The cabin filled with a sweet smell. Valentin was busy making snacks to feed Aila.

First, he put tree sap into a hot pot and boiled it, simmering it until it became sticky to make syrup. Then he added peeled chestnuts and simmered it once more to complete a delicious candied chestnut dish.

It was a special snack for Aila, who had lost weight from expending energy every night lately.

When she first heard that syrup could be made from tree sap, she’d made a curious expression, but now she looked quite skilled at making it herself.

Watching Valentin diligently stir the pot with a wooden spoon that sent up wisps of steam, Aila was busy peeling chestnuts.

She peeled one and put it in the basket, then peeled another and popped it into her mouth. The chestnut crunched crisply. 

Cooked, softened chestnuts were delicious, but Aila quite liked raw chestnuts too.

Perhaps because she had memories of picking up and eating chestnuts that had fallen near the forest during her childhood when she couldn’t start fires well, raw chestnuts still tasted good.

Valentin stopped stirring the syrup and suddenly sent her an affectionate look.

“You look just like a squirrel doing that.”

‘Where is there a squirrel this big?’

He had a tendency to see Aila as an excessively small and weak animal. Aila herself thought she was quite sturdy, but to his eyes with the bones and muscles of a beastman, did she look no different from a squirrel?

“Is it that good?”

“Do you want some too, Valentin? Should I give you one?”

“Feed it to me.”

Feeling like only she had been eating while he worked hard in front of the hot fire, she brought a well-peeled chestnut to his mouth. Then Valentin quickly swallowed Aila’s hand along with it.

“Valentin!”

Whether he’d wanted to eat the chestnut or Aila’s hand, he chewed both the chestnut and her fingers simultaneously in his mouth.

Only after sucking on Aila’s fingers for a while did he release them. Then Valentin chewed and swallowed the chestnut remaining in his mouth and grinned.

“Delicious. Feed me more.”

“Stop fooling around.”

“I think it would taste even better if you fed me mouth to mouth.”

Her thumb and index finger were slick with saliva and glistening. Really, he showed affection at every opportunity. Considering how much he liked it, it was impressive that he’d lived holding back until now.

According to what she’d heard, Valentin’s heat had started last year. Was he releasing all the desires he couldn’t fulfill then in a rush this year?

If she let her guard down even a little, he might pounce again, so Aila returned to her original seat and started peeling chestnuts.

Under her deft hands, the chestnuts revealed their flesh one by one. When quite a pile had accumulated, Valentin took the basket and dumped the contents into the pot.

After stirring a few times with his firm arms, it made a sizzling sound and more steam rose.

“There’s more syrup than I thought.”

“Do you need more chestnuts?”

“It would be good if there were more.”

“Then I’ll go gather more.”

Aila immediately picked up the basket and headed for the back door. To get the pieces to cook evenly, she needed to gather them quickly. Fortunately, the acorn tree appeared right away if she walked just a bit behind the cabin.

When Aila opened the back door and tried to go outside, the wooden door rattled and wouldn’t open easily. Thinking there might be a problem from not using it for a long time, she applied more force.

When she pushed hard with her body weight, the hinge connecting the wood to the wall suddenly fell off and her body almost pitched forward. Then the door dropped off completely.

Startled, Aila quickly dodged so she wasn’t hit anywhere. Hearing the thud, Valentin rushed out in surprise.

“What happened?”

“The door fell off.”

Valentin first checked whether Aila was hurt. Fortunately, Aila was unharmed. Examining where the door had fallen, the cause was indeed the old hinge. 

The area around the forest had a lot of moisture, so iron rusted quickly.

“Hmm, come to think of it, it has been a while since we repaired this door.”

“It would be good to fix it before winter comes, right?”

“To make a new one, we’ll need new planks and hinges.”

“Should we go this afternoon?”

“Let’s finish making that first.”

Valentin moved the broken door to one side and went back into the cabin. In the meantime, Aila gathered a full basket of chestnuts.

Not long after adding the newly peeled chestnuts to the pot, the delicious candied chestnuts were complete. Valentin blew on a warm chestnut and offered it to Aila first.

“It’s hot, so eat carefully.”

Aila’s expression brightened as she slowly savored and chewed the piece in her mouth. The sweet and nutty taste suited her palate perfectly.

“I’m glad it’s delicious.”

Valentin filled a shallow plate with candied chestnuts and placed it in front of Aila. Aila picked up chestnuts efficiently and chattered about the afternoon’s activities.

“What are you going to do this afternoon, Valentin?”

“I should play with Aila.”

“I’m going out. I’m going to gather some mushrooms and herbs after a long time. It’s more convenient to dry and prepare them in advance before winter comes.”

“You can do that tomorrow. We have to draw water tomorrow anyway. Let’s do all the tasks at once. Let’s just play together today.”

“You’re trying to do weird things again.”

“Weird things? I just want to have a fun time with Aila.”

The fun time he spoke of meant time spent hugging each other while touching, biting, and sucking all over each other’s bodies.

