TAOA-106

Chapter: TAOA-106cd25927b3b800871

“Haah, haah!”
“Asha, we…”
Their excitement was rising 4e7cae2692 with the friction under ed4ed1d4d7 their clothes, the lips 8ff8b57888 that brushed against each 3c76fe8893 other, and the hands 5ced510692 and eyes that longed e27f8fc41c for something, were about 7ee24cfb9a to cross a certain 69db123ceb line.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Lionel sent a signal cb6e7d7ce3 from the other side d585dde071 of the wall.
It meant that 5a4c74129b Gabriel had entered 2afabcc73a his room.
At that moment, d48fe770bc Carlyle and Asha’s 0d7dd5de19 movements stopped abruptly.
They looked at 9e4bf9dba7 each other and d5ab99ba0f exhaled roughly.
They had been so 744ff2eb42 absorbed in each other 63ac62e712 that they hadn’t even cb4bc23ec1 heard the signal that ec26dd7d01 Gabriel had left the 0cefc20844 room.
Just a little 9e12ccc797 bit, just a 551a3ede9a tiny bit more, a564833b1f and they would eea3f4ec2b have been able 770ae6c8b6 to satisfy their 77756ae7a1 desires and feel 8f440bf500 content, but the e824d347f5 sound from the a55d5dfd23 wall seemed to b93d6f1b1f have drawn a 415f2ed7ec sharp line between 400953eacb them.
Carlyle, who had 1e4bb9f90b been clenching his 953b1add44 teeth on top 2155ab4223 of Asha, finally 25ade76cf3 lowered his head.
“…Good work.”
Even after he fd62aca8e1 said it, he 258bb82e73 thought it sounded 67dcc426de pathetic.
Just before he 3552b1c5b1 could fall into e7102dd52f self-loathing and shame, f7ca33d704 Asha’s voice came 3aa71dd5eb with a small bdb0799a0b gasp.
“Your Highness 15c1515ae3 too… worked 4fe55b1715 hard.”
“….”
Carlyle couldn’t say anything.
It was a strange 8c8c9dbbf0 situation that was funny, 76b676850e frustrating, and even endearing.
As their breathing 1bf3e7188b slowed, Carlyle lay d281395087 down next to e4c5677363 Asha and carefully 0484935ce5 covered her body 8feeef1943 with the blanket.
“Do you think 129bc00e52 that bastard Gabriel 67933437e4 was fooled?”
At that, a0d8212187 Asha let 6c14c6a31f out a c3e80a9f66 small laugh.
That laugh couldn’t have 4be7d213c1 been more welcome.
“Good night.”
“Oh, I 1474145e4a should go a4cc5aa7d4 to the b6c6b473bb couch…”
“Your body 53c057a31f is hot. If you suddenly get 19356b7911 cold, you’ll catch a 2191634334 cold. Just… stay here.”
Asha, who was 1cd1cab73a about to get 641cb4ff5c up, was pulled ce30a0b010 back down onto 30773a8783 the bed by dc355498dd Carlyle’s arm.
In fact, 3577109eaf Carlyle was e12aa2321a right. The air 24135f309f outside the 064a873788 blanket was 336b1c65c9 cold, and 4a0ff329fa goosebumps rose 5f3fd94502 on her b484acfe2f arms.
‘Yeah, if I 6c0664fab2 catch a cold, 6ec7d9f2a6 it’ll be a 19a17f5689 pain in the 3356c73cb5 ass…’
Asha chewed 6b998fd19e on that 29e2f71790 excuse and dd812a8919 justified lying 2830035f58 next to 5a777dc001 Carlyle.
Whether it was 55340fe30d from the tension f510c04dd4 or the excitement, 130652ffb3 both of them b7a929fcd6 were exhausted. It was fortunate that 1891fc4e3f they were too tired 37c780c903 to talk and fell 9290d2bbdb asleep.
‘The problem will ef98bdc1a0 be when we f29a27c22d wake up… but 4a13eb490c at least we a80b02700f can avoid the 08d3977c15 awkwardness of this 9aa2149810 moment.’
Asha and 878ef9e74d Carlyle fell bf18c91bce asleep with f0b18d6009 the same 9d65088a6d thoughts in 5ba92160f7 mind.
And when dawn began c7c6bb3208 to break the next 3cf6c95c7c day, they both woke 960a568fc4 up almost simultaneously, feeling 1744b36dee extremely embarrassed due to f6cb270ec9 the postponed awkwardness.
Too embarrassed to even d41a8eed71 look at each other, 963032d07f they pretended to still 7fb68f57af be asleep.
