“Ugh… My head.”
I pressed my temples as I sat up, my head throbbing.
Perhaps it was because my fermentation skills were still rudimentary.
The beer from this world seemed to cause a hangover worse than modern-day beer.
Anyway…
“Whose blanket is this?”
It surely wasn’t the old butler Rendler’s as he lay sprawled on the sofa like a half-dried squid.
It must have been Rachel’s blanket, but I couldn’t recall a thing from last night.
First, I got up.
I covered Rendler with the blanket as he coughed and fell back asleep.
Creak.
I stepped out of the drawing-room and cautiously asked a guard on duty,
“Was there… any trouble last night?”
I had no memory of it.
From the circumstances, it seemed like nothing special happened, but I worried if the original Elden had lost control of his drinking habits.
Maybe I caused a ruckus, or called for a maid and assaulted her, among other things.
“What trouble do you speak of, My Lord?”
“I just wondered if there was any commotion overnight.”
“There was nothing at all, My Lord.”
“Is that so? Thank goodness.”
Phew.
After letting out a relieved sigh, I asked another question.
“By the way, I noticed a blanket covering me. Who brought it?”
“Lady Rachel did, My Lord.”
“…Really?”
So it was Rachel after all.
It seemed the stoic mentor did worry about his ‘suffering’ apprentice and didn’t want me to catch a cold.
She appeared indifferent and stoic at times, but maybe she had a surprisingly warm side.
Or perhaps the mentor, who had gotten into training, was concerned that her ‘fun’ would be ruined if her pupil caught a cold.
Anyway,
If I hadn’t been covered with that blanket, I would have definitely caught a cold from the chill of the floor.
As I thought about thanking my mentor, I moved on.
I desperately needed something to soothe my upset stomach.
I had seen a remedy for hangovers in the Monster Cookbook.
The ‘Minotaur Blood Soup’ that was said to be good for hangovers.
At that moment, that dish was what I craved the most, but unfortunately, I had neither the chef nor the ingredients to make it.
For now, I needed to drink something alcohol-free.
I dragged my feet towards the refreshment room.
“Ah?”
In the refreshment room, I found Rachel stirring her teacup with a teaspoon.
She also seemed to have just woken up, dressed in a nightgown of pure white silk and slippers.
For some reason, I felt nervous about greeting her.
I didn’t know what had transpired last night during the black-out.
Maybe my drunken hands had committed some impropriety, or perhaps my boozy mouth had said something rude.
Fortunately,
“Oh, you’re up early.”
Rachel greeted me with that calm voice of hers, just like always.
The lack of any unusual expression likely meant nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
I let out a sigh of relief and stepped into the refreshment room.
Still, I needed to clear my lingering doubts neatly.
“Nothing strange happened yesterday, right?”
I casually asked while picking up a glass of water beside her.
For some reason, I felt an anxious heat in my stomach.
I wanted to quickly quench it with cold water, but suddenly, something was handed to me.
It was the teacup that Rachel had been stirring.
Instead of answering, she poured more water into a fresh cup and continued talking about the drink she had handed me.
“My father always made this the day after he drank too much.”
“Huh?”
“It’s honey water. Just a bit of acacia honey mixed with water and a splash of lemon juice. It should help with your hangover, so drink it.”
The unexpected arrival of honey water almost made me blurt out something absurd like, ‘Is your father also a reincarnator from modern times?’
Honey water is a simple yet effective remedy for a hangover.
It appeared Rachel’s father was quite the expert in curing hangovers.
“…Thank you.”
I picked up the teacup.
I felt a bit dazed.
I never imagined I would receive honey water from the stern Rachel, not even in my wildest dreams.
I could see Rendler doing something like this, but Rachel?
Could something have happened last night?
Rachel had never shown any warmth to Elden before, only being strict as his protector.
Gulp.
I took a sip of the honey water.
The sweet taste of honey pairing with the freshness of lemon created an excellent flavor, relieving not just the hangover but also my tiredness.
“…How is it?”
Rachel asked cautiously.
Seeing her expression, I gave her a thumbs up.
“Feels like the hangover is vanishing with just one sip?”
Only then did a faint smile blossom on Rachel’s stiff face.
It was the first time I’d ever seen her smile.
Even in the original Elden’s memories, Rachel had always had a stiff expression.
Of course, it was a faint smile, but all this time, I had wondered if she had forgotten how to smile. It was a relief to see I was wrong.
Rachel lifted her own teacup and looked at me, beaming with satisfaction.
“Your wounds have healed beautifully.”
“Uh?”
“Well then, I’ll go get ready.”
And that was the end of it.
Off Rachel went, leaving the room with her steaming teacup in hand.
I stared blankly at her retreating figure, then turned my head to the cupboard mirror and checked my cheek.
Just as she said, my wounds had healed without a trace, as if nothing had happened.
Hmm.
‘So maybe that’s why she was being so stingy with the honey water?’
I gently touched the area where the wound had been and took another sip of honey water.
Perhaps it was because it was made by someone else, but it was indeed sweet and delightful.
“By the way, do you have no thoughts about marriage, my lady?”
In the early morning, as Ariel was reading during breakfast, a maid poured her winter flower tea and asked.
Ariel, pulled from her book, looked at the maid with an amused expression.
It was the first time she had ever heard that question.
“Me? Huh?”
“Yes. I was just curious. Please don’t say something silly like you’re married to your books.”
“Hm.”
Ariel took a sip of her flower tea and sighed.
Marriage.
She had never really thought about it.
Let alone love, what was the point of marriage?
For Ariel, who had immersed herself in novels as if it were her whole life, marriage was totally irrelevant.
