EIITAB - Chapter 37 < Sleep With Me >
Even If It Is Trampled And Broken
OMG.
At those words, which were like a bombshell, gasps could be heard here and there. Hestia was equally surprised.
'What are you doing with me?'
Her heart stopped once and then started beating again, and it felt like all the blood in her body was rushing to her head.
'My marriage proposal... You didn't refuse it?'
Hestia turned her face towards Aslan's chest to hide it from Annette and other nobles. As she sighed lightly, Aslan's body stiffened, as if her breath had shaken the fabric of his clothes. The already hard man seemed to have become even harder.
However, Hestia felt infinitely more stable in Aslan's arms.
Aslan cleared his throat for a moment, probably because he had swallowed his dry saliva, and then opened his mouth again.
He asked Annette in a slightly stiffer voice.
"This would have been a sufficient answer."
"Now what... Did you say that? Sir, what you mean is that you are the fiancé of Saintess Hestia?"
"You heard it right. What's strange?"
Annette let out a heavy breath. There was a hint of nervousness in her slightly raised voice.
"It's strange."
Aslan naturally shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. As everyone knows, the Princess was looking for a marriage partner. And she decided on me. I'm also single, so I don't think there's any problem."
Annette kept asking questions with her amazing face.
"Do he know, His Majesty the King? I didn't hear anything from the temple!"
"Of course it is. I was planning on talking about it tomorrow."
Aslan responded in a shameless manner. Then he said with an annoyed expression that he had no more time to give.
"Are you going to keep interrogating me like this? If something goes wrong with the Princess's health, are you going to take responsibility?"
Only then did Annette begin to look at the nobles around her. She thought that if she kept holding Hestia here, the picture would get really weird. When it dawned on her that she might be met with a backlash, she chewed her lips in exasperation and gave way to Aslan.
"First... Take her with you. Because Hestia's health comes first."
"Thank you very much?"
Aslan, who had already moved out of the way and sarcastically meant to be condescending, twisted his mouth.
"Then please excuse me."
He took a step forward while holding Hestia. Of course, he didn't look back.
***
Hestia slowly caught her breath while being held by Aslan. As Annette got further away from the banquet hall where she was staying, miraculously, her physical condition began to gradually improve. She felt as if she had been tricked.
She took a moment to catch her breath and then opened her mouth. Her voice was quite rough.
"Is it true?"
"What."
"Really... Are you going to marry me?"
Aslan hesitated to answer. It was something he said randomly because he thought he had to get Hestia out of the banquet hall. Then suddenly a thought occurred to him. Can he not have his judgment distorted after seeing this woman marry someone else?
Just thinking about it made Aslan grit his teeth. He unconsciously clicked his tongue.
In any case, she was a woman whose mere presence made him feel like a mess.
He looked down at her for a moment. When he met her earnest eyes, he felt that Hestia was very serious about the marriage. Aslan avoided answering for a moment. Then suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
'What's wrong? Whether you really do it or not!'
For now, Aslan thought it would be a good idea to buy some time. Anyway, even if he accepts the marriage proposal, the King or the temple will issue a warning that they can't marry Hestia to someone like him. All he has to do is to disturb her appropriately and then let her go as if she is giving up when her motivation for marriage fades away.
Aslan was appalled at his own meanness. But on the other hand, he defended herself for thinking that way.
'Aren't I the only person who is okay with this woman?'
Hestia owed to him, and since he could not forgive her, he wanted to punish her in this way. So he cleverly told a lie.
"So you're saying we won't do it in this situation?"
Hestia responded in a low voice as if she was going to crawl away, to that blunt response that was extremely blunt.
"Thank you. For changing your mind."
For some reason, Aslan felt his heart tingle at that obedient thank you. When he looked down at her again as if to steal a glance, he saw Hestia leaning against him with her eyes closed.
"What? Are you sleeping?"
Then her small lips opened slightly.
"I'm just keeping it closed. I don't have the strength to keep my eyes open."
It was a faint sound like a sigh. Aslan bit his cheek. The fact that there would be no strength was noticeable from the feather-like weight when he picked her up. But he wondered how she lived that she didn't even have the strength to lift an eyelid.
