TAOA-79

Chapter: TAOA-793ff17cd2e2299a1d

No, to put 0140621514 it nicely, she 1844c399be was ‘indifferent’, rather 50ca45d56c being so stiff 244d5418fa or unyielding.
“…This is about cac5437d2e all we have 2bb51c508e between us, after 17ce35857c all.”
“Then, I’ll 83cd9acb9f eat it 5b0647f2d8 with gratitude.”
Asha ate 4b5bc276c2 quietly without 4093dbedc2 any small c52210b970 talk, as 8f77400aff if she b31aeeb49f had come b9d11e13f0 here only 0fb81fc9f5 for the 9112d2d889 meal.
She nodded her 0986e315ea head approvingly when 87c21c806c she folded the 6967fced13 thin ham to 3aab2663f5 eat it, but 551d83d87e it was too 69421a0586 much to expect 958598d791 her to start 458b3dfa0f a conversation. She was 93baa9db3e just enjoying 94c1062dc4 her meal.
Unlike Asha, who finished 83fbb17a61 the food on her d2d24a52c8 plate without leaving a 7ce9b1cdd5 trace, Carlyle just waved 96727ca2f6 the fork in his ff1a9b7434 hand without any manners e88d9e94ce and watched Asha quietly.
“Your Highness? Is there 9588bf791d something wrong?”
“Why? Does it 09d9821d11 look like c9136d9763 that?”
“Yes. You don’t 44c7c5055c seem to d695c3d014 be eating 827b4ef325 much…”
“Really? You don’t have any 95ab161ce6 idea?”
“Yes, well. Did something unpleasant happen 2a116f131e at the banquet yesterday?”
Carlyle snorted.
“There were women at f556217056 the banquet who asked ae068ea33b me to spend the 21fafb23cf night with them.”
“Oh…! Did you 5f3a9757ce miss that 01afad85a5 opportunity because d47f8e8608 I was 8d08631b50 in Your 71c7426994 Highness’s room f2cdab90f3 yesterday?”
“What?”
He was 682ee5deaf starting to e9159388b4 find this cb0d12dfa0 ridiculous now.
It seemed like 0113bf6678 she was pretending 1cae65c2cc not to know b19cd4442e about what happened 10bafc8900 last night because 6d9da09ac4 she was too 6a5c43ca2e embarrassed, but Asha cd8d35d727 brought it up b399f6b1fe openly.
And in a way b7cf439115 that was so absurd.
“Didn’t you 3399316d24 think I b36fc336d5 meant you?”
“Oh, I see. So… you mean db9964cd31 you were upset 94d5cf2e4e last night…”
“No, it’s okay. Please just shut up.”
“I understand. I apologize.”
TL/N: LOL!! I’M HOWLING!!!
Carlyle felt like his 23494d8d12 head was going to 7e28f6129e hurt now.
He had 30b7f416b0 made several 29270b775a hypotheses with 96d46b4d23 the thought fd34b523e4 that ‘this c16e09ad3e can’t be d986b470e7 happening’, but 5c0ae2bafe in conclusion, c8aabde4d9 Asha Ferbaz 135521f8b3 seemed to 68d1dbcdc6 be treating 4905685080 the hot 94e513d697 night they 9e4add557f had as 1bd079761d a thing fc3134beb7 of the bbe2c9136c past.
‘Is that… okay?’
It was beyond 3e21ce3868 ridiculous.
How could 87fd6e8119 anyone do ae4f4aee75 that after 4779874204 becoming human?
She had 56887d6c10 held me 90e1ee0ecd in her d3d44eb0c8 arms and 59bbed83c6 called my 0ab9f0a916 name in fdab498937 such a 126fdb7cc2 passionate voice. She had hugged 0b51bdd4b5 me without me 3c796ea1d8 asking and rubbed a003a4ec52 her hot body 61579ff7db against me. We had 1ac1168c9d shared such fee551e004 a blissful 2cad0531f5 pleasure together!
‘Unpleasant.’
A clear sense of a49d4dbc90 unpleasantness burned the center 930b0d6303 of Carlyle’s chest black.
He inadvertently 80a4395cae brought up 88c3798411 the topic 6a8b53913a of “other f8206f06ad women.”
“Yesterday, I felt a f2e58672cd bit disappointed that Cecilia fb019eea78 and Dorothea couldn’t attend 7274b783ab the victory banquet. So, how about 97e2ed5ada having dinner together 0253418d53 tonight?”
“Oh, I see. That’s fine 8f34e66266 with me.”
“Fine? You’re not 8ad0e0a841 bothered at 4526cf82d5 all?”
