EIITAB - Chapter 141 < Epilogue >

EIITAB - Chapter 141 < Epilogue >

Even if it is Trampled and Broken

Knock knock. 

A small bird with harmonious green and blue feathers tapped on the window with its beak. Hestia's eyes opened brightly at that sound. She had been sleeping soundly until just now, but there was no trace of sleep in her purple eyes. 

As she tried to raise her body, she was unable to do so because of the arm around her waist. As she glanced around to her side, Aslan's figure came into view. 

It was no longer so awkward for her to notice a few old scars on well-toned muscles. Since Aslan didn't seem to want to get up right away, Hestia quietly tried to lift his arm. 

Then, in an instant, he narrowed the gap between her eyes and pulled her body closer to him even more strongly. Hestia whimpered a little more and tried to loosen his bonds, but soon she let out a sigh and gently shook his shoulder. 

"Aslan, wake up. It's already morning." 

"...... Sleep a little more." 

The low voice, as always, awakened all of Hestia's senses. But she had suffered greatly last night as well. It wouldn't be a problem for Aslan, but if adjusted to him from the morning, she wouldn't be able to get out of bed. So in many ways, it was better to pretend not to know this feeling. 

Hestia briefly cleared her throat with a cough and opened her mouth again. She was burning with a sense of duty that she must wake him up this time. 

"No. Another guest has arrived. I need to feed him." 

Then, as if to echo Hestia's words, the little bird waiting outside the window tapped the window again with its beak. It was as if he was urging. 

This time, Aslan opened his eyes with an irritated face, as if he had heard him too. The eyes staring at the window were quite fierce.

"..... He's like a damn bird." 

Hestia then sent him her stern gaze.

"You can't use words like that. What a precious guest." 

A deep sigh burst from Aslan's mouth at her beating. 

"Ha." 

Aslan's arms, which were entangled around her waist like a thick chain, seemed to lie. Freed from the bonds, Hestia immediately pulled her legs out of the bed and raised her body. 

She picked up the feeder and opened the window. She felt a rush of slightly muggy summer air rush into the room. 

Meanwhile, Aslan also stood up, apparently completely awake. He opened his mouth, looking at the blue bird that came to the window of Hestia's room every morning and woke them up. 

"What is the name of this bird?" 

The kingfisher-shaped guy seemed to be quite smart and seemed to remember Hestia's face. 

"Enjoy your meal." 

Hestia smiled gently as she offered the beautiful little bird a mixture of nuts and grains. All were harvested in Kalathi. 

Already a year has passed since she dealt with Anette and the demon beasts and ended the winter in the Duchy of Kalathi. Starting late last fall, everyone became anxious again. 

She was worried about what would happen if they faced another winter like this and spring did not return. But it was unlucky. Fortunately, spring returned in time, and they were able to welcome summer like this. 

In the meantime, a lot of things happened. The Dukedom of Kalathi was recognized for Its autonomy. Accordingly, Duke Kalathi was elevated to Grand Duke. There were some circumstances involved behind it. 

One day, a large thunderbolt struck the southern part of the country. It was a clear day with no rain. While people were in a panic, short phrases were engraved on the walls of the royal palace, the floor of the capital's square, and the temple. 

[You who misunderstood my will. If you do not correct what is wrong, you will never be able to set foot on the land of rest.] 

Anyone can see that the writing engraved in the short time when the lightning struck was not something that could have been written by a human. 

Could it be that God is angry? 

Why did such writing appear in the royal palace and temple? Have the higher-ups committed some serious mistakes? 

The whispers got worse day by day, and naturally, support for the royal family and the temple weakened.

 Yorgos, who was weak-hearted by nature, realized for the first time the existence of a transcendent being higher than himself, and he suffered from daily pressure, fearing that he had been scolded by God. 

In the end, he revealed that the trust announced during the Great War six years ago was a lie. Yorgos issued an apology, but rather than calming down, the criticism only grew stronger. 

Yorgos, who was worried about the completely changed public sentiment, eventually decided to abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince. 

The High Priest and the other high priests who Joined forces with Yorgos also could not avoid censure. They all took responsibility, stepped down from their positions as high priests, and decided to serve their lives as priests. Hestia also fell out of the divine ranks as she had hoped. 

The royal family and temple, which lost their solid support base, weakened day by day. Among the kingdom's citizens, those with deep religious beliefs only saw Hestia and forced their migration to the north. 

Grand Duke Kalathi was willing to open his doors and welcome immigrants. In any case, the population in the North was greatly reduced due to the winter that lasted for close to 10 years. Restoration of the barren land would have to be carried out systematically for a very long time, but it was clear that the more people who came and established roots there, the more remarkable leaps could be made. 

After watching the little blue bird eat every last seed and fly away, Hestia turned back into the room. 

"...... Ah." 

At that moment, she remembered something she had completely forgotten for a while while feeding the birds. 

'I have to tell him quickly.' 

