Aila, being smaller in build, had eaten far more. He said it was delicious, but was it actually not tasty? Then again, food that suited Aila’s human palate probably wouldn’t necessarily taste good to him.

Just as she thought she should get food truly meant for Valentin next time, Aila had finished off all the bread.

When the fish cooked perfectly, Valentin grabbed the wooden skewer the fish was threaded on, blew on the hot steam, and handed it to Aila.

He cut off a bit of the tail section and offered Aila the entire body filled with meat.

“Valentin, you eat too. You barely ate any bread.”

“You know what? I don’t really like fish anyway.”

“Really? Then why did you catch it?”

“To give to you.”

Those words made Aila’s chest tighten.

His words about not liking fish could be sincere, or could be a lie to let Aila have more. What was certain was that he thought about Aila very much.

So this is what being loved by someone feels like—this swelling of the heart, this feeling of becoming rich—warmth flooded her chest.

Her heart felt so full she couldn’t eat the fish right away.

Only after Valentin urged her with various words—hurry, quickly, before it gets cold—did Aila take a bite of the fish flesh.

It was so delicious. The most delicious fish she had ever eaten.

After dinner, Aila and Valentin strolled around the cabin and sat on a tree stump looking up at the night sky. In the sky that looked like dark blue paint had been poured over it, large and small stars were densely embedded.

Living in the forest meant seeing this scenery until she was sick of it, but just having Valentin beside her made it new. Aila grinned foolishly, alternating between looking at the sky and at Valentin.

Valentin’s face was truly beautiful even at night. With moonlight settling on it, he gave off an even more mysterious atmosphere.

When she turned her eyes to the sky one last time, a fierce streak of light suddenly connected from west to east.

“Oh? A shooting star!”

Aila, who spotted it first, shouted.

“Valentin, let’s make a wish quickly!”

She clasped both hands together and squeezed her eyes shut tight. Aila prayed with all her might.

‘Please let Valentin and I be happy together forever.’

She spoke with earnest prayer, lest her wish fly away. She didn’t open her eyes until much later.

When she opened her closed eyes, Valentin came into view. He was looking at Aila from much closer than before she closed her eyes.

Her image was clearly embedded in his green eyes. He looked deeply, seemingly trying to see right through Aila’s heart.

The prolonged gaze made her cheeks heat up slightly. Valentin smiled mysteriously and opened his mouth.

“I’ll grant that wish.”

“Huh?”

“Your wish, Aila. I said I’ll grant it.”

Her eyes with their abundant lashes blinked repeatedly. What trick did Valentin have to know her wish? Aila couldn’t understand at all.

“How do you know what wish I made?”

“Of course I know.”

Valentin just smiled without answering. Aila’s head grew puzzled. Beastfolk couldn’t possibly have the ability to read people’s hearts. He must be teasing again. He quite enjoyed making fun of Aila.

So she let it pass like that.

That night, when they lay with bodies pressed together on the narrow bed, Valentin spoke.

“I’ll make you happy tomorrow too.”

“…”

“Sleep well, Aila.”

She felt Valentin’s breath on the crown of her head. He truly knew the wish Aila had quietly made to herself. Did beastfolk have some mystical ability to read people’s hearts?

Aila forgot how happy her face looked when she was with Valentin, how much she cried when she thought he had left, and the fact that she couldn’t stop staring at him all day, and instead wondered how on earth Valentin knew her heart.

What does it matter? What’s important is that Valentin will be with me every day from now on.

“You sleep well too, Valentin.”

Aila closed her eyes, immersed in happiness.

The pitch-black cabin where not even moonlight entered. Between their breathing, summer insects occasionally chirped.

* * *

The days grew shorter, and dry, fierce winds continued for several days.

It was a sign that winter would soon begin. The season when she couldn’t help but suffer from poverty was approaching. Aila maintained her livelihood with money from gathering herbs, but that became difficult in winter.

There were mushrooms and herbs that only grew in winter, but harvesting them wasn’t easy. On days when snow piled high in the forest, movement itself became difficult and she had no choice but to stay stuck in the cabin.

At those times, she inevitably had to go hungry. It was a sad, lonely, and therefore difficult season when she had to endure the cold alone. Still, this year she was fortunate to have Valentin as someone to lean on emotionally.

