bacchusnovels Chapter 108 - 144 - Is Thalia on weeds
Chapter 108 - 144 - Is Thalia on weeds
⟨ Wasn’t it just a few days ago you were instructed to stay here, little Estelle? ⟩
Rezekiel questioned, perplexed by Estelle’s sudden desire to depart from Thallasar.
Turning towards Zeph, who wore a smile as he looked at Rezekiel, he wondered if this was this human’s doing.
In that moment, another smile appeared on the Old Man’s face as he stood, contemplating how he would torment the human who had influenced his granddaughter.
"Then, I am going to my room," Estelle declared, preparing to depart, with Zeph and Thalia following closely behind.
Just before departing, she hesitated and turned back remembering something,"Did Father tell you about the capital—"
Interrupting herself upon noticing Rezekiel’s intense gaze, Estelle realized their conversation about Craten’s business shouldn’t be discussed in front of outsiders.
She merely nodded before departing.
Following suit, Thalia also turned to leave, while Zeph remained standing, gazing downward, processing Estelle’s words.
’don’t tell me, is she just’,It didn’t take him long to discern that Estelle’s sudden remarks to Rezekiel hadn’t been part of the usual plot mentioned in «Heroes Counterattack»
It could’ve been a coincidence, but for Zeph, whose entire new life was shaped by a coincidentally fallen banner, such occurrences were significant.
’Luinera, the moment we leave this place, use your physical form to infiltrate the Capital City of Thallasar and search someone for me,’ he instructed mentally, slowly turning towards the door.
After all the events, from Estelle suddenly aligning herself with him by proposing marriage to her sudden inquiry about a place that held a major role in the upcoming devastation of this area, at least he sensed that something was off—either Estelle had changed, or his arrival in this world had caused a butterfly effect.
Uncertain, yet cautious, Zeph atleast knew that he needed to be careful with his every move, especially now that he had another life to protect alongside his own.
"Zeph, hurry up," that familiar voice called out, which has now become an integral part of his life. With a warm smile, he moved towards her, intertwining his fingers with hers and pulling her along.
Feeling the warmth inside his heart the moment their hands connected, he realized the significance of what this girl had become to him, meeting those widened emerald eyes, ’You’ve truly become my blossom, my love’
{A/n: In Greek, Thalia means Blossom, here it is used to show the importance of her presence and his affection towards her, in a poetic way}
"Hey, don’t pull me like that."
Being dragged like that all of a sudden, Thalia’s emerald eyes widened momentarily but feeling the sight of Zeph’s golden eyes and warm smile they relaxed.
His firm grip that offered her support to lean on. But for her, that grip was the last thing she wanted right now,’ I want my fluffy teddy again’
Making him fat again was her sole goal.
Feeling the unyielding firmness in his grip, she couldn’t find her Teddy in it.
There’s a saying that humans always tend to want more than what they have, and her longing now was to see his old form.
"Okay, then I will just lift you," Zeph said swiftly as he lifted her in a princess carry, startling her before she could react.
"Kyaa~!!"
A force pressed on her face, causing her to hug him tightly while hiding her face inside his chest.
...
As Estelle walked, lost in thoughts about her next move, she observed Thalia and Zeph passing by her, noting the bond between them.
Though not blind to the evident connection, she couldn’t comprehend what must have transpired between the two to become so close.
’Does he possess some kind of mind manipulation ability or something?’ She briefly considered, then recalling how he used Mana Transmutation, she dismissed that idea. Now, she had two goals.
Her first goal was to confront the impending dangers that had kept her restricted and unable to act, previously.
Secondly, it was about the young man before her. ’I will definitely uncover the reason that girl fell for you,’ she vowed.
Following behind them, Estelle watched as Zeph suddenly lifted Thalia before his figure blurred. Her eyes widened, "Stop it, you idiot!"
SWISH
Gritting her teeth, she hastened her pace to catch up.
Being in water, it wasn’t hard for her to close the distance in mere moments.
However, her primary concern was how Zeph will find her room, considering the palace contained over six hundred rooms.
.
.
.
.
