Chapter 16

“Festivals are really great……”

“Really?”

“I really love alcohol.”

The square sparkled with an unprecedented vitality. All kinds of food cooked with fire were plentiful, and cheerful music echoed everywhere.

Callian and I were strolling around the square in modest attire. I initially planned to go alone, but since it was His Majesty’s birthday, and I needed a good shield like Callian to avoid being swept away by the crowd.

“Did you really not invite anyone?”

“Yes. There’s no reason to do so. I don’t have any close friends.”

It wasn’t a simple hunch. It wasn’t big data compiled from hundreds of queries left in my head either. Adriana had no real friends. After her marriage to the North, there was no one she had especially interacted with, and even during her time as Lady Magnolia, she had no close companions.

“What about Calian?”

“It’s your birthday, why bother?”

“Because a banquet is a form of politics.”

At my words, Callian looked at me as if he was very surprised. He must have seen me as a lunatic who doesn’t even know the basic rules of a hierarchical society.

“There were some who came occasionally – but most people were scared off.”

“Why?”

“Because you wouldn’t want them to.”

He made a rather embarrassing comment. Both of us were dressed in shirts without decorations and pants, wandering the alleys where people were scarce. There was no need to worry about security, and since we had taken medicine to change the color of our hair and eyes, we didn’t have to suffer from annoying stares.

Both of us had such noticeable appearances that changing our colors didn’t make us look completely different, but it was enough to make our presence a little fainter in crowded spaces.

“Are you satisfied?”

“Somewhat? The alcohol is coming in steadily.”

“But that much alcohol is leaving the warehouse.”

“Goodness don’t worry about every little thing. It’s not good for your mental health.”

“It’s not that I’m worried-”

“Then what is it?”

“……Never mind.”

When would she obediently match my pace? Suddenly, she widened her stride. The back of her bronze head moved ahead briskly, then she stopped and turned around.

She flicked her eyebrows. It was a signal to hurry up.

“Sigh, you’re really difficult.”

“Huh?”

“Please communicate more. Not pointless chatter. Didn’t you read the book I gave you before? Clear communication, clear human relationships.”

“What are you-”

“People should smile more, and straighten their backs- oh, you’ve already done that. Have you ever seen a festival like this, Callian?”

“No.”

Across the street, a magician was performing. A simple trick of hiding a coin and pulling out a rose from an empty hand. In front of the green bookstore, they were selling ice cream, and behind the fountain, a brilliant trumpet performance was in full swing.

“Then what have you been living for fun all this time?”

“-Living, for fun?”

“No?”

“Huh.”

“Living is just living. But since we’re just living, it’s better to have fun. Lightly, cheerfully, merrily.”

It seems a bit strange to be in the body of another person from another world.

“You are really-”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you Adriana?”

People’s laughter echoed loudly. The voices with similar accents, with different pitches and speeds, decreased and increased randomly.

“I’ve said it from the beginning. Do you feel like believing me now?”

“That is,”

“You don’t have to answer. I’m not very curious. I was going to hand you over to the witch trial, oh, there are real witches here.”

The only daughter of the greatest witch, Eselmond Bellua. The greatest magician in history with brown skin and golden eyes.

“Are you a witch?”

“No.”

That crazy person called me here without any coherence.

“Or are you a magician?”

“No, I’m not. What do you want to know? Instead of beating around the bush and wasting about two chapters of the novel, can you just tell me straight? At least I didn’t lie.”

The romance fantasy I read usually had problems because they didn’t speak up. They wouldn’t say what they needed to and hid what they shouldn’t have, stretching content that could end in 50 episodes to 150 episodes.

But I have nothing to hide and never hid anything-

“……You said you didn’t drink before, but you were drunk.”

…I have hidden,

“You said there’s no more alcohol,”

“Ah! I’m sorry about that! I apologize, just call me Lady Liar from now on.”

“You are not a lady-”

“Don’t worry about such trivial things. Surely, the more you give up, the more gaps appear in life, and the world seen through those gaps is so beautiful, isn’t it?”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

Yahoo, I’m ruined! The karma I’m accumulating while drinking is piling up. I haven’t even thought about quitting drinking, even as a joke.

I want to drink makgeolli. Whether it’s the Wizard’s Association or the Academy, or some expert hermit in the mountains or by the sea, if only they could properly improve rice, the quality of life would go up.

“Did you drink the alcohol you received as a gift?”

“No, not yet. After the festival ends, I’m going to gather them all and decide on an order to drink them in?”

“Order?”

“I’m going to drink them in the order my heart responds to.”

The wine that was presented from my true nature had a good response. Of course, it did. In the Empire, Winter’s alcohol was popular, and among them, the alcohol that had been stored by the Winter family for generations – half of which I turned into empty bottles – was the best.

There was no need to guess how much the people of the fief, who have a unique taste for alcohol, would have cheered, as they opened each precious bottle of that alcohol and exchanged it for their own brewed liquor.

“So, do you have any more questions for me? If you’re going to ask ‘What did that mean?’ a month or two later, do it now.”

The fabric I had taken down fluttered between the buildings. The opaque jade fabric sparkled white in the afternoon sun. The clock tower in the square rang loudly. The clock tower was the only building taller than Winter’s castle.

“What I have to say to you is-”

Four or five times, the massive bell swung from left to right. From right to left.

“Nothing…..”

“Then never mind.”

