EIITAB - Chapter 85 < Sleep Well >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
'If this continues, won't I end up staying up all night with my eyes wide open?'
But the concerns were short-lived.
'Well, I don't have anything to do tomorrow anyway, so it doesn't matter.'
In that case, Hestia thought it would be okay to toss and turn all night. She can make up for the lack of sleep during the day tomorrow.
Hestia hoped that Aslan would be more comfortable than anyone else on this long night. He was the one who had been struggling against the cold for several days. But despite her nervousness, her sleep came quickly.
As Aslan said nothing, and she also pursed her lips and closed her eyes, her initial tension slowly began to ease.
The faint sound of firewood crackling in the fireplace fills the room. Listening to that comfortable sound, her body and mind gradually relaxed, and Hestia's eyelids also gradually became heavy.
Hestia thought as she was on the verge of falling asleep.
'I don't think this is bad...'
Soon, a regular sound of breathing could be heard from her direction. Aslan's large body, which had had its back turned to her the whole time, moved again and soon lay flat on his back, facing the ceiling.
'Whoa, I'm going to spin.'
He just moved his head and looked back at Hestia. Hestia's chest was rising and falling quite regularly as she held her hands together and closed her eyes in an upright posture.
He tried talking to her in a low voice.
"Hey, are you really sleeping?"
As expected, there was no answer from her.
Aslan, who had been looking at her in silence for a while, turned towards Hestia and lay down. He supported his head with one hand and stared at Hestia's sleeping face in the dark.
Her bulging forehead and sharp nose bridge. Dense silver eyelashes. And fairly thin lips. In that small, gaping cave, only Hestia's breath, not her own, was coming in and out.
It was then, Hestia's side face suddenly turned towards Aslan. For a moment, Aslan wondered if he had caught him spying on her the whole time and felt his heart sink.
' She isn't awake... Isn't she?'
Aslan, without even realizing it, was holding his breath in an uncharacteristic way. Dozens of thoughts came into his mind in a brief moment that could be said to be a split second.
Should he close his eyes? Should he turn his back now? What should he do? How does he make it look natural?
Contrary to the noise in his head, Aslan did not move. He didn't move his body or close his eyes. He just continued to stare at Hestia, as if it was a waste to take his eyes off her even for a moment.
Golden irises glowed dimly in the darkness, examining Hestia's face. But she could only twitch her eyelashes. The purple eyes never revealed themselves from underneath them.
After some more time had passed, Aslan realized that Hestia was merely tossing and turning in her sleep and that she had not woken up. Only then did he feel deep relief and deep regret.
Although he wasn't conscious of it, he was implicitly expecting it. He wonders how his current self is reflected in those purple eyes. And how would Hestia feel when facing him like that.
"Uhm......."
Soon, with her brief tossing and turning, Hestia curled up her body like a fetus. Her body temperature must have dropped further due to her deep sleep, and she seemed to instinctively seek out her own warmth.
"...!"
Then she crawled up to Aslan with her squirm. It was like the movements of a delicate cub seeking its mother's embrace.
'Didn't you say you don't have any sleeping habits?'
Aslan was dumbfounded for a moment, but then he let out a low sound that felt like his throat was boiling.
"Hmm."
If only now, he wondered if he could touch her.
Overcome with impulse, he stretched out his hand. The distance that seemed almost unreachable felt very far. Then finally, at the tip of his finger, tap!
Hestia's skin touched his. Although he didn't apply much force, her white skin pressed lightly and wrapped around his index finger.
"Hmm. Cold...."
Hestia, muttering a short story in her sleep, shrank her body further and entered Aslan's arms without much resistance. Aslan threw himself helplessly into her arms as she hugged him, saying it was cold.
He muttered swear words to her, and closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
'...... Shit.'
He couldn't believe that Hestia, whom he had always seen from afar, was so close to him, and he felt like it was something new.
After his hesitation for a moment, he slowly lifted his arm and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
Then he gave strength to his arm. Even if it's him, don't hold Hestia tightly. So as not to wake her from her sound sleep.
"....Sleep well."
To the point where it's obnoxious.
Then a strand of her hair fell down and covered her face. Aslan's fingertips carefully lifted her flowing hair. Hestia's face, sleeping peacefully like a child, once again fills his vision. Somehow, it seemed like she still had the same face from when he first met her when she was young.