Aslan wanted to raise his voice and ask questions about how this body came to be and what it eats to maintain it. But the other person was a sick person. No matter how ruthless he was, he tended to criticize others while observing their condition.
Aslan swallowed down the harsh words that rose up in his throat. After he moved his long legs a few times, the two were able to escape from the building where the banquet hall was located.
A person followed behind the two people walking through a quiet garden with few people around. It was Dean, the lieutenant who attended the night's banquet with Aslan. He, who had been mesmerized by Aslan's bombshell, quickly came to his senses and followed them.
He was pursing his lips as if he wanted to say something, and his gaze met Hestia, who raised her head from over Aslan's shoulder. At that moment, his face contorted in an unsightly manner, and he turned his head to avoid looking at Hestia as if he was displeased.
'Ah.'
Out of embarrassment, Hestia squirmed again and buried her face in Aslan's chest. Only then did Aslan notice that his adjutant had followed him and gestured with his chin with a frown.
"Go and prepare a carriage. Because I'm going back."
"...Yes, My Lord."
Dean answered silently and quickly left. When only the two of them were left again, Aslan opened his mouth.
"Where should I go now?"
His intention was to ask which palace Hestia was staying in. He thought she would give him directions, but the answer he got from her was completely unexpected.
"Let's go to your mansion."
"...What?"
When Aslan asked again in a puzzled voice, Hestia, who was being held, lifted her head and looked directly into his eyes.
"You said you would marry me. So sleep with me tonight. Otherwise, His Majesty and the temple will definitely interfere."
Hestia, who had expressed her opinion quite forcefully, paused for a moment, glanced up at him, and added softly.
"Or you'll change your mind the next day."
Aslan's expression distorted as if he were dumbfounded. It felt like Hestia was reading his true thoughts, so he felt prickly and not happy.
He returned the question without giving any answer, saying no or yes.
"Have you forgotten that I hate Princess?"
Hestia's eyes drooped slightly. For some reason, she answered softly with a sad smile.
"It can't be. I know you very well."
Aslan, who had been dumbfounded for a moment at the clearly stated answer, burst into laughter.
"And you still want to sleep with me?"
His low voice seeps into her helpless ears and entangles her. Instead of answering, Hestia slowly nodded her head. Aslan laughed quietly.
"It's a bad taste."
Hestia, who was still hugged by him, felt the trembling through her bodies touching each other. She held her breath, thinking that she had no idea why that slight vibration was shaking her like this. Aslan continued.
"Everyone says I'm a savage. Do you really think of me as a beast?"
Contrary to his raw content, she could not find any sign of discomfort in him. Hestia sighed lightly and scolded.
"Don't make assumptions about what I didn't say."
"But isn't that what the Princess said? I'm not unscrupulous enough to get into heat with a woman who's not in good shape."
Hestia opened her mouth in a somewhat impatient voice. She didn't want to leave Aslan, who had already made up his mind, an excuse to run away.
"If my physical condition is a problem, don't worry. It's enough."
He quipped, looking down at her for a moment at his dumbfounded expression.
"I guess so."
"I'm serious."
In response to Hestia's stubbornness, Aslan shook his head for a moment with a look on his face that showed he could not understand her spirit. Then, with Hestia in his arms, he moved somewhere. It was an angry-looking step without knowing why.
Hestia clung to him a little more tightly to keep from falling. And Aslan no longer asked Hestia which palace she was staying in.
***
The two got into the carriage Dean had prepared for them. During the journey. not a word was exchanged with each other in the carriage. Aslan was sitting in the seat facing backward, with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
Thanks to that, Hestia was able to properly look at his face. Of course, it was never bright inside the carriage. The only light was a small lamp hanging on the wall. Even if she relies on that faint light, she can only tell what height his face is and whether his arms are crossed or not.
But it's really strange. Aslan's facial features cut through this darkness, shining with a clear presence.
Rattling, rattling.
Every time the carriage shook, the flames swayed and the shadows also changed directions. The man gave off a different impression each time.
She probably knows that Aslan is staring.
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