EIITAB - Chapter 64 < Kalathi Castle >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
Hestia stiffened.
It seemed like time was just passing away for her. Only her dazzling silver hair, like snowflakes fluttering softly in the wind, told Aslan that he lived in the same time zone as her.
'Are you even breathing?'
Her chest doesn't rise or fall at all. Aslan's brow furrowed deeply as he could not find any sign of her breathing.
Meanwhile, Hestia stood motionless for a while before slowly closing her eyes. In the fluttering eyelashes, emotions that Aslan could never understand were read. She parted her lips slightly and took a deep breath. Cold, clean air fills her lungs. Only then did Hestia feel that her mind was finally becoming clear. But unlike her increasingly awakened head, her heart grew hot. Why?
Thank you.
The meaning was special. She kept getting more and more overwhelmed.
"Hestia?"
She lifted her eyelids again at the sound of him calling to her. The purple eyes were shining brightly. She looked up at Aslan and asked cautiously as if she wanted confirmation.
"Then... Have I been of any help to you?"
Aslan nodded his head loudly as if there was no need to think about it.
"Of course."
Only then did Hestia relax. Her entire body lost all strength at once. She muttered again in a low voice
"It was helpful."
She looked as if she was trying to give herself one more listen.
"I'm so glad."
Hestia's cheeks spread red for reasons other than the cold. Afterward, a smile as soft and warm as spring began to slowly settle on her face. Hestia's smile, which Aslan had longed to see, blossomed so easily like a flower bud.
"...!"
Aslan, who was faced with that scene without warning, sucked in a breath. He didn't even realize that he had stopped breathing. His golden eyes twinkled, and his gaze focused solely on the woman in front of him.
His throat was moving slowly, consuming fire inside.
***
The carriage rolled slowly but steadily towards Kalathi Castle.
"I was worried what would happen if the demon appeared again, but I'm glad."
Hestia nodded her head while listening to Angela's story. After a brief pause, she added a word of her own to her maid.
"Even if a demon appears, wouldn't it be okay to worry too much? There are trustworthy knights out there."
Since Angela was born in the South, she had a vague fear of the North. So, although she was not conscious of it, what she said sometimes contained things that could provoke the knights of Kalathi.
'No matter what, we will be living at Kalathi Castle from now on, so it can't continue like this.'
Hestia was trying to change Angela's perception by reminding her of the strengths of the Kalathi knights, rather than pointing them out loud.
After she dies, she and Angela will probably go back to the South.
Hestia had her own wish that her maid would speak a little better about the North at that time. So she said it with a nervous heart, but Angela didn't think it was any different and she accepted it right away.
"How about doing it! The knights I met when I lived in the capital were also dignified and cool, but in fact, when it comes to martial arts, I think the knights of the Duke of Kalathi were superior. Even to me, who has a dark eye on that kind of thing."
"That's right. They all seemed to be incredibly talented people."
Hestia smiled softly, nodding her head and turning her gaze out the window. She had closed the curtains for a long time, but due to the temperature difference between inside and outside, the white frost covered the room, making it difficult to see the outside scenery properly.
As Angela and Aslan said, the temperature was dropping. Hestia had put on more clothes and covered herself with several layers of thick blankets and blankets so that she was almost buried.
Anyway, just like Aslan's rant, Hestia never had to face the demon beast again for the rest of her journey. But despite this, the knights' vigilance did not ease.
'On the contrary, it can be said that things have become more stringent!'
Unlike Jerome, whom Hestia personally cared for when he suffered a shoulder injury, it seemed to be because of a colleague who had to leave before she could even use her help. The knights walked through snow and ice and dug into the frozen ground to bury their dead comrades. Hestia also mourned sincerely for the dead person, albeit for a short period of time.
'I hope you find comfort in the land of rest.'
None of the knights cried or shed tears. But Hestia would vaguely guess how much their hearts would hurt. The knights, who did not want to lose anyone anymore, acted as if they could not tolerate the slightest laxity. This was because being careless would soon lead to allowing a surprise attack. And no one complained about it.
Rather, it felt like it was natural to do this. Meanwhile, after Jerome's treatment, the knights became a little more friendly to Hestia.