“I never thought about it.”
“Why not?”
“I just haven’t.”
“…At this rate, you’ll truly end up lonely. They say women who’ve interacted with men find better partners, you know? You should really start meeting someone before it’s too late.”
“Those who read a lot also know how to pick well.”
The maid was frustrated that their conversation had turned back to books once again – as it always did – and took a seat across from Ariel.
She stared at Ariel with a look of discontent.
“…What’s wrong?”
“Aren’t you wasting your prime?”
“Wasting what?”
“Your prime! This is the time to showcase your beauty and fall in love with a handsome man, my lady.”
“…Love? Um, I’m not sure about that.”
Ariel grimaced as if confronted with something unspeakable.
Though she had once been curious about love and read romance novels, the bother of investing emotions and time into flipping even a single extra page felt utterly incomprehensible to her. She had never finished one.
“…You’ve never been interested in anyone, my lady?”
When asked by the maid, Ariel nodded earnestly as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
“Yes.”
“Sigh…”
The maid sighed.
It was unbelievable, absurd even, that her lady, possessing such stunning beauty and a gentle heart, had never experienced love.
The maid was confident that if she had a fraction of her lady’s beauty, she could charm every guy she laid eyes upon.
“Why are you so focused on this? What about you? Have you ever been in… love?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t believe the number of love stories that bloom among the servants.”
“Really? Do servants date each other? I’ve never seen it.”
“…That’s because you’re always glued to your novels, my lady.”
“Ahaha-. I see.”
“My lady, can’t you give this a bit of thought? It’s such a waste of your beauty.”
“Beauty? What beauty? There are so many prettier ladies than me. You haven’t seen the Third Northern Duchess; if you did, you’d think I looked quite ordinary.”
“……”
Not even a sigh escaped her lips.
Such levels of frustration were unprecedented.
This won’t do.
Feeling that her beloved lady might end up a lonely, elderly woman, the maid, with determination on her face, asked,
“My lady?”
“Hm?”
“What’s the most enjoyable book you’ve ever read?”
“Um… there are so many; it’s hard to choose.”
Ariel Elrond mumbled titles while slowly unfolding her fingers.
Then one title struck her.
The novel that kept her awake at night, turning each page like it was a precious gem, the one that made her heart so full she could barely describe it after reading the epilogue, the one that filled her with joy more than anything else in the world while she read.
“Legacy of the Hero Elpherion?”
“You must have been very happy reading it, weren’t you?”
Ariel smiled just thinking about it and nodded. Then the maid spread her ten fingers before her.
“When you fall in love, you’ll be ten times happier.”
That comparison, so well-suited to a bookworm’s perspective, left Ariel in shock.
“…Ten times?”
Could it truly be ten times happier than those moments of elation?
“Surely that’s an exaggeration.”
“It’s true! You’ve never experienced it. When you fall in love, your world becomes all about that person, and every moment of waiting to see them is torture. And when you finally meet, the excitement is so intense that you could die happily. That feeling is truly irreplaceable by anything else.”
“…It’s that intense?”
“Absolutely!”
Hmm.
Happy enough to die?
Thoughts solely on the person they love?
If it’s that happy, maybe it would be nice…
“What do you think? Have you finally begun to see it?”
The maid asked with hopeful eyes, as if sensing her lady was starting to grasp the idea.
Of course, that hope quickly dissipated.
“…But then I wouldn’t be able to read books.”
“Sigh.”
A sigh that could have crumbled the world escaped her lips early in the morning.
…Who starts a morning discussing love?
After breakfast, Ariel headed toward the Library with her escort.
She knew that as the Grand Ducal Betrothal approached its finale, the topic of ‘love’ had become quite popular.
That must have been the reason.
Occasionally, she found herself being nudged to look at men instead of her beloved books.
Regardless,
Could it genuinely be ten times better?
She had been so content with her stories that she thought she could live blissfully on a deserted island with just them, but how could she possibly be ten times happier than that?
Nonsense.
It had to be an exaggeration, perhaps, made to convince her.
Having dismissed the thought, Ariel arrived at the library ten minutes before it opened and looked around.
She hoped Elden would come early…
She also felt a lingering regret that they hadn’t had a chance to chat extensively about books lately since he often arrived late, prioritizing training over reading.
Ariel felt slightly neglected, even if she acknowledged she was being selfish.
Would he be late again today?
Sigh—
Though his tardiness was a certainty, Ariel still hoped he would arrive early today… As she surveyed her surroundings, only the cleaning staff moved through the morning mist.
Haaa-.
Disappointment washed over her as she set her gaze on the Library’s entrance, just one minute before opening.
Then, when the Library’s doors swung open,
Tap, Tap—
Someone tapped her shoulder from behind.
Huh?
Startled by the sudden touch, Ariel spun around, her eyes widening in surprise.
A little miracle had happened.
“Hm, I thought I’d come early and wait for you today, but you’re never late, are you, Ariel?”
“W-Wait?! Elden!”
Ariel’s eyes sparkled with joy. Her furrowed brows relaxed, and her rosy lips broke into a radiant smile, struggling to contain her bliss that she barely understood.
Ariel bounced on her toes, feeling inexplicably full of energy.
Then, a pungent odor of alcohol hit her nose.
“Ah? Did you drink last night?”
“Well, I had a few drinks with Rachel and my butler, Rendler.”
“Really?”
Ariel glanced at Knight Rachel, standing diagonally behind Elden.
It was the same spot she usually occupied during their academy days.
“……I can drink too.”
Then,
Ariel pouted as a strange feeling she couldn’t quite grasp bubbled within her heart.
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