Haah
Chris let out what felt like her umpteenth sigh of the day from the coachmans seat of the carriage carrying Liselotte and the others. She was acutely aware that she had been sighing a lot lately, and she understood all too well the reason behind it.
The cause was Antares. The impending separation from him was drawing closer by the minute, and the desire not to part ways was tornting her.
From the mont Chris beca aware of her surroundings, her world had been filled with harsh labor, unreasonable violence, and foul-mouthed abuse. She did not know who her parents were, but it was certain her mother had been a slave. Her mother had died from childbirth fever, and Chriss fate as an expendable tool had been sealed from the mont of her birth, without even a na given to her.
As the child of a slave with no special skills and having suffered severe burns in an accident, the young Chriss value as a disfigured slave was almost nonexistent. She was forced into backbreaking physical labor every day, and at the end of it, she had to stuff her belly with rotting food.
This hellish existence gradually wore down Chriss spirit. At the sa ti, she felt as if her death from exhaustion would co soon, almost as if it were happening to soone else. Listening to the footsteps of death draw nearer, Chris genuinely thought that dying might be easier.
At that ti, Chris was tasked with caring for the battle beast Antares. It seed like the scorpions two previous caretakers who were both slaves, had been killed. Moreover, it was rumored that both of them died in a grueso manner due to poisonous stings. As a result, the role of caretaker was deed akin to dying.
Chris was then singled out for the task. The harsh and blunt reason for her selection was that her life was considered expendable.
Yet, desiring an escape from her living hell, Chris accepted the role without protest. Despite initially being terrified by the imposing figure of the large scorpion, she dutifully cared for him, resigned to the possibility of death at any mont. The sad reality of a slaves existence is to work diligently even while harboring a desire for death.
Her turning point ca during one of her care sessions when Antares began to molt. She was shocked and wondered if she had done sothing wrong, and she was afraid that she would be killed. Chriss rationality made her want to die from the bottom of her heart, but her biological instincts made her fear death.
Chris, who had never before doubted her wish to die until that mont, found herself wanting to live when faced with real danger. However, Antares did not kill her. Instead, after molting, he presented her with his shed poisonous stinger which was detached along with his exoskeleton. The stinger was sharp and yet sturdy; it was transparent and hollow, with a smooth surface and a strange coolness.
The stinger once used to fatally sting others, was by no ans an appropriate gift for a woman upon calm consideration. Yet, for Chris, it was the first present she had ever received from soone. At that mont, she felt acknowledged as a human being for the first ti.
Thats why when Antares was forced to fast and was forced to extre hunger and directed his bare hunger towards her, she suggested that he eat her. Her role was to care for Antares, and despite being ordered by her master not to feed him, she felt obliged to offer her life if that was his desire. This was the result of a life coerced into such a mindset.
However, even though she thought so rationally, her eyes betrayed a fear of abandoning life, and her body couldnt help but tremble. Antares who was struggling against his hunger averted his gaze from Chris, who was desperately asserting her willingness, and resisted the urge to eat.
That Antares prioritized Chris over his own hunger was astonishing to Chris at the ti. Having always been used as a tool to fulfill others desires, this was the first ti she had made soone restrain themselves for her sake.
From that day until they parted ways, Chris would report the days events to Antares while taking care of him. She didnt know why she felt compelled to do so, yet she felt it was necessary.
Antares never showed displeasure at this; on the contrary, he would respond by clicking his fangs or moving his claws and tail. The ti spent caring for Antares gradually beca precious to Chris.
At the sa ti, her role as Antares caretaker elevated her status among the slaves. She was caring for a creature that had killed its two previous caretakers and was a monster capable of defeating a juvenile dragon during a rookie tournant battle. To the other slaves, Antares was an entity they dared not approach.
The fact that she could manage him effectively boosted her value. For Georg and the others, soone who could control Antares was a boon, and the other slaves began to tread carefully around Chris, hoping to avoid being chosen as her successor.
However, their separation ca abruptly. A coup led by a prince who followed the God of Justice left Chris with life-threatening injuries, and Antares, on the brink of death, was captured and taken away by Orvo.
