EFB Chapter 253 : Wishing Time Would Stop
Chapter 253 : Wishing Time Would Stop
Seeing Ariel remain silent, Celitia guessed her inner hesitation."Don't think so much. If we unfortunately kill the mood, we'll just liven up the atmosphere again." Celitia sighed. "Besides, with Shanie around, no matter how awkward the atmosphere gets, she can heat it up."
Ariel still shook her head: "I'd rather stay here and keep you company."
"You said it yourself—no taking it back."
Celitia stood up from the reclining chair and took the initiative to grasp Ariel's hand.
"I plan to join the dancing group. Come with me."
"Eh—?!" Ariel was stunned.
The hand holding hers was soft as silk, slender and thin, without much strength, yet extraordinarily firm and persistent.
Ariel stood up in a daze, involuntarily following Celitia toward the celebrating crowd.
"Lady Saintess?"
Sure enough, seeing Ariel walking this way, the villagers immediately became nervous, at a loss, and even the folk songs unconsciously stopped.
Noticing the change in atmosphere, Ariel felt quite embarrassed, pulling a stiff smile at them:
"Good evening, everyone."
Celitia knew exactly how devastating Ariel's fake smile could be.
Before the foolish Saintess could scare everyone away, Celitia put her arm around Ariel's shoulder and pushed her toward the crowd:
"Everyone's having such fun, and Ariel really wants to join too—she's just too shy… To help her loosen up a bit, let's all lead her and have a proper dance together!"
The villagers looked at each other, still somewhat hesitant.
This was the Saintess—someone who should only be worshipped and revered, standing below the goddess and above the altar.
Yet now, she wanted to join them and celebrate together?
Seeing this, Celitia simply grabbed Ariel's cheeks with both hands, forcefully pulling them apart to create a comical smile:
"Look, the Saintess also has two eyes and one mouth—no different from any of us."
Ariel's face was pulled completely out of shape by her, her usual serious aura nowhere to be seen, looking both ridiculous and cute.
Staring at that silly face, Celitia couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Infected by her laughter, Ariel also couldn't help but laugh.
With her laughter, the faint awkwardness and tension in the surrounding atmosphere instantly vanished.
"I thought the Saintess didn't want to celebrate with us," Paul chuckled, scratching his head. "If you wanted to join, you should have said so earlier!"
The villagers joined in: "Exactly! Since we're holding a celebration, everyone must have fun and leave satisfied!!"
Seeing she had heated up the atmosphere again, Celitia finally let go.
Watching Ariel's cheeks bounce back, Celitia thought this woman was all muscle everywhere, but her face was quite soft and fun to pinch.
"Let's go." She winked at Ariel.
Shanie and Benita also came over, pushing Ariel to join the celebrating crowd.
The singing resumed, and the villagers circled around the blazing fire, raising their hands and stepping their legs in joyful steps.
Benita called out excitedly: "I learned it! This is much simpler than ballroom dancing!!"
"Of course!" Shanie proudly puffed out her chest. "It's because I often dance bonfire dances that I always can't help stepping on people's feet during ballroom dancing!"
"I don't think it's the bonfire dance's fault..." Celitia muttered.
Amid the laughter and chatter, Ariel finally completely let loose.
Following the singing, she clapped her hands to the beat and began dancing.
"Worthy of Lady Ariel," Shanie laughed. "You learn so fast!"
Celitia smiled softly, gently nodding at Ariel.
The firelight illuminated her usually pale face, dyeing it with a faint rosy glow.
Like the brightest star hanging high in the night sky.
In a trance, Ariel seemed to hear suddenly amplified sounds.
She couldn't tell if it was the crackling of burning wood or her own suddenly accelerated heartbeat.
She only knew this feeling made her particularly intoxicated.
She only wished this moment could stop in front of her eyes and never fade away.
After dancing around the bonfire for two circles, Celitia began to feel tired.
She took the initiative to withdraw from the crowd, walking backward: "You continue—I'll go rest over there again."
"I'll accompany you." Ariel quickly followed out.
"No need," Celitia politely declined. "It's rare to be so happy—play with them a bit longer."
Ariel shook her head: "Before the party started, I said I would accompany you. Since you're not feeling well, I naturally can't just ignore it."
"I'm really fine."
Celitia felt somewhat helpless, sensing that in their minds, she was more fragile than glass.
"I just exercised a bit and feel quite good—nothing uncomfortable. You don't need to accompany me—achoo!"
Before she finished speaking, a cold winter night breeze blew over, cooling the light sweat on her body, and Celitia couldn't help but sneeze.
"Look at you—what if you catch cold?"
Remembering that Celitia had just had a fever last night and only improved by morning, Ariel became anxious.
She quickly unbuttoned and removed her outer garment, draping it over Celitia.
Pulling the collar tight at the girl's chest, Ariel persuaded:
"You should hurry inside to rest—don't catch cold and get a fever again."
"It's fine," Celitia didn't mind. "Just like yesterday, even if I really get a fever, I'll be better by the next day."
Celitia's intention was to give an example as proof, but hearing this, Ariel became angry instead:
"There you go again with such words—do you have any awareness that your health is poor?"
Celitia blocked her ears, responding perfunctorily: "I know..."
Seeing the girl's nonchalant expression, Ariel knew her words had fallen on deaf ears.
"Forget it, come inside with me."
Ariel domineeringly grabbed Celitia's hand, ignoring her protests as she forcibly dragged her toward the house.
The hand she held in her palm hadn't warmed up at all—it was even colder than before dancing.
Remembering that Celitia had already been tired before the party started and only forced herself to dance two circles to help her fit in, Ariel became even more frustrated.
"Mrs. Judy," Ariel called to the busy Judy, "please make a cup of hot tea—Lily seems to have caught a bit of cold."
After saying this, Ariel raised her hand to feel Celitia's forehead, but after thinking about it, withdrew it.
Having just been active, her hands were hotter than usual and wouldn't be accurate for checking.
Better to test with her forehead...
"Don't move—let me see if you have a fever."
Saying this, Ariel lowered her head, slowly approaching her face.