Chapter 8
Soft brown strands messily framed her face, her eyes curved gently like crescents, her cheeks flushed pink from the alcohol. At a glance, she looked like an innocent, delicate girl.
But sometimes she was a sly merchant, sometimes a girl, and now—apparently—a lover of alcohol.
At first, Cassel hadn’t thought much of it. But now, he was genuinely curious: Just how much can she drink? Maybe that’s why he did something he normally never would have done.
“All right. Let’s drink as much as you want tonight.”
Two hours later
“Pfft— Just now, there were two of you.”
“….”
Blair pointed at Cassel with her face flushed bright red, quite drunk now. Beside the table, just as she’d requested, sat an entire wine barrel.
‘It’s been a while since I drank this much. It’s wearing me out.’
Cassel rubbed his aching temples and let out a slow breath. On top of that, the dull ache that always tormented his whole body was creeping back, making it impossible to keep pushing himself.
“You’re drunk enough now. Let’s wrap it up.”
Cassel forced his heavy body to stand.
“What are you talking about? I can drink a bit more. Jus’ wait a sec.”
Blair waved her hand sloppily, her words slurred.
“Knock, knock— Is there still wine in there? Ah— there is? Then can I get another glass?”
She knocked on the wine barrel and pressed her ear against it, as if she were actually talking to it.
“….”
Truly a strange woman.
“Ah, no one’s there? Really? Oh no— that won’t do—”
Cassel pressed a hand to his forehead as he watched Blair struggle with the wine barrel.
‘Is this headache from the wine or from watching her?’
“Pull yourself together.”
“Look, sir! It keeps lying to me!”
“Hold on here.”
“Wha—? Wha—? You can’t do that, sir! That’s bad! Hey!”
“….”
Cassel nearly lost his words when Blair, whom he’d tried to steady by the arm, suddenly scolded him so firmly.
“…I’m just trying to get you up. You can’t sleep here.”
“Sleep? Did you say sleep? That’s a terrible thing to say! No way. Tsk, sit down here instead!”
Cassel decided to simply ignore this drunken nonsense.
He let out a deep sigh, pulled Blair’s arm around his neck, then wrapped his other arm under her legs to lift her up. Despite her nonstop babbling, Blair didn’t resist at all and settled into his hold like a feather.
“Geez, I’m just trying to protect you! A bachelor not knowing how dangerous women can be at night—”
Cassel froze mid-step on his way to dump her on the bed.
“…What did you just say?”
“I said I’d protect you—”
“Before that.”
“Bachelor?”
“…Is that Edwin’s doing?”
“Hmmm, what does it matter right now?”
It did matter. He fully intended to deal with that man later. Cassel clenched his teeth and resumed walking. The sooner he got this woman to sleep, the better for both of them.
“And your clothes—! With a woman! At night! In your robe! Bachelor or not, you should know better—”
“Be quiet. Please.”
He regretted not having a free hand to cover her mouth. Reaching the bed in a few strides, Cassel quickly laid her down. Blair didn’t stop rambling until the end. He yanked the blanket up to cover her face as she lay there.
Then—
“But really, is it true?”
Her eyes peeked out from under the blanket as she asked.
“What is?”
“That you’ve never—”
“…Just go to sleep.”
“Hey, don’t worry.”
Cassel turned around when he heard rustling behind him.
For a second he thought she was about to jump out of bed again, but Blair only shifted to get comfortable, half-burying her face in the pillow. Through her tousled brown hair, he saw her lift a finger to her lips and smile sleepily.
“A secret, huh? I get it. I’ll protect it, okay?”
“….”
“I’ll protect it aaaall— I will.”
She gave a proud little hum, then drifted off, cheeks flushed and the last traces of her smile lingering.
The room was filled with silence now that the ever-chattering Blair was finally quiet. Cassel stood there for a moment, staring at her—and then let out a small, helpless laugh.
And so, their first night together passed.
＊＊＊
The next morning
“Ugh… my head…”
The first to wake wasn’t Cassel, but Blair. She clutched her throbbing head and looked around, squinting at her surroundings.
She was alone on a massive bed that could easily fit three people.
“When did I get into bed?”
She had no memory of walking there herself. And where was he?
Rubbing her eyes, Blair looked around the room.
On the far side, she spotted Cassel, fast asleep on the sofa. His legs were so long they stuck out over the armrest.
‘That must’ve been so uncomfortable all night.’
He looked deeply asleep despite the awkward position. The bed was so big they could have easily slept on opposite ends without ever touching.
‘If you’re worried I’ll touch you while drunk, don’t be.’
“Tsk. He really is such a bachelor.”
She gave a soft, amused snort, which made her head pound even harder.
“Ow… I drank too much for the first time in ages. My head feels like it’s going to split. I need to make some medicine.”
Holding her head, Blair pulled the cord to call for a maid.
One hour later
“Mmm…”
Cassel woke with a deep furrow in his brow as sunlight stabbed through the curtains. The fierce hangover pain clamped around his temples the moment he regained consciousness.
‘I have a knights’ meeting later today. This is going to kill me.’
He let out a small sigh and sat up. Despite the hangover, his body felt lighter than expected.
Thinking back, his old pain had flared up badly last night—but today it felt completely gone.
‘It never fades unless I take medicine. Strange…’
Cassel glanced at the bed. But Blair was nowhere to be seen.
‘She must have already gone back to her room.’
Given last night, maybe it was better if they didn’t run into each other for a while—
“Oh? You’re awake?”
Blair suddenly appeared, wearing her usual bright, clueless smile as if nothing had happened.
“You didn’t go back to your room?”
“Huh? No, I was busy making this.”
“What’s that?”
He eyed it.
“An ultra-powerful hangover cure you can’t find anywhere else.”
She held up a suspicious-looking potion.
“Here. Drink it all at once for best results.”
“I’m fine.”
“I don’t think you are.”
“….”
Blair pushed the tiny bottle right in front of his eyes. Floating inside the purple liquid were strange orange flecks that looked like rotten herbs.
“…Are you sure this is a hangover cure?”
Cassel eyed her with deep suspicion.
“It looks weird, but it works.”
“It looks more like poison than medicine.”
He wasn’t exactly wrong. Even Blair had to admit her cure’s greatest flaw was its suspicious appearance. But it was her pride and joy—the ultimate hangover cure she’d perfected with all her knowledge of herbs and love for drinking.
She’d tried every hangover food out there, but nothing worked like this.
‘I can’t believe he’s looking at my masterpiece like that.’
She was slightly offended, but couldn’t scold her “client.”
“Oh, come on. Trust me just this once. Your headache and nausea will vanish instantly. Just don’t beg me to make you more later.”
Blair, brimming with confidence, pushed the potion even closer to his nose.
But Cassel really didn’t want to drink what looked like swamp water. He felt sure it would make him sicker instead of better. So he stood up, pretending to be fine.
“I’m really fi—”
Throb.
He froze mid-sentence and grabbed his head. A sharp pain slammed through his skull with a wave of nausea. This wasn’t going away easily.
“Want the medicine now?”
Blair gave him a sly grin, as if she’d known this would happen.
“….”
Cassel said nothing—he simply held out his hand.