Digging a hole is a self-inflicted wound, isn’t it? I didn’t ask any more questions and hurried my steps. Honestly, I wasn’t really curious about Callian’s feelings or sensibility. Whether he likes Adriana or me.

Whether he likes me or not, as long as it’s not annoying, it didn’t matter to me. For now, Callian de Winter is,

“Shall we go for a drink?”

“Let’s moderate the drinking,”

“It’s my choice.”

Because he was too old……

***

The alcohol from various parts of the territory was displayed by color. Even though they were just lined up on the dining table, they were usually fruit wines, and occasionally beer or brandy was seen.

“……Are you going to drink all of this?”

“Oh, certainly not.”

“Well, even if it’s you-”

“I won’t drink it all today.”

I’m not a person who is crazy about alcohol, and the only thing I cherish dearly is Makgeolli. The rest were just for tasting. Of course, each alcohol had its own characteristics, but compared to Makgeolli, they were just so-so……

“Are you going to drink?”

“……Yes.”

A maid who was guarding the restaurant quickly brought out a glass. She opened and poured a bottle that she grabbed, and a deep pink color rose fragrantly.

It seems to be made with strawberries.

I want to eat strawberry cake. With a generous amount of not-too-sweet, whipped cream and a hop with strawberries!

“Oh, the scent is good, the scent is good.”

I think it would be delicious even if I mix Makgeolli here. I remembered the strawberry Makgeolli I had at home before. My sister was surprised at this strange combination, but it was quite sweet and sour. If you mix strawberries and strawberry syrup appropriately, you get a different taste from the original-

“Do you like this kind of alcohol?”

“No?”

“What?”

“Normal? Just, I don’t really like it.”

That’s Makgeolli. Ah, I want to drink Makgeolli with Pajeon. Makgeolli should be consumed lukewarm to taste good, and it’s a pity that there are people who don’t know that taste. Now, it’s been over a year since I couldn’t even eat a bowl of hot soup, let alone Makgeolli.

“Callian doesn’t like alcohol- ah, I just said that there’s not much he likes.”

“……There is.”

“What is it?”

“Something I like.”

This bastard talks again like a second male lead. I’m scared that we might have a conversation like ‘-do it.’, ‘What?’, ‘-I said!’, ‘What did you say!’, ‘I said I love you!’.

“What is that-”

Is it happening now? I blocked my freely moving mouth with alcohol and awkwardly pulled up the corners of my mouth. Hmm, I held back well. I almost set another flag.

“……You’re not asking.”

“Ah, well. Because I’m not curious.”

“What I like is-”

“Well, I’m really not curious.”

“What I like-”

“Are you shyly keeping it to yourself?”

“I am-”

Ah, he doesn’t listen to a word! As expected of Grand Duke Callian de Winter who made a ship with leaves and a grenade with pine cones! -Note: That never happened-

“I like you.”

Instead of putting alcohol in my mouth, I should have shoved the bottle into his mouth.

“Oh…… But?”

“What do you mean?”

“You like me, so what do you want me to do about it?”

He was asking if I was Adriana or not, and now he says he likes me. Is he light in the butt or light in the head? Is he really not interested in which one is the real Adriana? Or is his head unexpectedly a flower garden?

“I’m not asking you to do anything, I just-”

Either way, it has nothing to do with me. Sweet love confessions, I don’t get excited even when I hear them from a man who is eleven years older. Rather, if he could deposit billions into my bank account-

“I just wanted to convey my feelings.”

That would be much more…

“Oh, I just got a little excited.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, with a face like this, I almost forgot about your age.”

Red Sun!

When I blinked my eyes widely, the words ‘eleven years older’ floated above Callian’s head again. If I’m not careful, I could forget his age because of his stunning appearance.

The damp black hair, the sharp eyes that would occasionally squint when he pleased, and the red pupils that didn’t exist on Earth occasionally took my breath away.

“Anyway, let’s drink more.

“Why suddenly more alcohol-”

“Come on, drink, drink. Drink and forget or don’t.”

I suppressed the urge to stick the bottle right into Callian’s mouth and poured alcohol into his glass like a broken faucet. They say you’re supposed to fill these types of glasses halfway or so. But what do I know about that?

“You only know one thing and not the other.”

“What is it?”

“Even if you drink and forget today’s events, the feeling of love-”

“Come on, let’s drink, let’s drink. Gulp it down! You seem to be saying the right things today, but anyway, let’s chug it down, gulp! Right!”

Callian drank generously, as if he felt sorry for my bare face. Indeed, as cold as ice – this adjective doesn’t quite fit now – the Northern Grand Duke was still dignified and elegant even when drinking. He truly looked like the male lead of a romance novel, or a sub-male lead, or a villain.

“Do you think love can overcome age?”

No! No! No! I finished the rest of the alcohol with Callian, who was drunk and slow to react, across from me. The cheese brought by a maid as a side dish was a bit salty and greasy.

Indeed, eleven years is too much. I put down the empty bottle and got up from my seat. If you want to drink a lot with Adriana’s body that hasn’t done any exercise, exercise is essential.

I did some national gymnastics to stretch my arms and legs and to get rid of the alcohol. I turned my neck around and spread my arms to run ten times, and I felt like I was going to throw up. Indeed, exercising after drinking is a bit tough, Callian, who was half-opening his eyes and staying still, whispered with a smirk.

“……As expected, my eyes were not mistaken.”

No way!