"The price called ... is ..."
In front of the warmth of the cottage fireplace, the three men watched Aetil devour his meal at the table. The Christmas meal this time was very rich, with delicious roast turkey, baked pies filled with minced meat, cakes decorated with fresh fruit and rich cream, as well as roast meat, beer, and more.
Aetil always came to the dining table, because she loved eating delicious food so much, it was the only thing that made her happy in her mind. And she was more than capable of eating.
The three just watched as Aetil ate a meal big enough for six people and almost finished it.
"Don't you want to eat?"
Aetil's throat only felt hard for a few moments before improving, after all, she was still in a relatively full state of energy now, but the pain that had just occurred that was like a knife slashing her throat was not something Aetil wanted to try a second time.
Immersed in the silence before the battle, no one had the slightest appetite for the delicious food on the table. Aetil took the remaining buttered bread and used it to dip the remaining broth on her plate, then devoured the bread in one big bite, and finally stroked her small, full stomach contentedly.
"Thank you for your hospitality."
Licking the bread crumbs left at the corner of her mouth, Aetil didn't care about the determined faces of the three people who were about to face war, and war was just a concept that only existed in books in her eyes. But she knew what war meant, this extremely cruel word. It's just that he can't interfere with other people's choices, and instead of interfering, he'd rather eat his own food in peace.
"I've gone through the application process to return to the army, and I've also registered on behalf of Steven."
Elborg finished her glass of liquor in one gulp, and while glancing at the cleared food on the table, Elborg smiled bitterly.
"Thank you for leaving us some wine, lovely lady."
Aetil had not actually left anything for them in particular, except that she could not drink. Because a small glass of beer could get Aetil drunk for hours. She had been at a loss before, and to prove it to herself, she drank a small glass of rum, then almost fell off a heaping cloud.
"At least I avoided waste perfectly, right?"
Elborg was unconsciously amused as well, and her seriousness was slightly diminished.
"And who are you, Miss? Why are you walking on such a cold winter night, and how did you cure my daughter's illness that has plagued her for years in an instant."
Hearing Elborg's question, Aetil lazily stretched her chin, she didn't want to tell others where she came from, she didn't want to be treated differently by others, she hated this hypocrisy.
"I'm just a little shepherd."
"It wasn't me who healed him, but the gospel because of your piety."
Aetil was not good at lying, not to mention how cunning her eyes were when lying, how deliberate her expressions were, and how such a bad lie was obvious because she didn't have a single sheep by her side.
Such an obvious lie, it even makes one feel that this is perfunctory, Elborg smiled embarrassedly, then no longer asked more, but an intelligent person can see, Aetil is not an ordinary family child.
There are no nobles of the extravagant kind of breath, but it also lacks the vicissitudes of a poor family. There is no sense of the hard work of shepherds and farmers, nor the fireworks of ordinary people.
The feeling Aetil gave was that of a blank sheet of paper, an incomparably pure white sheet of paper.
She was waiting, waiting for a pen, to leave her own imprint on her unique roll of paper.
"If you don't have anywhere to go, if you don't mind, you can stay with us for a while ... You can stay in Anrelia's room."
Upon hearing this, Aetil thought about it and thought that she really had no place to call his own, so she readily agreed. The main reason for this, was that the food in this house seemed to be very much to her liking.
For some time after that, Aetil followed Elborg every day to visit various people's homes. Elborg had a small medical case of her own, containing various medicines, gauze, and a sharp scalpel. Aetil looked at Elborg curiously, using this small box to cure people of the illnesses that tormented them time and time again.
"Why is this little box so magical? Is there any unique magic?"
Etil examined this little box, although she had read many books, she was now only eleven years old, not everything she had seen, not to mention something like a medical box had not appeared in her knowledge.
Hearing Aetil's question, Elborg became interested, as no one had ever discussed with her about the beliefs she held and followed. Once this box of words was opened, it could not be closed, and Elborg began to babble, and while Steven or perhaps Anrelia who usually could only scream a little when hearing their father's long ramblings, Aetil was attentively beside him, as a patient listener.
"This is called medical equipment, and the magic you're talking about, is called healing. It can cure people's illnesses and bring smiles of happiness."
Aetil tilted her head and looked at the small medical equipment, the corners of her mouth unconsciously raised slightly.
"Healing? ...?"
"I need a so-called magic that can heal others without draining myself. ..."
Elborg proudly stroked her tiny medical kit.
"Choose one thing and live your life, that is what I have chosen. You, in the future, will also be faced with big and small choices. And my future is to go to that cruel battlefield and realize the value that belongs to me."
Aetil glanced at the medical box and said nothing, but in her mind, that was not what she was thinking.
For Aetil, if she were Elborg, she would definitely stay at home and take care of her son, her daughter, because in their hearts, Elborg was like a stone pillar that supported the sky, and also supported this small family. To go to the battlefield where nine deaths were possible, and even to be separated from his beloved in life and death, this was something that Aetil could not accept.
This was the so-called different pattern, father and son Elborg had to protect the family and defend the country's bosom of truth, and Aetil herself was more focused on the loved ones in the burden of her heart.
"In the end, this is all the fault of the war ..."
Aetil subconsciously looked into the distance, a thousand thoughts in her heart, but could not speak, this constrained feeling made her very uncomfortable. However, there was a certainty in his heart that he hoped his family, once again, would be able to sit together and enjoy a turkey dinner on Christmas Eve.
"Healing, teach me too."
Aetil spoke slowly.
"Let me come forward as well."
Angels are not killed by swords and guns, they are only killed by love.
Such a simple sentence, but it had the weight of a mountain, Elborg wanted to dissuade this young girl in front of him, but after looking into her eyes, Elborg abandoned his intention to open his mouth. Aetil's pearly eyes carried a strong determination, and from her expression, as well as her eyes, Aetil clearly knew what war meant.
"Fighting, dying, fading, parting, and in the end all those things are exchanged for a words."
"Profit."