EIITAB - Chapter 89 < I've Never Imagined It >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
Dulcinea, who had been sobbing as he got closer, began to tremble.
"Ah...."
She couldn't find anywhere to focus her eyes. This is because Aslan's muscles were slightly visible through the open front of the gown. She might not know it from a distance, but Dulcinea had never seen the bare skin of the opposite sex from such a close distance. Since she has no tolerance whatsoever, she was so surprised that she began to hiccup involuntarily.
"Hnggg."
The resulting recoil caused her shoulders to rise and fall repeatedly. Since she was holding a tray, the dishes placed on it were making an unpleasant clattering noise.
Aslan's gaze naturally turned towards the closed connecting door. There was no way a sound this small could penetrate that door and reach Hestia's ears.
Despite knowing full well, Aslan did not straighten his frown. His steps, which had been narrowing the gap between him and Dulcinea, finally stopped. They were close enough that they could touch each other without having to fully extend her arms.
"Ah, Aslan."
In a crying voice, Dulcinea called his name without being able to make eye contact with him. Aslan felt as if his chest was congested and he felt suffocated. So he reflexively tried to sigh but then pursed his lips tightly. Because he knew that whenever he did that, Dulcinea got scared of him. He managed to drown out his emotions and spoke in a low voice.
"Give it to me. You look like you're going to drop it at any moment."
His arm was stretched out to receive the tray she was holding. He knew that if Dulcinea kept doing that and dropped the tray, the floor would be a mess.
Aslan didn't like people coming and going in his space. Moreover, Hestia had not woken up yet today. What if she woke up from the noise of dishes hitting each other, or the noise of people coming and going?
Even though it was just a family, he felt uncomfortable.
'She doesn't eat well, so she needs to sleep well!'
Aslan's hand holding the end of the tray gained strength. But Dulcinea held onto it tightly as if it were her lifeline and did not let go. Then, while still sniffling, she looked at Aslan.
'Fury...... Is he loose? '
His momentum was a little different from just before when he stopped asking why she came in.
"Hnggg!"
Dulcinea was still having hiccups occasionally.
'Embarrassing.'
Dulcinea, who no longer wanted to show her ugly appearance in front of him, curled her lower lip and bit it with her upper teeth. But it was no use at all. The hiccups continued, and each time her body shook, the dishes on the tray also made their own noises.
Once his ears were opened to that area, he continued to be concerned, so Aslan spoke with a bit of nervousness.
"Are you planning on dropping it? Come here, come on."
Only then did Dulcinea let go of the handle and completely hand over the tray to him. No matter how simply the food was prepared, it was quite heavy, but unlike Dulcinea, Aslan held it lightly with one hand.
He quickly scanned the contents. He was planning to check whether the food was worth feeding to Hestia. Bread with poached eggs. And fig jam. It's an okay menu, however...
'There's no meat.'
Perhaps because he made up only what he liked, he didn't have any meat to hunt.
'I put it down in front of the kitchen... Isn't the trimming done yet?'
Aslan's lips twisted slightly in disapproval. Before he knew it, his mind was filled with Hestia. He could tell her to eat the meat right away, but if she eat it now, it will smell bad, so it would be better to eat it if you properly prepare it and let it age.
'Because she has a weak stomach.'
Aslan put the tray down on a nearby table, thinking that although it was unfortunate, it wouldn't be a bad idea to feed her like this. Only then did his eyes fall on Dulcinea again.
She was rubbing the area around her eyes with the back of her hand like a child. Aslan's uncomfortable mind relaxed a little when he saw a face that clearly showed that she had cried. After all, Dulcinea had a face she had seen since she was very young. It was annoying at times that she behaved as she wanted, but Aslan had no choice but to tolerate her.
It was because of the guilt of not being able to properly protect her parents, the most precious people in Dulcinea's life, as the ruling family. Even though Kalathi's family members cared for her, she had no real family. That's why Aslan couldn't be just strict with her.
'But..'
He took a deep breath. They shouldn't continue to treat each other with the same distance they have now. He didn't want to cause any misunderstanding to anyone.
After controlling his emotions, he opened his mouth quietly.
"Dulcinea, let's do this for the last time."
"Yes? What... What?"
Dulcinea, barely wiping away her tears, looked up at him cautiously. Unlike her shy self, Aslan had a cool expression on his face.
"I'm not asking you why I did this to you for such immature behavior."