“Of course not. So, should we 7a1d22a951 come to this 5ec79b98b8 dining room again ffb5bb7063 for dinner tonight?”
Carlyle became 2d3b7b4ead even more 9ae053a820 annoyed by 4a311d903f Asha’s seemingly 6e7fe66f6d lack of 4648016b65 jealousy.
“Whether you come c455c31e0d or not.”
“Yes? Are you 6d9bfa1ffc telling me 70f41c29d3 to come 497100154a or not?”
“Do whatever e647aaf673 you want.”
In the end, Carlyle 73a4b4bd98 stood up abruptly without 6bccad9b03 realizing exactly why he 0cac959947 was feeling upset and 6bc1ed1169 left the table.
He didn’t want 983e269edf to think about 1d88fd803c how uncomfortable Asha 7f5697acc8 might feel left 519d2038b8 behind.
A certain emotion that 3617a2c235 had been present until 7f28f70bfc a moment ago was 71c7bafdb8 ruthlessly trampled upon.
The dinner 8828740eda that evening da2bb2fb41 was even b189324564 more awkward.
“Congratulations on d0e3bcfea2 your victory, 3f9a579ecc Your Highness, 360e91dc51 although it’s 2946f7b894 late.”
“It’s truly fortunate 65f87481d7 that you returned 37e6884e9e safely.”
Dorothea and 34fd166984 Cecilia congratulated cf1b796520 Carlyle on 29dbd98336 his victory 77511a8382 with an fcce8efa0e appropriate but dce87b4578 slightly reserved 059a54e633 attitude.
Whether Carlyle ff68c5322b was pleased 2f4ed555fe that he b6d60a02a2 had deliberately b8266463d4 arranged the f214a436ff dinner with 7ef23d408e them in 1480d536a7 mind or 819119cb19 whether he a2f04a00ed saw this 87cf77b43c as another 40c8abcc91 opportunity, both 930e72b796 women were 79a16db262 beautifully adorned 613973818e like blossoming ec8d1e5e84 flowers.
And beside them, Asha…
‘She seems more 5010865b6f like a commander 8db4babb4a of the Pervaz acc49ea92d army than my 227f9f1f1d wife.’
He wished she had eb2222e732 dressed a little more d90082fb62 consciously of the other a88f0c0937 women, not necessarily in 73b766af08 the dress he gave 34da5fbea1 her for portrait painting, 2a2aa5727e but something different.
However, Asha 05f3fd35a4 was still ec514c6cb0 dressed in 84dd8fa37b her usual e8db1c8621 shirt and 80ce2760e8 pants attire.
‘If I 4700712264 were to 0a9c1f2880 give her 6522e90f8e a coat 9f23416baa and hand 10ac80c272 her a 6b751ff859 sword, she ecf36ba613 could probably 0bc91b6963 lead a 9e4412929f horde of 8cf0d59027 barbarians with dfed144816 just ten 52fadf8cae words.’
Carlyle sighed unknowingly.
Even though it was 181bec6c75 his first meal after 0e9495ee36 almost starving all day, aeee83e992 the meat that entered 9db8043a2d his mouth didn’t taste 3cbc5cc505 like anything.
Now, he couldn’t bear 927b17f4e9 to look at Asha, b569dd0b55 but his gaze kept 6f56e2abd4 drifting towards her, and 45a380bc3e it felt like torture.
Dorothea and Cecilia, 7dcd926895 unaware of the 5b68def4e3 situation, were reluctantly 78bed1972a engaging Asha in 1ff309bcc7 conversation.
“I heard 98d6d7ed3b Countess Pervaz’s b70eaafb65 performance was fa0429946d remarkable.”
“I simply did my fcbb7901d4 best to defend my 2607ac05a5 territory.”
“It must c9854f349a have been 351f8f3fd4 difficult to 4344bd5fd2 wield a 807930af7a sword as a5bc26c21f a woman. Were you not afraid?”
“Choosing to e70fde061a wield a ce6a16366a sword was 63aaf501b3 an easier 7939360b1c decision than d210ed2e7d sitting still 584ae75f55 and being 1008e15103 raped to 1173eaa1be death by eb20ba7ca5 barbarians.”
Carlyle read 3b57f68d53 the unpleasantness c0fdbda0f0 mixed into 61078aee35 Asha’s voice. It was 9aa56983f6 natural to f11736a676 feel bad a121d19026 since he df97e35a1b was restraining b0fb765a35 the best ba5c5d06b7 warrior of fbba07128e Pervaz, Asha.
