EIITAB - Chapter 105 < Honey Lemon Candy >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
When she woke up, Aslan was nowhere to be seen again.
Hestia quietly swept the cold space next to her and began to prepare for a new morning.
"Are you going out today too? Aren't you cold?"
"It's okay. I have this coat."
"It's a winter suit, but it's not all-purpose."
"It's a lot warmer than you think."
Angela smiled and quietly followed behind Hestia as if she could not stop her from insisting. It was the same with Jerome.
"It's snowing today too."
Angela mumbled with a sigh.
"I think I understand why the people of the Duchy of Kalathi are so sick of any mention of snow. Wow, I can't imagine seeing something like this for the rest of my life."
Angela seemed to be getting sick of it just by imagining it and even began to tremble.
Hestia also let out her sigh lightly.
As she lowered her gaze, the sight of soft snow piling up on the well-paved road again without melting came into view.
"The people below are having a hard time. They have to sweep and clean it every day."
She knows that the residents of Kalathi Castle wake up early in the morning and do their homework.
As if that wasn't enough, she didn't know that it was often used as a broom.
Although she has no authority given to her, she may be able to at least tell Lady Philippa to provide special meals to the struggling employees.
While Hestia was alone in her thoughts, she heard Angela asking a question to Jerome, who was guarding her.
"You know, Sir Jerome. When will this snow stop?"
"No one knows. Maybe it won't stop."
"Hehe? Really? Ugh, I really don't like that."
At the sound of Jerome's blunt voice, Hestia held her heavy heart and walked slowly through the snowy garden.
The snow began falling as soon as the Southerners arrived and did not stop for several days.
Nevertheless, Hestia went for a walk every day.
Each time she witnessed the confrontation between southerners and northerners. Since she didn't want to take sides, Hestia tried not to have any prejudices.
However, most of their strife broke out first in the southern part of the country, which was dissatisfied with the poor environment of Kalathi.
So, although it was not her intention, Hestia took the side of the people of the Kalathi Duchy and protected them.
Although the Southerners were disappointed with Hestia's attitude, they did not blame her.
It might be more accurate to say that they couldn't do that. Because in the first place, Hestia was not a partner who could embrace such a fearless heart.
In any case, the northerners, who received apologies from the southerners with Hestia's help several times, came to view Hestia with different eyes than before.
Without realizing it, they began to slowly open the bar on their tightly closed heart.
"Keuhumhum! Hey, that Princess called Saintess. Isn't the image very different from what we thought?"
"That's right. I thought she would be picky, but she doesn't seem to just side with the Southerners."
"That's right. That's my opinion too. So does that mean this marriage wasn't forced? Don't you think she's sincerely trying to get along here?"
It wasn't an action meant to impress, but as a result, the degree of friendliness toward Hestia was increasing significantly in the hearts of northerners.
"Princess, please go inside now. I'm worried that the cold wind will harm your health."
Hestia's walk did not take long. She only lasted about 30 minutes.
"Yes, Angela."
Today, even that was shortened due to Angela's frequent urging.
After finishing her short walk, Hestia headed straight to her room.
As she put on her white raccoon fur coat, thoughts of Aslan naturally came to her mind.
'Is that person sleeping well these days?'
Although she sleeps in the same bed every night, she cannot have a deep conversation with Aslan.
It was because he was so busy that it was difficult to see his face.
Aslan entered quietly while Hestia slept, and left her room before she woke.
'Although he is a very strong person... Still, he shouldn't overdo it.'
Hestia, who had put aside her worries about Aslan by lightly sighing, thought of Anette this time.
'But Anette is quieter than I thought?'
Unlike her loud first appearance, she hasn't shown much movement yet.
Hestia, who had entered the inner room while continuing her various thoughts, had just set foot on the second floor where her own room was located.
“Ah! Saintess!”
Stephane Cheretto smiled brightly at her.
Normally, it was a smile so sweet that anyone would fall in love, but Hestia revealed her feelings for him by frowning.
Hestia quietly called the name of the man who was waiting for her with an anxious heart.
"Lord Ceretto, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, that's..."
Stephan Cheretto blushed and scratched the back of his head as if he were embarrassed
"I thought I'd say hello as I was passing by."
"It must not have been easy to pass by my room."
"Oh, you're being so cold."
"Ah!" came from the mouth of Stephan Cerreto, who escaped without any trouble. A short exclamation came out.
As if he remembered something he had forgotten, he rummaged through his pockets and took out something.
"This is no different. I bought it from the capital. Please have some. It's probably going to be hard to find it here."
He took out several honey lemon candies that were darker than his hair color and held them out to Hestia.
"I'm fine."
Moreover, he paid no heed to Hestia's specifications.
"Oh, don't do that, just eat it. Isn't it hard to find it here, right?"
Stephan Ceretto grabbed Hestia's hand and placed candy in her hand.
It was quite rude and could not be considered something a noble would do.
No one expected him to come out like this, so Hestia, who was suddenly grabbed by his hand, her maid Angela, and guard Jerome were all taken aback.
Then, Jerome was the first to come to his senses and took a step forward with his face frozen.
He roughly pushed Stephan Ceretto's chest with the sheath of his sword.
Stephan Ceretto, who had been caught off guard, was pushed back a couple of steps as if pushed by a strong force, and his eyes frowned.
"What is it?"
When he raised his voice in an unpleasant voice, Jerome gave a harsh warning
"Do not touch the Lady's body carelessly. First, let's just stop at the warning. I will conduct an inspection the second time."
"Ha! What is this...!"
Flames sprang from the eyes of the two men who met each other.
"We have to stop it."
Hestia intervened with her face frozen, Intending to quickly put an end before a bigger argument broke out.
"Stop it, both of you. I don't want to make a fuss."
Stephan Ceretto was still fuming, but Jerome obediently followed her orders, lowered the scabbard and bit himself.
Hestia gave her guard a brief nod as if he had done well and then looked at Stephan Ceretto with her stern face.
"Lord Ceretto was rude in this case."
Then Stephan Cheretto slightly raised his voice with an expression of resentment.
"Saintess! I just did it as a favor...!"
"I don't want that favor."
Hestia cut him off mid-sentence with a stern voice.
"And in no country in the world can a man touch a woman's body without asking permission. Don't you know very well that this is a virtue of educated people?"
Hestia continued with a valid point.
Stephan Ceretto seemed to have nothing more to say, and only the muscles of his face twitched as if he were angry. But that was it, he couldn't even get a rebuttal out of his mouth.
"Keep this in mind. If it were my husband who was here instead of Sir Jerome, you would have been challenged to a duel."
No. Maybe his head has already fallen to the ground.
Hestia finished her sentence in a cold voice.
"I won't hold you responsible for what happened today, so please apologize neatly and leave. Please make sure that such unpleasant incidents do not occur in the future."
He had a very proud look on his face, but she knew that he had no choice but to bow down because her status was higher than his own.
In the end, Stephan Ceretto lowered his gaze and apologized, hiding his angry eyes.
"Sorry. I was short-thinking."
Then he left his place as if running away from Hestia.
Only after the sound of his footsteps had gone away did Hestia let out a long breath that she had been holding.
Jerome, who was watching behind her without saying a word, spoke calmly.
"I will report today's incident to Your Excellency."
"Please do."
Hestia nodded her head without hesitation.
She hoped that Aslan would find out and that Stephan Ceretto would no longer show up in front of her room.
Hestia silently gave her gaze to the honey lemon candy in her hand that Stephan Cheretto had forced into her hand.
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