A little later, the waiter arrived with a tray, placing crystal glasses filled with ice and a bottle on it. Edmund, seemingly familiar with the routine, opened the cork and poured the contents into the glass.

Anita frowned at the unfamiliar sight, watching attentively.

He filled one glass and then picked up another. This time, it was a different bottle of alcohol. Anita didn’t understand why he was opening two bottles simultaneously, but she remained silent, feeling like an outsider in this situation.

Edmund didn’t speak until he had filled both glasses. Anita, bored by the silence, stared at the red liquid swirling inside the glasses.

“Here.”

He pushed one glass towards Anita.

“This one is a way to escape from all worries.”

“Really?”

“And this one.”

He pushed the other glass towards her.

“A magical elixir to boost your lacking confidence.”

Anita looked at him with a puzzled expression, glancing between the glasses and his face.

“Why do you look at me like that? The meaning is subjective.”

Subjective indeed. It didn’t seem like an entirely wrong statement. After a moment of hesitation, Anita picked up the wine glass.

Anita, before putting something unknown into her mouth, did what people often do and took a whiff of the scent. It had a sweet smell, reminiscent of strawberries.

It was a fragrance somewhat similar to the juice she occasionally drank. Without hesitation, Anita took a sip.

“Wait… you’ve already finished it.”

Contrary to the sweet smell, the wine tasted bitter. Anita’s expression crumpled. She thought it might have a special taste since her parents sometimes drank it, but apparently not.

“Ugh.”

Anita blinked rapidly.

“Are you okay?”

“There’s no reason not to be okay.”

She seemed fine. Her mind wasn’t in disarray, and she didn’t collapse or feel like vomiting.

“I feel a little hot, No, I’m not sure.”

Anita absentmindedly touched her cheek. It felt warm, but then again, it was probably the usual temperature.

“You can sip it slowly. I can’t believe you just gulped it down in one go.”

Edmund said with an awkward tone.

“It’s not bad, is it?”

“Are you sure you’re not drunk?”

“No, I’m not.”

Anita smirked and held out her hand. She didn’t understand why Edmund was so concerned. She felt really good, more than usual. Anita reached out and picked up the refilled wine glass.

It tasted worse than she had imagined, yet for some reason, it seemed okay this time. As she lifted the glass, someone grabbed Anita’s arm.

“You look like you’ve never had a drink before, so why don’t you put that down and…”

“Why are you acting like this over just one glass?”

“I’m sorry for saying this, but you look like you’re going to pass out after one glass.”

Anita laughed dryly. Then she took the glass back from Edmund hand. A few drops of the liquid spilled onto the table.

“Judging someone’s alcohol tolerance by appearance is quite amusing.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want.”

Finally giving up, Edmund raised his hands. Anita looked down at her glass for a moment, then took another sip of wine. It was less astringent than before. It almost tasted sweet, though it could be her imagination.

“I’m not sure if I’ve really let go of my worries.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. But this guy named Charles Bennett, he’s starting to annoy me.”

“…”

“But being expelled for stalking? Is that for real?”

Anita’s pronunciation was unclear, perhaps due to being tipsy or speaking faster than usual. Edmund scratched his cheek for a moment before responding.

“Well, I made that up. It’s not stated in the admission agreement, but with all the things I’ve done, it might be possible to connect just one of them to expulsion.”

“Ah.”

Anita nodded as if understanding. Her neatly tied hair swayed as she moved, and when she tilted her head down, her hair touched the opening of the glass.

Edmund leaned down to push her hair back, and Anita quickly lifted her head. They were so close that Edmund could faintly smell the wine on her.

“Can’t you just put him in a cell?”

His hand, which was reaching toward her cheek, stopped moving.

Maybe because they were so close, her eyes seemed clearer than usual, with jet-black pupils shimmering like obsidian.

“Uh.”

“It’s possible?”

“Well.”

Edmund couldn’t give a definite answer about that. However, feeling sorry to firmly say it couldn’t be done to Anita, he decided to change the subject.

“Your eyes are really big.”

He usually spoke his mind without hesitation. However, bringing up a topic about eyes was quite rare for him. That’s why Edmund nibbled on his lower lip.

“Oh.”

Anita chuckled and raised her hand to lift her eyes up and down.

“I heard that your pupils dilate when you’re drunk. But since I’m not drunk yet, maybe you’re just mistaken, Senior?”