CH 195

While Cecile was caught up in these thoughts, she began to hear loud screeches from down the mountain. It seemed that Estian had begun to clear out the phantom beasts. She leaned over and stared down the mountain ridge, mindful not to go outside the protective barrier.

‘It looks like he’s doing fine, but I can’t help but worry. It would’ve been fine for him not to do it himself.’ Cecile knew her husband was strong, but she worried nonetheless. Even when she’d expressed her concern, Estian had brushed it aside, explaining that the phantom beasts here weren’t very strong. Cecile thought it would’ve been enough to have the Imperial Guard deal with the beasts, yet Estian had stubbornly decided to take action himself.

‘He did it knowing that it’s fastest to deal with the matter himself.’ Cecile burst into giggles. It was all too obvious that Estian was acting this way so that she could eat Maggie’s apple pies as soon as possible. Although their marriage had been unexpected, she thought she’d met one fine husband.

All of a sudden, silence descended in the area. Was it over already? After a little while, Cecile could see Estian’s figure making his way back along the path. Then, when he’d caught sight of the book in her hands, he ran to her in surprise, which brought them back to now.

“What should we do with this book? Would it be better to leave it here?” Cecile wondered. There was nothing suspicious in the book, nor did it mention the name Cecile anywhere either. If the orchard owner had dropped the book in the middle of running away from the phantom beasts, she figured they would return to find it. Still, she was bothered by the thought of throwing the book away.

Flipping through the book again, Cecile paused at the very last page. “Hm? A tree?” She hadn’t expected anything to be on the back cover page, but there was a picture of a big tree.

As she puzzled over the picture, Estian leaned over and informed, “It’s the World Tree.”

“World Tree?”

“A tree of legend. It’s also said to be the beginning of all life, and…” Estian paused to chuckle at Cecile’s expression, before continuing, “they say it bears all the fruits in the world. Apparently, eating its fruits will cure all diseases and increase one’s lifespan.”

Cecile’s expression turned serious and asked, “Where can you find this World Tree?” She looked ready to go in search of the tree as soon as she received an answer. Of course, her goal seemed to be the fruit itself, rather than for its curative or life-extending effects.

As a response, Estian took an apple from his pocket and handed it to her. “It won’t be as good as the ones from the World Tree, but would you like to try this?” he asked.

Even in the dim light, Cecile could tell the apple she received was a pretty picturesque red, without a single blemish or bruise on its skin. Though she was simply holding it, the fruit’s fresh, heavenly fragrance wafted over and tickled the tip of her nose. Estian had deliberately chosen the fairest apple among the bunch—the prettiest and ripest out of all the apples in the orchard.

Glancing over at the weighty sack Estian was holding in his other hand that he’d received from Maggie’s shop, Cecile guessed he could’ve easily put every apple in there. Yet, he’d taken this apple out of his pocket. ‘He must’ve specifically picked one for me,’ she thought. Opening her mouth wide, Cecile took a mouthful of the apple her husband had gifted, and savored with a crunch the tingling sweet and sourness that spread in her mouth.

* * *

“Now, there’s a nice picture.” At the top of a very distant mountain, someone was watching Cecile and Estian having a happy time. The distance was too far for one to humanly possibly make out, but the man murmured to himself, as if the two figures were right before his eyes.

The man was dressed in an unusual attire that didn’t belong to the continent under the empire, but was rather from the Hyun continent, which was over a month’s worth of sailing time away. His gaze was fixed on Estian and Cecile, who were two people in which he held great interest. The former piqued his curiosity because the man was the only one in the world that could match up to him in might, while the latter…