Episode 16

After they finished eating, Theo and Hestia stood in front of the small shed next to the house.

“They probably have some leftover wood, so we can make something out of it.”

Hestia smiled to herself as she looked through the wooden crates of equipment.

They’d agreed on the sleeping arrangements, making a cot while they ate breakfast, but Theo still looked at her in disbelief.

“You can’t……. You made all the furniture in your house yourself?”

“Some of it I made, and some of it I just refurbished?”

“Oh, so that’s why.”

The bed creaked because it wasn’t balanced. A chair that was hard to keep upright because the legs were different lengths.

Theo nodded with a look of understanding.

“Well, that’s a good way to put it.”

Hestia narrowed her eyes at Theo’s tirade and eyed him suspiciously.

“Yes, I can use it, so, well, it’s a compliment.”

Theo smirked, folding the corners of his eyes.

“Are you ……taking revenge?”

Compliment or insult.

Hestia frowned, remembering their conversation this morning.

“It’s a compliment.”

But Theo merely smiled his usual fluid smile.

“Hmm. I don’t think so.”

When Hestia continued to stare at him suspiciously, Theo’s voice drifted into an inevitable tone.

“Let’s just say we bumped into each other, then.”

Theo smirked and shrugged smugly.

“And……. This is why they say never drink cold water in front of a child.”

I can’t believe I’m already learning that.

Theo’s unexpected comment made Hestia blush, and the old saying rang true once again.

“I’m going to see if you can say that …… in a few years.”

Theo didn’t like the way Hestia kept treating him like a child, and his eyes were filled with frustration before he snapped his mouth shut.

“Well, I don’t know. I wonder if we’ll see you in a few years.”

Theo’s expression hardened at Hestia’s nonchalant demeanor.

“What if I still see you in a few years, Hestia-sama?”

“That won’t happen…….”

“If. If.”

Theo cut Hestia off.

It was the first time he’d ever interrupted her, so when Hestia was surprised, Theo added a question.

“If I ever come of age and meet you, Hestia-sama, will you still treat me like a child?”

“……hmm.”

Hestia tried not to overthink it, since she would only be able to see the child for a short time anyway.

“Then, do as you please.”

It was an answer she could only give because she was bitterly certain that she and Theo would never meet when he came of age.

“Very well, Ms. Hestia told me to do as I please first, and you can’t tell me otherwise later.”

Theo smiled, the corners of his mouth tugging gently as if he’d heard a satisfactory answer. An unexpected glint flashed across his golden eyes.

For a moment, an inexplicable alarm went off in Hestia’s head, but it wasn’t until much later that she realized why.

“……Don’t smile like that. It’s scary.”

She wondered if the goosebumps on her spine were just an illusion. Hestia rubbed her arms together, feeling unnecessarily creeped out.

Theo shrugged his shoulders and turned the conversation back to the topic at hand.

“So, what can I do to help?”

“No, you just rest.”

Hestia stepped up beside him and waved Theo away as he rolled up his sleeves.

“I’m going to go get some wood from the shed.”

She reached into her toolbox and pulled out a pair of gloves, pulling them on tightly over both hands.

Standing in front of the rusting shed, Hestia cleared her throat.

One, two, three!

Then she yanked the latch open with all her might to the soundless chant.

“Foohoo.”

The musty odor of warehouses and white dust poured in on the breeze.

Hestia waved her hand to disperse the oncoming dust and turned her head to exhale.

“It’s been a while since you’ve used it.”

Theo, peering into the warehouse from a distance, frowned.

“Six months, maybe, but it’ll be fine, just a little dusty, and I’ve lined it with cypress bags to keep the moisture out.”

Hestia answered Theo’s question dutifully, even as she coughed up the last of the dust.

Once the dust settled, they could see the lumber laid out by size.

“Shall we get started, then?”

Hestia briskly headed into the warehouse.

After scanning the lumber for a usable size, Hestia dusted off the accumulated dust with a flick of her hand.

“This will do!”

She began to carry the wood she had chosen, almost dragging it outside.

Theo moved to help.

“No, no, no. You just rest.”

Again, Hestia stopped him.

“It’s my bed, of course, I should help.”

But Theo wasn’t about to back down, and he grabbed a piece of wood that was taller than he was.

“Then you just move the little things over there.”

Hestia hastily pointed to the smaller ones on the other side.

It was a compromise, knowing full well that the boy would not back down.

“……Don’t treat me like a child, I can move this much.”

Theo pouted at being treated like a child but walked over to the small piece of wood.

Theo felt like he knew Hestia, even if only a little.

