The Seed Thief

“No, it will take longer.”“Why?”“Because I have to go farther.”“Farther? How far? Where are you going?”In response to Lulu’s questions, Ervandas began sketching on a piece of parchment. A forest. A river. A city. And a line encompassing it all. What he drew was a map of the kingdom.“This is where we are. This is where I went last time.”His hand pointed to a city near the forest.“This time, I must go here.”His long finger moved to a city he had marked prominently.“Where is that?”“The capital city. It’s the largest city in the kingdom to which this forest belongs and it’s where the King resides.”“Why do you need to go there? Can’t you get what we need from the town you visited before?”“My family lives in the capital. And… I’m thinking about bringing you to there.”“Me?”Lulu’s voice rose.“Yes. Childbirth can be dangerous, Lulu. I need people to help you.”“But you’re here, Er.”“I’m not enough on my own. We need people who can assess your condition, like physicians or midwives. And we lack many things a newborn child will need here.”His words, spoken with such certainty, forced Lulu to acknowledge a truth: the forest, her entire world, a place she had always considered complete and self-sufficient, was lacking in critical ways.Feeling a strange bitterness, Lulu suddenly had a question.“Then why are you going alone? We can go together.”If he intended to take her, why was he speaking as if he would go alone?“There are… preparations to be made before I can take you.”Preparations, again. He had used that word before. Lulu hated that word. It implied a lack of readiness, a deficiency that needed to be addressed.Lulu looked at herself in the mirror. Gone was the wildness that had once set her apart from the villagers. Her hair, once long and trailing, was now neatly trimmed to her shoulders for practicality.Her clothing, once a haphazard assortment of whatever provided the most protection from the cold, heat, insects, and grass, was now chosen with care.But her hair and eyes remained a vibrant red. The color the villagers feared and whispered about—the mark of a curse.‘But I can change it with magic.’Long ago, she had used magic to alter her appearance after witnessing the villagers’ fear.The magic texts had warned that changing inherent traits like hair and eye color was difficult. The effects were often short-lived, susceptible to breaking under the slightest strain on her mana or a blow to her body.Besides those two features, she now looked like any other villager. So why did he insist on further preparations?For some reason, Lulu felt downcast as if his words were reproaching her shortcomings.She also felt sorry for Er. If she had been a villager all along, he wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.‘I want to go with him…’Just as Ervandas would become anxious if he couldn’t see her, Lulu also felt empty, a sense of something missing, when she couldn’t see him. But she hesitated to voice her desire to accompany him. If it were possible for him to do so, he would have already suggested it.Pleading with him now would only burden him further.Lulu’s mind raced with thoughts about the other person’s perspective that she had never considered before when she was alone.‘If I can’t be with him, then the least I can do is make sure he doesn’t worry about me while he’s gone.’And so, Lulu kept her longing to herself.* * *From that day on, Ervandas immersed himself in preparations for their impending separation. Or more accurately, for Lulu to be left alone.The journey to the capital, even riding at his fastest pace, would take a full two weeks. And to ensure everything was in place for her comfort and well-being would require at least a fortnight.‘Two weeks, no more.’If there were any persistent complainers, he would bury them alive.Ervandas’s mind raced through itineraries and contingencies, but his hands didn’t falter. He repaired the creaking roof, reinforcing its timbers. He asked Lulu to use her magic to extend the shelf life of their supplies, preserving onions, potatoes, and other vegetables for the coming months.He moved the things she used often, her clothes and other belongings, to more accessible places.Lulu would grow heavier in the coming months, her movements would be more labored. He had to minimize the strain on her body.‘At least I don’t need to worry about firewood.’While other villagers would be chopping wood in preparation for winter, it was an unnecessary concern for them. Lulu’s magic took care of their heating needs. Still, he stacked a few bundles in the woodshed, in case she wanted to have a bonfire if bored.As Lulu watched Ervandas busily moving about, she felt uneasy.‘Maybe I’m the one with separation anxiety.’Having experienced parting with Ervandas once before, she should have become somewhat accustomed to it the second time. But a strange, unfamiliar fear gripped her heart. