EIITAB - Chapter 79 < Night Walk (1) >

EIITAB - Chapter 79 < Night Walk (1) >

Even if it is Trampled and Broken

There's nothing Hestia can give back. Then, she glanced at Lady Philippa's eyes and sighed softly. 

"And the light from the fireplace makes it a bit hard to sleep at night. In many ways, it would be better to do that." 

The last thing she said was an excuse. Hestia thought that if she did that, Lady Philippa would do as she said, even if she was reluctant. 

Her prediction was correct, and Madame Philippa replied that she would do so without her being able to do it. But even though her business was over, Madame Philippa showed no signs of leaving her room. 

'Is there anything else left to say?' 

After a while, after her hesitation, she opened her mouth in a rather solemn way towards Hestia. 

"Excuse me... Madam, may I add one more word?" 

"Huh? Of course. Is there something?" 

Hestia immediately nodded her head. Even if Aslan was away, it seemed unlikely that official business would be reported to her. She was the reason Aslan had not yet given her the seal of the Duchess of Kalathi. 

If she were to be optimistic, he might have forgotten because he was in a hurry, but if she were to think realistically, it might mean that he would not recognize her official status. 

Even if it was the latter, she was not disappointed. 

'It would be a nuisance if I messed around with a one-year life limit and ended up doing something that couldn't be fixed.' 

So she could nod her head without thinking. Her purple eyes filled with curiosity turned to Lady Philippa.

'Are there any minor things that require my permission while he is away?'

But the story that came out of Lady Philippa's mouth was something she had never thought of. 

"If you don't mind, how about taking a walk in the garden tonight?" 

"... What?" 

Why is she taking a walk all of a sudden? 

When Hestia tilted her head, wondering what she was saying, Madame Philippa suggested one more time. 

"I saw earlier that the weather was really nice. On days like this when the sky is clear in the morning, a spectacular sight unfolds in the night sky. It's the only consolation from the endless, harsh winter. I'm telling you that it would be good for you to take a look, too." 

"Ah......." 

Hestia swallowed her dry saliva. She tried to calm herself down, but her unconcealed expectations kept leaking out here and there. 

"Thank you for your consideration. But I...... As you know, he told me not to leave this room.. "

"What do you think?" 

When Hestia trailed off, she instead took her words as if Lady Philippa was no big deal. 

"It looks like the owner won't be coming in today anyway." 

Lady Philippa is Aslan's person. This means that she must report Hestia's every move to him. The fact that she talked like this could be seen as meaning that she would keep quiet about her walk. 

'Anyway, this kind of work can't even be included in the testing axis!'

If Lady Philippa had truly meant to put Hestia to the test, she would have suggested that she go out now rather than at night when she would be able to avoid prying eyes. 

What this means is that Lady Philippa also decided that Hestia would be better off not being noticed by people in the castle, so she insisted on mentioning the nighttime. 

'Did I look very pitiful?' 

Hestia, who was scratching her cheek with her fingertips in an embarrassed mood, soon burst into laughter. In any case, she was paying attention to her feelings and being considerate of her, so there was no need for her to accept those feelings as her own. 

'And it's also a very appetizing statement.'

 No matter how large the Duchess's room was, living in it for a week was quite frustrating, even for introverted Hestia. 

"Thank you for the offer." 

Her face, which had always looked adult-like, looked clear as if she had regained her age for the first time. 

"If I can't sleep at night, I'll do as you say." 

Her mind was set on getting about halfway out. 

'It's dangerous at night anyway, so Aslan won't necessarily move!'

She thought that if he did not return by nightfall, she would sneak out and see what Madame Philippa had suggested. 

'What is this spectacle unfolding in the night sky?'

She thought the most likely thing would be a star. Kalathi is a place where the air is as clear as it is cold, so she will be able to see a lot more stars than in the capital. 

'Will I be able to see the Milky Way?' 

Curiosity entered Hestia's heart. It was a much more pleasant feeling than discouragement. 

***

Night. A time past midnight. 

Hestia's visit opened quietly. After finishing their day's work, all the employees had already gone back to their rooms and the hallway was quiet and dark. 

Nevertheless, Hestia kept looking around outside of his room, with only her face peeking out through the door.