Whether he didn’t get tired or whether heat was originally like that, when they were alone together in an enclosed space, they could no longer just chat peacefully like before. His hands, his lips wouldn’t leave Aila alone.

So Aila deliberately tried to do outdoor activities during the day. If she stayed inside the cabin, she fell too easily for Valentin’s seduction.

She’d be tormented at night anyway, but sticking together during the day too drained all her energy.

It seemed like Aila ate more food, but she didn’t know where Valentin’s monster-like stamina came from. Even now, Aila was busily eating the candied chestnuts while Valentin just watched quietly.

“Still, I’m going out today. If Valentin wants to stay in the cabin, you can.”

“What am I supposed to do alone in a cabin without Aila?”

“That’s why let’s go out together. The weather is so nice today too.”

As soon as Aila said that, wind rushed in. It was wind coming through the wide-open back door.

“Is the weather really nice? The wind is blowing like this.”

When Aila shivered from the sudden gust of wind, Valentin immediately brought a blanket and wrapped it around her.

“This won’t do. I need to repair the door today.”

“I think we could just block it with cloth right away.”

“No. What if Aila catches a cold?”

“Then should we go down to the village?”

“Yeah. I’ll have to go.”

Things like firewood could be easily obtained from the forest, but flat lumber with even surfaces had to be purchased from the village.

“Should I come with you?”

“Rest.”

“Why? You said you wanted to have fun playing with me.”

“I should handle the heavy carrying alone. I’ll come back quickly and play with you.”

He insisted on going alone. It might be a consideration, but in truth, Valentin didn’t really like Aila going down to the village.

After she became a young woman, the men in the village unnecessarily struck up conversations and made passes at Aila, whose beauty had blossomed. So he tried not to show Aila off as much as possible.

In the forest, they only occasionally encountered hunters, but in the village, men were scattered on every street and in every alley.

Since they had eyes too, they automatically turned their heads when Aila passed by. They tried to win her favor by throwing out lines they thought might work.

Not that Aila gave them any attention. Aila only had Valentin. If she was with him, she didn’t need other friends or other men. Being just the two of them made it more precious.

Even when she told him that, he seemed anxious.

She hadn’t known his inner feelings before, but at some point she realized. That was also the reason he questioned her thoroughly about whether anyone had come and talked to her during the time he wasn’t by her side, even for a moment.

Aila hadn’t known that and thought Valentin just liked listening to stories. Like a fool.

And another fact she learned was that Valentin was really very jealous. Even if just another man’s name came from Aila’s mouth, he became envious and sought confirmation of her affection.

Valentin wanted to be Aila’s everything. He wanted Aila to look only at him all day, to feel sufficient joy and happiness even when just the two of them were together, and he felt satisfaction through that.

That was also why he worked so hard at cooking. Because he wanted to show that he wasn’t inferior to the men in the village.

So Aila decided to let him go alone.

“Okay. Then I’ll wait, so come back soon.”

“Yeah. Don’t go out alone to gather mushrooms or anything. Wait until I come back.”

“Got it! Be careful.”

And so Valentin put on his clothes and left the cabin.

* * *

Left alone, Aila organized the candied chestnuts into a container and finished washing the dishes. Afterward, she tried to lie down and rest quietly, but wanting to be helpful to Valentin, she got up.

To repair the fallen door, it seemed like clearing the weeds around the back door in advance would make Valentin’s work at least a little easier.

The weeds around the cabin had strong vitality and grew frighteningly tall. Aila pulled out the luxuriantly grown weeds one by one with skilled hands.

Usually Valentin didn’t let Aila touch even simple tasks, let alone difficult work, so pulling weeds was something she hadn’t done in a long time, and it was quite fun.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, she pulled weeds and stacked them neatly to one side, then bent down again when suddenly a long shadow obstructed Aila’s view.

When she looked up, suspicious black eyes were looking down at Aila. Confirming that the owner of the uncomfortable gaze was Fin, Aila’s body froze.

How did he know about the cabin? Aila had never told him the cabin’s location. Had he followed Aila that day?

It had been two weeks since last time, when he’d pulled down his pants and harassed Aila. She never wanted to see him again.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Fin grinned with his hands shoved into his pants.

“How did you know about this place?”

“Is that something to be so surprised about? I came to visit a friend’s house.”

At his calling himself a friend, Aila’s face scrunched up sharply. After harboring wicked intentions and harassing her, calling himself a friend?

Besides, Aila had never invited Fin. Today too, he must have come with unpleasant business.

“You’re freezing up like I’m a bad person.”

Of all times, he appeared while Valentin was away from the cabin. Like last time, he might pull down his pants again and do obscene things, so avoiding him was the best strategy.

She never wanted to see that wrinkled, small, ugly thing again. Just thinking about it made her stomach churn.

When Aila straightened her knees and stood up to go inside the cabin, Fin instantly grabbed her arm and blocked her way with his large frame.

His oily skin, leering eyes, and slick smile were more unpleasant than usual.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m busy.”

“Are you avoiding me?”

“If you have business, say it quickly.”