EIITAB - Chapter 80 < Night Walk (2) >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
Aslan let go of the handle and headed towards the doorway of the room. After concentrating all his attention on seeing Hestia outside the door and passing in front of his room, he quietly opened the door and went out into the hallway.
It's been a while since he wanted to see Hestia's face, but he held back. His golden pupils followed Hestia's back.
He could feel the excitement. Aslan first followed her in silence. Hestia came down the stairs and looked around, unable to move her steps.
"Which one? Hmm, let's go here first......."
But she soon realized that the door to the outside was locked and she became discouraged.
"Oh. I guess it's not here?"
Every time Hestia suddenly turned her body without warning, Aslan quickly hid his body and stopped his breathing. Fortunately, Hestia did not notice his presence. Asian's strong feelings softened a little.
'First of all, it looks like she never left the room while I was away.'
Otherwise, would it make sense to wander this far and not be able to find the way out?
Hestia found a door where she could barely get out. Aslan opened the door lightly with one hand, and he barely managed to push it after using both her arms and her own body.
The moment she went outside, a strong wind blew towards Hestia. Her silver hair flowed in the wind and billowed like waves.
"Ah...."
She must have been really cold, so she curled up as much as she could and pulled the shawl around her shoulders in front of her neck.
"It's colder than I thought?"
Then she could just close the door and go back to her room, but Hestia did not give up.
"Because it's been a long time since I've been outside."
She mumbled so softly, that it was drowned out by the sound of the wind, and took a step toward the outside. It was fortunate that the workers swept away all the snow. If she falls on an icy road, she'll only end up with bruises and bruises if she's lucky. However, if she is unlucky, a bone is bound to break somewhere.
"Everyone is so diligent."
She smiled quietly. She watched it all from the Duchess' room. The workers who diligently comb before the snow piles up. Hestia was beside herself as the wind continued to blow against her.
"I should have tied it up and come out."
Muttering her regrets about being late, she picked up her hair with her slender fingers and tucked it behind her ear. The top of her ear had already turned bright red. Hestia looked around her, holding the shawl tightly as if it were her lifeline.
"The garden is over there."
She began to walk as if she had finally decided on her direction. This time too, Aslan followed Hestia. He suppressed the urge to click her tongue.
'You really have no guard.'
How can she not look behind her even once?
It was a thought full of regret that he himself was not aware of. Even though Hestia looked around, she never looked behind her. Of course, he killed his presence, but he did not kill his presence at all like she did on the battlefield.
If Hestia had noticed that he was following her, she would have acted rebellious and tried to go to her side...
'This way, unless I come forward out loud, she'll never notice.'
He thought, twisting her mouth.
'It doesn't matter if you do this when I'm around, but if you do this while thinking I'm not there, it's a bit... It was scary.'
But that didn't mean he had any intention of appearing in front of Hestia right now. He doesn't like it, but... This was because he knew full well that the moment Hestia saw his own face, she would freeze.
So he just walked quietly, following her shadow.
Aslan kept his distance and looked at Hestia without blinking his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked around her lightly, expanding his energy. There was no one here but him and her. Besides, unlike inside the building, she was no longer looking around.
'Aren't you here to meet someone?'
Aslan vividly felt the point inside him being whittled away once again and becoming rounded.
'Walk? Then why is she alone at this hour without her maid?'
Aslan could not understand Hestia's actions. Meanwhile, Hestia stopped her steps. She tilted her head back and looked up.
"I heard the night sky was spectacular... Hmm."
The sound of her breathing briefly could be heard between Hestia's lips. It meant that something was ambiguous.
"I don't think there's anything different other than there being a lot of stars."
Hestia tilted her head back. She stayed in that position for a while, looking up at the sky, but there was nothing special about it other than the stars that filled her black night sky.
"I guess it just meant to change my mood by looking at the stars."
It was at that time that Hestia, who could no longer bear the cold as her neck began to hurt, tried to lower her head.
"Uh?"
Her face, which had half returned to its original position, was tilted upward again. The purple pupils got bigger in an instant. She noticed an abnormal phenomenon in the night sky.
"...... Oh my God!"
She let out a small but intense exclamation as if she were letting out the breath that she had been holding.
