~Chapter 79~
“Fabian, you like whiskey, right? Teach me about whiskey.”
Sometimes, emptiness shows itself in strange ways.
One of my emptinesses was this—
drinking alcohol with a friend.
‘Should I call this my own kind of bucket list?’
Back when I was twenty, running between classes and part-time jobs, I often felt envy.
Especially when people my age came to the restaurant where I worked, drinking together.
They came for club activities, group meetings, blind dates, or just to enjoy time with close friends.
For me, those ordinary lives never felt ordinary.
Even when I sometimes got the chance, I couldn’t enjoy it—because I had to rush off to another job.
‘That’s why I made mistakes before Albert and Emily too… all because I got obsessed with lifting a glass.’
Anyway—
Now that I was living doing all the things I wanted… this was also one of them.
“I want to learn whiskey too. Fabian, you know it well, so can’t you teach me?”
It wasn’t the common green bottle drink from my past life,
but wouldn’t it be nice to learn about the drink Fabian liked?
Fabian looked surprised at my words.
He stared at me for a while, then finally nodded.
“Well, you did enjoy drinking since the train trip.”
“…Haha.”
Excuse me?
If you say it like that, it sounds like I’m some kind of alcohol-crazy person…
At that moment, Fabian picked up the menu between us.
“When you’re just starting, I recommend tasting different types of aromas. That way you’ll know your own taste.”
After quietly saying that, Fabian called the staff and ordered a few drinks in words I didn’t understand.
Then he put the menu back down.
Soon, the staff brought several glasses of whiskey.
“These are single malt types. And these are blended types. To put it simply, single malt has one aroma alone, and blended mixes many aromas together.”
Fabian handed me the glasses one by one.
“Take it like you’re dipping your tongue. Just a little, and feel the aroma.”
“Yes.”
I nodded and took small sips, just as Fabian said.
I tried each one, sip by sip…
“Um… they all taste the same to me…”
Honestly, I couldn’t feel any difference.
When I tilted my head and said that, Fabian chuckled.
“At first, they all feel the same. It takes time to tell the small differences.”
“Hmm…”
I twitched my eyebrows, then my eyes shifted to something else.
The whiskey glass in Fabian’s hand.
“What’s that? Is that your favorite whiskey, Fabian?”
“Ah.”
Fabian looked at the glass he was holding and nodded.
“Not exactly my favorite… but it’s the one I drink most often.”
“I see. Can I try it too?”
“Sure. But be careful—it’s concentrated and has a high alcohol content.”
Slowly, very carefully, I took the glass from Fabian and drank.
Huuup.
As I inhaled, I took a sip of whiskey and closed my eyes to feel the aroma.
It was much lighter than the whiskeys I had just tasted.
At first, I thought there was no aroma at all,
but as time passed, a faint flavor appeared.
Like a thin smoke. Like tasting emptiness itself.
“So… this is the aroma of the whiskey Fabian drinks often.”
Because it was his whiskey, it felt special.
The scent was like floating alone in a vast, empty universe.
I thought—
This whiskey really resembles him.
After studying whiskey for a while, Fabian and I each chose one we liked and began to drink.
Fabian kept drinking the whiskey he usually had, and I chose the one I liked most.
‘Like Fabian said, as I keep drinking, I think I can feel the aroma.’
As I sipped little by little out of curiosity, the alcohol started to hit me. My head felt dizzy, and my face grew hot.
“Ahh… so good…”
“……”
The music was nice. The drink was nice. Even the person beside me—I liked.
I rested my chin on my hand and glanced at Fabian.
“Fabian, don’t you feel good in moments like this? Don’t you feel this exciting mood?”
“Well…”
Fabian frowned.
“I do feel lighter, but I’m not sure if this really feels good.”
“You should feel this drunk feeling. It’s nice…”
How sad, not being able to enjoy such a pleasant feeling.
Looking at Fabian again, something caught my eye.
“Why don’t you take off that cloak sometimes?”
“……”
“You always wear black. Fabian, try wearing something bright. It might change your mood.”
“…I’ve been wearing this for more than a hundred years.”
“This cloak… you do wash it sometimes, right?”
“……”
Fabian looked at me as if to say, what do you think I am?
He sighed and spoke.
“No need. This cloak doesn’t get dirty.”
“……”
“It’s the truth.”
“Alright, I didn’t say otherwise.”
Somehow, Fabian looked cute, and I laughed softly.
“Anyway, I’m curious about something.”
“……?”
“You once said your curse from natural magic keeps you from aging and from feeling emotions. Then… if you get emotions, would you also start to age?”
I asked because I remembered from the novel—when Fabian gained emotions for Emily, he began to change.
“If living forever is boring, then gaining emotions and aging would mean you can die someday. Hmm… but maybe that’s sad too?”
“……”
Fabian just stared at me while I laughed.
“It’s possible.”
“…What?”
“It’s possible. If I gain emotions, I will naturally start to age.”
“……”
“Only then does life truly begin. And I can escape.”
Fabian lowered his gaze and slowly swirled his whiskey glass.
The large ice inside spun around with a soft sound.
“Escape… from this endless boredom.”
“……”
Somehow, I felt my drunkenness fade.
I blankly stared at Fabian, my head foggy—when suddenly:
“Lady Irene?”
Someone appeared before me. I turned my head, my eyes widening.
“…Huh? Lady Elina?”
It was Lady Elina, the Count’s daughter.
Her golden hair was tied up cutely as she stood in front of me.
“Nice to see you. Meeting here is a surprise. What brings you?”
“These kinds of places are popular among young nobles these days. I was curious, so I came to see!”
Lady Elina pointed to her own table.
Several familiar young ladies waved at me from there—
some of them were the ones I had invited to tea before, to help Sophie.
Well, that made sense. These young ladies were always quick to follow trends.
“By the way, you came here to drink too? Not enjoying it at the mansion?”
“I just wanted some fresh air. And… I came to meet a friend.”
“Friend…!”
Lady Elina’s words trailed off as her eyes moved unconsciously to my opposite side.
She saw Fabian sitting across from me.
Her eyes widened. Soon, her cheeks flushed red.