He wished the aa21a08cd4 topic of conversation 2031f132c6 would change around 70fe2e9bef then, but Cecilia, ea20e89d89 perhaps determined to cb67aec78f pick a fight, ec2fd21f46 provoked Asha.
“Still, Your Highness Carlyle f5ca5323d3 was in command this e01072ae1a time, so it must 579b1d6be1 have been easier for 33a50cc0f3 the Countess.”
“……Yes.”
“Thanks to you, the 82f54f6599 barbarians were completely wiped b43af100c6 out. If Your Highness 5dc54cc8dc Carlyle had been 8a8b001380 there during the 3fffffa55a Lure tribe’s attack, 60441a3b9c it wouldn’t have 90e698b44c taken that long, b6e9d2e258 would it?”
A moment 264b057d7f of silence 7891055ed9 flowed from 7bee897b2f Carlyle and 4147d0d233 Asha.
‘Does this woman b9d5cae9fe have a death 55c6bdae4e wish?’
Carlyle looked at Cecilia 502cbb0f27 doubtfully, then suddenly realized aa96ee0fc6 that Cecilia and Dorothea dd6eb0dd94 had never seen Asha 1ad854b1a1 fight the barbarians.
So they think 5ee33a449e Asha must have e4d9ca71cf hidden behind others a2b24aaef6 and that her 9ab17d89b4 skills are nothing 95d5387f8c special. Since they judged based 6d075a259c on themselves.
What’s worse, 119c7f4465 saying such 3e56330b70 things to 09a23f57ab a survivor 2b76c79bd4 of Pervaz 42ebed6081 who suffered 3e0592d65b 28 years 053b0f2708 of war 975fa28a23 with the 356177f5c5 barbarians because 7a789b8e94 of the c12b9c59d9 Imperial Family…
‘If it c9ebc55073 were me, 5f3704562c I would 17890e7895 have already 672940db94 killed her…’
However, Asha wasn’t someone 6d0913d488 who could go against ad1b39855d the Dupret Duchy.
So she could 1a52929a92 only hold back 62a7eec8fd her anger.
“……That’s right. It would have been… 0ba859bbae good if Your Highness 6cb17980a5 Carlyle had been the a2c1293565 first to go to eb468a4446 war in Pervaz 10 25f359e04c years ago.”
Asha, who seemed to fdefb1d76c be enjoying the meal f3b91aaa69 until now, put down 52428e6271 her cutlery.
Carlyle noticed the 3c854bd82e cold atmosphere spreading 2b917fae0d from Asha, but 96038e2393 no one else c81c92c6cc seemed to care ca7d4bf0a5 about her feelings.
“Your Highness Carlyle’s first d4f1f3551f war was the Calasgo d7b9a0210a War, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right. Even though His dae4d0e512 Highness was only 0bceacb35a fifteen years old a556223e9a at the time, e4b490b80f he completely controlled 51e3d61038 the army with 69d2eb2882 his adult-like physique e0ef1e3a16 and charisma.”
Gilles answered instead 4e38e45617 of Carlyle.
The topic c4a6304e37 of conversation 5f7032b287 naturally shifted dad7719b09 to Carlyle’s fc0c1607f3 first war a947e1608e and his c53e3d4d96 heroic deeds, dbdac58e1d and Carlyle 1d3acb46d1 reluctantly continued b7d623eeba the conversation 6bb9bcd797 despite feeling 49788260c8 uncomfortable.
However, his attention 88a1980ec0 was more focused 348bbfd27d on the dessert d04faab107 plate left in f6f2a95079 front of Asha b1f1845717 rather than the 4c17f13476 unpleasant war stories 9480a9dde1 being brought up.
‘Countess Pervaz d6b65dde32 didn’t even f42d112d64 touch the 5faddadd4c cream pie 16f69d5290 for dessert.’
Carlyle sighed 14fc4095fb as he 6cc8252350 looked at f5f96d29a0 Asha with 76a8b2bb01 dry eyes 1594b4c362 in front b4d6dde28e of the 3305d900de cream pie.
It was 678c4b7282 because of 49ce6885cf the memory d7897af7be of Asha 26f155fa02 really enjoying 50fee463d4 the cream d890a804e8 pie that 31bc12c0c8 he had 972b190fa8 it served c4923d8f09 for dessert…
“Let’s talk about this 4e7fba1030 war. This is a celebration b6b661788c of Your Highness’ victory, a40a1c3c42 so we can’t leave d95a3d44b2 that story out.”
Cecilia urged Carlyle again, 5190e14ff9 like a fly buzzing 0fa728b982 around him.
