Chapter 14
“Haa…”
Hestia tried to brush away the vivid memories with a low sigh—memories she wanted buried deep in the past. But the more she tried, the clearer they surfaced, as if they had happened just yesterday.
“No. Don’t remember. Don’t think about it.”
Her hand tightly gripped the doorknob, trembling slightly. She kept muttering to herself like a mantra, trying to brainwash her mind.
Just then—
“What are you doing, standing there?”
Theo had opened the door from the other side, slowly pulling it open. Drawn by that motion, Hestia stepped forward.
“Ah…”
Pulled from her spiral of thoughts, Hestia blinked blankly for a moment before asking softly,
“…You’re still awake?”
Her bright brown eyes met Theo’s fully.
“How could I fall asleep before you?”
he tilted his head, as if it were obvious.
“Oh! Not because I don’t trust you—of course not! It’s just that we hadn’t decided where to sleep, so I couldn’t fall asleep. Don’t misunderstand.”
As if realizing his words could be taken the wrong way, Theo quickly added an explanation.
“I’m not misunderstanding,”
Hestia replied with a small laugh, amused by how flustered he was. She gently ruffled his slightly damp, navy-blue hair.
“Make sure you dry your hair properly next time. I’m letting it slide just this once.”
Then, looking directly into his eyes, she spoke in a mock-stern tone.
“It’s already quite late.”
She reached out and gently pulled his hand, leading him toward the only bed in the room.
Though Theo’s golden irises flickered with surprise and hesitation, he quietly followed her without complaint.
Even once they stood by the bed, he didn’t look like he intended to lie down. Hestia lightly pressed his shoulders, urging him to sit.
“They say going to bed early helps you grow tall.”
It wasn’t much force, but again, Theo obediently followed her lead.
“Good night,”
Hestia said, bidding him goodnight as she turned to leave the room.
But—she stopped.
Something tugged at the hem of her clothes. Surprised, she looked down to find Theo’s hand holding onto her.
“Ah! I’m sorry!”
Theo’s eyes widened, and he quickly pulled his hand back.
“…Looks like I’ll need to add another rule,”
Hestia turned around, crouched down to meet Theo’s eyes, and smiled playfully, her red lips curving mischievously.
“From now on, no more saying ‘sorry.’”
She ruffled his hair again as if issuing a firm warning.
“Huh…? Wait, that’s not fair…”
Theo tried to object to the unreasonable rule, but Hestia didn’t budge.
“Shh. If you want to stay here even one more day, you’d better follow the rules. Don’t forget—I’m the homeowner.”
Raising a finger to her lips, she gave him a mock-threatening smile.
Theo frowned, clearly unhappy, but gave a reluctant nod.
“So? Why did you stop me?”
Satisfied with his response, Hestia straightened up again.
“Ah, well… I thought maybe…”
Theo looked flustered, uncharacteristically trailing off.
“Maybe?”
Hestia urged him to continue.
“I thought… maybe we’d sleep together.”
He mumbled, voice growing smaller and smaller, until Hestia had to lean in just to hear him.
His face looked like he was frustrated by how things weren’t going the way he wanted.
“Ah… Still afraid to sleep alone, huh?”
Hestia smiled, jumping to her own conclusion.
But then she paused.
Isn’t fourteen old enough to sleep alone?
She wondered briefly but dismissed it just as fast—things were different now, times had changed.
Still, Hestia’s understanding was immediately met with resistance.
“That’s absolutely not it!”
Theo jumped up, clearly offended by her assumption.
With a deep breath to steady himself, he quickly explained.
“Hestia, you should sleep here. I can just sleep on the floor or something.”
He gestured toward the bed.
“…So basically, you don’t want to sleep alone?”
Hestia tilted her head in confusion.
Theo pressed his lips together tightly, momentarily at a loss for words.
“That’s not it…”
With a deep, patient sigh, Theo began calmly explaining the situation.
“There’s only one bed. If I sleep in it, where are you going to sleep? You said it yourself—you’re the homeowner. We can’t have the homeowner sleeping on the floor.”
“Oh, is that all?”
Hestia scratched her head with an embarrassed smile.
“Then you sleep here,”
Theo said, backing away from the bed. But Hestia immediately grabbed his arm.
“No, no. You use the bed. I can’t let a guest sleep on the floor. And putting a kid on the cold floor? That’s child abuse.”
She waved her hands firmly.
But from the look in Theo’s eyes, it was clear he wouldn’t give in. Hestia quickly scrambled for another solution.
“Well, if it really comes down to it… I’ll just sleep at a friend’s house!”
Her eyes darted about until she seized on that half-baked excuse.
But then Theo’s golden eyes seemed to darken slightly…
Surely that was just her imagination.
“…A friend’s house?”
Theo frowned slightly.
“Yeah. A friend’s house.”
“Is it the one from yesterday? The strong one?”
Linus, wasn’t it?
Theo murmured quietly, but Hestia didn’t seem to hear.
“Right. So, now let’s—”
“No.”
Theo suddenly stepped forward with firm eyes.
No?
Hestia tilted her head, puzzled by his blunt reply.
“I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”
“What?”
Just as he began lowering himself, Hestia shouted in alarm.
“No! You’ll catch a cold like that. I told you, I’ll go to my friend’s house.”
She hurried to stop him, utterly confused by his behavior.
“That’s exactly why you can’t,”
Theo said firmly. “Where would you go in the middle of the night? Can you even trust that friend? Why would the homeowner sleep outside when there’s a house right here?”
“….”
Was he always this talkative?
Hestia blinked rapidly, scrambling to respond. She could trust her friend—but the problem was, her friend wasn’t human.
She couldn’t exactly say, “Oh, he’s a spirit beast!”
“See? I’ll just sleep outside. You sleep in the bed,”
Theo insisted again.
Wait… Could it be?
A sudden theory occurred to Hestia.
“I won’t say a word about you to my friend, so don’t worry.”
That must be what he was concerned about.
There could be no other explanation.
Hestia smirked proudly, hands on her hips.
But only for a moment.
“….”
Theo’s brows furrowed, as if wondering what nonsense she was spouting.
Her confident posture quickly deflated as she awkwardly scratched her head.
So that wasn’t it.
“…You’re not very perceptive, are you?”
Theo sighed softly and gave her a faint smile.
“….”
Hestia still looked lost.
With a resigned look, Theo gently revealed the answer.
“It’s just… me being considerate.”
His voice was calm, almost soothing.
“….”
Hestia’s eyes trembled faintly at those completely unexpected words.
To her, “consideration” had always been a shallow form of politeness, a survival tool to coexist with others.
She had once lived quietly, desperately trying to blend in—not out of kindness, but out of fear of being alone.
But over time, she learned that she would never truly belong.
She was different, and people feared that.
So she had resolved to forget everything, to leave nothing behind.
It had been nearly two hundred years since she made that bitter decision.
Surely, she no longer had anything as fragile as “kindness” left in her.
Yes. The boy had misunderstood.
“…Sorry, but you’re mistaken.”
The warmth in Hestia’s brown eyes faded, replaced by a cold stillness.
“Hestia,”
Theo called out gently, clenching his fists.
But she didn’t acknowledge it.
“It’s late. Let’s sleep for now. We’ll talk about the sleeping arrangements tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll sleep outside.”
She said it flatly, refusing to listen.
Turning away, she grabbed the doorknob.
“Hestia!”
Theo called out again. But she only paused briefly.
Without turning back, she left him with cold words.
“Good night.”
Click.
Hestia stepped out and quietly shut the door behind her.