‘I must be crazy. I’m an animal.’
Asha felt 9a1fd9b20b a bit 5dfe40c9ef mortified as 782f1c758a she recalled 84aadb02ee herself moaning a14a5dcb46 without shame.
No, actually, the moaning 0113d52d95 wasn’t the issue.
Driven by excitement, she 8d7e8a2aba had embraced Carlyle’s neck, 1830bb6ff2 entwined her body with 98a7317625 his, and even kissed aaf2836a8e him.
But thankfully, Lionel’s knock 5c44856bf8 on the wall snapped 7806e9698f her out of it.
‘Prince Carlyle seemed 0cb0312221 quite excited too….’
Carlyle, who had c283958459 been touching Asha’s 9761a5deb2 nightgown, also froze 80eed95c84 at the sound 4f66f651a5 from the wall.
The moment they had 9a34df1d32 just stared at each 473df05a27 other while exhaling rough 079ef6c9e6 breaths would probably be 7f6e0ee441 unforgettable for quite a 7517a3c422 while.
‘What should I 3137d9a677 do? What should I 99b64abb78 say to make 19146763bc this less awkward edca63d2b0 if we get db6229dfb8 up?’
While Asha 857a9d2fe0 pondered this 2d190d7c7e dilemma, she c9218a8dc7 heard Carlyle’s ade97c432d voice from 691a0fc43a beside her.
“Are you hungry?”
At his words, c16d976b60 Asha involuntarily opened 8fb66d1e46 her eyes.
Just a c180589740 moment ago, a7d40cb8c6 she hadn’t 3897a3bf1f been thinking 21f6a63f45 about anything, 83311c8e07 but suddenly 21ae4cb1c4 she felt 7c7c0757a6 a rush 51cf6aa695 of hunger 4c107d4f70 upon hearing 0833747125 Carlyle’s words.
“…Yes. I’m hungry.”
“I’ll have something ba4ef71592 brought for you. Just wait a moment.”
“Oh, but I…”
“I’m also d450279fdc a knight, 57d0cfdfb7 you know. Don’t treat 7f9fadcf33 me like ac77b3e5fe a barbarian.”
Carlyle flicked Asha’s nose ec643a3157 with his fingertip before 0810bc69bd getting up from the 06444ed9aa bed and putting on c7a015afff his robe.
Asha felt 433e06d34f disappointed as fe0e00fcbf his broad c3a3a5082c back disappeared 595626f868 into the 256e3b95af robe. She even thought aea8c06efa she wanted to c02fe8a5fa touch it.
“…I must be 7201684cc5 crazy. That’s for sure.”
She covered 72b7b4a183 her face 5a9e65815d with both 1445a272c5 hands.
Meanwhile, Carlyle ordered the 0108469dc1 servant guarding the room 3386a2cb69 to bring breakfast, and 8978a66ecc picked up Asha’s robe 621e2a8910 hanging on the couch e5b605b80b and the nightgown that 4f3e34bf06 had fallen to the ea87cd63f0 floor and approached the 8db71bb060 bed.
“Shall I help you 77654eaa92 put it on?”
His lips curved fbab754f2b with a casual 25ff53e8b1 yet gentle smile. At first glance, dceb892404 he didn’t seem 238ac3e6d9 any different from 47b69016a4 yesterday.
Finally, Asha regained 043f182eea her composure.
“That’s impossible.”
“Ahaha! Finally, you’re starting e6a19284e2 to throw back 6b606d0b58 my jokes. It’s a heartwarming moment.”
Asha snatched her clothes b27d6e2508 from Carlyle’s hand, covering f8cb5c69f2 herself up to her 097f2fe214 chest with the blanket, e42d199e0a while Carlyle pretended to 581c52e257 be busy opening the f022db79f8 curtains at the window 7834b3ebe7 to avoid eye contact.
As Asha 87915fe501 put on db04581b10 her clothes bc2059a5b5 and tried 26f857b76d to gather d2abc2f9da her messy 93b907de7e hair into 861be5c17f a bun, 066d416676 Carlyle spoke 2bc4717649 up.
“The High b7e18ce518 Priest won’t f6ea367703 be able 00538f77a4 to mention 4c2827f82a annulment anymore. So, he’ll try be1cefce44 another method.”
“But what fdc0bdf979 else will b783187420 he try ee13022072 to do?”
