Trampled and Broken (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 32
She quietly caught her breath and thought.
Is this too self-conscious?
But if not, Aslan had no reason to attend such an event.
“No. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
She firmly suppressed her fluttering heart. Didn’t she know well enough that he wasn’t someone who moved according to her wishes?
Getting her hopes up only to be disappointed again would hurt too much—she couldn’t let that happen anymore.
Meanwhile, the nobles seated near Aslan began whispering to each other, each clearing their throat awkwardly as if unsettled.
Of course, he wore an expression that clearly showed he couldn’t care less about whatever anyone said about him.
Hestia, who had unconsciously been watching his situation again, hastily snapped back to attention at the director’s voice from beside her.
“Your Holiness, shall we begin?”
“Oh, um… yes.”
Hestia nodded somewhat distractedly.
Relieved that she had something urgent to focus on right now, she picked up a glass containing panna cotta.
Soon, the first child’s meal service began.
The boy who came holding a tray looked about fifteen years old.
He stole a sideways glance at Hestia’s face, but when their eyes met directly, he flinched in surprise and quickly lowered his head.
The blush that started on the boy’s cheeks swiftly spread to his ears.
Hestia smiled gently and asked kindly,
“What’s your name?”
“Jack.”
“Jack.”
Pronouncing the child’s name in a tender tone, she placed the dessert onto his tray.
Then, she lightly pressed her index finger against the center of Jack’s forehead.
“May you stay healthy. The gods will always watch over the path you walk.”
“…Thank you, Your Holiness.”
“Enjoy your meal.”
Hestia gave a soft wave to the boy as he bowed deeply to her, then immediately focused on serving the next child.
As if they’d lined up by age, children around Jack’s age went first, and the younger ones came afterward.
The meal service for the students around ten years old ended.
Up until then, there hadn’t been any issues.
“Thank you, Your Holiness.”
“Thank you, Your Holiness. I’ll eat well.”
The trouble began only after the older children had finished and it was the turn of the younger ones under ten.
A little girl who looked about five or six wore a pouting, sulky expression as if deeply upset.
Concerned, Hestia crouched down to meet the child’s eyes.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
She reached out toward the girl’s face to smooth her tousled hair.
And at that moment, the little girl abruptly turned her head away.
“…?!”
Hestia was taken aback.
And she wasn’t alone.
The others watching silently were just as stunned.
The orphanage director, who had been standing proudly observing the well-mannered students, hurried over in alarm.
“Lilith…!”
The director wrapped an arm around the child’s shoulders and looked at Hestia with a helpless, furrowed brow.
“She’s not usually like this.”
It sounded like an excuse.
Of course, the director knew well that Hestia wasn’t the type to make an issue out of such a thing.
But the problem was that not only Hestia, but also other nobles were present.
And worse, they were nobles aligned with the royal family.
If they took issue with Lilith’s attitude toward Saint Hestia, the matter could escalate significantly.
Not only might Lilith be punished, but the very existence of the orphanage could be at stake.
Hestia thought the same as the director.
She forced a carefree smile, trying her best to lighten the mood.
“It’s all right. She’s still just a little child. There might be something bothering her that she can’t express properly… I understand how frustrating that must feel.”
Hestia shifted her gaze back to Lilith and asked,
“Lilith, would you at least let me give you a blessing?”
As she spoke, she brought her index finger toward the child’s forehead.
And at that instant,
“No!”
Lilith sharply raised her voice and turned her head away once more.
She was only five years old.
Yet the word of refusal tumbled freely from the child’s lips.
Before the director could soothe or calm her, Lilith’s sharp words poured out like daggers.
“I want to receive a blessing from the real Saintess!”
Hestia’s eyes wavered.
The hand she’d extended to bless the child slowly curled inward from the fingertips into a fist, then dropped limply to her side.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
No one dared speak—not even Hestia herself.
“Child, what—Lilith! What on earth are you saying?!”
The director, finally snapping out of her shock, raised her voice at Lilith and glared at the girl as if to command her to stay silent.
