Even when the young Guest asked where they were going, her aunt gave no answer. Her aunt, who would usually at least tell her to shut her mouth, simply ignored her and stared out the window. Guest also sat still, quietly watching the trees flash by.

Clop, clop. Just as the sound of the horses' hooves—which she had grown so used to that she no longer noticed them—came to a stop, her aunt grabbed Guest's shoulder and pulled her up roughly.

The place where Guest stepped off the carriage was in the middle of a secluded forest path. To Guest's question of where this was, her aunt still did not open her mouth.

Her aunt's stride was much larger than Guest's, so Guest was practically dragged along, almost running to keep up. Her wrists began to ache, but thinking that complaining to her aunt, who hadn't said a word for a while, was a luxury, Guest kept her mouth shut.

After walking for a few minutes, a familiar-looking house appeared in Guest's view. Along with it came the sweet scent of sugar. Excited, Guest quickly turned her head and asked her aunt.

"Are we going to Grandma's house??!"

However, her aunt simply kept walking and roughly threw open the door to the grandmother's house.

Her aunt shouted incomprehensible things at the grandmother, saying she couldn't raise a cursed child anymore and telling her to do as she pleased, before turning around and storming out of the shop. Guest, finding the adults' conversation difficult, likely just stood there blankly, preoccupied with the dilemma of which dessert to eat.

The grandmother called out her aunt's name urgently, but her aunt didn't look back once and climbed straight into the carriage she had arrived in. The sound of horse hooves faded into the distance. Only then did Guest wave her hand vigorously at the back of the departing carriage, but no farewell came back.

The grandmother gently stroked Guest's hair, saying they should live together here for a while. Smiling brightly at the faint scent of butter on her grandmother's hand, Guest nodded vigorously and soon spoke up.

"Grandma, but, but... can I go outside for a bit?"

The grandmother's permission was perhaps a given. Since Guest was the daughter of her deceased son, there was no reason not to listen to her.

The grandmother packed a few loaves of bread in a basket, telling her not to be too late. Guest simply ran out of the shop in excitement.

Well, the reason Guest went for a walk instead of eating the desserts immediately was simple. Curiosity. While riding in the carriage, she had definitely seen an unfamiliar roof around here.

Guest wandered along the forest path, moving her feet. She was heading deeper and deeper, and just as she was tilting her head, wondering if this wasn't the right way, Guest's footsteps came to a halt.