■ Memories of First Love □
“Caldlasth, who is Helen?”
The first to ask was Ozma.
And as if the others were curious too, they looked at my face.
I glared at my father with resentful eyes for bringing up unnecessary talk, but he turned his head away, pretending not to see.
It seemed like revenge for me bringing up the topic of age earlier.
“She’s just a childhood friend I’ve known since I was young. I naturally stopped seeing her after I left for the capital with my master. I heard she got married at twenty and left the village, but I don’t know what happened after that.”
“Is that so?”
Ozma nodded as if she understood my explanation, but for some reason, Dorothea was still looking at me with suspicious eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well, it seems to me like you still have lingering feelings.”
“That’s not it.”
There’s a saying that all men never forget their first love, but that wasn’t the case for me.
It’s been ten years since I last saw Helen.
They say a lot can change in ten years, and honestly, her face is a bit hazy in my memory.
I hadn’t seen her since she got married and left the village.
I had only heard rumors about how she was doing, so it was even more surprising to hear that she had returned to her hometown.
And though I feel bad saying this about Helen, these guys are much prettier.
Helen was pretty for a country girl, but the women in our house are world-class.
I ruffled Dorothea’s hair, who was making a sulky face, and after telling my father and stepmother that I would come back tomorrow, I left the house.
[[#]]The next morning.
I woke up in the only inn in the village with a dazed expression.
It felt like some of my memories had been erased.
I vaguely remember meeting Timmy after a long time and reminiscing about the old days while drinking, but I couldn’t recall what happened after that.
I picked up the kettle by the bed and gulped down some water, then looked around.
Dorothea and Ozma were rolling on the floor, hugging bottles of alcohol.
The other three—Barnett, Camilla, and Sophia—seemed to be in a different room.
As I was scratching my messy hair and picking up the pants that were lying on the floor, someone knocked on the door from the hallway.
Knock knock!
“Are you awake, Master?”
It was the voice of Sophia, the former hero and now Perfect Maid No. 2.
“Yeah, come in.”
Click!
Shortly after, she opened the door and entered the room.
“Breakfast is ready. The head maid asked me to tell you to come downstairs.”
“Alright?”
I finished buttoning my shirt and looked at the two people rolling on the floor.
“These two seem to be out of it.”
I picked up Dorothea in a princess carry.
Seeing this, Sophia did the same with Ozma.
After I placed Dorothea on the bed, Sophia placed Ozma next to her.
Naturally, Dorothea and Ozma ended up sharing the same bed.
Feeling the warmth nearby, they hugged each other.
Considering how they usually bickered like cats and dogs, it was a rare sight.
“Mmm…”
Watching Dorothea bury her face in Ozma’s ample chest, I smiled contentedly and told Sophia it was time to leave.
Sophia glanced at the two lying on the bed and asked me,
“Won’t they be surprised when they wake up?”
I shrugged and replied,
“That’s why I did it.”
[[#]]When I went downstairs, the rest of the group who weren’t in the room were sitting around the table.
Unlike the usually lazy Dorothea and Ozma, Barnett and Camilla were diligent even outside of work.
“Over here!”
Barnett waved her hand vigorously when she saw me, and Camilla gave a slight nod as our eyes met.
I sat down between the two.
Sophia sat across from me, filling the four-person table.
Shortly after, Timmy and his wife came out of the kitchen with their hands full of food.
“Awake?”
“Yeah.”
I yawned lightly in response to Timmy’s question and looked down at the food on the table.
Pancakes, sausages, fried eggs, bacon, steak, milk, and bread.
I looked around and asked,
“Who ordered all this meat for breakfast?”
Barnett raised her hand and said,
“I did.”
“Good job.”
“Hehe.”
A choice very much like Barnett, who knows my tastes well.
Meat is definitely the way to go for breakfast.
“Eat up. If it’s not enough, I’ll bring more.”