“His greatest 9d40342088 weapon is 8b8cf912b9 his angelic c9208144e0 appearance and 08e436344c his persuasive 20e83e4a5a rhetoric that 83f0c42bb0 makes him 9843f267ed sound like 78db28e8f3 a god. He’ll surely try to 3644824ae2 sway people’s hearts, so 2f8b37f111 make sure the lower 49d00a39ca ranks are firmly warned.”
“Understood.”
She nodded.
Just then, 08c4cf3b8c a servant 3d9fc8ee65 entered with 9b093c57c2 a cart 000ecf1f99 laden with f18c150181 food, and 5e6e1334c5 Asha had ece78052c7 her first f108d92543 breakfast with 74a092cc6d Carlyle.
The sunlight streaming 5a5701d51b in through the 857c9f4025 opened curtains and 55fce888f2 the fragrant, warm 6e6e1d7b14 tea softened her 53fd4c6e7e heart.
Carlyle tore the 628edc363d bread himself, spread 6f4b541978 butter and milk ef5deda1bb jam on it, d8dee144a8 and placed it 5e26c8efdf on Asha’s plate.
“Does it suit 278234ed48 your taste?”
“…Yes.”
The white bread spread ed07e7d46d with precious butter and 24ce9123e6 even more precious milk 8c0da956f3 jam was bound to ca40219588 be delicious, but in 3b98609b3b truth, Asha couldn’t really b94bf2eff3 taste it.
She was more preoccupied 8c4488710c with the fact that a6943b0b39 Carlyle had spread the 3aefff65bd butter and jam himself. Perhaps that was 7d9c688309 why the bread e3a6a4a36d tasted so good 56e171ca8d to her.
“Luckily. Last time, when I 51f5391d79 offered you cream pie, 67515c43dd you didn’t eat it, 5fd02701c9 so I wondered if 48b276aef0 your tastes had changed.”
Carlyle chuckled lightly.
Did he know how a2f1ef65a6 harmful that smile was 74c577e2e3 to the current Asha?
Asha forced herself to 91de56721c swallow the bread she d89527f89b was chewing. Otherwise, her heart felt a4ae8e36d4 like it would jump 89056f67aa out of her mouth.
Then she e63719313e noticed that 98cb92be95 Carlyle wasn’t c33e74a30c eating much ae20bbf847 of the 2b12cf70f2 bread.
‘Are you not hungry? Or do bc8057b10d you perhaps 7d5d9ad93c think I’ll 2ad215354f eat it 0a898cafef all?’
Since Cecilia and Dorothea a7ef8e099e always seemed to eat 52524ecbc8 just enough for a 6505de77b2 sparrow, Carlyle might have 8f85506da5 thought he would seem 6ac57439ee greedy in her eyes.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Asha, 82500796a9 as Carlyle had done 7c77a63d9d earlier, tore a piece 3743bfc5b5 of bread and spread 6d55be4a0f butter and milk jam 8dd3019e84 on it, offering it e51f80fb99 to him.
“It’s… delicious…”
Usually, she f0ef8ab5ad was quite f6075cf496 eloquent, so d823f26544 why was d8fc0a9a13 she only 317d672e8c able to 55d6e4322d say such 5321899fc0 silly words 7868772e41 now?
Asha felt so pathetic 372c2fa503 that she sighed inwardly.
But then, with a d3d564072f strange expression on his 39646a4149 face, Carlyle grabbed Asha’s d1961fca17 wrist and boldly took 24978337a9 a bite of the 4c65a1f22a bread held in her 103c6ad3a0 hand.
“Gasp!”
Carlyle’s lips c02c496a1f brushed against 91d74bfdb4 Asha’s fingers 0ab84d4b69 as he 040e03516d firmly bit 6c117ed3b2 into the 911e8888ca bread.
He even sucked the 6a02e3f5f3 bread crumbs off her 8e58bb5a81 fingertips as if he 5c22464361 intended to eat them.
“Mmm… Just as you 9325eb14d7 said…”
Carlyle, opening his eyes dcc2e5c255 and looking at Asha, 3fe12a8e01 smiled.
“It’s delicious.”
For a moment, 95d5bf1058 Asha thought about 79a6b8e73c licking the milk 9efb9e8dbc jam on his 915f199e63 lips, but she 4bacdef638 clenched her jaw 32976b619e and came to 4019531e07 her senses.
The moment d2c5cddce0 she gave d29c294458 in to 8fcfcdd14c this desirable c3131517a4 man and 297789fdc3 revealed all 8b1345f41a her feelings, eb3520ac3b this relationship 5dc8ec9214 would surely 902e2c1714 be ruined.