After the coup subsided, Chriss circumstances drastically changed. Chris, who had no one to vouch for her identity after her master died, was taken in by Liselotte, who generously took care of her even though she was just a slave.
Furthermore, under the advice of Adelheid, Chris began training to beco a warrior serving the Goddess of Protection. However, this path was not easy for her, especially since she had lost an arm. The sa was true even after she learned to manipulate a hollow gauntlet with water spiritual art and to use it like a prosthetic hand.
Ive been saved, huh? Since long before.
While thinking about the past, Chris gently clasped the bracelet she had received from Antares, which lay over her clothing on her chest. The bracelet which was made from Antares stinger and exoskeleton was a treasure to Chris, more precious than life itself.
Warriors serving the Goddess of Protection must defend their master at all costs, even if it ans sacrificing their own lives. The ultimate goal was to ensure the masters survival and escape, even if it ant facing death themselves. This required not only the ntal strength to face overwhelming odds without faltering but also the skill to hold off enemies until the very end.
Such dedication demanded training far more rigorous than that of any knightly order; this was an ordeal that was excruciatingly tough. Chris, once the lowest of slaves, faced a different kind of hardship during those tis, and it often felt like her spirit would break under the strain.
During those tis, the bracelet and the stinger, her treasures, beca her pillars of support. No matter how difficult the challenges, as long as she had these two, she could overco them.
After Chris beca a full-fledged warrior, she was always by Liselottes side as her attendant and guardian. However, the looks directed at her were not of respect or awe for a warrior but rather of admiration for her beauty and brazen lustful gazes.
When she was just a child, Chriss beauty was hidden by her emaciated body and the ugly scars from burns. However, as her nutritional status improved with sufficient als and her skin healed from the treatnts, her beauty quickly beca renowned. Nurous young noblen tried to woo her, and lords wished to keep her as a concubine.
Despite the many expressions of affection directed at her, Chris never wavered. She had no intention of asking for leave before repaying her debt of gratitude to Liselotte, and moreover, no matter how passionately anyone pursued her, it did not resonate with her heart.
She had grown accustod to gently declining with a polite smile. However, to avoid trouble, Chris began to make an effort not to show her face more than necessary, and it beca difficult for her to smile naturally in front of anyone other than those close to her.
When was the last ti I smiled normally in front of soone other than the young lady or Miss Hilda?
Yet she recently realized that she had been smiling naturally. There was only one event that could have marked such a turning point. It was her reunion with Antares.
Although their initial encounter almost led to a fight due to a huge misunderstanding, it was only because they both continued to hold each other dear. They quickly reconciled and were overjoyed to learn that each of them had survived.
Youve beco well, how should I put it? Yes, beautiful.
!
When they reunited, Antares looked straight at Chris and said those words. They were straightforward, unlike the elaborate complints she received from the young noblen who attempted to woo her. Their attempts at flattery seed naive and trite in comparison.
However, the mont she rembered his words, Chriss face turned bright red. At the sa ti, the thought of their eventual parting made her chest tighten with pain.
I see, thats it. I was in love with Antares.
At that mont, Chris beca aware of her own feelings. She had probably felt this way since she was young. But since Antares had the form of a giant scorpion, she had thought her feelings were rely fondness.
Yet upon reuniting with Antares, who had been a constant emotional support for her and who was now a demon who looked just like humans, their bond deepened. They exchanged words and ate als together around the sa fire, which was impossible at the ti, and they were able to understand each other better.
In this way, the feelings she had cherished for so long grew stronger, and unwilling to face the reality of parting, she began to distance herself. Ironically, this caused their relationship to beco awkward, which was the complete opposite of her intentions.
Ive decided. Today, I will talk to Antares. Unless I express my feelings in words, he might never notice, and I would regret it.
However, it was fortunate that the increased ti spent in contemplation allowed her to recognize her feelings, even if at the last minute. While Antares claid to have grown accustod to the subtleties of human emotions, from Chriss perspective, he remained quite oblivious. Without her taking the initiative, he might never realize her feelings.
Chris resolved to confront Antares with the full extent of her emotions tonight. However that conversation never ca to pass.
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TN: What!! Whyy
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