BANG!
The door swung open with a forceful kick, revealing Zeph standing there while holding Thalia.
Her closed eyes snapped open as she instinctively hit his chest with her fist.
"W-why?!" Zeph looked at her with an innocent expression, as if he had been bullied.
"You idiot, you could have warned me before doing that," Thalia exclaimed, her heart pounding wildly from the sudden lift and sprint without any prior warning.
"Sorry about that, I had some urgent business," Zeph apologized, gently placing her back on the ground.
Thalia was confused about the nature of his ’business’ before she suddenly realized something. "No, Zeph, don’t be an idiot. We can’t do it here—"
Flick!
"Ouch, you hit me!" Thalia felt both interrupted and flicked on the forehead, this being the second time she’d been hit on the head since the start of their relationship, making her already foresee her upcoming years.
She turned away, her eyes welling up with tears. "I hate you"
"Hey, Thalia, look at me."
His words prompted her to avoid meeting his gaze, making him to take initiative and gently lift her chin using his fingers, locking his gaze with her emerald eyes.
The moonlight added an otherworldly glow to his already shiny golden pupils, with a soft voice, "Listen, you already know I’m not from this world, right?"
Suddenly broaching a topic Thalia had avoided mentioning due to fear of him leaving, she averted her eyes despite his grip on her chin, she retorted," I don’t know"
’!?’
Her eyes widened as she felt a soft touch on her lips. Turning towards him, her widened eyes followed his retreating figure.
His gaze fixed on hers with a teasing look, while another soft voice made its way towards the already captivated maiden, "Thalia, I need you to stand guard while I handle something in this room. Once your intuition kicks in, you’ll pounce on me, okay?"
’Is he serious?’ Although she wanted to refuse, seeing his determined face and those eyes, that were just blasphemy for her small heart, ’damn it,’ she found herself nodding and stood beside the door.
"Thank you, Thalia. Just a few minutes," Zeph said to Thalia, who still couldn’t meet his gaze, standing in the door with her pouted face.
With a smile Zeph swiftly entered the dark room and disappeared inside that darkness.
"Where is it?"
Zeph moved hastily, determined to find something mentioned in the novel —Finally granted access to the Palace of Admiral Avendial, he was resolute in his search.
.
.
.
.
.
"Haaa...haaa...Where is he!"
Estelle couldn’t comprehend the speed at which Zeph moved, leaving her far behind.
At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to beat him to pulp for making her search in such haste.
’Think, Estelle,’ she urged herself, attempting to see things from Zeph’s perspective.
She had no personal knowledge of him, but it was evident that he possessed information not meant for others, such as her grandfather’s weakness and Thalia’s unusual affection towards him.
Although uncertain, she attempted to deduce his potential actions by pondering, ’What would you have done if you were in his place?’ She pressured herself to consider all possibilities.
’!?’
Her eyes widened, swiftly turning towards a room that might hold something he would seek.
SWISH!
Estelle sprinted towards the direction where Zeph and Thalia were located, increasing her pace along the lengthy hallway.
’Let’s see what excuse you’ll make, Liander,’ her eyes glinted.
She was well aware that their current location was completely opposite to the direction of her room — It didn’t make sense for someone lost in the palace to wander in such a direction randomly.
’There it is.’
A room came into view.
Hastening her steps, Estelle neared the area, only to be halted by a sudden voice, causing her to stumble as she tried to control her speed.
"Come on, Zeph, now I finally got my hands on you, fufu~," a womanly voice echoed.
Stealthily moving closer, Estelle saw a man lying on the floor, while a woman sat on his chest, her caramel hair and emerald eyes locked onto the young man’s golden eyes.
"T-thalia?", Zeph, genuinely perplexed by Thalia’s sudden behavior, felt utterly confused, unable to comprehend why she was acting out of character.
"You idiot! Did you drink that thing?" Estelle entered the scene, noticing Thalia’s opaque emerald eyes, not shining as they typically did but rather hazy.
Zeph, already aware of what Estelle was referring to, felt like his luck was still the same, following him until now.
’My luck is definitely something else’