ALL NOVEL Chapter 99
“Oh, right!”
Rebecca, who had been staring blankly while watching the dance of the young couple, finally snapped out of it and sighed, “Because the lady drank the 12% cocktail…”
“Ah, the princess is drunk, isn’t she?” Ren chuckled and awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“Laawk! Lawk! My handsome and talented business partner who can dance so well!”
“That darn business partner talk again, ugh.”
As Rubette clung tightly to Lark, he stiffened uncomfortably. “S-Sto-stop, it’s improper for a man and woman to— S-sto-stop…”
“Hmm.”
Rebecca firmly nudged Sienna’s shoulder and forcefully lowered her twitching lips.
“Laaawk~”
“I think we should put her to sleep.”
With his arms awkwardly raised, Lark wiped away the cold sweat as he spoke, but Rebecca merely shook her head. “We’ve been trying to put her to sleep for over two hours already. It’s not easy when she’s so strong-willed.”
“We should start by sobering her up. It would be good for her to get some fresh air, but since we can’t go outside, I’ll open the window.” Sienna opened the small window on the ground floor wall. However, since it was summer and there was no breeze, it had little effect.
“Hmm.”
Rubette, who kept clinging to Lark, was quite troublesome.
Lark, who had been fidgeting around, picked up a thick robe hanging on the coat rack and gently put it on her.
Then, in a hushed voice, he called upon his contracted spirit.
<Landian.>
<Two to the east and west, two to the north, three to the south, five in between. They are just the guards you’ve planted, and there are no suspicious signs within a 100-meter radius in the front.>
<Okay.>
Satisfied with Landian’s transmission, Lark straightened up Rubette and led her out of the house. “I’ll wake her up and be right back.”
***
On a tranquil night illuminated by a pale yellow moon, two young individuals walked slowly, affectionately—or rather, with great effort.
“Ah-choo…”
“Be careful, be careful.”
Rubette stumbled repeatedly with her intoxicated steps, but Lark managed to walk steadily, supporting her whenever she wavered.
“Was there something good that happened? Why did you drink so much?”
“I didn’t know… I just drank…”
“Oh dear.”
“I’m hot…”
Lark caught Rubette’s hand as she tried to pull down her robe’s hood.
“No, don’t. Let’s keep walking, even if it’s hot.”
“Hmm.” Her lips pouted, clearly dissatisfied, as she looked up at him. Her face was illuminated by the moonlight, revealing her expression clearly.
Lark paused and looked down at Rubette before sighing and pulling the end of her robe to cover her face.
“You shouldn’t be drinking.”
“Do you dance well, Brother?”
“I learned everything during basic etiquette classes.”
“Hehe, I practiced this until it became second nature for me too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I wanted to dance at the debutante ball.” With a huff, Rubette kicked air in frustration. “…With Kedrick.”
“…” Lark’s brow furrowed as he walked along. “So? You want to dance with that guy at the upcoming ball?”
“Me?” Rubette looked up at Lark, her expression incredulous. “Are you crazy?”
“You practiced to dance with him, didn’t you?”
“That was before I knew Kedrick was a scumbag!”
“So, you won’t dance with him?”
“No, I won’t!”
“Then who will you dance with?”
“…”
Rubette paused and looked ahead again. “Hmm, who will I dance with…”
“Hehehe.”
“Hmm.”
Lark, who had been chuckling, leaned down and whispered into Rubette’s ear, “Dance with me.”
“…” Another pause.
And then, as they walked again, Rubette, pretending to contemplate, muttered to herself. “I guess, why not.”
“Hahaha. This is an honor.”
“Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“Sorry.”
“What for?”
“You’re suffering because of me.”
“There you go again.”
“I want to do more to help, but I can’t…” Rubette murmured and blinked beneath her robe.
“Tired?”
“A little.”
“Come here. I’ll hold you.”
“Mhm.”
Lark embraced the willing Rubette and began to walk back. “If you’re sleepy, rest.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Sigh.”
“Now that we’re alive, I don’t know what the future holds…”
“Huh?”
“I want to help, but the future I know right now doesn’t seem to be of any help to you…”
“…”
“I don’t know the future of the world where you’re alive…”
“What are you talking about? After the future changes, couldn’t you see the altered future?”
“Yeah, I don’t know.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re right. Brother, you’re a man of principles…”
“Why don’t you complain about that damn principled stance anymore these days?”
Rubette pulled Lark even closer and gently nuzzled her head against Lark’s neck.
Lark swallowed a sigh at the casual intimacy. “You really shouldn’t drink.”
“I have no intention of doing anything foolish, or harboring ill intentions. I just want to earn a lot of money, build a three-story house in the woods, and raise a tricolor cat…”
“…”
“Believe me.”
“I don’t understand what you’ve been saying since earlier.” Lark chuckled softly.
The words were mumbled incoherently. Perhaps even Rubette herself didn’t know what she was saying.
