EIITAB - Chapter 18 Block The Castle Gates
Even If It Is Trampled And Broken
Three years have passed since Aslan lived as a hostage in the capital. He watched Hestia grow into the Lady she was closer to than anyone else. If he had seen her every day, would he have considered her more like his sister?
Hestia, who came to visit whenever she was forgotten, grew taller each time, and she became more and more beautiful. And as she changed, so did he.
From boy to man. He grew much taller, and thanks to his daily training, his body became thicker and stronger. Hestia laughed and joked that her neck now hurt when she looked up at him, and each time Aslan lowered his body without complaint and met her gaze.
As he looked into those purple eyes, Aslan sometimes felt a sense of possessiveness, and he had to work hard to swallow it without showing it.
But it did not go away and coiled itself inside him like a snake.
Hestia, the name he couldn't bear to utter turned into heat, warming his body.
Around that time, Aslan learned that before her awakening as a Saintess, Yorgos, who had just ascended the throne, was contemplating her disposition and was trying to promote her betrothal to Kalathi. And he thought without thinking. If only she hadn't become a Saintess. If that had been the case, he thinks they would have been together much sooner.
It was around that time that the strange thing happened.
"Seal the gates! Do your best to prevent anything living in the North from crossing over to the South!"
Aslan, who was isolated, also heard news that winter was not unusual in the north. Yorgos, who thought Aslan had forgotten that he lived in the palace, called him.
"How long has it been since you came to the capital?"
"It's been three years now."
"Three years... Hmm, then it's time to go back."
Asian couldn't believe his ears. It was because he couldn't understand what Yorgos meant by saying he would release him as a hostage without any conditions. Yorgos continued.
"The situation in the north is unusual."
Winter's mood is different than usual. Yorgos's face, which had deep wrinkles in various places due to frowning, looked much older than his age.
His mood soured. An anxiety whose mechanism was unknown was trying to encroach on him. But Aslan calmly asked back.
"Is this Information reliable?"
"This is what the messenger your father personally sent a little while ago said. "I'll be waiting outside, so I'll see you later on your way out."
Only then did Asian narrow his brows. He knew the temperament of his father, Wayne Kalathi, better than anyone else. No matter how difficult the situation is, he never sounds weak.
However, if he personally posted this report, it meant that the winter was really serious.
It felt like someone was strangling his neck. Aslan repeatedly cleared his throat briefly, cleared his throat, and finally spoke the next question.
"What do you say is the situation?"
"Instead of rain, ice is pouring down, and there are gusts of snow mixed in every day. It is said that no matter how many layers of clothes you wear, the cold seeps into your bones. Because of that, there are countless people freezing every day, but they say they can't even bury them because the ground is frozen."
Wayne Kalathi was not so clueless as to miss the warning signs. If so, it clearly means that the weather suddenly changed without any warning.
Aslan's expression became serious.
"Even the appearance of demonic beasts has become more severe. But it seems difficult to stop them all due to lack of power."
Aslan asked back angrily with a frown.
"Your Majesty, are you not planning on sending reinforcements to the north?"
Yorgos did not answer right away. He tapped the armrests of the throne with his fingernails and thought deeply for a moment, but did not give Aslan the answer he wanted.
"I'm thinking about it."
Aslan swallowed arsenic inside. As always, this time too, this King will be trying to calculate his profits and losses fiercely.
Yorgos spoke dissatisfiedly as if he had read Aslan's thoughts.
"Don't look at me like that. From my perspective, I have no choice but to think about it."
Yorgos poured out all the anger he had been building up on Aslan.
"Hundreds or thousands of people wake up like a swarm of bees at my one decision. Until now, they had gone too far in supporting the North. Of course, there was a lot of talk about that too. It's harder to hold on now. Isn't it no different from pouring water into a bottomless pot?"
Yorgos was right. Because no one knew where winter would end.
