EIITAB - Chapter 99 < Stephan Ceretto >
Even if it is Trampled and Broken
Even though she only briefly dealt with Anette, Hestia felt like all her energy had been drained.
She looked at Anette with her wary eyes, trying to keep her calm. But Anette was smiling naturally as if nothing had happened and she had not said anything. So her appearance seemed even more strange.
Meanwhile, Aslan immediately noticed that Hestia and Anette were in an unusual mood.
'It seems like they're just recklessly pretending to be friendly!'
Anyway, after finishing the awkward greeting with Anette, someone from the pilgrim group walked forward as if it were her turn this time.
"Hestia."
"High Priest?"
Hestia looked at the High Priest with her surprised rabbit eyes. High Priest came closer to her, smiling vainly.
"How did you get here, High Priest?"
"Both Saintesses are here. As a servant of God, shouldn't I also follow them?"
"Still... You have to manage the capital's temple."
"Where is the High Priest? Haha."
She was conscious that many eyes were watching her, and she let out a laugh that seemed friendly to the boss.
"Considering the importance of the work, wouldn't it be more important to serve the Saintess who are El Rafa's representatives?"
Every time, white steam burst out between his lips, the High Priest carefully inspected Hestia while adjusting her coat.
"But Hestia, it looks like you've dried up a bit in the meantime."
At that time, Aslan, who had been quietly listening next to Hestia, suddenly intervened.
"No way. It seems the High Priest has suffered from presbyopia. Unless you said it to find fault."
Aslan also thought that Hestia was getting thinner, but since he couldn't catch her at this point, Aslan put out his flippers first.
"Hmm."
Boswa cleared his throat awkwardly, looking displeased at Aslan's command. The high priest glared briefly at Aslan, then pursed his lips and bowed his head as a greeting.
Aslan opened his mouth, muttering to himself.
"What is it? You never say hello to me properly."
"Hestia is eating well, sleeping well, and doing well."
Hestia also nodded her head right away.
"It's real. I'm eating the most I've ever had in my life."
Unlike the first time, Anette only smiled and did not join in on the conversation. Hestia was constantly wary of Anette while talking to the High Priest. As a result, there were moments when the conversation was interrupted. When that happened about three times.
"It's been a while, Lady Hestia."
As if waiting for an opportunity, someone from the pilgrimage group quickly came forward and greeted Hestia.
'Man?'
After confirming the gender, Aslan furrowed his brow. Unlike the others in the temple, he was not wearing priestly clothing. Perhaps because of the cold, or because he was excited, the man spoke again to Hestia with a slightly pink face.
"Do you by any chance not remember me?"
She tried not to show it, but she couldn't stop the slight shaking of her eyes.
He is...
Blonde hair that looks like a mixture of sugar and water. How could Hestia forget?
He was Stephan Cerreto.
'Why is this person here ?'
Hestia was so surprised that she felt speechless. Now that she was married to Aslan, she thought she would never see him again. Why on earth is he standing on her husband's land?
Hestia couldn't understand it at all. Her eyes naturally turned to Anette. It was a look in her eyes that demanded an explanation.
There was no other explanation for the fact that he, who was not a powerful nobleman, came here leaving a new recruit with a pilgrimage group that was not an envoy, other than that it was probably under Anette's influence.
But Anette just smiled as if there was something wrong with her and did not open her mouth. Meanwhile, as if Stephan Ceretto was urging her, he lightly added his words to Hestia again.
"Saintess Hestia?"
"Ah."
Hestia belatedly turned her face to him again. It was uncomfortable to make eye contact with him, so she kept my gaze focused on the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry. I don't remember much."
She wanted to pretend she didn't know, she didn't want to have a little relationship with him in this life, so Hestia put her lie in her mouth.
Her heart was beating very fast. Stephan Ceretto's face was colored with deep regret at Hestia's answer that she did not remember him.
Just as Hestia recognized Stephan at a glance, Aslan also recognized him at once.
'Why is he here?'
His impression was blurry, but the moment he came near Hestia, Aslt recognized him immediately.
