GREEDINESS AND THOUGHTFULNESS

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Arturia's body stiffened, and her eyes bulged in disbelief. The girl's eyeballs trembled violently, catching Naruto's figure in front of her. Consciousness seemed to disappear around the Pendragon princess right after Naruto told her about the news she had heard. The freshness that emerged from the pine partitions of Parvati's house was suffocating, gripped by hot emotions due to the news that Naruto had shared.

As a result, nothing moved there except time for a few moments, until Arturia interrupted, knocking the consciousness of the three humans present.

"W-what a-are you …" The area of Arturia's lips trembled as she responded for the first time after hearing what Naruto had said. Both of her eyes were red, and at the end of it hid a puddle that would soon flow.

Anxiety welled up within Naruto, seeing how frantic Arturia's figure was in front of his eyes, making the girl unable to react naturally.

"C-calm down, Your Highness. Maybe the news isn't true." Naruto said nervously.

Naruto's flash had little effect on Arturia. The girl remained motionless, the vibrations in her body not subsiding in the slightest. Seeing this, Naruto quickly knelt on both feet. He shifted his hands from holding Arturia's hands to her shoulders, which were starting to waver.

"Your Highness, we don't know whether King Uther has indeed died. I will confirm the news. You calm down and rest here first. Let Parvati take care of you."

Arturia's body jerked, and she immediately shook her head chaotically. "No! I have to go too. I want to confirm that myself."

Naruto and Parvati were shocked to hear what Arturia said.

"Wait a minute, Your Highness. You still haven't recovered." Parvati said quickly.

Parvati moved to Arturia's side and looked at the Pendragon princess in dismay. She then used the palm of her right hand to gently caress Arturia's back, hoping it could bring some peace to Arturia, who was frantic right now.

"At least let yourself rest for a few days," Parvati said again.

Arturia, who heard the advice, looked down briefly. Her shoulders shook even more, and drops of tears fell from her closed face.

"No! I-I have to see my father, and … my brother …" Arturia said softly, her voice trembling.

"B-but, Your Highness—"

"DON'T GET IN MY WAY!"

Arturia screamed, cutting off Parvati's words. Her watery eyes stared intently at Parvati, who widened in fear and shifted back slightly away from Arturia.

"You have no idea what I feel right now!" shouted Arturia, still glaring at Parvati.

After that, Arturia looked down again. The girl was crying a little. "… p-please … l-let me go,"

The girl's sobs were muffled. She was wrapped in so much anxiety and fear about the real news from her father and her brother.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Parvati were stunned for a few moments, unable to understand what they should do to be able to help the Pendragon's daughter.

Finally, the room was filled only with Arturia's muffled sobs. In the middle of that, Naruto clenched his fists in conviction.

"Okay. I will escort you, Your Highness." Naruto said.

Suddenly hearing what Naruto said, Parvati and Arturia looked at the man in surprise. The two girls were stunned after seeing the look on Naruto's face.

"What do you mean, Naruto? You still need to rest too," said Parvati, a little confused.

Naruto looked at Parvati and smiled a little. "It's okay, Parvati. I've had quite a bit of rest since I've been here," the man said, turning towards Arturia, who was still staring silently at him.

"Besides, I also want to confirm the truth about this matter," Naruto continued as he looked directly at Arturia.

Parvati, who heard what Naruto said, fell silent. She felt like she wanted to oppose what the man was about to do, but somehow she couldn't seem to do it.

For a few moments, Naruto just looked at Arturia sadly, then smiled, bringing his hands back to hold the girl's shoulders again.

"You are still not strong enough to walk alone, Your Highness. Please, allow me to carry you," Naruto said slowly.

Parvati was shocked to hear that. "What?! You're still exhausted, Naruto! You could get worse later," the girl exclaimed quickly, pressing herself against the boy to hold his shoulder.

Naruto also turned to Parvati after seeing the girl's reaction while still maintaining his smile. "I am quite well, Parvati. And I also won't push myself like yesterday."

"No! You will surely force yourself again," Parvati retorted quickly. "How about using horses?" the girl asked afterward.

Naruto managed a feeble smile as he shook his head. "I don't have one, and no one will be able to lend it to us here," replied the man.

Parvati gasped at this. "B-but ... but ..." The girl was troubled. She was worried about everything Naruto answered, as it seemed contradictory. She wanted to challenge Naruto's decision again, but she didn't know what else to say.

Seeing the anxiety shown by Parvati, Naruto smiled gently at her. "I will be fine. You wait here, and make sure I'll come back."

Parvati was stunned to hear that. Her anxiety eased a bit, and her wide-open eyes met Naruto's smiling face. As if the boy was trying to convey that she need not worry.

However …

"You're lying," whispered Parvati after bowing her head. Her shoulders shook slightly, expressing her rising anxiety again.

"You're just going to lie to me again, Naruto!" Parvati jerked hard. She looked up and glared at Naruto. The whites of her eyes rooted, and tears began to rub against her cheeks.

Naruto, who was jerked like that by Parvati, was immediately shocked. He didn't expect this reaction from the girl.

"Wait, Parvati, I'm not going to lie," Naruto said agitatedly.

"No!" Parvati pressed towards Naruto, with her hands tightly gripping the man's shoulders. "You'd be lying to me, Naruto. You're always like that!"

"What do you mean? I would not—"

"Forget about this selfish girl! And stay here with me, Naruto!" Parvati quickly cut off what Naruto wanted to say.

Suddenly Naruto's eyes widened, as well as Arturia's, hearing how Parvati said that with hot emotions boiling.

Naruto was just silent, not knowing how to react, or maybe he still didn't understand why Parvati said that.

Parvati, who was still staring intently at Naruto, whom she blocked, faded away. The look on her face was so shabby, and the tears that flowed down both sides of her cheeks showed how broken the sea of patience she had been damming up was.

After that, Parvati pushed away, laying her face against Naruto's chest. She hugged the man while sobbing. "Why do you always stay away from me, Naruto?" she whispered.

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This story was originally written in Indonesian, and then I translated it into English.

I sincerely hope that this fiction can entertain all who read it.

The story will continue, hand in hand with my determination to finish it.

Thank you for reading this piece of fiction. Please let me know what you think about it in the review section.

See you next time!

Regards,

schwarzhaarige.