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to voice her anxieties.Finally, the day of Ervandas’s departure arrived. On the night before he departed, they went to bed, quietly embracing each other.The night was quiet, save for the chirping of the few remaining crickets. Ervandas rested his hand on Lulu’s swollen belly, gently stroking it.Memories flickered through his mind—images of their life together, from their first encounter. He had entered the forest on a stealth mission, intent on apprehending a witch rumored to terrorize the locals, only to be captured himself.However, there was no witch as people described. Only a lonely soul yearning for connection. Lulu had been grateful for his presence, for his willingness to stay by her side. But it was Ervandas who was eternally grateful for her.He had been born with everything, yet he had spent his life pushing away anything that hinted at responsibility or commitment. Even his time at the temple, a life of supposed devotion, had been a means of escaping the expectations of his birthright.A life without anything to cherish or love. And then, into his barren existence, she had stumbled, becoming his everything.A tender smile touched Ervandas’s lips as he caressed her belly. And now, there would be two.For the first time, he truly understood his brother’s devotion to his family and his unabashed sentimentality. To feel this overwhelming sense of completeness, this all-encompassing joy, every single moment… no wonder he couldn’t contain his joy.Glancing down, Ervandas realized Lulu was awake and looking at him.“You need your rest.”She had been sleeping more and more as her pregnancy progressed. Normally, she would be sound asleep by now. Why was she staring at him so intently?“No.”“Why not?”“Because you’re leaving in the morning. I want to memorize your face, fill every corner of my mind with you.”“…….”At the unhesitating answer, Ervandas’s chest ached with a bittersweet tenderness. This fierce love, this unshakeable bond, was both his salvation and his torment. How could he bear to leave her behind, even for a short time?Instead of replying, he placed his lips on Lulu’s eyes. There was no more conversation, their hands firmly entwined, never parting for a moment until the first light of dawn crept over the horizon.Finally, the sky beyond the mountains brightened. Ervandas fastened his clothes and took the reins of the horse the stone golem had brought him. He’d assumed Lulu would accompany him to the forest’s edge, but as he turned around, he found her clinging to the porch railing.“Lulu?”“I’ll see you off here.”“……. ”“I have a feeling you’ll come back sooner if I do.”Lulu was usually glued to his side, yet there were times when he went to tend the nearby vegetable garden or wash clothes by the stream, she would simply wave him off with a cheerful goodbye.“Why don’t you come with me?” he had once asked, puzzled by her selective companionship.“What for? You’ll be back in a flash!” she had replied.And if he grumbled about her avoiding chores, she would close her eyes and begin counting. “If you’re not back before I reach 100,” she would threaten playfully, “I’m eating all the dinner you’ve prepared!”With a resigned sigh, Ervandas would go about his business. When he returned, Lulu would be standing there, eyes squeezed shut, her count always pausing at 99.“You made it back before 100!” she would exclaim, throwing her arms around him. “That means we get to eat together!”Like a pointless prank they played every day, Lulu wanted to send him off without sadness.Ervandas climbed the porch steps, his hands gently framing her face. Up close, it was clear that she’d cried once. Her eyelashes glistened with unshed tears, her eyelids were pink and puffy, and her breathing was shallow and uneven.She had always been an open book. But now, he realized, she had learned to shield him from her heartache, to bear her burdens silently for his sake.He leaned down and kissed her. His tongue gently traced her tightly closed lips, coaxing her to open to him.The tightly closed lips relaxed under his persistent courtship and slowly opened. His tongue dug in, seeking the familiar warmth that had always welcomed him.The soft tongue timidly mingled and soon became intense, as if it were the last opportunity given to her.When the long-awaited horse reared up to trot, their lips parted.“Ah…”Despite clinging to him with all her might, the moment they parted, a wave of longing crashed over her, leaving her trembling. Ervandas pretended not to notice the tears welling up in her eyes, his fingers brushing them away almost absently as he turned to mount his horse.He rode away without looking back, his demeanor casual, as if he were simply heading to the garden, as if their separation were a minor inconvenience, barely worth a backward glance.But he knew. He knew exactly what he would see if he turned back—the raw anguish on Lulu’s face—and he knew that if he allowed himself that one last glimpse, he would never be able to tear himself away.Lulu closed her eyes as she clung to the railing, listening to the fading rhythm of hooves. She began to count softly under her breath.“One… two… three…”Ervandas would never know. He would never know that she had truly been counting all those times he had gone to the garden or the stream. He would never know that on the days when he was a little late, she had deliberately slowed her count, stretching out the seconds, clinging to the hope that he would return before she reached 100.Lulu counted very slowly. With her eyes closed, her other senses became even more acute—the whisper of the wind through the trees, the chirping of birds, the distant rustle of leaves.When even her keen ears could no longer hear the rhythm of hooves, she finally sank onto the porch steps, burying her face in her knees. After a long silence, she murmured.“One… two… three…”She had to start over. She’d lost track. Anyone who knew her well would have laughed in disbelief. For ever since the forest witch had first taught her to count, Lulu had never once miscalculated.What a heart-touching chapter (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ but it has a loophole, he could have called for the physician and midwife in the town (︶︹︺) shouldn't have leaving a pregnant woman like that