First Toast

Tang Qi pointed at Kuru:

"The kobold stole the shoemaker's boots in order to steal the Star Plums and use them as sacrificial offerings. That means it couldn't have destroyed the Star Plums.

Father Lynn had a habit of going for a morning run. He saw you near David's house instead of at the church, and that didn't seem like a coincidence either.

The only answer is that you used delivering something to Father Lynn as an excuse to leave. Before David's family woke up, you destroyed their orchard."

"I, I..."

In the face of the truth, arguing was meaningless.

Anbi could only clutch Tang Qi's sleeve and blink her eyes at him. They were so red that it looked as if they would overflow the next second:

"It's all George's fault for bullying me every day and calling me a monster. I just wanted to secretly teach him a lesson—I didn't want to be a bad person!"

Tang Qi, however, had no intention of getting tangled up over right and wrong:

"There was a reason for what you did. You had your own reasons. A bad person... I suppose you don't count as one."

"Then, then do I have to apologize to him? He already apologized to me..."

"Either is fine."

"I don't know what to do. I feel like I should apologize to him, but I can't stop thinking about what he looked like when he called me names..."

"Because you don't know, you need to think about it. You don't have to reach a conclusion right away.

You are free.

You can be a forgiving person or a strict person. You can be a good person or a bad person.

But no matter what, you are the only one who can decide who you become."

After all, she was still a girl whose mind had yet to mature. Tang Qi wasn't sure whether he should educate her with a parent's attitude.

That shouldn't have been his job, and he couldn't shoulder that responsibility either. It was enough to make his point and stop there.

"Then Anbi will think about what to do... Before that, can you not tell Big Sister?"

"People who gossip generally have very long tongues."

Tang Qi opened his mouth, indicating that his tongue was a normal size.

The girl smiled knowingly and stuck her tongue out at Tang Qi as well. "Then Anbi isn't one of them!"

"Kuru isn't either!"

The kobold stuck out its long, slender tongue too, but it soon discovered that its lizard-like tongue could even reach its nostrils.

It quickly lowered its head.

"Kuru is..."

The air was filled with cheerfulness.

But the atmosphere didn't last long. As they neared the Golden Oak and saw a graceful figure standing with her hands on her hips in front of the tavern, Anbi's smile quickly faded.

Catherine maintained her usual smile. It was extremely polite and made people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze.

But Anbi knew that her sister's dignified smile wasn't meant for her.

Once Anbi reached them, Catherine first thanked Tang Qi:

"Mr. Poet, I truly caused you a great deal of trouble. I don't even know how to thank you."

It seemed she had already heard everything that had happened today.

"Then how about waiving my expenses at the tavern?"

Although he had received some unexpected money, no one would complain about having too much money. Tang Qi didn't bother being polite.

"As you wish."

Upon hearing his request, Catherine instead let down her guard.

"You risked yourself for this child... In any case, please treat the tavern as your own home."

If Tang Qi had done her a great favor yet asked for nothing in return, Catherine would only have felt that he was craving something more.

After a simple exchange of thanks, she patted Anbi's head.

"Since what comes next is a private matter, so..."

"You said to treat the tavern like home, but I wouldn't dare truly consider myself family."

Tang Qi joked as he hurriedly pulled Kuru along and took the initiative to withdraw.

"I'll go upstairs to rest first. Please come to my room and let me know when it's time for dinner."

"Tonight's dinner is mashed potatoes with plum sauce and fried pork chops. You may look forward to it."

After the man and the kobold went upstairs, Anbi noticed that her sister's expression had finally turned stern.

It was as if early spring had retreated back into the depths of winter.

She stammered as she tried to explain, preferably blaming the entire incident on the kobold.

That way, she could clear herself of responsibility and avoid her sister's punishment.

But Catherine said nothing. She simply grabbed her wrist first and led her all the way to the wine cellar in the backyard.

The wine cellar had no windows. When the small door opened, the thick fragrance of plums seeped into Anbi's nose. Her head grew dizzy, and she felt as if she were about to get drunk without having taken a sip.

"Why did you bring me here, Big Sister?"

Catherine remained silent. Only after Anbi shook her head did she notice a small wooden barrel displayed in the dim shadows. Faint claw marks were carved into the boards, along with an eye-catching label:

Anbi!