“I feel guilty, and well, I’m not good at lying…”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Really? Do you believe me? You won’t catch me?”
“Sure, sure.”
“Thank you. You see…” Sniffling, Rubette buried her face against the side of Lark’s neck and muttered, “…The truth is… I…”
When a shallow breath filled the narrow space, Lark’s footsteps paused momentarily.
***
Blink, blink.
As I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar ceiling.
‘My room…’
The best room in the basement. A soft, cozy bed. There were no windows, so I couldn’t tell if it was day or night, but one thing was certain. I got drunk last night.
“Ouch!”
As I quickly sat up, my head throbbed. It had been a while since I experienced a hangover.
“Wait, wait.”
Well, not me, exactly. More precisely, Juliet Karenina. That body had quite a high tolerance for alcohol. I rarely drank in the first place, so I never had any incidents of overindulging or blacking out. But that was only true for the hardware called Juliet Karenina. This one, was a different story.
‘This body is weak!’
Rubette’s body. Throughout Rubette’s lifetime, the most she had ever consumed was wine or cocktails with very low alcohol content.
And yet, yesterday I had a cocktail while taking a bath.
“Ugh! This is a 12% cocktail, my lady!”
It was a 12% cocktail.
After Rebecca’s voice faintly came to mind, I was initially taken aback, then thought it was a disaster…
‘I have no memory.’
It was the first time I experienced a blackout. It was a strange and unfamiliar experience.
“Ughhh.” I felt like my head was splitting from emptying a whole bottle of 12% cocktail.
As I sluggishly got off the bed, the door opened and Rebecca entered.
“Oh, my lady! Are you awake? Are you alright?”
“Not alright. I need water.”
“I brought everything.” Anticipating that I would turn into a zombie due to the hangover, Rebecca had a tray with a glass of cold water and a bowl of honey.
“Did I dry my hair properly yesterday? I shouldn’t have just gone to bed.”
Rebecca chuckled as she watched me sit back on the bed and drink water. “Your hair isn’t the most important thing, my lady. You caused quite a scene yesterday. Don’t you remember anything?”
“Really? You must have had a tough time.”
“The tough time was had by His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“…”
As I paused while tilting the glass, Rebecca continued, “Oh, you were truly amusing yesterday, my lady. You were shouting, ‘Lawk! Lawk!’ and dancing with His Highness on the first floor. You went outside for a moment to get some fresh air after drinking.” While stirring honey in the teacup, Rebecca burst into laughter and added, “When you came back, you were nestled in His Highness’ arms, snoring and snorting.”
“Shit!!!”
It was shocking. I tried to grasp my head and recall, but I had absolutely no memory of it happening. I didn’t even know what time Lark had returned yesterday.
“Um, what about His Highness? Did he go to work?”
“No, he’s currently preparing on the first floor.”
“Wow, this is insane. Absolutely insane. I must have lost my mind.” I quickly got up and went upstairs to the first floor. Lark and Ren happened to be standing by the door, as if they were about to go out.
Both of them silently stared at me in contemplation.
“Y-Your Highness.”
“You’re awake? How do you feel?”
I felt relieved at the sight of Lark, who seemed unchanged from usual.
“Lawk! Lawk!”
But when Ren added those teasing words, my cheeks heated up in embarrassment and anger.
“Hey, don’t tease her.”
“Hehe.”
Seeing Lark playfully shove Ren’s shoulder, I wished I could disappear into a mouse hole or something.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. What kind of state did I make myself into yesterday…”
“No, you were adorable.”
“Your Highness, by any chance…” Something was bothering me more than the fact that I misbehaved after drinking. “Did I say anything strange yesterday?”
“Hmm? Something strange?”
“Well, never mind.”
Lark, who was watching me scratch my chin with a mischievous smile, tilted his head slightly. “You didn’t say anything out of the ordinary.”
“Really? Then I’m relieved.”
“But, Princess, you shouldn’t drink. If you really want to, drink when I’m around.”
“Uh, there won’t be such incidents anymore. Are you going out now?”
“Yes. I’ll be back.”
“Please take care.”
As I bid farewell to Lark and Ren, who were once again leaving in disguise, I let out a sigh of relief and swept my chest.
***
“…ark!”
“Huh? Huh!”
Ren, who was walking beside him, frowned.
“You’ve been acting strange since you came back with the princess. Where is your mind wandering off to?”
“Uh, no, it’s nothing.”
After blurting it out, Ren grumbled and walked ahead. Following behind, Lark tried to calm his confused thoughts.
But it wasn’t easy. Even he, who was not easily shaken, was thrown off by Rubette’s confession in the early morning.
“I feel guilty, and well, I’m not good at lying…”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Really? Do you believe me? You won’t catch me?”
“Sure, sure.”
“Thank you. You see…”
The whispered voice echoed clearly in his mind.
“…My spirit, actually, is Wishit.”