Chapter 7

After eating, I volunteered to do the dishes. It was a soothing task. I had time to think or just space out while scrubbing the dishes with a rag and leave them as clean as possible and look at the landscape of green mountains and a blue sky. It was a really peaceful life, unlike…

Huh, another subconscious thought. I guessed I would have several of these unless I recover all my memories.

After I was done, on Felix and Joseph's insistence, I headed to the house to nap as. They repeated that I needed to rest. And, well, I would not deny I was a bit sleepy, so I did not argue and easily went to sleep.

Some time later, I woke up to the sound of snoring.

Rubbing my eyes, I got out of bed to peek behind the partition and noticed both Joseph and Felix were napping. As silent as possible, I made my way out. They had woken up even earlier than I did, it was obvious they needed to nap, too.

Outside, I looked at the bare yard and thought that maybe flowers would make a wonderful addition to liven up the place. However, the soil looked very hard and compact. I was not sure if it could be dug to grow flowers. It was best to ask Joseph for help.

With four men in the house, the place was very austere, with no decorations or liveliness, except for the noisy brothers. While dreaming of a beautiful garden, I headed to the well to wash my face. There, I saw Lucas coming back from his hunting.

He was carrying four plump pheasants in his hands and a big basket on his back. Both Joseph and Lucas were a bit scary at first sight.

Joseph was intense, noisy and crude-talking while Lucas was like a silent bear or as if a mountain pressed on you. Though, I could not deny that both were to my liking. Three brothers out of the four were to my liking as I thought Felix was still too young.

Hiding my wicked thoughts, I approached Lucas who had started unloading by the well, probably to start the process of gutting and all that.

"Welcome back, Lucas!" I greeted him with a smile. He paused in his actions and nodded after glancing at me. "Are these for us or for selling?" After all, they also needed to earn some coins.

He shook his head. "To eat." Oh! So extravagant! We could eat meat for a couple of days! Although we could not make money, the thought of having meat in the future won over the profit.

"That is nice. Ah! You are hurt." As I ogled his powerful arms, I noticed a fresh scratch on his forearm.

I ran to the house and dug into the layers of fabrics I had put aside until I found what I was looking for. I returned to Lucas who stood in the same spot I left him and gently washed the cut, dried it and bandaged it in one go without letting him speak—not that he spoke often.

"Ok, it is done!" I said, smiling at him. He just looked back at me with unfathomable eyes that made me extremely nervous.

Being stared at by this handsome man with his wild beard and manly aura... Was it getting hot here?

I suddenly wondered if I had always been such a fickle woman; liking this brother for a moment, then liking the other the next. I startlingly realized that maybe staying with them was not a good idea after all. Not only because I was the only woman here, but because there was no relationship between us that could justify my stay.

Last night, I claimed I wanted to be with them because they were the only people I knew; however, I could have asked them to take me to the authorities to investigate who had attacked me and such. There were many things I could have done apart from staying with them.

Why did I not do so?

When Lucas put down the basket he was carrying, he took me out from my convoluted thoughts. He lifted the lid and after a bit of rummaging, he gingerly lifted something from inside. My eyes widened after I saw the cute ball of fluff twitching its nose and staying in Lucas' arms like a docile child.

He then looked at the surprised me and spoke in his gruff voice. "For you."

"Eh?!" I quickly reacted to his words. "Are you giving this rabbit to me?" It may sound cruel, but wouldn't it be better to kill it to cook later on? The only meat we could afford seemingly came from Lucas' hunting.

"It's pregnant." Lucas further explained.

I gasped. "Is it?" I stared at the rabbit that did not look like a female.

Well, I knew nothing about rabbits so, from where would I recognize the gender? However, my mind quickly came up with an idea regarding the pregnant rabbit.

"Should we start raising rabbits to sell?" I looked at Lucas with sparkling eyes. Please, tell me it is a good idea! But, Lucas looked at me with complicated eyes, so I backtracked. "Ah, we possibly cannot… we need to build a pen, then get their food… what do rabbits actually eat?"

He smiled at my rambling. Not good! Not good! My heart is beating too fast, my face is getting hot, and my palms are starting to sweat after seeing him smile with crescent-like eyes. Ah, it seems I… I fell in love? No, no, no… I possibly am just attracted. Yes, that is it!

"We'll do as you say." Lucas finally said after almost killing me with his smile. I repeatedly nodded like a pecking chick, not trusting my voice.

"Oh? Why's Lucas so happy?" A voice suddenly said behind me, making me jump in fright.

"Ethan… Welcome back..." I breathlessly said patting my chest to calm down my galloping heart. He gently smiled at my greeting. Guh, why are all these guys so handsome while smiling? Do they want to send me to an early grave? "What are you carrying?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Ah, I got a temporary job at a carpentry. I was paid today with some of the leftover wood." Ethan said 'leftover wood', but I noticed it was a lot. And he had been carrying it from town. Just, how strong is he? "I thought it'd be nice if you've your own tub instead of going to the river to wash."

"That would be lovely!" I cried out delighted. I also was beginning to think going to the river to bath was not good. After Lucas found me bathing, I thought that he would not be the only one in the future. So, it was best to have a bathtub in the house, no matter how small. "Ah, if it is possible, can you also build a pen for the rabbit?"

"Rabbit?" Ethan asked puzzled.

"Yes, Lucas brought me a rabbit to raise. It is pregnant, too!" I pointed at the rabbit that kept cutely twitching its nose in Lucas' arms.

Ethan nodded. "I think the wood's enough. Lucas, come help me cut it." Lucas nodded and put the rabbit on the ground. He took out some herbs from the basket and put it in front of the rabbit to eat. Oh, so this is what rabbits eat.

Keeping an eye on the rabbit, I also watched the two cutting and sanding the wood for the bathtub. Due to the noise, the other two brothers woke up asking what was going on. Immediately, Joseph was sent to build the pen for the rabbit while Felix was put in charge of gutting the pheasants.

Only I had nothing to do.

The rabbit was well-behaved and did not move much. I guess it was because of its pregnancy. Hm, should I name the rabbit? Ah, but I am not sure if it would be sold in the future. After all, this family needed the money. I guess no name for Mrs. Rabbit. Oh… it was named.

Feeling useless, I decided to make dinner for the hardworking guys. The question was, what COULD I do? Have I ever cooked before?

Either way, I tried my best to make soup with the mushrooms Lucas brought, adding the semi-cured meat from yesterday and a sprinkle of the few herbs I found. Then, I left it to simmer. Noticing the fire was a bit low, I threw some firewood in. When the fire grew and there was a good heat, I stirred the soup. I took a sip from the wooden spoon to taste it once it started boiling.

Oh! Not bad! It was edible. The saltiness from the cured meat gave it a nice touch.

I paused.

Why do I suddenly feel observed? Turning around, I found the brothers intently looking at me. My, what a beautiful life this is!

"Dinner's ready!" I cheerfully called out.