeper. “You didn’t have to bring some random guy into this. Just go and bring your brother-in-law.”

“Ah, no, I—” as the innkeeper was saying, the door was again shut right in their faces.

Edgar looked at the innkeeper, who looked back at him with rage. “I-It’s going to be okay—”

“No, it’s not!” the innkeeper barked like a dog that was bitten too many times. “Who asked for your help! With all due respect, just mind your damn business!”

“S-See you later, then,” Edgar quickly made himself scarce. (This fellow needs some stress pills.)