The children enjoyed their food with their small mouths, murmuring and enjoying their meals.
"Sis. I finished everything!"
Zion held out a clean, empty bowl and spoke with a proud expression.
"Well done. No picky eating. Which sibling listens so well?"
I patted Zion's butt. It was when I was about to take the empty bowl.
'Oh no, crazy!'
I couldn't help but be shocked inside.
Perhaps pleased by the compliment, Zion's ears popped out with a popping sound.
I was left speechless, barely able to compose myself.
"Ear!"
"Huh?"
"Ears, you know!"
I tried to explain the situation by moving only the minimal facial muscles.
If I had made a careless mistake, Ruby might have discovered that I was a wolf.
She had lost her memory and couldn't tell the difference between a wolf and a human, but once she regained her memory, I couldn't let my guard down, unsure what she'd do.
Feeling my gaze and gesture, Zion put his ear in with a face full of disappointment.
I quickly looked at Ruby. Fortunately, Ruby's gaze was fixed on the bowl.
I quickly pulled Zion toward me. Then I lowered my voice as low as possible and whispered.
"Why are you suddenly pulling out your ears? Want to see your sister go crazy? You said you shouldn't show Ruby, right?"
"But Ruby..."
It was just as Zion was about to continue speaking with a look of injustice.
"Sis, I've finished it."
Ruby, holding a clean, empty bowl, came over to me. I quickly wiped away my flustered expression and forced a smile.
"Ruby, did you enjoy it?"
"Yes. Thank you."
Ruby said this and approached Zion.
"Zion."
"Uh-huh...?"
"Let's play together."
Ruby smiled broadly and pulled Zion's arm.
Zion briefly looked back and forth between Ruby and me, then slowly nodded.
Though the house was small, it was an incredibly spacious playground for the rats.
Watching the children's hands happily clasp together. I let out a sigh of relief.
Right now, Ruby follows me, but once she finds her memory, she might suddenly change.
'I'm glad I didn't get caught. From now on, I need to be even more careful.'
I struggled to erase the vivid imagination and trembled all over.
***
The winter forest, still dark, was covered in the bluish morning light.
"Sister..."
Ruby, who finally got up, came closer to me. I glanced at Zion, who was still lost in sleep, and spoke in a small voice.
"Sleep a little longer. I'll be back soon."
"Uh-hmm... Don't go. Sleep with me more."
Ruby shook her head as if complaining. Her playful voice naturally brought a smile to my face.
"But if I don't go now, I won't be able to make money."
When I spoke in a playful voice, Ruby blinked and asked.
"...Do you have to earn a lot of money, sister?"
"Yeah. Sister needs a lot of money."
"Why?"
Before she knew it, her drowsiness seemed to have vanished, and Ruby asked in a voice full of curiosity.
'Why is that? Trying to escape before your future self kills us...'
I recalled the thoughts I held almost like convictions, and suddenly stopped. Then I quietly looked down at the girl.
"..."
I slowly reached out and stroked Ruby's head.
Black hair like the night sky softly spread between my fingers. I was contained in the child's red eyes.
I said with a small smile.
"I want to earn a lot of money and move to a better place."
"...Moving?"
"Yeah. You have to have a lot of money to move, and even after moving, you eat well and live well."
I said that with a smirk. Then, Ruby, who had been quietly looking at me, hesitated and offered something.
It was a small ring.
"What is this?"
"I found it in the forest."
"Forest?"
"...I'm sorry. I shouldn't leave recklessly........"
Ruby muttered in a sullen voice.
Leaving without even remembering anything, she knew what might happen to the wolves. I spoke in a deliberately stern voice.
"Ruby. You know, you were in some accident and collapsed alone in that cold forest. Someone might have attacked you. Besides, you can't remember anything."
At my words, Ruby nodded with a sullen face.
Ugh. Seeing her pursed, upset lips made me feel weak again.
"...It's not that I don't know your heart. Well, let's do it this way. Today, I'll finish work as quickly as possible and come back. How about going out with Zion and having a snowball fight then?"
At my words, Ruby's face instantly lit up.
It was no exaggeration to say it contained all the light of the world.
I took the ring Ruby offered me and put it on my hand proudly. The ring looked so expensive that I wondered how someone had picked something up in the snow.
"Thank you. I'll keep it safe."
I smiled and expressed my gratitude.
Then Ruby grinned and shook her head.
"Hmm. Don't keep them, sell them."
"...Huh?"
"Money."
Ruby said this as she curled her thumb and index finger into a circle. It was a hand signal pointing to money.
"It'll be money, that's going to be it."
"..."
Be honest. You haven't lost your memory, have you?
I swallowed the words that were stuck to my throat and laughed.
"Y-yeah. It does look expensive."
"Right?"
"So Ruby gave this sister, uh, something that could be money?"
"Yes."
"Thank you... Well, I'll sell it."
Is this the right way to answer a child...? I stood up from my seat, feeling confused.
"I'll be back."
"Go ahead, sister."
I raised my ringed hand and waved it. Ruby smiled brightly and waved to follow me.
***
Rachel yawned loudly. Blinking her sleepy eyes and looking around, she couldn't see her sister. Today, it seemed her sister had gone out early to run her business.
No matter how much she slept, sleep kept coming back. Maybe it was because of the chill from the north that cooled the heat.
Rachel, who had been squinting a few times, looked at the cooling fireplace.
"..."
Then Rachel glanced at Zion, who was still lost in sweet dreams.
Rachel cautiously stood up and approached the fireplace. She stretched out her small hand to the little firewood she had left. Then, with a loud crash, a great flame began to blaze.
She wondered if this was enough. Rachel shook her hands like a worker who had just finished a big task.
'Zion is sleeping, and my sister is out... Maybe I should look around a bit.'
Rachel peeked out through the small window.
The forest, covered in white snow, remained quiet and serene. The only sounds were the occasional rattling of the window and the clatter of trees in the wind.
In Rachel's red eyes, the dreamcatcher Eve had bought was reflected.
"..."
Rachel reached out and fiddled with the feather attached to the end of the Dreamcatcher.
"Now you'll only dream good dreams."
Rachel pondered what her sister had said.
Good dream. At first, she didn't believe it. No matter how hard she tried, those nightmares often tormented her.
But her words came true. The nightmare that had tormented her endlessly no longer appeared.
Rachel stared quietly at the dreamcatcher, then headed back to the bed. She smelled the winter scent her sister carries.
'Cozy and comfortable like an older sister.'
A smile appeared on Rachel's lips.
The child blinked slowly. Sleep was coming back again. Her eyes, which had been dim, closed completely.
The child's breathing filled the small cabin.
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