He was clearly the man who tried to raise Hestia up after she had fallen during the banquet on that night. Aslan's mood, which was already not very good, became even more mired in the mud.
Even though Stephan Ceretto had Aslan next to Hestia, he didn't even try to hide his feelings of regret. Then he saw Aslan's fierce gaze and swallowed belatedly.
"Well, you could do that. Since I saw you so briefly that day...."
Just like that, Stephan Ceretto curled his tail like a defeated dog and tried to leave, but the High Priest sneaked in without even noticing and added his words.
"Ah! I guess I should introduce him now. Hestia, this is Lord Stephan Ceretto. He is the one who said he wanted to join the Order of the Holy Knights. Although he has not officially joined the group, he decided to join us on this pilgrimage because he wanted to expand his knowledge."
"....Yes."
Hestia answered weakly, almost hoarsely. Aslan was quietly watching Hestia's actions. Somehow, her expression looks worse as time goes by. This wasn't her fault.
Aslan immediately opened his mouth as if there was no need to think deeply.
"Hestia."
He turned his body towards her. Then, he carefully opened the white raccoon fur that Hestia was wearing, which he had given her as a gift, and gave it to her.
"If you've done this, we've exchanged enough greetings, so let's go in. Because it's very windy."
"But......."
"There's nothing more for you to do here anyway. The rest is mine."
When Hestia hesitated, Aslan spoke a little more strongly.
"I'm sure His Majesty the King didn't send an envoy to tell you to go overboard. Of course, the temple side too."
"Of course, Hestia. Go in and rest. Can't we just share the story gradually?"
As if something was being stabbed, the High Priest pointed towards the inner room and motioned for them to go in quickly.
As the High Priest added a word, Aslan opened his mouth again as if driving a wedge. Not towards Hestia, but towards Jerome, who was standing straight behind her.
"Jerome, please take her in."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Jerome raised his hand towards Hestia. Hestia obediently accepted Jerome's escort. But before taking her steps, she did not forget to say goodbye to those from her hometown.
"Then please excuse me first. Let's talk about it later."
"Yes. Please enter, Hestia.*
After Hestia left her seat, Aslan glanced up.
"The sun sets quickly today."
The sky was becoming dark more quickly than usual. After hearing his words, the knights of Kalathi each looked up at the sky.
"The night will come early tonight."
"It's going to get dark soon, right?"
They took turns saying the same thing to each other, like a round song. Then, without anyone having to say who was first, lights came on everywhere.
"Now that I think about it, it seems a bit cold."
"You're weak, Robin. Think back to the past. It's been unusually warm lately."
"As for doing it."
Those from the south who had heard the stories of the Kalathi soldiers did not understand them.
"Every time I talk, my breath blows. Is this warm?"
"Then how much colder is it usually?"
"Aren't we all freezing to death now? If it gets colder here, how will people live?"
When the grumblings combined, it became quite a loud noise.
"Everyone be quiet."
Aslan immediately put an end to the commotion.
"The annex where you will be staying is over there. If you don't want to freeze to death, I recommend not coming out as much as possible."
He half-heartedly pointed with his chin to the building on the other side of the main building.
"It's getting dark, so we'll unpack tomorrow and everyone will go inside first. The temperature is dropping, so we can't keep standing outside and talking."
Before he could hear the answer, Aslan turned around, blowing a cold wind.
"Um, with that temperamental.....!"
High Priest, who was looking at him disapprovingly, clicked his tongue slightly, then hesitated and started walking after Aslan.
***
In the great conference room, Aslan, his lieutenants, and representatives of the delegation and pilgrimage group sat down.
There were about ten people in total, and High Priest and Anette naturally attended to fill the place. Aslan, who was sitting at the head of the table, spoke with a crooked smile on his lips.
"You don't know how embarrassed I was when I heard the story from Howson. You invaded so suddenly without any communication."
When he spoke as if he was shocked, High Priest responded in a sullen tone.
"Doesn't the Duke know better than anyone that this place is not easy to contact?"
"I remember that the disconnect was not created by our Kalathi side."
Comments
Post a Comment