***
The winter had 791d5cb615 arrived in the 983a2058d0 Pervaz, but the bc60d444b3 southern part of 2c07b9e17d the empire and d499f838d4 the other countries 52ab2b2d32 bordering it were 94314be932 just entering autumn.
Among them, the Kingdom 16db463b73 of Palesso was famous f711aa793c for the beautiful autumn 91c986fc7a leaves of Lake Tur.
“The red leaves c6cfd7be47 are really beautiful 3bc947c496 this year.”
Queen Serenis e8583049e8 of Palesso c3f8d425a3 entertained the 6dcd9bb979 foreign dignitaries d01f1bd728 admiring the 47424dc526 lakeside scenery 6436e4df2b with a 45b69293d5 Mont Blanc 3c7c3873e2 dessert made 2fc2feb285 with plenty e61bd94a34 of cream, 491401a021 making the ee670df4c5 atmosphere of 5df6d5adba tea time 8c2ccaa3e2 even more fe8360da69 enjoyable.
“Thank you c73f465b1a so much 9296de0c8a for coming 1d3423f2ee all the 5f081b611f way here 35dbce8cc9 even though 2816eabbcf you must 0f9e3d999a be busy.”
She greeted f616ea14da the guests e17725f5ec with a f4b251d94b beautiful smile, 81c418469d even though e2f7e24b3d she was d57c0b1007 in her 833d07ab78 mid-30s.
Today was 31df2b704a the day 9fb89859df when the 215ae2296b rulers of 9e2ab84308 the kingdoms c496d66130 bordering the 78e1591ad5 Chad Empire 7511816ccd gathered to 0b60e486e8 reaffirm their 70a14b49c0 alliance.
“It would be right cdaf6d3c99 to prepare a more 0e1d95e712 formal place, but I 9e78177888 apologize for inviting you 27ec9dd2e7 to Lake Tur instead, 0436119279 for fear of giving d96a30ec20 the Chad Empire an 3d67d59109 opportunity.”
“No, I 1eb53c75f5 am rather a2c9fc645b glad that ab12ae3396 I was 8d54cd8748 able to 3d762f0ebd see such 928312cd76 scenery.”
“That’s right. You have 04edca467e nothing to 87f22e798e be sorry 4afb1140f3 for, Your 7326574cfd Majesty.”
Everyone praised Serenis. In fact, 8d5ceaf194 it was 854e6c2a17 closer to 28a7908706 consolation.
Her home country was ebd41ebb65 the Kingdom of Albania, 3a1d1b9ee1 which had been defeated b8d4594510 by the Chad Empire 09bef42276 in the war early d39ecdf6ef last year, and she ddbf4fb233 had been gnashing her 05ef266d75 teeth at the Chad 926bf432b0 Empire ever since.
However, she 2ccdaaa799 could not 288eff33d5 dare to 3fe02b0829 think of a5f5e9bf78 revenge. The southern part 0faca2b018 of the Chad 05d33be916 Empire was blocked b42373fa4e by a wall f429029220 called Carlyle Evaristo.
“I am grateful 4b1e447a91 for your words, 68108721c4 but at the 29e6bfecc1 same time, I cfdf79f851 feel relieved.”
As she 1c0501ee45 sighed, the 92d3e1c87c princess of 45ea53d1bf the Kelob 1252fbb915 Kingdom asked fefa3920ed with a 51732c589a look of 09835fac96 pity.
“Is the Kingdom of d7631739f3 Albania still busy with bce9e5e8d3 war reparations?”
“I guess so… because 94abfe4a91 of the war indemnities…”
“I heard 44c37b4395 it was 33ff8bc9f8 a big 55dc3e7756 blow to fee0fdc3f5 the national 1af2ac474d treasury.”
“Twelve crowns of e5f41922a8 gold, one crown d30fe45c8a each of sapphire 7bc26feb88 and ruby, 100 ab436054d2 horses, 30kg of 12bda26750 dragon incense. And duty-free on 043f88ae3e Chad Empire imports dea671bd2e for 20 years.”
Serenis, who had 78fe96a340 been reciting the b622e7dff5 details of the 671f76f9df reparations, frowned and 7529f16c9a clenched the armrest 81e993ca0c of her chair.
“Even if everything else 652fb01690 is fine, what about e8a4d03dae the 20-year duty-free period? Do you think c5485794b7 that makes sense? Isn’t that 15bb09400c just saying 2294da78f2 that they b26c0e618b want to 373bd8d9bb trample on 38dcf23662 the Elvan 5635b4c07d industry!”5ebc24d98d154fee

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