"There has to be a cause that I can't refuse. Otherwise, you won't be able to move easily."
At that moment, a light turned on in Aslan's head.
'The cause that allows the King to move.'
Aslan held his breath without realizing it. Only one person came into his mind.
'If it's her...!'
He felt like he could help him, Wayne, and the North. His fists were filled with great power.
***
As he came out after my audience with Yorgos, Aslan saw familiar faces.
"Aslan! Dean! Martin! Long time no see."
"Yes, it's Dean! You have grown so much!"
My friend, who was like a brother to him after a long time, had tears in his eyes that were unbecoming of his large size.
Looking at that, Aslan just chuckled. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, but Aslan said goodbye by lightly bumping his fists.
"I'm glad everyone is okay."
"It's just the face, just the face! What a mess your body is!"
Dean, who was more agile than Martin, joked and looked like he was going to die in pain. That stern attack was Dean's own act of friendliness.
But Aslan's expression darkened a little. Aslan, who was moving his neck loudly as if swallowing something that was being criticized, spoke in a grating voice.
"I'm sorry. only me..."
Seeing Aslan slurring his words uncharacteristically, Martin hit Dean's side with his elbow to make him notice.
"What are you talking about? I don't think so at all."
As if receiving Martin's words, Dean opened his mouth again in a panic.
"I knew it would be like this. We've been talking about it among ourselves for the past three years. I'm sure you'll be digging alone like this."
"Isn't it too disrespectful to speak to the Prince, Sir Dean?"
"Oh, that's right."
Dean scratched the back of his head and bowed his head towards Aslan.
"You must have felt the most uncomfortable and difficult. So don't blame yourself."
No one blames him. Aslan, who understood what Dean really wanted to say, simply nodded his head. It didn't lighten his heavy heart at all, but he did it because he felt that if he did this, Dean and Martin would feel less sorry for him and wouldn't notice anything.
Aslan took a shaky breath, soon calmed his expression, and asked.
"What is the situation outside?"
"...It's serious."
Dean's face immediately hardened as if he was being naughty.
'The King didn't act harshly.'
Aslan gestured towards the two knights and told them to follow him. In many ways, he thought it was not appropriate to talk in a place like this. Aslan brought Dean and Martin to the palace where he was staying.
"Continue... Did you live in a place like this? How could the only heir of the Kalathi duchy...!"
"It was worth living."
There are people who come to visit. The words that were not as secluded as he thought rose up in Aslan's throat, but he quickly swallowed them. He instead turned his horse's head.
"Now tell me. What is the situation in the north, Kalathi, now?"
The gap narrowed so that Dean's dark eyebrows were almost touching. He spoke in a low voice as if he were whispering.
"The biggest problem is that His Excellency the Duke is injured."
Aslan's jaw, which had been clenched tightly, was put under even greater force, causing his jawline to bulge. His lips even turned white because blood could not flow through them.
"...What?"
Aslan's reaction to the unexpected news was delayed. His golden eyes moved slowly, examining the expressions of the two knights. Dean's face is extremely sad, and Martin's face is expressionless as always but darker than usual. From the two people's reactions, Aslan's hopes that it would be nothing special were miserably dashed.
Aslan, who was dazed and showed no reaction for a moment, soon wrinkled his face. It felt like his invisible hand was strangling his life. His father was always the one who went to the forefront to protect himself and Kalathi. He himself grew up looking at that strong back. He was always safe if he followed his father's footsteps. But, he did that.
Suddenly his breathing became tangled. Aslan frowned and touched the area around his neck. The touch became increasingly stronger. As he scratched mercilessly, my skin quickly turned red.
"Hey, Then it gets damaged. Please stop."
Dean and Martin grabbed his wrists and gave him strength, and only then did Aslan stop self-harming by scratching his neck. Although his mind was still agitated, he managed to hold onto the strings of reason and asked quietly while taking a slow breath.
"The condition is... How do you feel?"
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