“But Director!”
However, Lilith failed to catch the signal.
Amid the flustered adults, Jack—the boy who’d been first in line—rushed over and quickly covered Lilith’s mouth with his hand.
“Are you crazy? What are you saying? Shut up.”
As the eldest among the orphans, he was clearly quick-witted.
Still too young to grasp the situation, Lilith puffed out her cheeks in clear displeasure at everyone scolding her.
She grunted as she pulled Jack’s hand away from her mouth and continued,
“But those nobles over there said so earlier!”
Children are innocent—and sometimes, therefore, cruel.
‘Ah, I see. That’s how it is.’
Hestia faced the reality.
She turned her expressionless gaze toward the nobles.
Perhaps because Lilith had pointed them out, they all avoided meeting Hestia’s eyes.
They must have spread their talk so carelessly that even an innocent child like this had heard it.
Hestia took a deep breath.
‘The “real Saintess” Lilith mentioned… must be referring to Anetsa.’
She tried hard to pull herself together, but her mood kept sinking, refusing to improve.
She couldn’t even guess what her own expression looked like now, and her stiff facial muscles wouldn’t obey her will.
“The teachers always say there’s only one Saintess anyway…”
“Hey!”
Jack raised his voice before Lilith could make an irreparable mistake, then quickly lowered it again, fixing her with a firm look.
“Shut up. Can’t you understand?”
“Why—why are you mad at me?”
Perhaps frightened, Lilith fell silent.
“Hic… hic!”
But a mix of fear and hurt welled up quickly, filling her eyes with glistening tears.
“Ugh, seriously.”
Jack clicked his tongue impatiently.
Then he hoisted Lilith up under his arm.
The boy bowed stiffly toward Hestia.
“I’m sorry, Your Holiness. She must not have fully woken up yet. I’ll put her back to bed and return.”
He continued in a flat tone,
“I truly apologize for upsetting you.”
Hestia parted her lips.
“It’s all right.”
She barely managed to utter the words in a hoarse voice.
“Really, it’s all right.”
Was that something she’d say to a scolded, crying child?
Or to herself?
Her violet eyes grew slightly hazy as she repeated the words of comfort, unsure to whom they were truly meant.
She exhaled a thin, damp breath and barely managed to compose her expression.
She knew.
She knew that lately, Anetsa’s popularity among the kingdom’s people had been rising.
Unlike Hestia, Anetsa freely bestowed blessings infused with divine power—that was the reason.
Hestia had undergone strict training since childhood.
The core principle was clear: even as a saintess, she must never recklessly use blessings imbued with divine power.
She hadn’t understood it as a child, but as she grew older, she came to accept it somewhat.
Fairness mattered far more than she’d initially realized.
But Anetsa seemed to be an exception.
She didn’t follow the temple’s rules.
She bestowed blessings whenever she pleased.
Hestia had felt deeply shocked by Anetsa’s actions.
Even the temple, initially troubled, eventually stepped back.
〈Heh heh, who could possibly stop Saint Anetsa?〉
Yet they still strictly controlled Hestia’s blessings.
To her, it was utterly incomprehensible.
‘So this is what that difference ultimately led to.’
Hestia looked at Lilith with eyes tinged with sorrow and continued,
“It’s all right if you don’t receive a blessing from me. You’ll be happy, Lilith.”
She offered a smile to the child, who stared back at her silently, and spoke again.
“After all, that’s what the gods wish for you too.”
After finishing, she gave Jack a small nod.
It meant he could go.
Jack nodded once more to Hestia, clenched his teeth, and quickly turned away.
No one stopped the boy.
Jack walked swiftly away, carrying Lilith. Hestia couldn’t tear her eyes from their retreating figures—it felt as if something inside her had just collapsed.
“Jack oppa, what did I do wrong? I really wanted to get a real blessing!”
“Then go to Gloria!”
“How can you say that?”
“Do you even realize what might happen to our orphanage because of you?”
Hestia held a bitter smile.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
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