Chapter 25 –
“You’re really not hungry?”
“I think you’ve asked that about a hundred times already.”
“…You tend to exaggerate sometimes.”
“Even so, Lady Hestia, you keep asking the same question.”
“You’re sure you’re not hungry?”
“…”
Theo, who had been lying down, suddenly sat up and flung the thin blanket off himself.
“Fine, fine. I won’t ask anymore!”
There was nothing salvageable left of the bedding after rolling on the ground fighting the bear.
The only thing left to use as a blanket was a thin throw Hestia occasionally used at the table.
After a short tussle over who would use it, they agreed to have a light dinner, and Theo ended up with the blanket. Hestia, surely tired from going out, had made such a fuss about needing to eat well when you’re sick.
Eventually, Hestia shut her mouth and collapsed onto the bed.
A comfortable silence settled between them.
Even though no words were exchanged, the air didn’t feel awkward.
At some point, they’d grown that familiar with each other.
“…Now, can you please tell me what really happened?”
Theo slowly turned to look at Hestia, his golden eyes full of curiosity. It was amazing he’d managed to hold it back this long.
Of course, it wasn’t just this incident he was curious about. There were things—deep, long-held mysteries—piled up over time.
“You remember I told you it’s the time of year bears start preparing for hibernation, right?”
But knowing Hestia wouldn’t answer that old question, Theo swallowed it down again.
“Yes.”
Theo simply nodded quietly.
“Around this time, their sense of smell becomes extremely sensitive. It probably smelled the food here… and the scent of people. Normally, it wouldn’t come down this far.”
Theo listened quietly to her voice.
There was something lyrical about her tone—it reminded him of a clear, peaceful forest. Everything about it was like Hestia: refreshing yet calming.
“It lost its cub to a hunter once. Since then, it despises people. That’s probably why it attacked you. People usually don’t venture into this forest because of that bear.”
“Then… what about you, Lady Hestia? Weren’t you in danger too?”
Why had that thought come to him first?
What troubled him was the idea of Hestia being left alone in the forest after he left.
“Hmm…”
Hestia quietly chose her words, seemingly debating how much to tell.
“I was given permission.”
That was all she could say to Theo.
And Theo didn’t press further. He knew that was her limit.
“…”
Though he could feel his gaze on her, Hestia continued to speak while looking somewhere into the void.
“When I arrived, another beast took the bear deeper into the forest.”
“The one you said was the bear’s friend earlier…?”
“Yeah. Though to be more accurate, they’re more like rivals than friends.”
“Is that beast also a bear?”
“Mm… that’s a tricky question. It’s kind of like a wolf, but not exactly. A little like a coyote too… No, let’s just go with wolf.”
Her vague answer made Theo wonder if she was joking again, but there was no sign of that in her expression.
“Then that beast… it’s not dangerous to you, right?”
“Yeah. We’re close. It won’t attack you either, so don’t be scared.”
“How do you know all that?”
From a normal perspective, what she was saying was incomprehensible—something you’d laugh off as nonsense or call insane.
But Theo knew. He knew she was telling the truth.
Her words hinted at a past so far removed from his own it was hard to even imagine.
And Hestia, too, had come to trust Theo. The way they had slowly become part of each other’s daily lives.
She spoke so calmly because she believed he would trust her.
“When you live long enough… you start to understand things.”
Her eyes briefly filled with a strange nostalgia before clearing again.
“One last question.”
Theo hurriedly spoke, catching her as she was about to end the conversation.
“Yeah?”
Thankfully, she nodded.
“Earlier… about the clothes you were wearing…”
He hesitated, worried she wouldn’t answer.
“My clothes?”
Hestia tilted her head, waiting.
“The blood… what was it from?”
Only when Theo cautiously asked did Hestia recall the wound that had already healed.
“Ah…”
She was momentarily at a loss for words.
Theo had expected this reaction.
She would purse her lips, bite down on the lower one, and say it was nothing.
“It’s nothing seri—”
Of course.
“I’m asking because I don’t think it was nothing.”
At first, he thought she’d been scratched by a branch while walking in the woods.
But the location of the bloodstains made that impossible.
