Two Letters VI

"Brando, let your father tell you about these things," Winsa said, stroking the faint scar on her son's cheek—the scar he had gotten during the Wolf Calamity. It wasn't very noticeable, but it still broke her heart: "There are some things about our family that it's time to tell you. But for now, tell me what happened during these days. You must have suffered a lot out there."

"Nothing much, Mom. But you're not going to make me stand here while I talk, are you?"

"Look at me. I've gotten so absentminded."

"You're not old at all. You're the famous beauty of this whole region, even more beautiful than the eternally youthful Goddess Elune. From Silman to Buchi, and from Manowell to Kurk Castle, who knows how many people envy Old Scott?"

Winsa beamed, while Freya and Antitina burst out laughing. They had never seen their lord like this before. The lady of the manor took the two girls by the hand and led them inside. It was a sitting room, compact yet cozy, furnished in the style common to the countryside around here. There was a fireplace, a flower stand against the wall, and a hanging spider plant. The room adjoined the kitchen, with low wooden cabinets lining the wall and all kinds of porcelain jars filling their tops. A sofa and tea table stood in the center of the room, and the table had already been laid with steaming, fragrant pastries of every kind, all made with produce from the mill.

Brando still remembered his mother's cooking. Antitina and Freya praised it without end, but both of them were so refined that, after trying a few pieces, they felt too embarrassed to eat any more.

Then Brando began telling his mother about everything he had experienced during this