Not long afterward, the fragrance of chamomile and lavender drifted through the room.
“There, it's ready.”
The woman poured out an appropriate amount of the richly brewed tea and carefully offered the cup.
Holding it in her hands, Talia silently looked down.
Apparently honey had been added, for a sweet aroma gently tickled her nose.
As she quietly savored it, the long cry sounded again.
Talia let out a small groan.
Apparently, that beast had decided to howl throughout the entire night.
“Close the window. Draw the curtains too.”
The woman immediately obeyed.
Yet the cries of the wild beast easily pierced through the thick glass and curtains.
The healer let out an awkward smile.
“It seems a wolf is yearning desperately for someone in this village.”
Talia snorted in disbelief.
“Are you trying to joke with me right now?”
“Not at all...”
Startled by her sharp response, the woman continued calmly.
“In the East, there is an old belief that those who die without receiving baptism are reborn as wild beasts. The cries heard at night are said to be songs calling out to those they loved in life.”
Talia scoffed.
“Souls that die without baptism simply fall into the abyss and perish. Don't you know even the most basic doctrine?”
“...I know the teachings of the Church well.”
Bitterness flickered around the woman's lips.
“But isn't it far more comforting to believe that the person you loved has returned to your side, even in the form of a beast? Even the priests tend to overlook such beliefs.”
Talia looked puzzled.
“Are there truly so many who die without baptism?”
“Like all citizens of the Empire, we easterners receive baptism within one hundred days of birth. But stillborn children are not granted such blessings, are they?”
Reading the pain hidden within the woman's voice, Talia awkwardly shifted her eyes.
Had this healer once lost a child?
Not knowing what to say, she sat uneasily while the woman smiled gently, as though trying to lighten the mood.
“The tea will grow cold. Please drink it.”
Watching the woman's expression, Talia finally swallowed the lukewarm tea.
After silently observing her, the healer placed several medicine bottles on a shelf and left the room.
Lying back upon the bed, Talia listened to the gradually fading cries.
Perhaps that woman had once heard such a song calling out to her.
Maybe that was why she had remained unable to sleep all this time.
She absentmindedly entertained the thought before quickly shaking away such pointless musings.
Bearing her own pain was difficult enough.
She had no strength left to concern herself with anyone else's.
* * *
Perhaps the herbal tea had helped, because she slept deeply without dreaming.
Awakening with a refreshing feeling she could no longer remember experiencing, Talia gazed with sleepy eyes at the brightly growing light beyond the window.
Then—
She sensed someone's presence nearby.
Thinking the nurse had brought water for washing, Talia turned her head—
And nearly jumped when cool fingers gently cupped her cheek.
Her eyes flew open.
Sitting on the edge of the bed was Varkas.
Blinking in a daze, Talia hastily pushed herself upright.
The moment she was about to inspect him from head to toe, wondering whether he had been injured anywhere, her chin was lifted upward.
And before she could react—
His lips descended without warning.