Aslan felt his heart grow heavy.
"Hestia."
A quiet, small voice with no intention of waking her up.
"Hestia."
One more time he said his woman's name. Instead of being quenched, he felt like he was overcome by a deeper thirst.
He took a deep sigh.
'What on earth do you want to do?'
Now he couldn't even understand his own feelings.
'Let's think about it later.'
He just wanted to get some rest now. Holding Hestia in his arms like this, in his own space, surrounded by his own.
Aslan closed her eyes.
***
Kalathi Knights' quarters.
The knights' bedrooms are located on the second and third floors, and there is a restaurant on the first floor. It was a place that also served as a simple pub.
When everyone was asleep, the commanders came inside and instead of going straight to their bedroom, they headed to the kitchen. They each poured themselves a glass of beer and sat down at a round table.
"Well, everyone worked hard. Let's grab a drink and go to sleep."
Martin frowned slightly at Wharton's words and muttered softly.
"Are you both really confident that you can finish it in one drink?"
Dean then scolded him as if he had heard all the useless questions.
"Well, Sir Martin. Really, what should you do with that boring personality? What is alcohol? One drink becomes two, then three, and then you end up drinking from a bucket, right? In that case, why don't you just jump into the bucket from the beginning?"
"And... Look at your personality. What you said just now was really hurtful, you know?"
"I must have said that."
Dean chuckled to himself at the not-so-funny story, then downed his share of beer in one go and poured himself a new glass.
A strong wind tried to blow in between the mismatched windows, and a strange sound leaked into the accommodation. It was hard to find hard liquor, so in times like this, it was better to drink quantity rather than quality and fall asleep as if you had lost your mind.
While they were drinking without any snacks, Wharton opened his mouth.
"Princess Hestia."
Wharton had been active in the Order of Kalathi since Aslan's father, Wayne, was Duke. Of course, since he was more than 10 years older than Dean and Martin, he spoke naturally to them.
Of course, Dean and Martin were not dissatisfied with that at all.
"...Hmm."
Martin let out a short guttural cry as if he knew he was going to ask. Considering Wharton's personality, he would have actually wanted to ask Dean and Martin right away.
He must have been stamping his feet and getting angry, wondering what on earth happened and what on earth did they instead of stopping it. That was Wharton. But before he could do that, he had to be dragged up a snowy mountain by Aslan.
The day after Hestia arrived, Wharton visited Aslan and asked him the whole story about what had happened. At that time, Aslan shut Wharton's mouth, clearly saying that he did not want to explain the related story further.
Since Wharton was serving Aslan, he had no choice but to follow the decision, no matter how dissatisfied it was. Therefore, Wharton could not properly ask about Hestia in the presence of his Master, Aslan.
Wharton, who was fiddling with the handle of his beer mug, opened his mouth in an extremely low voice.
"Why on earth did our Lord marry that woman?"
While Martin was choosing his words, Dean opened his mouth without thinking deeply.
"It was decided that among the lands owned by the Princess, the rights to the southern Great Plains would be transferred to him. You already heard this, so what are you asking again?"
It wasn't a big deal. When Aslan convinces Dean and Martin in the capital, he gives the reason for his 'revenge'. Then came the story of the transfer of rights to the Southern Plains.
'To be honest... '
To the two lieutenants, that seemed a more compelling reason than the conversation that night. Martin, being a rational man, thought it was not a bad deal, and Dean thought.
'His Excellency must have something in mind.'
Unlike the two people who passed over like that, Wharton was not easily convinced. It was a face that said that explanation alone was not enough.
"Is that really the reason?"
"Then what else is there?"
Dean looked at him indifferently. He looked like he wanted to explain if there was something else he didn't know. Wharton pursed his lips for now.
Over the past four days, he thought about the beasts Aslan had caught in the snowy mountains.
White raccoon. It is an animal that has no use other than its fur and cannot be eaten. Aslan caught several of them. It may not seem like a big deal, but it really bothered Wharton over the past four days.
He moistened his lips and made a sound, as if to taste the beer again, and spoke in a very cautious manner.
"I know full well that this is nonsense."
However, he could not easily ask what he was most curious about. This was because he was quite annoyed by the fact that he was talking about something he didn't want to even assume. Then he scratched the back of his head, sighed loudly, and said,
"Oh, I don't know. Is it possible that His Excellency has that woman in mind?"
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