Aila took out the padded clothes she wore last year. It was to sew up the worn parts before it got seriously cold. Even if they looked shabby and ragged, they were essential items for getting through winter.

Aila settled on the bed, threaded a thin needle, and began patching the holes. As she sewed with nimble hand movements, Aila suddenly dropped her arms.

Valentin will need padded clothes too. And he couldn’t possibly have money.

All this time, Valentin had caught fish for Aila, gathered herbs together, and harvested various wild vegetables.

While Valentin had been a great help to their household, Aila had actually done nothing for him.

‘I want to at least buy him thick clothes as a token of gratitude.’

Aila pushed the clothes on her lap aside and got down from the bed. When she reached under the bed, she grabbed a tin can hidden in a secret spot. It was Aila’s personal safe.

She turned the can over and shook out the coins. Even counting carefully, it was far from enough to buy winter padded clothes. Aila sighed.

Thanks to Valentin’s excellent sense of smell, they had gathered many herbs in spring and saved some money, but with two people living together, money went out faster than expected and not much remained.

‘What should I do?’

When she was lost in deep thought without answers, familiar footsteps approached the cabin. It was Valentin, who had left the cabin early in the morning saying he had somewhere to go briefly.

“Aila.”

“Where did you go?”

“Here.”

Valentin held out something with both hands full. They were deer antlers extending long in graceful, beautiful curves.

Valentin, who had been looking at the overturned tin can on the bed and the few pitiful coins lying there, turned his gaze back to Aila.

“You need money, right? Winter’s coming soon.”

“Valentin…”

“Sell these. You can make much more money than gathering herbs for a year.”

“…Did you cut off your antlers because of me?”

“They fall off naturally every year during the transition from winter to spring. And these aren’t mine. It’ll be several more years before my antlers fully grow. They’re still unimpressive.”

“Then whose are these?”

“I went to the western forest. There are still some beastfolk remaining, so I got them from there.”

The facts she learned through Valentin were interesting.

Just like flowers bloom in spring and fall in winter, deer antlers also repeatedly grow and fall off each year. She thought once they grew when you became an adult, you kept them forever, but that wasn’t the case.

At the same time, she felt sorry. Valentin knew what food Aila liked, when she was sad, when she needed money—everything—but Aila didn’t even know that Valentin’s antlers fell off once a year.

Aila placed her hand on the antlers Valentin was holding. It was her first time touching them directly. Unlike what she expected, they were very hard. She could see why hunters carved deer antlers to use as weapons.

“My antlers will grow the largest among beastfolk. I really want to give them to you, Aila. Just wait a few years. You’ll be able to sell them for a lot.”

His casually spoken words made her heart swell. Her chest felt heavy and she couldn’t say anything, so Valentin tilted his head.

“Why? Disappointed I’m not giving them now?”

“No!”

Valentin’s eyes narrowed somewhat playfully.

“How about hide? If you skinned me, that would be worth money too. Of course, I’d have to die first.”

Aila’s face colored with shock.

“Should I?”

“Valentin!”

Aila’s face turned bright red as she yelled. Valentin threw out his nasty joke and chuckled. Unlike him looking pleased, Aila’s mood sank a little.

“I’m always just receiving.”

Feeling sorry, her gaze automatically dropped to the floor. She just stared at her innocent feet, when Valentin lifted Aila’s chin with his hand and met her eyes. His clear, bright eyes as always held Aila fully.

“Aila, you saved me. If it weren’t for you, I’d already be dead. So you’re more than qualified to receive this treatment.”

“…”

“And thanks to you, I’m living in the cabin for free. If you hadn’t taken me in, I wouldn’t have adapted and would have died quickly anyway.”

“…”

“So just receive. That’s your role.”

No one had ever said such words to Aila before. When Aila worked hard gathering herbs alone, other herb gatherers often came and snatched away Aila’s basket, and hunters wouldn’t let her come near, saying she interfered with hunting.

Moreover, the village people considered red-haired Aila abandoned in the forest to be ominous, and not a single person extended a helping hand.

To Aila, the world was always harsh and a place she had to overcome alone. Things like chance luck or gifts dropped from the sky didn’t exist in Aila’s world.

But a role of just receiving? Where could there be such a good role?

“Thank you, Valentin.”

Aila’s chest swelled so much her eyes stung.