Realizing that this was the line she could compromise on, he obediently followed her lead.

“If she’s only 14, of course she’s a kid.”

“She’s already 14.”

“Yes. Since you’re already 14, Master Theo, please move what’s there.”

The work was done by the end of the day, as the sun was setting.

“Oh, I’m hungry. If I’d known it would be like this, I would have stayed for lunch.”

Hestia flopped down on the finished bed.

Her brown eyes, unfocused, were filled with fatigue, and eventually, they gave way to the weight of her exhaustion and she yawned, closing her eyes.

“If I’d had lunch, it would have been dark by now.”

Beside him, Theo sat up, his chin resting on his hip, staring down at Hestia. Her face looked fresher with fatigue.

An early summer breeze ruffled Theo’s and Hestia’s hair, and the wind blew her auburn locks away from her face.

Theo rolled his eyes, then reached out a very careful hand, as if mesmerized by something.

He clenched and unclenched his fist a few times in between, but he didn’t stop.

Slowly, very slowly, he moved toward Hestia.

“I admit it.”

But Theo’s gesture didn’t accomplish its goal.

Hestia’s small noise startled him, and he quickly hid his hands behind his back. Theo’s heart pounded like a child caught in the act.

“Let’s eat.”

Hestia slowly opened her closed eyes and brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face.

“……But how are you going to move this bed?”

Theo quickly shifted his gaze to the front of the room and feigned nonchalance.

He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he felt his face flush with impatience.

“Um……. You dragged it out?”

Whether or not she knew what Theo was thinking, Hestia was still in a languid mood.

Theo nodded, not that the answer mattered anyway.

“Come with me, let’s move it.”

Theo scrambled to his feet. It felt good to be away from Hestia’s side, to be sober.

He pushed himself to his feet and shook his head.

“No, no. You shouldn’t be lifting heavy things at your age. Are you sure you’re not taller?”

Hestia laid a light stern hand on Theo’s shoulder.

“Ah……. Did you mean what you said about dragging yourself around?”

I thought he’d just said it out of laziness.

Hestia’s intense glare as she quickly looked away told me she was serious, and Theo’s voice quivered with embarrassment.

“If we drag this thing around now, we’re going to break it.”

After a pause, Theo calmly assured Hestia.

“That’s how I moved the one in your room.”

“That’s why it creaked.”

Ah. It’s Theo’s bed, and you can’t make it that way.

Hestia curled her lips into a tight line of thought at Theo’s valid point.

“Hmmm.”

But she couldn’t come up with a good answer.

“I probably have more strength than you do, Hestia, and we’re going to run out of sunlight soon, and I’m hungry.”

Why is it that I’m only inflexible at times like this?

Theo pointed his index finger at the now-darkening sky, urging Hestia on.

“Okay. Then you just give me a little nudge from behind. Just a little nudge.”

Eventually, Hestia pushed herself up from her seat after being told several times to be careful.

Then, with a snap, she pulled off the gloves she was wearing.

“I hurt my hand.”

Hestia casually tossed the glove to Theo, but he didn’t take it.

“I’m just pushing from behind, you’re supposed to put these on.”

Naturally, Theo bit back the hand Hestia held out to him.

“Come on.”

Theo sighed heavily at Hestia’s strength as if she would never give in this time.

“Gam, I apologize.”

Finally accepting the gloves, Theo forced himself to put them on.

The gloves were small compared to his hands and seemed to fit tightly, but even that seemed to satisfy Hestia.

“Here we go. One, two, three, and you’ve got it.”

One, two, three!

On cue, Hestia lifted the bangs of the bed with all her might.

And then.

“Huh?”

Hestia blinked in surprise at the lighter-than-expected weight, then lifted her head to look at Theo.

Theo looked back at her, not showing the slightest sign of struggle.

“Come on, get in.”

“You’re pretty strong for a little guy, huh?”

“I’m not small, you’re probably the only person in this empire who makes fun of me for being small. I’m heavy, so get in there.”

Hestia gave a small, amused chuckle at Theo’s blunt reply, then carefully moved the bed.

The beds were lined up against two walls with drawers in between. It was pretty presentable, even with the washed comforter.

“How’s it look? Pretty good, huh?”

Hestia let out a long, satisfied breath.

“Only time will tell, but it looks good.”

“Well, you just have to say, ‘It’s okay!’ …….”

Hestia corrected, rolling her eyes as if she didn’t like Theo’s answer.

Theo glanced at Hestia and then looked away.

“…… sounds good.”

Theo murmured as his gaze dropped down. If you weren’t listening closely, you wouldn’t have heard him.