The front door clicked shut behind Lys and Selene, leaving the Veyne household wrapped in a heavy silence broken only by the distant, urgent blare of the warning horn. Elara remained standing near the bottom of the stairs, one hand still gripping the clean bathrobe she had been carrying for Tresta. She hadn't moved since the two of them stepped outside, her gaze fixed on the closed door, wondering where Helga had gone out to search for Mitsu, that she still hadn't come home.
But before she finished her thought, Helga stepped fully inside a moment later, brushing dust from her skirt.
The sturdy woman closed the door firmly behind her and let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging just a fraction now that she was back within the safety of the walls. Outside, it was chaotic with people running around in panic.
Before Elara could speak, the sound of hurried footsteps came from upstairs. Mira descended quickly, her red hair slightly disheveled from rushing down. She stopped at the landing, eyes scanning the room.
"They've already gone out, haven't they?" Mira asked straight away, her voice tight with concern. "I knew it; the moment they got the chance, both of them would go out to play hero without me."
Elara nodded slowly, finally tearing her eyes away from the door. "Yeah, they left just now, honey."
Mira's brow furrowed, feeling a little left out without Selene and Lys both outside the home. She took the last few steps down, gripping the banister. "Mom… why did you let them go? Isn't it dangerous out there right now? With everything that's happening, the dungeon break?"
Even though Elara knew the real reason for her daughter now complaining about them going out without her, she still opened her mouth to say why she actually let them go, but the words got caught in her mouth for a second. She glanced toward Helga instead.
The two women locked eyes across the room, and something passed between them, a small, knowing smile, quiet and almost private. It wasn't one of amusement exactly, but of shared understanding of how leaving those two youngsters together was the right choice.
Helga also gave a subtle nod, her own lips curving in that same gentle, knowing way. The smile lingered between them, warm despite the tension thickening the air.
Elara finally spoke, her voice soft but steady. "Because even if we tried, they wouldn't have listened."
Helga didn't need to add much. She nodded with her and echoed the sentiment with a quiet hum of agreement. "They've both changed, Mira. So, letting them go together might turn their bond stronger than it already is," she murmured, almost to herself, but loud enough for the others to hear.
Mitsu, who had been standing quietly near the table, hands clasped tightly in front of her, exchanged confused glances with Mira. The younger women clearly sensed they were missing something deeper, a layer of understanding that only Elara and Helga shared.
But somehow they understood at least that these two older women were thinking something that Mira and Mitsu still didn't know.
***
The quiet in the main room stretched on, broken only by the occasional distant horn and the soft bubbling of the forgotten stew in the kitchen downstairs.
Upstairs, Tresta sat on the edge of the small bed in her new room, staring at the plain wooden floor. The weight of everything that had happened today pressed down on her thin shoulders like the same old, familiar curse.
Though she had come here because of him, Lys, she still felt somewhat unsure if it was the right choice.
The boy had walked into her life like a strange miracle. The more she saw him, the more astonished she became at how unique he was from his surroundings.
She remembered the moment only an hour ago clearly: the cursed bow, the same one that had drained her strength and vitality for years, lying in her home. No one else could even touch it without feeling its corrosive touch.
Yet Lys had picked it up without hesitation, without any visible effect. There wasn't any tremor in his body, not even a single sign of the agony it had inflicted on her.
And then came his offer. Not just providing her shelter, but a promise to remove the curse, too. He promised the restoration of her former glory.
Of course, at first, she had been hesitant, suspicious, even. The world had taught her too many painful lessons about trusting pretty words. But his sincerity had been unmistakable from the moment they met. The way he spoke, the way he looked at her suffering without pity, but with quiet resolve.
It made her want to believe. Desperately.
And before she knew it, she started to believe it.
Her daughter's face flashed in her mind at the moment he offered her his hand. The only reason she had clung to life this long was vengeance.
Bringing those bastards from the capital, the ones responsible for her loss, to the ground was her only reason to live after her daughter died on her. And as Lys claimed, if he could truly fix her… then she could do it herself.
That vengeance was the only reason she accepted his hand back then. She had thought she would perish just as her daughter had. But just before that, he came as a savior. So, how can she not accept whatever his offer was?
She made up her mind at that same spot: she would follow him, go wherever he wanted her to be, do whatever he wished her to do.
Wherever that led. As long as she can take her revenge, she will do anything.
That was the determination Tresta had in mind when coming to Lys's house. And thoughts of revenge still hovered over her head when a soft knock pulled her from her thoughts.
The door opened gently, and Elara stepped in, holding a clean bathrobe folded neatly over her arm. The woman's expression was kind but tired, the lines of worry from earlier still etched on her face.
"Uhh, your name was Tresta, right? Here," Elara said softly, offering the robe. "You should wash up and rest. The water's warm in the downstairs washroom. It'll help with … everything."
Tresta looked down at her own dirty clothes that she was wearing now. Washing for outside settlers was only about cleaning themselves at the local river or stream of water that came from the forest edge. But as she was not in the mood for a bath for the last two days, her already half-dirty clothes now looked like street-beggar condition.
She stood slowly, her movements careful. She accepted the bathrobe with a small nod and said, " Thank you. For this. For everything."
Elara gave her a gentle smile to reassure the woman that she was welcome here. "You're safe here. So, take your time."
Tresta clutched the soft fabric and made her way downstairs to the washroom alongside Elara, as she showed Tresta the way to it.
As Tresta closed the door behind her when she entered the washroom, the latch clicking softly, the small space felt strangely peaceful to her compared to the open bathing space outside, where she was so used to washing till now. The last time she remembers using a clean and proper washroom like this was at the capital, years ago, when she had finally decided to leave the capital and hide in a countryside village with her daughter.
She set the robe aside and began to undress, her gaunt frame reflected faintly in the water basin. The warm water was a luxury she'd almost forgotten.
In the outer settlement, bathing meant standing in the river with her dress hiked up, shivering while she scrubbed with a rough cloth. Here, the heat seeped into her aching muscles, and she closed her eyes, letting it wash away more than just dirt.
For years, she'd carried the curse like a second skin, a constant, gnawing weakness that reminded her of everything she'd lost. Here, in this clean, warm room, the familiar ache felt almost foreign.
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart beat steadily for the first time in memory. She knew, perhaps it was foolish to hope, but the hope was there anyway, stubborn and aching.
As she poured the first bucket of warm water over her head, it cascaded down her pale skin, washing away the dirt and sweat of the day. Along with that dirt, she also felt like she was finally becoming a real human being after so long, washing away the last restraint she had, which stopped her from becoming a ruthless woman who can finally do whatever it takes to avenge her daughter.