EIITAB - Chapter 82 < A Lie Is In My Mouth >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
When he briefly clicked his tongue, Hestia quickly came to her senses and blinked quickly. She put the words of her apology right in her mouth.
"I-I'm sorry. I felt drowsy for a moment... What did you say?"
Aslan, who took a moment to listen to Hestia's question, caressed the back of her neck.
"It wasn't a big deal. Just don't worry about that."
He took a deep breath and spoke again.
"Kalathi is a land that lacks everything. You may not be able to enjoy the abundance as much as when you lived in the capital, but I will make sure you live without poverty, so use the fire to your heart's content."
Hestia paused for a moment at the unexpectedly gentle words.
"Still... It's better to save it if possible."
Hestia added, entwining her hands, and Aslan chuckled.
"I'm telling you not to worry about things like firewood. If there's one thing the North has more than snow and ice, it's trees."
Grumbling!
The fire burned again. Aslan went back to the fireplace and sat down again, throwing some dry firewood into the fire. The embers that were dying out grew bigger by embracing new prey. The room quickly became warm. So much so that the moisture in Hestia's hair, wet from her eyes, had completely dried.
Hestia was still staring at Aslan. Aslan's words, which could be seen as his bluntness, made her heart beat again and again.
'What did you mean? Are you worried? Me e? Aslan? Why?'
Nothing felt more real to her than the Aurora borealis she had seen earlier. She couldn't believe it, and an even more overwhelming feeling was blooming in her heart.
After swallowing her emotions several times, she finally answered in a whisper.
"All right. I will do that."
Hestia hesitated for a moment, then said,
"Thank you."
She did and she added softly.
Only then did Aslan nod his head with a movement that seemed invisible and stood up, placing his hand on his knee.
He stood facing Hestia. A big shadow fell over her face, but she wasn't afraid. Without even taking a step back, she slowly lifted her chin and looked into his face. Aslan took a step to close the distance between them and at the same time held Hestia's shoulder still. It barely fills half of his palm.
Even through the hard, thick skin of his palms, it was clear that she was scrawny. Aslan looked down at her hand holding Hestia's shoulder without saying anything for a while, then suddenly asked her a question.
"Are you going to eat anything?"
"Sure. I'm eating well."
Aslan's face crumpled. He parted his lips and the sound of him clicking his tongue came out harshly. His eyes were cold as he looked at Hestia's arm that he was holding.
"You've got a lie in your mouth."
The good atmosphere just now changed 180 degrees in an instant, like a lie. Hestia was momentarily speechless. Not because she was stabbed, but because she was so shocked.
She opened her mouth as she looked directly at him with a look of bewilderment on her face.
"Who says you're lying?"
Instead of an answer, a scolding question came back.
"Then can you say that you are eating well if you eat as much as birdseed?"
It may have sounded sarcastic at first glance, but Hestia knew. It's just the way he speaks, and Aslan is purely curious. He lightly stroked Hestia's shoulder. His eyebrows became even tighter at the sight of her body being in such a state that only her bones could be touched.
At first glance, there was a hint of concern in the eyes that were examining the situation. However, because his bangs covered his eyes and cast a shadow, Hestia could not see them clearly.
"......."
There was a strange tension between the two. Το be precise, Hestia was continuously swallowing her dry saliva.
'It shouldn't be obvious...'
Although the room was just starting to get warm, Hestia's body temperature had not yet returned to normal. She had a constitution that caused her body temperature to drop faster than others and required a longer time to recover. So she was worried that he might notice something strange after touching her, particularly cold skin.
Hestia was caught by him and glanced at the fireplace visible beyond her body. In some ways, she's glad. She can attribute the coldness of her body to the fact that the fire in the fireplace was turned down. She kept her lips closed in her nervousness. But even though she remained in this state for a long time, Aslan did not ask her anything.
The boundaries had no choice but to loosen. Then, she started to become more and more concerned about other places. It was Aslan's skin that was directly in contact with it. His hand, which she had touched for the first time in a long time, was so hard and hot. And the hand that touched her was very careful.
Naturally, the first night came to mind. That night, even though he poured out mean and cruel words, in the end, she was embraced with kindness.
As she recalled his movements and eyes, she felt her body heating up quickly. Hestia cleared her throat.
'It feels kind of hot...'
As her mouth gradually became dryer, she moved her neck, and golden eyes followed the movement tenaciously. Hestia, who found it difficult to accept his gaze, slightly turned her head. Then a white neck appeared before Aslan's eyes.