Aslan crossed his arms and took a deep breath. Then his chest muscles became tense and swelled more than usual. At that moment, Dulcinea felt that something was very wrong.
"...Huh?"
In all this time, she has never once imagined it. She didn't think anything would change between him and herself. All he was going to do was push herself away.
'Oh, no! This is not it. Aslan can't be this cold to me. It shouldn't have been like this.'
Didn't he and herself embrace the same pain? Only she could understand his wounds, and only she could fully understand and comfort his own wounds.
The blue eyes that had barely wiped away the tears suddenly filled with moisture. Dulcinea began to cry and list her mistakes one by one as if she were panting. As her emotions got stronger, her voice got louder.
"Is it because I came in without knocking? Ah, or not? Or because I saw Aslan's body? Not going out? Because I do not take care of the Duchess' dishes separately?"
Did she mean that? Aslan's eyebrows rose. He glanced at the tray placed next to him. As Dulcinea said, it only contained cutlery for two people. But that wasn't a particularly important issue.
Aslan did not fall for Dulcinea's words, which only revealed her mistakes on the surface. He spoke in an extremely low voice.
"No. It's not like that. You know that."
Dulcinea's lips and her hands and feet trembled at his brief words, which meant to face the situation rather than avoid it. Her face looked as if all the pillars that supported her world had collapsed and the sky had collapsed.
"Aslan. But you promised me. Stretch me out, forever...."
"I'll protect that, so don't worry."
Aslan acted coldly, cutting Dulcinea in the middle as if he would not listen to her words until the end. In the end, the tears welling up in Dulcinea's eyes were unable to overcome their weight and fell down. In a trembling voice, she spoke his name. She seemed very anxious as she was desperate to turn this situation around.
"Aslan...."
"Whew. Dulcinea. Stop using the swarm now."
But Aslan did not budge. He fixed his eyes on Dulcinea and pointed to the door with his chin.
"Get out now. Be quiet before that person wakes up."
***
Tak.
Hestia's eyelids were heard along with the sound of something close. There was no trace of sleep in her purple eyes, so much so that it was hard to believe that she was someone who had been sleeping soundly just moments ago.
Unlike usual, she did not get up right away and lay down in her bed. She always woke up at the same time, but today, strangely, her body did not move.
'What was the dream?'
She tried to trace her memory, but she couldn't remember the contents of the dream that occurred the moment she opened her eyes. It was as if the clouds were wrapped in layers, obscuring what was inside. She felt as if she had smiled in a very vaguely green place.
"What was it?"
Although she couldn't sleep deeply, she rarely had dreams. Maybe that's why the afterimages of that dream continued to remain in her mind. How long did it last like that?
It sounded like the sound of words was interrupted by something. Her eyes naturally turned towards the sound. It was beyond the wall connected to Aslan's room. Hestia, wondering what the hell was going on, finally got out of bed.
As she approached the connecting door, she heard the sound louder than in bed. Hestia unconsciously grabbed the handle and froze as if she had been put on the brakes. The reason was that she noticed that a low voice, which she assumed was Aslan's, was sometimes mixed with a woman's crying voice.
Hestia quietly strengthened her hand holding the handle.
'Can I go over here?'
She wasn't sure. So she didn't dare to open this door. Eventually, Hestia's hand came out of her grip. Hestia looked smaller than usual as she had her back to the connecting door with her hands folded over her chest.
As she got closer to the bed, she noticed a black shirt lying on the bed bench. It was clearly Aslan's. Did he leave It behind for a while or forget about it?
Whichever of the two it is. The urge came again, and she hesitated.
'Shall I bring it for you?'
Surely, it would be an appropriate reason. But Hestia gently suppressed even that impulse.
'That person will come looking for it.'
If he needs anything, of course, like finding her room.
Taking in her trembling breath to calm her agitation, Hestia put on her clean-faced mask and tugged at her leash.
"Good morning, Princess. We prepared water so you can wash your face right away. Would you like some tea?"
Angela came straight into the room as if she had been waiting. Hestia asked quietly as she watched him pour the still-warm water into her basin.
"What's going on outside?"
Angela answered, avoiding Hestia's gaze.
"What happened?"
"....No. nothing."
Hestia decided to pass over her ignorance without asking any further questions. She knew there was something she was hiding from her, but she didn't bother to ask.
She feels like if she does that, her heart will only ache.
Comments
Post a Comment