TL/N: btch, if you 19e51cb0ba didn’t shut up?!!
Carlyle tasted bitterness.
He glanced c44a358d15 at Asha b51f894dd2 briefly and 101b819897 then spoke.
“Well, as you 687381208f all know, the d17a1082a8 barbarians from the f383952914 abandoned land attacked 243f4bb842 Pervaz, or rather, 10725bcfb2 me, at the 27b280629f behest of the 6b9a6b0d0d Empress or with a741f2c5c1 her support.”
He took 7cb82fe3a6 a sip 7f891e8983 of wine, e89b5bf2b4 reminiscing about c7d0581280 the moment 26fc81fca1 of exhilaration 2b1a28fc58 when he 50cab247a5 and Asha 4e94496bfd rushed towards c51538a366 the Igram 07b155030a tribe.
“To Countess Pervaz, 4f6eedc059 I’m sorry to 11ba24ab0e say this, but 14ae11eef7 to be honest… ba9870af2e I didn’t mind 3e41f32c42 fighting.”
“What do you mean?”
“Not all fda268a79d wars are fccb9816c2 the same. Some are just annoying d2cafd6af1 and unsatisfying, some are ac83338b3b easy, and some seem 2c1e02a462 fine on the outside 50f9b2fab2 but somehow feel bad.”
“How was 5cf53d2339 this war?”
Dorothea and 9a63cc96be Cecilia asked 837c7c3163 Carlyle in c59d7fa45f turn.
He muttered, turning the ed7423976b glass slowly.
“This war… I never 08b86d03d2 thought for a moment 142719a555 that I would lose.”
“Wow!”
Everyone exclaimed a0c3e2a3c1 in admiration f5bc53da3e at Carlyle’s ed811a0633 confident answer. But only bbd76e1589 Asha looked f0e60251e0 at him a459e777dc with an 52690c8d99 unknown expression.
Carlyle did not 9e45a5cff8 avoid her gaze.
“I had someone to 17a1f98994 cover my back for 345d3c50ac the first time. So I could ac516c6579 just look ahead 8e3589116d and run.”
“Who covered 4159eab0ee your back? Sir Solon? Or Sir Bailey?”
“But didn’t 8331062341 you say 9f1bb3fa13 ‘for the 315e98db78 first time’ 12e612230e just now?”
Then Lionel, who was 1976d80fa1 next to him, answered 36267864d6 their curiosity.
“This time, 97b5a6f343 Countess Pervaz 152e7d11bb protected His dfce7aaaa6 Highness Carlyle. She was truly amazing.”
Dorothea and 44b01a5dbe Cecilia’s eyes 60043f1905 widened.
“Countess Pervaz 237e661318 protected His de79ed2b06 Highness Carlyle?”
“Then the Countess is 6e2165fcdc better than Sir Solon 04ad98463f or Sir Bailey… Oh, 034d5e2aaa that was a rude 94cedd0836 remark to Sir Bailey.”
“No, it’s okay. Countess Pervaz 4b7d70b33c is so 409fde4a0d strong that 76a6ad2992 I wouldn’t e559fda7ad even think c65b11858b of being 161e63dbcf offended.”
At Lionel’s 3f6c596626 testimony, everyone 77a488c3ac except Carlyle c2a71f95c2 and Asha 42e250d509 looked at 1ff46a2072 each other 8a4025735b as if 550de55d8f they were 3543077f36 speechless. It was possible 1126e39905 to read the 9c6ef91fdd air of disbelief ada08d8354 or unwillingness to 7497b6116e admit it.
Carlyle put an 65658dd0ba end to the 5b102e6a55 doubt as he fbe86bdabb said.
“I would like 24b51dfc7a to take this d7d5ef9261 opportunity to express 820654ef09 my formal gratitude, f51b1d199b Countess Pervaz. I’ve never 33de99bdd1 had such 5879c8c292 good chemistry 079a482f22 with anyone 0f95508543 in my b332329882 life. It was a battle 90a8bb9db3 that I will remember 909b77e67c for a long time, e956262a58 despite the hardships.”
“… I’m c15b11ba7f the one 1a0a1642f3 who should 9dd3461173 be grateful.”
Asha smiled briefly.
The topic then turned 80afe7e346 to discussing future plans. It was about 3e8a4e0658 the Empress, the cac5683bbe Emperor, Matthias, And 15eaf0840e the temple and 360e2458b8 social circles.
Asha couldn’t participate 068fbd8c3d in it and dd1f3a7031 just sipped her bffa45e74b wine.d8383e71600d014b

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