Chapter 64: Ch:64 I Swore to Be Her Shield. Even If the King Tells Me Not To
Stella sniffled, wiping the last of her tears as she sat up slightly, trying to fix her priestess hat. Her cheeks were still red from crying, but she tried to smile.
"Ah... right," she said, chuckling nervously. "King Harvey said—" she cleared her throat with a soft cough—"he’s really, really angry, though... ahahah..."
Sarios’s eyes widened slightly. The blood drained from his face. "W-What?"
She gave him a light pat on the chest. "He said... and I quote... ’The moment that hero wakes up, I want him in front of me within the hour, bandages or not!’"
Sarios’s soul nearly left his body.
He stared up at the ceiling in silence, a cold sweat starting to gather at his forehead. His bandaged hand trembled slightly. "I’m dead..." he muttered under his breath.
Worried Stella tilted her head. "Yeah— figure in was About our friend Princess."
Sarios shook his head. "Yes about Dila..."
His heart sank deeper as he closed his eyes. Images of that night—the veil, the masked man, Dila being taken, the crumbling ground, Fran crying, the guilt—flashed like a curse behind his eyelids.
"What... what do I even tell him?" he murmured, voice cracked with shame. "How do I explain I let her get taken right under my nose...? What if... What if the King—no, what if everyone blames me?"
Stella stayed quiet for a moment, then leaned closer, speaking softly but firmly.