It was a peaceful evening with Leonard reviewing piled-up documents, Yellian playing with Gamja, and Elton playing with Geumdong.
Indeed, it had been like that just a moment ago. That is, until an uninvited guest… or rather, an unwelcome visitor arrived.
“Come on, come on. Drink up, drink up. You, feline humanoid, have a glass too. Or should I call you Yellian?”
“You can call me whatever is comfortable for you.”
“Really? You’ve got a good personality! Completely different from that guy Leonard! That guy is a total mess.”
Already quite drunk, Abigail burst into chuckles and poured a drink for Yellian.
Yellian wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, but they weren’t completely unable to drink either, so they readily accepted and drank the liquor Abigail offered.
Though unfamiliar with the etiquette of this country, Yellian thought it might be best to graciously accept a drink offered by someone of high status.
“Stop giving them more. They’re getting drunk.”
“Kid? Kid, did you say? Did you just call them a kid, Leonard? Anderson, you heard that too, right? Leonard called Yellian a kid.”
“Yeah, I heard it.”
“Does that even make sense? A kid? A kid, haha!”
Abigail let out a hearty laugh. Yellian, not understanding what was so funny, just rolled their eyes around, trying to gauge the situation.
Anderson seemed lost in thought, staring somewhere in the room without saying a word, while Leonard looked somewhat displeased as he glared at Abigail.
“Calling them a kid, though, they’re a full-grown adult. Isn’t that right, Yellian?”
“Well, I suppose so…….”
Yellian replied cautiously, sneaking a glance at Leonard. Whether they noticed or not, Abigail poured another glass of wine for Yellian.
“Drink up. Where was this from……. That empire that’s sending a delegation soon. There…… We…… We…….”
“The Wedepia Empire.”
“Ah, right, right! The Wedepia Empire! Yeah, they sent this as a gift before their visit. They said it’s high-quality liquor. It’s precious, so Yellian, you’ve got to drink it all, no leftovers.”
Abigail nodded in agreement to Anderson’s response and spoke. Then, as if pouring a full glass for himself, he gulped it down refreshingly.
Seeing him empty his glass, Yellian glanced around before bringing the glass Abigail had filled to their lips.
“Stop drinking. You don’t have to force yourself.”
“I’m not forcing myself. I’m good at drinking.”
At Leonard’s words, Yellian spoke with a sense of inner pride. They didn’t dislike alcohol itself. It was just that they didn’t enjoy it because of the hangover the next day. Besides, since Yellian usually drank soju or beer mixes back in the day, wine was hardly alcohol to them.
“You, it’s time to leave.”
“What? How can you say something so harsh? No way, I managed to sneak out of the imperial palace. I’m staying longer. I even brought liquor for you guys to eat!”
“Yeah, well, no one asked for it, so just go.”
Leonard decided that as long as Abigail was here, he couldn’t stop Yellian from drinking.
So, he tried to kick Abigail out, but of course, Abigail wasn’t one to back down easily. He was already stubborn by nature, and with alcohol in his system, he was out of his mind, making his obstinacy beyond description.
It was a time when they had finished evening dessert and were enjoying a relatively peaceful moment. Suddenly, a heavily intoxicated Abigail, supported by Anderson, showed up at the estate.
Abigail not only barged into the estate insisting on drinking together but also made his way into the room.
Realizing it was nearly impossible to send a drunk Abigail away, Leonard thought it might be better to get him completely wasted and either send him off or let him sleep in a spare room. Little did he know that plan would go awry.
Usually, when Abigail drank, neither Anderson nor Leonard would join him. So, Abigail would drink alone, get moderately drunk, grumble about it being no fun, and stop drinking.
But today was different. Yellian was there. Yellian matched Abigail’s pace and drank with him, and since Abigail had someone to drink with, he was thrilled and drank several times more than usual.
Yellian had claimed they were good at drinking, but their cheeks had been flushed for a while now. Their eyes were slightly unfocused too.
Leonard glared at the bottle with dissatisfaction. On the surface, it might look like ordinary wine, but there was no way an empire would send ordinary liquor as a gift in diplomatic exchanges. It must have been made with rare magical ingredients like dragon’s breath or unicorn tears.
Not knowing this, Yellian kept accepting whatever Abigail offered, which frustrated Leonard. At the same time, he was curious about what Yellian would be like when drunk.
Because of that, Leonard was half hoping Yellian would stop drinking and half hoping they’d keep going to the end.
“Do as you please. But know that if you get drunk and cause trouble, I won’t let it slide.”
“Tch, that’s harsh.”
“Exactly! That’s harsh, so harsh, ugh, ugh.”
“Anderson, if that guy throws up in my room, there’ll be a rebellion, so take him and get out.”
“Got it.”
Mimicking Yellian’s words, Abigail gagged and covered his mouth. Leonard threatened Anderson without even taking a breath, and Anderson, also without pausing, quickly responded and supported Abigail out of the room.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Abigail, now completely out of it, didn’t put up much resistance and was led away by Anderson.
“Oh, they’ve left. Well then…… I’ll just drink by myself.”
Thinking Yellian would stop drinking now that Abigail was gone, Leonard was surprised to see them instead pour more liquor into their glass with a glugging sound, as if relieved.
“Stop drinking.”
“No way! I’m going to drink more!”
They were drunk. No doubt about it. Leonard quietly stared at the intoxicated Yellian.
Flushed face, unfocused eyes, and slightly slurred speech. Watching them quietly, Leonard realized this was the first time he’d seen Yellian drunk, and it was cute in its own way.
Leonard gazed at Yellian for a moment before his eyes shifted to their lips.
“I can drink more, so why do you keep telling me to stop……. I’m really good at drinking…….”
The mumbling, grumbling lips were endearing. Leonard couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re cute.”
“Who? Me?”
“Is there anyone else here besides you?”
At Leonard’s question, Yellian looked around. Naturally, there was no one else in the room. Well, except for Geumdong and Gamja.
“That’s true, but……. Anyway, I don’t agree that I’m cute. Because I want to be cool.”
“Oh my. Big dreams, huh.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? So mean.”
Yellian glared at Leonard with eyes full of dissatisfaction. Seeing this, Leonard had to struggle to hold back the laughter threatening to burst out.
“And you shouldn’t call me cute.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s someone else who should hear that from Leonard…….”
Not understanding what this meant, Leonard furrowed his brow. Someone else who should hear that he’s cute? It sounded as if something was already decided, and Leonard’s expression turned quite serious.
Yet, even in their drunken state, Yellian’s expression seemed somewhat serious.
“Who am I supposed to call cute, then?”
“Obviously…… Abigail. Because Abigail is the master…….”
“Master?”
Not understanding the term, Leonard asked again, and Yellian nodded with a flushed face. Their fine hair swayed with the motion.
“If Abigail is the master, then what am I?”
“You’re the duke, the master duke. And the mad duke.”
Still, the words made no sense. Leonard furrowed his brow, mulling over what Yellian said, until a memory flashed through his mind, and his eyes widened.
‘Leonard, you’re really amazing. I’m dizzy from losing this much blood, but how can Leonard still swing a sword? Truly a mad duke…….’
It was something Yellian had said before losing consciousness after being hit by an arrow during the hunting competition.
At the time, Leonard hadn’t taken the words seriously because of the urgency and chaos. But now, Yellian was once again calling him a ‘mad duke.’
Master duke and mad duke. Though the meaning was still unclear, Leonard instinctively felt that he shouldn’t just let this slide.
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