A faint green light was seeping through the stars. The color became increasingly darker, and soon its range broadened.
"...... Ah!"
She was speechless at the beautiful sight and only let out a series of exclamations.
An incredibly majestic sight was unfolding before her eyes. The scene, which started as a single faint light, soon grew into many layers and covered the black night sky. It was Aurora.
It felt as if green chiffon curtains were fluttering in the spring breeze.
"Beautiful."
Hestia watched Aurora's movements without even blinking her eyelids, like a person possessed. The curtain of light danced gracefully as if moving to the majestic performance of a pipe organ. As a little more time passed, the end of the green aurora began to glow with a purple color similar to the color of Hestia's eyes.
Hestia was helplessly mesmerized by the spectacle, she felt something hot rising deep inside her chest. She held her hands tightly together and lifted her head up to look at the sky, not even noticing that her exhaled breath was freezing.
Then suddenly she lay down on the snow. Because it was much easier for her to see that side. The Aurora was definitely visible better. Hestia felt as if the light was pouring down on her and she caught her breathing.
Meanwhile, it was Aslan who was surprised by the sudden action. In his heart, he immediately wanted to go to her side, grab her arm, and pull her up, asking her what she was doing. Having seen things like the Aurora to the point of exhaustion while living in Kalathi, he was not very impressed. But Hestia would be different. Is that why?
He felt like he too was overwhelmed by the awe she held for it. As if those feelings had transferred to him, Aslan didn't want to disturb Hestia at this moment. So he continued to watch Hestia from a short distance away, hiding himself in a tree. She was close enough for him to catch a glimpse of the side of her face, but Hestia didn't notice because he was hiding his presence.
Hestia, mesmerized by the Aurora, lay down in the snowfield and looked up endlessly at the sky. Hestia looked at Aurora in silence for a while, as if speechless, and felt her hot tears flowing down her frozen cheeks.
"What a master plan."
She wiped away her tears with her palm and then raised the corners of her mouth. Her heavy breath froze and dispersed in the white air.
"Really pretty."
Hestia felt so miserable that she could only express her feelings in such a simple way. Sniffling her nose, Hestia spoke with her sincerity.
"It's a really beautiful place."
Aslan paused at the pure, whispered exclamation without any calculations.
Hestia's eyes were shining as she looked at the sky. So bright and beautiful, as if all the stars in the sky were falling into those purple eyes.
His neck moved slowly. These were words he never thought Ilhe would hear from Hestia's mouth.
'It's pretty. It's beautiful.'
Is she truly saying that this collar, which she can only see with her eyes, is beautiful?
The judge, who was very twisted and twisted, was not willing to accept those words purely. Even though he knew full well that she was just mumbling her honest feelings to herself because he wasn't next to her, he couldn't immediately believe it.
Is it because Aslan himself takes care of his land out of duty, but does not actually love it?
He was suspicious and tried to figure out her true intentions. But all those efforts were in vain. This was because Hestia's small murmur had already touched the deepest part of his heart.
'It's beautiful...'
Aslan's gaze belatedly followed Hestia to the sky. Why?
The night sky, which he had seen countless times, but which did not evoke any emotion in his heart, felt special to him tonight. The purple aurora was more painful than anything else in his eyes.
His eyes fell again and turned to Hestia. He had no choice but to admit something so vain and empty that all his stubbornness became meaningless.
'Okay, It's really pretty.'
Aslan thought that way without even looking up at the night sky. He lost his gaze to Hestia.
***
As she entered the relatively warm room, her fingertips, and toes felt itchy as if they were cramps.
"Hitch."
Hestia sneezed slightly. After repeating a few more times, she took off her damp shawl and draped it over the rocking chair near the fireplace.
"It will be dry by tomorrow morning, right?"
She looked at the fireplace with a worried look on her face. The embers were quite dead. In the morning she had firmly told Madame Philippa not to chop any more wood at night, and she felt a little regretful, wondering if she had said it for no reason.
Since her room wasn't warm, he felt very cold later on. She was so mesmerized by the aurora that she didn't realize that her face had become so frozen.
'I need to go to sleep quickly.'
Hestia headed to her bed, gently pressing the moisture out of her hair with a dry towel.
At that time, without warning, the connecting door connected to Aslan's room burst open.
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