EIITAB - Chapter 81 < It's Making Me Nervous >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
Hestia, who had just lifted the blanket, stopped in that movement.
A large man broke into her room without warning. Naturally, it was also one man who could do that.
"As...lan?"
She raised her voice, her eyes wide. Aslan, dressed quite comfortably, was looking at her with his indifferent eyes, as he always did.
Hestia felt her heart drop. She was out of breath like a child caught misbehaving. 'If only I had come into the room a little later.'
When she thought that Aslan might have caught her taking a walk, she got scared. She asked the question as casually as possible, trying hard to hide her agitation.
"I heard from Lady Philippa that you went hunting, however... Uh, when did you come?"
Her actions should appear natural. Hestia put down the blanket again and stood upright. Then, with a nervous heart, she looked at Aslan and watched his reaction.
The time between the time she returned to her room and the time he came in was just a fraction of a second.
'Maybe you saw me outside?'
She was quite worried because she had taken a walk without Aslan's permission. She knew very well that this was a very thought-provoking question, but since she didn't want to be the first to get angry by confessing the truth, Hestia had no choice but to use this method.
Aslan's neck moved significantly as he stared at her for a moment as if observing her.
"Now."
Aslan answered bluntly. Hestia's eyes were still carefully examining his expression. He knew full well why she was doing that, but he pretended not to know.
Thank God.
'I guess you didn't see me out there.'
As Aslan didn't add anything, Hestia secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Aslan entered Hestia's room a little further, leaving the connecting door open. Hestia felt her lips drying out as he frowned, wondering if there was something he didn't like so much.
Aslan looked around the room for a moment with his back turned and stopped in front of the fireplace. Hestia could tell that he was very displeased with something from the narrowing of his eyebrows that made his eyebrows touch.
"Why...?"
Only then did Aslan turn to her. As expected, his face was filled with disapproval. Without Intending to answer Hestia's question, he instead asked a question.
"What did you do to stay up until this hour? It's quite late."
"Ah."
Hestia pursed her lips and swallowed her dry saliva. She couldn't help but be a little embarrassed because she didn't really have anything in mind to say.
"Well, just... I couldn't sleep today."
Hestia couldn't bear to look him in the eyes and lie to him, so she naturally avoided his gaze and mumbled her answer.
Hestia, who was embarrassed and even cleared her throat, briefly picked her neck and turned her head to show off.
"And what are you doing at this hour?"
"Does your husband need a reason to come into his wife's room?"
"It's not like that."
Aslan said these words calmly, but Hestia flinched. The purple eyes looking at him wavered slightly. Actually, she had something to say right away in that story.
Didn't you come here for the past three days before you left to go hunting?
But Hestia only thought those words in her mind and did not let them come out of her lips. Isn't this a face she hasn't seen in a long time?
She didn't want to argue.
'I'm being stabbed right now...'
Since he was such a perceptive man, Hestia thought that the longer they were together, the more likely he was to notice his timid deviations.
'If he come close or even touch my shoulder, he'll notice right away.'
This was because her body temperature had not returned completely.
Hestia curled her lips, then relaxed them again and added softly. Having a smile was a bonus.
"You've arrived now. It's late and I think I'm tired... I just wanted to get some rest quickly."
Aslan looked at her quietly without saying anything. His slightly opened lips moved slightly as if he had something to say, but then closed again.
Then he sighed heavily. As the strength in his shoulders went away, his large body instantly relaxed, creating a much more comfortable atmosphere.
Meanwhile, at the sound of Aslan sighing, Hestia opened her eyes like a startled rabbit. Aslan glanced toward the fireplace again and clicked his tongue.
"This room is cool."
"Ah."
Hestia, who was slowly blinking her eyelids, held her hands tightly and was at a loss for a moment. When she could not answer his question, Aslan asked her question again.
"Why is there no spare firewood?"
The bin for storing firewood next to the fireplace was empty.
"That is... "
Hestia could not answer right away and hesitated. Aslan, as if he didn't really think Hestia was going to answer, took another long breath and turned around. The place he was heading to was his room.
First, he started moving the firewood piled up in his room in a hurry. He quickly came carrying dry firewood on his shoulder.
Hestia asked, raising her voice in surprise.
"What are you doing now?"
Without any response to Hestia's words, Aslan poured all the things he had carried into the firewood container.
