"Huff… huff…"
Rem gently blew on the steaming porridge, obedient as a little puppy.
Then she tilted her head slightly and accepted the spoon into her mouth.
The smooth meat porridge slid down her throat, carrying just a hint of salt.
It was soft, warm, and perfectly tempered.
That warmth spread from her throat all the way into her chest.
"Grin-kun… you don't need to be this gentle with Rem…"
As she said that, the faint smile on Rem's face slowly faded.
Tears began to gather in her beautiful blue eyes again, sudden and without warning.
This time, they were not from laughter.
They came from somewhere much deeper.
Grin panicked immediately.
"What's wrong? What happened? Did it burn you?"
"Rem is the one who caused you harm, so why are you still being this kind to me?"
"Rem is weak… and talentless…"
"If Grin-kun hadn't tried to save Rem, then you wouldn't have been cursed…"
The more she spoke, the more her tears poured down.
Grin set the porridge bowl aside and, unable to stop himself, gently placed a hand on her trembling head.
"Rem, don't treat the harm caused by an enemy as if it were your own sin. If you carry too much by yourself, it'll only make you lonelier."
Her hair was unbelievably soft.
Like touching a cloud.
Rem pinched her sleeve and wiped at the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
"Grin-kun is an important benefactor to Sister… but Rem failed to protect you."
"Why wasn't Rem the one who got cursed?"
"Why wasn't it Rem who lost something instead?"
"Rem is only a substitute for Sister. I took part of my sister's body from her… and yet I can't compare to even half of her…"
A dull ache passed through Grin's chest.
This insecure girl had truly lived too long as nothing more than her sister's shadow.
"Rem, you are not anyone's substitute. To me, you are one of a kind."
Rem looked up at him, lost and disbelieving.
"No… everything Rem does is only a clumsy imitation of Sister…"
"Ram isn't nearly as perfect as you make her sound."
Grin put on a look of complete disbelief and started counting on his fingers.
"She's not as gentle as you, not as well-proportioned as you, and her cooking is awful. Seriously, I'm speechless when it comes to her cooking. The first pot of porridge this morning was burned by her."
Rem turned her head away and avoided his eyes.
"No. If it were really Sister, she definitely would have done better."
"Whether someone has a horn or not shouldn't affect the taste of food, right? Anyway, your crispy fried trout is a ten. Ram's blackened porridge is a one. And if I weren't afraid she'd beat me up, I'd give it a zero."
"Even so… Rem has always believed she was only a replacement for Sister…"
"In my eyes, Rem is Rem, and Ram is Ram. You both have your own strengths. Neither of you can replace the other."
Grin picked up the porridge bowl again and offered it to her gently.
"Alright. Smile, Rem. If you cry while eating, even the farmers who grew the food will feel bad."
Rem accepted the bowl.
By now, the porridge was no longer scalding.
The warmth had already made its way somewhere more important.
She wiped her eyes again with her sleeve, then scooped up a large spoonful and put it into her mouth.
After chewing quietly for a moment, a tiny smile appeared.
"You can actually taste a little bit of burnt flavor…"
Grin nodded solemnly.
"This house genuinely can't function without you, Rem. If I hadn't caught it in time this morning, Ram would definitely have burned the whole kitchen down."
Rem lowered her eyes, embarrassed by such direct praise.
"Rem isn't that amazing…"
"But I really think you are, Rem."
"When I was cursed, you were the first person to come to me, the first person to say out loud that you would save me, and the first to rush into the forest to fight for my life."
"To me, no one is more amazing than you. Rem—you are my hero."
Grin meant every word.
From Rem's perspective, she had no way of knowing that he had partly walked into the curse on purpose, or that he had his own means of surviving it.
What she knew was simple:
when everyone else was still processing what had happened, she was the first to step forward and say she would save him.
Rem slowly lifted her head, like a lost boat finally spotting a lighthouse at sea.
She looked as though she was being gently coaxed back into life.
"Rem is actually very weak… so I'll definitely end up relying on others…"
She had always longed for warmth.
For light.
Grin stood up, thumped his chest proudly, and grinned.
"What a coincidence, Rem. There just happens to be someone incredibly reliable right here. It's only natural for companions to rely on each other."
Rem slowly raised her hand and held it out toward him.
She seemed afraid it was all a dream.
Afraid the light would vanish the moment she touched it.
But in the end, her palm landed against Grin's chest, and the solid warmth there told her that he was real.
Grin caught her wrist and pulled her into his arms.
"Smile, my hero. Consider this your reward for putting up with me all morning."
"Grin-kun… you are Rem's hero too… waaah—"
She buried herself tightly against his chest and cried even harder.
The tears burst out like a dam breaking in spring, washing away all the tension that had been trapped in her brows and eyes.
Her thin shoulders shook violently.
Her fingers gripped his clothes with all their strength.
"Alright, alright… why are you suddenly crying even harder…"
Grin did nothing more than hold her and pat her gently on the back.
He simply waited in silence for her to finish letting out everything she had buried inside.
Only after a long while did Rem finally stop crying.
Even then, she kept her face buried in his chest, her shoulders still twitching now and then.
"Grin."
"I'm here."
"I want porridge."
"Alright. No problem."
Grin picked up the bowl again, only to realize that the porridge had already gone cold.
"This bowl's cold. I'll go get you a fresh one."
Rem quickly grabbed his sleeve.
"No. This bowl is fine."
Grin could not win against her insistence, so he obediently scooped up a full spoonful and brought it back to her lips.
Rem blinked her bright blue eyes and complained softly,
"You need to blow on it."
"Huh? Alright, alright. Fwooh… fwooh…"
Grin, caught between amusement and helplessness, blew gently on the already lukewarm porridge anyway.
When he lifted the spoon again, Rem obediently opened her mouth and ate.
She finished the entire bowl like that.
Grin set the dishes back on the tray and cleaned up the crumbs that had fallen.
"Get some rest, Rem. I'm going to take these dishes back now."
Rem nodded obediently and pulled herself down under the blanket.
"Can I still have breakfast with Grin tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, and the day after too. I'll be here. Don't worry, you little crybaby."
Grin laughed and opened the door.
And the moment it swung open, one peach-haired maid who had clearly been pressing herself against it for the entire conversation suddenly lost her balance and fell forward with a whoosh, dropping to her knees right in front of him.
Grin stared blankly at Ram.
Ram stared blankly back.
Then Grin said weakly,
"It's not New Year's yet, Ram…"