"I picked it up on the way... Do you want to eat it?"
A knight wandered around Hestia and handed her a pouch containing dried raspberries. To be exact, it wasn't that he had properly placed it in her hand, but it was closer to being thrown away carelessly. Hestia let out a soft laugh.
"Where did you pick this up?"
It was cute to see the driver just making excuses because he couldn't come up with a suitable excuse.
It is difficult to find crops in this frozen land, let alone fruits. So, it must have been saved for emergency use when coming to the capital.
'I guess I was planning on saving it for a long time...'
She took out just one and chewed it, and the sweet and sour taste immediately spread into her mouth. The knights were not openly friendly to her, but they were all expressing their gratitude to her in their own way.
That feeling was also revealed in this carriage. Compared to the carriage she rode in when she first set off, it was now much less shaky and was rolling without shaking. And as if the knights could no longer ignore the fact that Hestia was not good at eating due to motion sickness, they filled her canteen with clean water and made sure she didn't run out.
Perhaps thanks to such consideration, Hestia's coughing disease was gradually subsiding.
'Because I don't use his divine power anymore, I can focus on recovery!'
If it had gotten worse as time went by, there would have been no way to hide it and it would have been difficult.
'Anyway, how should I return this?'
Hestia thought about how to return this bag of fruit to the knight. While she was thinking about that, the carriage was running fast, and the sight of Kalathi Castle, which had seemed so far away, was getting closer and closer.
***
The knight in the watchtower shouted loudly downwards.
"My Lord has returned! Lower the gates!"
Soon the drawbridge came down. The moat had already been frozen over a dozen years ago, but it was too deep and too wide to just jump over, so they had to build a bridge with a door to get inside.
Aslan took the lead, followed by Dean and Martin of course. The carriage Hestia was riding in was at the very end of the group, along with the cart containing the gifts received from Yorgos.
"Whoa, whoa."
As soon as he entered the castle, Aslan jumped off his horse. Then, he used his long legs to walk towards the man.
"Wharton."
A man as tall as Aslan bowed his head towards him.
"Your Excellency, I am finally relieved to see that you have returned safely!"
A loud voice rang through the air. It was a vocalization that was as refreshing as its appearance. When Aslan saw Wharton's face after a long time, instead of saying hello, he grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a hug.
"You worked hard."
Wharton raised his hand and lightly tapped Aslan's back. This was possible because they had built a long friendship.
"It's a hardship, Your Excellency said it. Dean, how hard must it have been to take that brat around with you?"
"That's also true."
Aslan laughed and finally released Wharton from his arms. Only then did Wharton turn his gaze to the cart that had entered the castle with Aslan.
"Oh! It looks like you received more gifts this time than last year!"
Wharton, who was checking the scale with his own eyes, became angry when he saw that the scale was different from last year.
"Why did that old mothball take care of you so much?"
"That is...There were some circumstances."
Aslan scratched his eyebrows with a very embarrassed expression. Wharton looked at his Lord with an expression that indicated he was willing to listen to as much as he wanted. It felt like those gazes were urging him on, Aslan didn't know where to start explaining, so he wrinkled his face as if he was quite troubled. Dean trudged towards the two men, carrying something on his back.
"Tsk."
With a short, forceful sound, Dean dropped what he was carrying on his shoulder to the floor.
Dump.
At Wharton's feet lay the long corpse of the wolf beast that Aslan had killed not long ago. Aslan was secretly pleased. It is true that this is a more urgent topic, so I thought I should solve this problem first.
"No, what is this?"
Wharton raised his voice with a surprised look on his face. Of course, he didn't ask because he didn't know it was a demonic beast. However, it was a question that had no choice but to be raised because it was an item that was thought to be unsuitable for Aslan and the knights, who had come from the southern region, to bring with them.
Wharton studied the beast with his eyes and stammered another question with his mouth.
"Why is this... How on earth did Dean bring this magical beast?"
Aslan crossed his arms and frowned.
"That's right. I'm curious too. Why on earth did we encounter this guy in the South? Tsk. I don't know why."
Aslan's words were mixed with a sigh, and Wharton's face hardened.
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