Her heart was beating very vigorously. 

'No one....... No?' 

Is this how a child who commits deviance for the first time feels?

She held her breath and watched the movements outside of her a little longer. She was nervous about breaking the taboo, which made her nervous, but she was also excited. 

Today, Aslan did not return to the castle when the sun was up. Hestia, who was almost glued to the window, watching to see if Aslan would return, was unable to hide her excitement around dusk as the sky began to turn red. 

For in the morning, she had been preoccupied all day by the offer which Madame Philippa had made to her.

'Aslan didn't come back today either.'

What she meant was that there was only a short period to go for a walk. Still, Hestia waited longer. Until evening time passes and all the employees finish their work at night. 

'Anyway, it wouldn't be good for me to make other people notice me!' 

She was planning to sneak out as much as possible. 

After so much patience, the time has finally arrived. After looking out the window of her room and seeing that the lights throughout the castle were going off one by one, Hestia carefully opened her door. 

As expected, there was no one passing by in the hallway. Thanks to that, she was able to muster more courage. 

"Then, shall we come quickly?" 

It was a secret but quite excited voice. Hestia pushed the door a little further open and slipped out through it. Hestia's room was located at the end of the hallway.

As she passed in front of Aslan's room, she glanced back at her with trembling eyes.

After all, it was Aslan who had told her not to come out of her room, so her heart-tightening was a knee-jerk reaction.

However, no light was leaking through the tightly closed door. 

'Because you didn't come....' 

Hestia carefully swallowed the saliva in her mouth and walked past his room at an unusually slow pace. 

Then he swooped as if he had been waiting.  He opened the door. 

If Hestia had seen that scene in front of her eyes, she might have thought it was a ghost, her face would have turned white, and she might have lost her breath at any moment. 

Someone got out from inside. The main character was, of course, Aslan. 

'What about this woman?'

Looking at Hestia's back, which was already facing him with her quick pace, he clicked his tongue out of habit. 

'Where on earth are you going at this hour?' 

As if his temperament was in his head, he wanted to close the distance between her and him with each step she took grab her slender arms, and make her stop. 

However, the reason he did not do as he wanted was because he had to know the purpose of Hestia's deviation. 

He tightened his teeth and restrained his tongue from moving as it pleased. The sight of Hestia descending the stairs, holding on to the railing, seemed to cut through the darkness and into his eyes. 

Aslan showed great patience and he also took steps. Even though he was big, there was no sound of his footsteps at all. Aslan hid himself in the shadows and followed Hestia without closing the distance between her. His eyes had become dark earlier. 

Hestia wore a cloak, which, in Aslan's eyes, was as thin as a dragonfly's wing, and he was not satisfied with it. 

'I can't believe you're going to go outside wearing something like that. Did you plan to freeze to death?' 

He felt that he should quickly trim the fur of the white raccoon he had caught and make it into a coat. 

'Well, I guess she can't go far though.' 

That was so fortunate that he felt relieved. In fact, Aslan had just arrived. Out of consideration, the commanders entered the knights' quarters located in the training hall first, and Aslan secretly entered the room like a thief because he did not want to wake up the employees and be noisy late at night. 

After washing up, he tried to go straight to Hestia's room. However, the moment he grabbed the handle of the connected door, he noticed something strange. 

The door trembled. Of course, It was a small incident that the general public would not notice. It was a vibration that occurred when the warm air inside the room escaped to the relatively cold outside, causing the door to rattle slightly. 

It was also a noticeable phenomenon because his room and Hestia's room were connected. Anyway, when he felt that kind of presence, even Aslan couldn't help but be embarrassed. Is he going in or going out? If he's going in...

'Who on earth is entering Hestia's room at this time?' 

Of course, it could have been her maid, Angela, but his animalistic instincts were screaming that it was not that. 

'If that's not the case... Is Hestia leaving?' 

She disobeyed his invitation to stay in his room? 

However, rather than opening the door and making a surprise attack, Aslan chose to quietly observe the situation for now. If it was true that Hestia was leaving, he had to confirm it. Why on earth are you moving at this time? Where are you going? Who is he with? 

Doubt took hold of him and he had no intention of letting go. 

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