At that moment, he impulsively buried his lips on the back of Hestia's neck. He didn't go to Hestia's room with this in mind. But he had a hard time keeping his lips off her. He could feel her slight pulsation beyond her thin skin.
Meanwhile, as his hot breath tickled her skin, Hestia reflexively shrank her neck.
"Tsk."
She thinks it's going to get weird. Hestia tried to push Aslan's shoulder, but it was no use. Because he didn't move like a rock. His hand, which had been holding her arm, fell down to grab Hestia's waist, and he held her close to him as if she could not forgive her for trying to move away.
"....Aslan."
Hestia spoke his name in a somewhat hazy voice. Then Aslan's large body trembled. His muscles tightened as the arms holding her grew stronger. He gritted his teeth and held his breath. Hestia's body was so small and delicate. The line was so thin that both of his lower arms wrapped around her body overlapped. Aslan's neck moved greatly as if he was holding back something.
'No! I hesitated because I felt like she wouldn't be able to handle pouring out all the affection I had. I might break it.'
It was the last thing he wanted at first. But what happens now?
He was afraid. Aslan used his superhuman endurance to barely get himself off her. Then he spoke in a rather dry and harsh voice.
"I wish I could change your body just for one day. Do you really have the strength to move?"
He asked, curling his lower lip. In just a moment, it felt like her breathing had become a mess.
'Let's calm down.'
She moistened her dry lips with her tongue several times, trying to calm her racing heart. Meanwhile, Aslan spoke again. He was almost talking to himself.
"How on earth can people live by drinking only tea?"
"......."
In fact, the point Aslan was making about her now was something she had heard since she was young.
"Holy Lady, the amount you are eating is too small."
"Hestia, have you already eaten everything?"
She always tended to pretend when she ate with people she was not comfortable with. Even though she only spoke empty words at meals, she was never cordial. This is because she felt burdened by the expectations they placed on her. As a result, she could hardly eat food, and it soon became her eating habit.
If she eats a lot, she feels bloated and her stomach hurts, so she often tosss and turns all night. Hestia gradually became accustomed to being hungry. It seemed like her stomach had shrunk, and now eating a lot was actually painful.
Hestia sighed and opened her mouth, trying to look as calm as possible.
"I feel full enough. It's not hard to move."
She spoke quickly as she took in her full shaky breath.
"Don't worry, Lady Philippa is not starving me either."
"What are you worried about? Who would do that?"
Hestia became a little embarrassed by his blunt words. With a sallow expression on her face, she immediately responded as if she were retorting.
"And..."
Of course, it was a very small voice.
"I wish you would stop comparing how much I eat."
Aslan chuckled.
"It's a comparison from a general perspective."
She left the capital and on the way here she suffered from severe seasickness and was unable to eat well. In such a case, Aslan knew that it would be much less painful for her to be empty stomach, so he only filled her with fresh, clean water and did not tell Hestia to eat more.
However, before he left for the hunt, he heard from Lady Philippa what had happened for three days after arriving here, and her views were astounding.
Hestia's diet was not much different from when she was traveling in the carriage. By his standards, she was not eating.
"Can tea be a meal replacement?"
".... I'm full."
He gave her a dumbfounded look.
"Then is it the same as sleeping if you close your eyes? I don't understand."
When it comes to water, no matter how much you drink, you can't use your strength. If it were him, he would have just been lying in bed because walking was too much for him.
'As expected, I did well catching the beast from the snowy mountain.'
He immediately thought of feeding her meat starting tomorrow morning. Lady Philippa doesn't have the pushy personality that he does anyway, so it would be better for him to just sit in front of Hestia and watch.
As he continued his thoughts without thinking, he paused for a moment...
He's trying to pretend. But he soon felt bad for her. This was because he still felt strongly that she had to be fed.
'I didn't roll around hunting in that snowy field for four days just to feed some idiots.'
He clicked his tongue into his mouth. The passion had not yet completely subsided, so they were unable to make eye contact.
"If... Otherwise, northern food doesn't suit your taste?"
Hestia looked at Aslan with her brows furrowed as if wondering what he was talking about.
"You're making another leap. What I eat mainly is tea, biscuits, and egg dishes. These are foods that cannot be made without making them tasteless."
"That's the problem in the first place. Can you judge the taste of that menu?"
Hestia sighed lightly, ran her fingers through her hair, and spoke.
"....Did you really come here at this hour just to nag me?"
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