451 ‘I LIVE TO PLEASE’
“SO, does this mean that you would no longer go through this plan of making the details of this current mission you’re doing public?” Astrid asked just to make sure. Who knew if Wulfric only said that in the heat of the moment?
“Yes, I won’t,” Wulfric said. “But then you wouldn’t be able to hear about my heroic exploits...”
The other added that last part with a disappointed expression. As if Astrid not hearing about his heroic exploits was such a big travesty. Astrid resisted the urge to chuckle and acted like he was confused by what the other said.
“How can I not hear it? You can always just tell it to me. I would be happy to listen,” he said. “There’s no need to make it so public when you can just tell it to me directly.”
Wulfric felt like his brain was struck with lightning because of what Aster just said. Yes, that’s right. Why didn’t he think of that? If what he wanted was for Aster to know how great he was, there’s no need for him to go through all the trouble of going public about it. He could just tell it all to Aster. He just realized how much better that would be.
“Yes, I’ll definitely do that!” he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. “Once this mission ends, I’ll go back to the capital and tell it all to you.”
“I’ll be waiting then.”
Hearing that, Wulfric was filled with excitement and expectations. Now, he truly couldn’t wait to end this mission and go back to the capital to meet Aster again.
“I’ll make sure to finish everything quickly,” he said.
.....
“Don’t be too hasty. You might endanger yourself and your team if you deliberately try to finish the mission quickly,” Astrid said, trying to stop the probability that the other would really do just that. “Just do it according to how you originally planned it.”
Wulfric was about to say that it wouldn’t really matter whether he quickly finished this mission or not, because at the end, it would still have the same result. But before he could, he heard Aster say;
“Also, don’t forget to eat on time and get all the nutrition that you need. A strong and healthy body is very important for a soldier. So, please don’t neglect your meals and do take care of yourself.”
In the few times that the two of them ate together, Astrid had already noticed how much of a picky eater the other was. Seeing the background of where Wulfric was right now, he seemed to be in a rather poor environment. Who knew if this guy would skip his meals just because he didn’t like it?
As he was thinking that, Wulfric felt like he was on cloud nine. Hearing Aster tell him those things in a worried tone just made him feel happy. If it was said by another person other than him, Wulfric would probably be pissed and would just think that they were nagging. But why did it sound so sweet when Aster was the one doing it?
“Yes, I will definitely eat on time and be more careful,” he could only respond.
Astrid smiled. “Then, see you once you’re back at the capital. I’ll prepare a big meal for you.”
“Yes, I’m already looking forward to it!” Wulfric said, the anticipation in his voice was evident.
———-
After that talk Astrid had with Wulfric, days passed by in a flash. Probably because there hadn’t been any noticeable events that happened. Ten days passed just like that and it was finally the morning of the day the first episode of [The Great War] would air.
But that’s not the only thing that would happen today. At 12 PM, EMMA would reveal the new face of their new perfume brand. An advertisement would play in every major networks and streaming sites. Not only that, but snippets of the advertisements would also be shown on virtual billboards all over the capital.
EMMA did not do any prior announcement before this. So, once the advertisement was released, it would definitely be a total shock for everyone watching. It’s not just because EMMA was a famous luxury brand, but because their new face just happened to be a rookie.
Astrid, the new face of EMMA, just finished eating breakfast with his brother. The two of them were now having their morning tea. Even though a few hours from now, his advertisement would be shown all over the Empire, Astrid didn’t feel nervous at all. Because he knew in his heart that he gave everything to make that shoot as good as it could be. So, there’s no need for him to worry.
The thing he was more nervous of was the fact that his parents wanted to make a video call before the advertisement aired so they could all watch it together. He knew that his parents had been watching everything he appeared in. But still, knowing and then seeing them watch something he was in was two completely different things.
Astrid would definitely feel embarrassed to the extreme. Especially since one of the themes of that advertisement shoot was quite mature. He could already imagine the reaction of the two, especially his father. But it’s not like he could tell them not to video call or something. He sighed.
“Why are you sighing?” Reas suddenly asked. “Are you nervous about that EMMA advertisement?”
“No. I’m just thinking of what Mom and Dad’s reaction would be once they watched it,” he said.
Reas observed his expression and then smirked. “No way, are you nervous?”
Astrid raised his brows. If the other thought he could tease him like that, then he still had a lot of things to learn about life.
“I heard you and Lauren will be meeting for lunch tomorrow,” he said and then smiled. “Are you nervous?”
Reas’ whole face turned red at that moment. And then he looked away and grumbled, “You can really be annoying sometimes.”
Astrid chuckled. “I live to please.”