Secret Episode - With Thanks from the Silent Witch
Hilda Everett, a researcher at the Royal Magic Research Institute, was perplexed. She looked like she’d just gotten some very unexpected results from an experiment. She pushed up her glasses.
“What in the world is this…?”
“I should be the one asking that,” came a low voice from behind her—that of Matilda, her housemaid.
In front of Hilda was a large clump of ice. Large, as in it reached the ceiling. A scorched ironing board and a white lab coat were trapped inside.
“Look,” she said. “An iron gets the wrinkles out of clothes through a combination of the iron’s weight and heat, right? So by imbuing a directional, flat-plane barrier with heat and pressing down on the clothing, I should be able to accomplish the same thing, but much more quickly… Or at least, I thought so…”
“And you caused a small fire.”
Yes. And in her panic, Hilda had used ice magecraft to put out the fire, which explained the huge block of ice.
The scientist looked up at Matilda through her glasses, eyes watering. “Matilda, I just wanted to make things easier for you…”
“If you really want to make things easier for me, then clean up all this and go buy a new ironing board.”
“…All right.”
How was she going to deal with the ice block, though? If she melted it, the room would flood. This called for an extremely small flame spell to melt the ice, then evaporate it as it melted. She began doing the calculations for the formula.
Before Hilda got very far, though, Matilda took something out of her pocket. “Ah yes,” she said. “This spectacle almost made me forget. There’s a Shelgria card here from Miss Monica.”
“Huh? From Monica? Wait, let me see!”
Neither Hilda nor Monica picked up a pen very often. How long had it been since they’d exchanged letters like this? To say nothing of Shelgria cards specifically—they were things you sent to family and loved ones.
Suddenly, Hilda began to feel nervous.
The familiar handwriting on the card read:
“Dear Hilda,
How are you? I am doing well.
A lot of crazy things happen every day, but a lot of fun things happen, too. I’m doing my best.
I wish you a happy Shelgria.
Monica”
For some reason, a cat’s pawprint was in the blank space of the message.
Hilda read the whole thing three times, then showed it to Matilda. “I wonder if she’ll come home for the winter solstice,” she said.
“Shall I prepare a feast for us?”
“Matilda! Yes! I love you!”
“If you love me, then please go buy that new ironing board.”
“Okay!” Hilda replied cheerfully.
And I’ll pick up a frame for the card along with it, she thought. After all, this was the first seasonal card her adopted daughter had ever sent to her.
Humming to herself, she opened the door, then stepped out into the wintry town.
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