Rather—
“A sword wound…”
Theo’s gaze, filled with certainty and doubt, pressed Hestia for the truth.
“…I scratched myself while picking herbs.”
Just as expected, her answer was vague and evasive.
She clearly had no intention of telling the truth.
“That’s all I can tell you! Now go to sleep. You need good rest to heal quickly.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Hestia blew out the candle. The room was instantly swallowed in darkness.
“Good night.”
“Yeah. You too.”
With that final exchange, they each drifted into their own thoughts.
Once Theo stopped moving and his breathing became rhythmic, Hestia quietly rose from the bed.
It seemed like dawn was just beginning to break.
Not wanting to wake Theo, Hestia tiptoed out on the balls of her feet.
Inside the room she left behind, only one person’s breath and a pair of golden eyes—like stars in the night sky—remained.
“Phew.”
Having held her breath the entire time, Hestia let out a long sigh upon stepping into the yard.
“Finn.”
She met Finn, who had come running earlier with Lua.
And after hearing what happened, she had been more shocked than she’d been in years.
‘Hestia!’
The moment her name was called, Finn popped out of the bushes like he’d been waiting.
“Thank you for earlier.”
She knelt down and gently scratched his head.
Finn leaned into her touch, long ears drooping back and eyes closed in contentment.
“You had a hard time luring Ben away, didn’t you?”
‘Yes! And he didn’t even listen! I even offered my blueberries!’
She could imagine it clearly. Finn had probably laid out sweet fruits in the opposite direction of the house, trying to divert the bear…
“It must’ve caught Theo’s scent already and lost all reason. For Ben, that trauma is probably unbearable.”
That was why Ben had given up becoming a sacred beast and chose to live as a wild animal instead.
It was a painful choice—one made out of a vow never to forget the past.
“He’s really an amazing friend, so different from me…”
While she struggled to forget painful memories, he clung to his, refusing to let them fade.
‘I don’t blame Ben, but still…’
Even Finn’s voice lacked energy.
His lively ears drooped with fatigue.
“I’ll try talking to Ben soon.”
‘I’ll go with you! I’ll help relay the message!’
“Thanks, Finn.”
Finn perked up immediately and twirled in circles around her.
“I’ll be counting on you. Theo will probably be leaving soon… at least until then.”
‘Don’t worry! I’ll protect that little human really well!’
Standing on two stubby legs, Finn wriggled his black nose proudly.
He looked both cute and reliable, making Hestia smile as she reached out.
Finn leaned his head into her palm, ears twitching with delight.
A gentle light enveloped his body, and his short tail wagged furiously in instinctive joy.
Hestia smiled again, unable to resist the sight.
Her boundless life force was what sustained them. In turn, they supported her, so sharing it wasn’t much of a loss.
‘Thank you, Hestia!’
As the golden light faded, Finn licked her hand affectionately with his little tongue.
“No, thank you.”
Hestia smiled and gently stroked his head again.
“I should sew tomorrow.”
She couldn’t leave sick Theo alone again to go to the village, so she planned to gather the leftover fabric and make a blanket.
“If Theo finds out, he’ll nag me again to just go into town.”
She chuckled at the thought. That tiny boy could be so stubborn.
As the clear morning sunlight began to dispel the bluish haze of dawn, Hestia stood up from the yard.
‘Good night, Hestia!’
“You too, Finn.”
With her final farewell, Finn leapt into the bushes and disappeared.
Only then did Hestia start walking back toward the house. It was still peaceful.
Thankfully, Theo hadn’t woken. He lay just as she’d left him, breathing evenly in sleep.
Phew. She exhaled softly and lay back down, closing her eyes.
It had been such a long, tiring day that she fell asleep instantly.
“…”
Once Hestia was fully asleep, Theo silently got up from the bed, careful not to make a sound.
It was about the time he normally rose for morning training anyway.
He picked up the still-warm blanket he had used and gently covered Hestia with it.
Bathed in the faint dawn light, Theo quietly took in her sleeping face.
“…Just what are you?”
He wanted to ask.
The question rose to his throat—
But he forced it back down.
His clenched fists trembled.
He knew she wouldn’t give him a proper answer.
And he feared… that if he asked, she might just disappear forever.
