While Cecile stammered in her confusion, Estian tightened his arms around her and leaned his forehead against hers, as if to confirm she was alive. As Cecile slowly registered the feeling of him pressed against her, she began to notice his sweat-drenched skin, ragged breaths, and the smoldering heat emanating from his body.
The pulsations from Estianās wildly beating heart seemed to slowly pass over to her through their tight embrace. The reassuring thumps of his heartbeat seemed to kickstart her heart, which had grown cold moments before. Cecile could feel, little by little, how her heart was beginning to slowly beat again. The sorrow, exhaustion and despair that had cast a shadow over her had quickly dissipated from his warmth.
Cecile threw her arms around Estian and hugged her back with her trembling body. When he held her tighter yet in his arms, tears welled up in her eyes. Nestled in his embrace, she felt her tension melt and her strength leave her. āEstianā¦ā she sobbed.
āIām sorry. I came too late,ā Estian soothed. He raised a hand and gently brushed Cecileās hair back so she could peer into her husbandās face properly.
Cecileās eyes widened from shock. What in the world had happened? When she watched Estian fighting Ruin through Richardās spell, she was sure heād been relatively unscathed; the worst of his injuries shouldāve been a few minor scratches on his arms. However, the husband in front of her now was a literal mess. Not only was his face scarred all over, but even his clothes were also in tatters. It was also stained with blood all over. It looked like the man had single-handedly fought a long war by himself.
Clearly, these were injuries he had sustained as he fought his way to her side. The sight of his sorry state had shocked her into silence. When Estian gently wiped away her tears, the all-too-familiar touch made her choke up again, and she had to swallow the sobs threatening to break out from her.
āIām sorry. I shouldāve come before you were in danger,ā Estian apologized remorsefully.
His gentle voice caused Cecile to break into tears once more. She didnāt know what had happened, but Estian was here now. He was alive. He had come for her. And that fact made her cry. Throwing her arms around his neck, she let loose and bawled. The emperor patted her comfortingly on the back until she calmed down.
Just as Cecile raised her head, she stiffenedāthe branches of the World Tree had drawn near them before they realized. The thickest of branches suddenly whipped towards them.
āNo!āĀ There wasnāt even time to scream. Bracing for the impact, Cecile shut her eyes tightly and hugged Estian to protect his head, butā¦ At that moment, the branch noisily collided with a foreign object. When Cecile blinked open her eyes, a familiar figure came into a viewāa palm-sized, green spirit in human form. āAled?ā Cecile muttered, surprised.
Hearing its name, Aled grinned and began, āUgh, thatās the World Tree for you. It sure is painful. I think itās been a really long time since Iāve been in this much pain. Not since I suffered a beating by the emperor over there. Ah, but you guys saw it, right? Right? I blocked it, I tell you! I helped you two! You canāt pretend it didnāt happen later, okay? Emperor, youāve absolutely got to keep the promise you made on the way here. You said youād take care of my loan all at once and give me everything else too, yeah? Oh, but seriously. Why am I so awesome? Iām fully aware that Iām an elder-class spirit, but I sure didnāt know I could block the World Treeās branch in such epic fashion. By the way, Empress. Havenāt you gotten uglier since we last met? Whatās that look you got going? But then again, you and the emperor do look like a similar mess.ā
Cecile involuntarily covered her ears. It was Aled alright.