“Thank you, sister-in-law. You’ve worked hard since morning.”
As I said that and bowed my head, Timmy’s wife, who had already been paid for the food and lodging, waved her hand and said, “It’s nothing, ohoho!”
I broke the egg yolk, dipped the bacon in it, and took a big bite with the bread.
“Oh.”
A natural exclamation of delight.
“Where did you get this bacon?”
Timmy puffed out his chest proudly and said,
“I made it. Believe it or not, I’m the best at making sausages and bacon around here.”
I looked at Timmy with newfound respect.
I didn’t know he had such skills when we were kids, but it seems everyone has something they’re good at.
“So, Caldlasth, what are you planning to do today?”
I pondered Timmy’s question while eating.
“Well, I’ve met my father, so I’m thinking of going around to greet some people I know.”
“Didn’t you say yesterday you were going to meet Helen? If you don’t know the way, I can show you.”
“What? Helen?”
I blinked at the sudden mention of my childhood friend’s name.
“Did I say that? When?”
“Don’t you remember? You told me yesterday you were going to meet Helen.”
“…….”
This is why excessive drinking is bad.
“Master Caldlasth?”
“Caldlasth?”
I broke out in a cold sweat under the suspicious gazes from both sides.
Only Timmy, who was clueless, tilted his head like a confused bear.
[[#]]”Here we are. Just go this way.”
“Got it, so take it slow.”
Despite it being unnecessary, Timmy volunteered to guide me.
Unlike my father, he was helping with such pure intentions that I couldn’t bring myself to scold him.
Helen was originally the daughter of the local general store in our neighborhood.
The store that the villagers called the “everything store.”
Unlike most villagers who were farmers, Helen was born into a merchant family that had amassed some wealth, so she didn’t have to do hard farm work. Her skin was fair, and she dressed better than the other kids, making her the first love of many boys.
Ironically, the reason she took an interest in me was that, unlike the other boys who tried to win her favor, I was the only one who treated her indifferently.
In fact, with my memories from a past life remaining as knowledge, I had no reason to be interested in a pretty little girl among kids. But from her perspective, it must have felt like, “Oh my! You’re the first to treat me like this!”
Thanks to that, she kept picking fights with me, and we naturally became close. The day before I left the village with my master, we exchanged our first times at the village mill.
Considering that a woman’s virginity holds more value than a man’s, it was a significant decision for her too.
After all, I was the one leaving the village.
Anyway, after that day, I rarely had the chance to see Helen, and when she turned twenty, she married into a merchant family from a nearby village, and we completely lost contact.
I had heard some rumors from her relatives, but I didn’t actively seek out information.
It was all over, and I thought it would be pathetic to hold onto lingering feelings.
Anyway, it’s been ten years since we last saw each other.
“Here we are. This is Helen’s house.”
I blinked at the sight of Helen’s house, which had completely changed from what I remembered.
“Didn’t she used to live above the general store?”
“That was a long time ago. After the owner passed away from old age, she moved out and started living separately.”
I looked up at the red brick house, reminiscing.
Come to think of it, Helen really liked the color red.
She always wore a rose-colored dress during village festivals.
“Well, I’ll be going now. It’s been a long time since you two met, so I shouldn’t get in the way.”
Timmy said with a sly smile, patted my shoulder, and started walking back the way we came.
I watched his reliable back for a moment, then turned my head back toward the red brick house.
Now that I was here, I felt nervous about meeting Helen.
“Deep breath—exhale—”
Before knocking on the door, I took a small breath to calm my nerves and then lightly knocked a couple of times.
“Coming~”
A woman’s voice came from inside, and I swallowed nervously.
Creak!
“Yes~ Who is… it?”
The woman who opened the door couldn’t continue her sentence.
And neither could I.
“Helen?”
They say a lot can change in ten years, but my first love had changed so much I barely recognized her.
In one word, the current Helen could be described as,
“A warm-looking convenience store auntie.”