"What is it all about?"
"As you can see, it's firewood."
Feeling like the conversation was going nowhere, Hestia changed her question by slightly pulling her eyebrows together as if she didn't understand.
"So what I'm saying is, why are you bringing this now? And at this time."
Aslan didn't want to answer at all but answered briefly and bluntly.
"Because it's cold."
After carrying firewood once more, he brushed off the crumbs from his shoulder with his palm and asked in the manner of asking about something trivial.
"Why did you instruct them not to light the fireplace at night? It's also very cold."
Hestia turned around in surprise at those words.
"That.... How do you know? Didn't you just come here? I told Madame Philippa that story this morning?"
At those words, Aslan noticed that Hestia had never entered his room while he was away. He gave Lady Philippa a simple command before leaving to hunt. She will personally check on Hestia while he is away, organize her daily routine, and post it on his desk.
If Hestia had come into his room, she would have known. However, seeing as she was unaware of the existence of the report, it seemed as if she had not even approached the area, as if it were a taboo area. Even though Aslan told her their room was connected, she didn't come in.
He's not sure if the intention is to be respectful or to draw a line. But the important thing is that in the past, he would have been furious about that fact, but not tonight. Aslan thought it might be because he heard her say that this place was beautiful.
Anyway, he came back to his room from the garden, belatedly read the report on his desk, and frowned.
This morning, Hestia gave instructions to save firewood for the fireplace.
'What can a weak woman do without even lighting a fire with wood?'
In this case, he had no meaning in asking Hestia not to go outside her room. Aslan quickly looked at the three other reports stacked behind him with angry fingers. The content was nothing special.
Hestia wakes up in the morning, eats, reads, and then meets Dulcinea and drinks tea. She was going through the same routine every day, and other than this morning, she didn't give any special instructions or requests.
Aslan gritted his teeth and placed his hand on the desk.
'Whew.. It really bothers me.'
He had planned to meet Hestia at first light tomorrow, but immediately changed that plan. She was a woman who had been lying outside for a while. Even in his eyes, it was obvious that if she was left like this, she would shiver and not even be able to sleep properly.
Aslan could only imagine her curled up in her bed, tossing and turning all night long.
'I guess this is the only way he'll stay up all night.'
By the time he started to worry, it was already gone and it was pointless to worry about it. Thinking that it would be better to move right away rather than wasting time in vain, Aslan put down the report he was holding. Then he opened the connecting door without hesitation.
As expected, the moment Hestia was seen shaking, if not to the point of trembling, Aslan had to muster up a great deal of patience to hold back what he was about to say in disapproval. After finishing his brief reminiscence, Aslan took a deep breath and looked at Hestia again.
"I asked the question first. And I haven't heard an answer yet."
Hestia hesitated and barely gave her answer in a hushed voice.
"Firewood... I feel like I'm the only one using it too much."
"Someone would think that you were exiled rather than married and coming to your husband's land."
At those words, Hestia's purple eyes stared at Aslan.
'Then isn't it?'
As she seemed to be asking, Aslan awkwardly cleared his throat and avoided her gaze.
"Hmm."
Unable to find anywhere else to look, he picked up the poker himself.
"Let's save the fire first."
After muttering to himself in a noticeably awkward manner, he crouched down in front of the fireplace.
Hestia looked down at him.
'I can see the top of his head.'
Aslan's height, which was much lower than her, felt awkward and she couldn't get used to it.
Aslan cast his gaze into the fireplace and opened his mouth in silence.
"I told you to report what you did all day even if I'm away. It wasn't specifically for the purpose of surveillance...."
"I see..."
Hestia was not particularly surprised because she had already guessed it the moment he mentioned the morning's events. Aslan was still working hard with his hands to stoke the flames. Thanks to this, the dying embers came back to life little by little, and Hestia gradually felt warm fumes emanating from the stove.
At the same time, her tense body began to slowly relax, losing strength.
'I guess it was too cold outside earlier...'
At that time, she was just looking at the sky with a slightly hazy feeling.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
A low voice came from Aslan.
'I was looking down...'
When will you stand up?
Hestia then realized that he had grabbed her shoulder and shook her. Her eyes, which had been momentarily dazed, regained focus.
".... Yes?"
Hestia looked at him in surprise. Aslan furrowed his eyes slightly.
"....You weren't listening."
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