This was the first barrel of wine she had painstakingly brewed after her sister taught her the techniques—

She still remembered how her sister had taken her to the orchard to pick the Star Plums herself.

Washing them and removing their stems had taken her the entire day.

Pressing the pulp had been extremely arduous. It was physical labor. She was very strong, but after repeatedly pounding it, she had still collapsed to the floor from exhaustion.

Fermentation had been the most torturous stage. Star Plums spoiled quickly, and because of the traditional special process, they instead required a longer fermentation period. She had waited three whole months.

Clarification was the final step, otherwise the residue would affect the taste. It was delicate work, and she had repeatedly refined it for seven days.

In the end, she had completed her "masterpiece," marked the barrel with her own label, and then endured another month of waiting—

Her sister had said that the most memorable wine in the world was never the fine vintage sparkling in a noble's cup.

It was the first mellow taste to pass through your throat in your life.

When you grew old and looked back in sudden reflection, that flavor would still linger on the tip of your tongue.

Whether bitter or sweet.

That was why she had reserved the day of her first cup of wine for the Harvest Festival.

As she waited and waited, she looked forward to one day being able to recall the joy of the festival.

But Catherine had already picked up the tools for opening the wine, which had been piled in a corner—a wooden mallet and a chisel as long as a forearm.

"Bang!"

She drove the chisel into the barrel with all her strength.

A fountain of fragrant wine gushed out in a column. Amid the splashing, it soaked the dim wine cellar and extinguished all of Anbi's hopes for the festival.

"No, don't!!!"

She rushed over hysterically and tried to cover the opening with both hands.

But the slippery wine continued to seep between her fingers, staining the fur on her body a dusky purple...

Anbi realized that all the waiting she had done had gone to waste. She cried out at her sister with heart-rending anguish:

"Big Sister, we could have drunk it tomorrow. I even promised to give Brother Tang Qi a cup!

Wh-why did you do this—"

"Does it hurt?" Catherine replied expressionlessly.

Anbi nodded as a matter of course.

"When you saw the Star Plums you had carefully tended for an entire year destroyed overnight, that was how David's family felt just now."

Catherine stared straight at Anbi and said coldly:

"If George insults you, then shout back at him.

"If George bullies you, then grab him by the neck and beat him.

"If his family comes to cause you trouble because of that, then I will stand in front of you and block them—

It's not as if I haven't done that before, right?

"But Anbi, I never taught you to destroy other people's Star Plums or crush their hopes for the Harvest Festival."

When Anbi met her sister's solemn, nearly icy gaze, all her lucky thoughts and excuses vanished in an instant.

She could do nothing but wail and confess her mistake.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

Anbi knows she was wrong. Anbi shouldn't have been naughty or destroyed George's family's orchard... Anbi will apologize to David's family!"

Catherine continued asking:

"Hogg always bullies you together with George. What else did you do to their family?"

Anbi shook her head while crying. "Nothing!"

"Nothing at all?"

"Really nothing—George's father grows wheat, and Hogg's father grows Star Plums.

"Anbi couldn't destroy Hogg's family's Star Plums, because they really depend on the Star Plums to make a living..."

Afraid that her sister wouldn't believe her, she tried to wipe away her tears and express her sincerity with her eyes.

But the next second, guilt urged more tears to spill from her eyes.

Hearing the girl's answer, Catherine's gaze softened. Only then did she crouch down and gently pull her into her arms.

"Anbi, I wasn't forcing you to admit your mistake.

"I only wanted to tell you—

"Before making a choice, you should understand the consequences that choice will bring.

"Don't indulge your impulses, only to end up with a result that you don't want to see either."

"Big Sister... Anbi didn't think it would turn out like this."

"I understand. Anbi has always been a good girl."

"Then what should I do... After George apologized to me, I actually felt a little guilty. I didn't want this."

"Then after dinner, we'll go apologize together.

"After the Harvest Festival, we'll brew another barrel of wine, all right?"

"Sniff, sniff, I'm sorry, Big Sister..."

The girl lay against Catherine's shoulder, her tears soaking through her dress.

"Anbi will never be naughty again."