When she looked towards her husband, she saw that Aslan was already dressed. Hestia quickly went to his side put on his outer clothes and spoke to him. 

"Aslan, I had a very good dream last night." 

"Dream?" 

"Yes. Aren't you curious?" 

Aslan's eyes glanced at her. Hestia seemed very excited for some reason, so he naturally became curious as well. 

"I'm curious. What did you dream about?" 

He asked in a soft voice. 

As Aslan appeared to be listening to what she said, Hestia opened her mouth with a blush on her cheeks. 

"There's a lake behind the castle." 

"Hmmm." 

He let out a short noise and nodded his head. Meanwhile, his large hands were busy tying the knot of his belt. Hestia tried to convey the story calmly and spoke slowly on purpose. 

"We had a picnic there."

 "In a dream?"

 "Yes," 

Aslan's face frowned slightly. Come to think of it, he's been a little busy these days building a bridge over a river. Because of that, the time he spent with Hestia naturally had to decrease, and he wondered if his wife was upset about that. 

Feeling anxious for some reason, he cut Hestia off mid-sentence and asked. 

"Do you want to go on a picnic? If so, give me two days. I'll finish my work as quickly as possible now......" 

"No, Aslan. It's not that I want to go now. Even if we go, it will be in a year." 

"What? In a year or so?" 

'So why on earth are you making that promise now?'

Aslan, who did not understand at first, frowned even more. However, since he had heard Hestia's request not to interrupt her, he did not ask further questions and just kept his lips tightly shut. 

Hestia, who immediately covered his mouth, spoke again. This time she couldn't completely erase her excitement.

 "Anyway. In my dream, you and I weren't alone on that picnic," 

For some reason, the more he listened to the story, the more he felt like he was falling into a labyrinth. Aslan eventually couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked back in an impatient tone. 

"Then? Did you take Dean, Wharton, or Martin with you? Or Madame Philippa or Angela?"

 "No. They are not." 

Hestia looked up at Aslan, lifting the corners of her mouth as if she could no longer hold back her laughter. She seemed to be on the verge of joking, so he pouted his closed lips a little. 

Hestia, who had been chuckling a little more to herself, opened her mouth without wasting any more time...

"Maybe." 

She lifted her heels and placed her palms next to her lips. It seemed like she was going to tell him a big secret. 

To match Aslan's, Hestia also slightly sketched her upper body to match his height. Soon Hestia's lips touched Aslan's ear, and she whispered something in a low voice. 

At that moment, Aslan's pupils widened. He asked, looking back at Hestia as if he couldn't believe it.

 "Is that real?" 

"Maybe? I'm not sure...... It just feels that way." 

"Oh my God......" 

Aslan's eyes slowly slid from Hestia's face to her still-flat lower abdomen. He stared at her blankly for a moment, then quickly bit the flesh in his mouth and turned towards the door. 

He opened the door in an instant and started shouting in the hallway.

"Angela! Lady Philippa!" 

The workers who heard the loud shouts rushed over, wondering if something big had happened. 

"Master? Why are you doing this?" 

Aslan swallowed his dry saliva and gave orders in a louder voice to the workers who were anxious and confused. 

"Bring Dr. Vito in right away! Hurry!"

 "Yes? Is the Lady somehow unwell?" 

"Master, is our Princess feeling well?" 

"Damn it, that's not it! Ah, that's enough! Where is Dr. Vito now? It would be faster if I went and brought him here!" 

The morning at Grand Duke Kalathi Castle began noisily with a fuss that was not at all like Aslan. Hestia looked at him with a puzzled look on her face for a moment, then slightly shook her head as if she couldn't stop him.

"Aslan, calm down." 

"Now is not the time for me to do that." 

Hestia continued to let out a bright laugh at the fuss he made for the first time. She thought he would like it, but the reaction was worse than she expected.

Aslan, who was hurriedly crossing the hallway to pick up Dr. Vito himself, glanced back at Hestia as if he had remembered something he had forgotten.

"Hestia, go back to bed. You can't overdo it."

 "How can this be unreasonable?" 

Hestia asked back as if she was dumbfounded, but then shook her head lightly with a look on her face that said she couldn't stop him.

Then, she felt like Aslan would run out of breath at any moment if she didn't follow his instructions, so she obediently went into the room. 

At that moment, a hot wind blew again through the open window. However, to Hestia, who had been feeling a lot of heat these days, she just felt cool. 

She sat down on the bed and naturally covered her lower abdomen. Although she had not yet received treatment from Dr. Vito, Hestia was almost certain. 

This is because she has not had anything to do for three months already, and she has been sleeping more and more these days, and she keeps craving sour food. 

Although she could not feel anything yet, she quietly spoke to her unborn child in her cheerful voice. 

"Your father is funny, right?" 

However, contrary to her words, the smile did not disappear from her face. It seemed that days like this might continue for a long time to come. 

But Hestia didn't like this commotion at all. 

The End

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