The child hovered between life and death all day long. Selene spent the whole day with her heart in her throat, afraid the child might simply slip away.

“Will they not pull through….”

Selene looked at the child lying there wrapped in bandages and let out a quiet sigh. Strangely, her magic barely worked on the child at all. The small scars covering the child’s body, the large wounds from a blade, and above all, the child’s strength refused to return. Even for her, having lived as a physician to humans in the village near this forest for hundreds of years, this was a deeply puzzling experience.

“…Mmm.”

It was then. The child’s lashes gave a faint flutter, and the eyes opened slightly. The narrowly parted gaze moved slowly, as though taking in the surroundings. The child stared at the ceiling for a moment, then suddenly pushed upright.

“Oh, ugh…!”

“Oh my! You can’t move yet.”

Selene quickly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the child. Her eyes went to the wound at the throat, which she had wrapped tightly. The child looked up at her without a word. Those silver-gray eyes stared at her unblinking, and Selene, who had been checking the wound, finally met them.

“Are you all right?”

“…….”

The child said nothing and simply gazed at her. Were they frightened? There was no fear in those eyes, but a wariness particular to young children showed through. Selene thought for a moment, then let a small smile come to her lips. She called to mind the warm smile she used with the children in the village and offered it.

The child, who had been studying her with a cautious look, slowly parted their lips.

“Where is this….”

“Oh, you can speak! What a relief.”

Selene let out a long breath. So they were not going to die after all. She pressed a hand to her chest as she looked at the child, who now seemed to lean a little more toward life than death. She had worried while tending to them, seeing a body so covered in wounds. 

Whether the child had escaped from somewhere they had been held captive or not, the body bore everything from old scars to fresh whip marks. She had heard that humans sometimes kidnapped young children through trafficking and cut out their tongues to make them compliant, and she had been afraid this might be such a child. She shook her head to rid herself of the horrible thought. Fortunately, the small but clear pronunciation suggested otherwise.

“…….”

“How did you end up here? This is the Ida Forest. Do you remember coming here?”

Selene watched the child’s expression as she waited. The child said nothing and shook their head.

“You don’t remember?”

A nod.

Selene’s face filled with concern as she watched the child answer with a nod. She wanted to read the child’s heart to find out whether the memory loss was real, but her magic barely worked on this child either. What should she do? Going by appearance, this child did not seem to be from that family, but still, just in case.

She thought for a moment, then took the child’s hand again.

“What is your name?”

The child shook their head again. They could not remember their name either. She rested her hand lightly on the child’s forehead under the pretense of checking for a fever. A small light came from her fingertips, but the moment it touched the child’s forehead, it scattered and dissolved. This was not a good sign.

There were exactly two cases in which magic failed to work on a human.

The first was when a person’s life was in extreme danger, and that was the more likely explanation for this child. In that case, it was unfortunate for the child, but it posed no problem for Selene.

But if it was the other case.

‘If this child carries Offenburg blood.’

The word Offenburg circled in her mind, and Selene’s heart gave an ominous lurch. Offenburg was the most powerful nation in the empire right now. The Ida Forest clung only to the far western edge of that vast empire, yet even her own home still fell within Offenburg’s reach.

But that very Offenburg was something that witches living among humans must never become entangled with. It was a taboo passed down among witches since long ago. The moment that thought surfaced, a warning she had heard long before came back to life in her ears. On good days and bad days alike, and even on the day she declared she would live in the human world, everyone had given her the same warning.

‘Never cross paths with Offenburg. Never become involved with them.’

Between Offenburg and the witches lay a long and dark history. The very origin of how the Hecate sisters, who had once lived among humans and earned their respect, came to be called witches, that beginning had Offenburg blood at its root.

A chill crept up the back of Selene’s neck. She had brought the child inside in a rush, but if this child truly was an Offenburg, she would have to throw them out immediately. Otherwise, it might not be just her at risk this time, but the entire forest.

Unease settled over her. Had she done something foolish? She slowly looked the child over again as they stared blankly back at her. The Offenburg imperial family was said to be distinguished by black hair and red eyes across the board. By that measure, the likelihood of this child being an Offenburg was low. It should be fine, it almost certainly was fine, and yet her heart refused to calm down.

“…What should I do?”

The words slipped out before she could stop them. She wavered between caring for the child despite the risk, or sending them back out even if it weighed on her conscience. Her fingers gave a small twitch. The arm holding the child felt heavier than she expected.

“I don’t think I can do this after all. I’m sorry, but, you, I’m afraid….”

She could not shake the unease, and she was on the verge of sending the child away.

Grumble. A sound came from somewhere, impossible to ignore.

“…Oh….”

The child’s face flushed deep red. For the first time, something like an emotion crossed a face that had held nothing but tension. The child turned quite childlike at that moment, cheeks going red, and dropped their head with a small thud.

At that, something in Selene loosened. It was not a moment for laughter, yet a ticklish feeling crept up the back of her throat. And at the same time, everything she had just been about to do felt suddenly pointless.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

Her heart softened. Right. Even if this child were an Offenburg, they were still a child first and foremost. The child’s arrival here had been an accident, and no matter how she looked at it, this was not an imperial hunter who had come to track down a witch. 

On top of that, the Offenburg imperial palace was very far from here. A full day’s journey by carriage at minimum. What were the odds that someone of such precious imperial blood would be abandoned out here? If anything, it was far more likely this was a human child who had fled from *buse.

Her mind made up, she let a small smile settle on her face.

“What would you like to eat? I don’t have anything special, but I can put together a soup quickly enough.”

She tied an apron around her waist and moved about busily. Out of habit, she gave a quick flick of her hand and used magic to lift something, then caught herself with a small “oops” and set it back down. She glanced back to check on the child, but the child was looking out the window with no apparent interest.

“Is carrot soup all right? If I chop everything small enough, it should not be too hard to eat.”

“…Yes.”

Selene looked at the child with a mildly surprised expression. The hesitant but present answer told her the child really had been hungry. A laugh rose in her. She busied herself carrying dishes back and forth, and with a click, lit the fire with magic while the child was not looking.

She picked up a knife and carefully brought her hand to the vegetables.