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chapter 67
Scott and Jocelyn tried hard to maintain their composure, but Rubiana’s drunken rant continued.
“Shit hurts! That’s why I can’t use it at all. You horrible man! Cruel man! Cold man!”
Rubiana flailed her arms and legs, expressing her anger.
Elion had to hold her even tighter to keep her from falling.
The entire scene felt like a ridiculous comedy, and painful groans kept escaping from Elion’s lips.
Fortunately, Rubiana’s outburst didn’t last long.
Her heavy eyelids blinked slowly as drowsiness overcame her again.
Her struggling limbs lost strength and went still.
As they tried to lay her on the bed, a low murmuring voice reached their ears.
“Still… I wanted to see you. Really…”
With those words, Rubiana immediately fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Elion’s eyebrows furrowed even further.
“Your Highness, shall I prepare a bath? Or…?”
Jocelyn quietly asked his intentions.
His body suddenly wavered and then collapsed with a thud.
The large figure falling so suddenly made Jocelyn scream.
“Wh-what on earth! W-what is this…!”
While Jocelyn stammered in shock, Scott moved quickly.
He pulled the cord to call the maid.
Once the maid arrived, he ordered her to bring the court physician and then knelt beside Elion’s sprawled body, lifting him onto the bed.
Even for the well-built Scott, moving the unconscious, heavy Elion was a strenuous task.
Jocelyn, who had finally regained her composure, tried to help but didn’t make much of a difference.
Once they finally managed to lay Elion flat, Hailey arrived immediately.
“What happened?”
“Your Highness suddenly collapsed.”
Hailey quickly checked Elion’s condition with practiced skill.
After a moment, straightening her back, Hailey let out a small, amused chuckle.
“He’s drunk.”
“Excuse me?”
“He fell asleep because he’s drunk.”
“Ah…?”
Scott and Jocelyn exchanged puzzled glances at the simple explanation.
Still confused, Jocelyn finally spoke up.
“That can’t be true. He was walking fine and speaking normally just a moment ago. And now he suddenly collapses and sleeps? Just because he’s drunk? There’s no other issue?”
Despite her somewhat agitated tone, Hailey shrugged lightly.
“Everyone reacts differently to alcohol. Your Highness had never been drunk before, so we didn’t know, but now we do.”
Scott and Jocelyn could only fall silent at Hailey’s firm explanation.
They knew that Hailey, the court physician of the Grand Ducal Mansion, was one of the most skilled doctors in the empire. If she said it, it had to be true.
Then they remembered Fred’s words from earlier, when he had come in drunk and giggling:
‘Our Highness! Ugh, such a rational and cold man!’
‘How much did he even drink? Tsk tsk.’
‘It wasn’t me. It was His Highness. I’ve never seen him drink that much!’
‘Stop talking nonsense and go to your room. Hold me tight.’
‘Ah, even the butler! Don’t say things you don’t know! Ugh, our Highness, someone who never drank more than one cup, drank non-stop today!’
What seemed like Fred’s incoherent drunken rambling wasn’t just that.
It seemed that someone who never drank more than a cup in his life had suddenly indulged heavily today—so much so that he collapsed.
Jocelyn, who had been listening to Fred’s nonsense, could understand the situation now.
“Let’s just let him sleep. They’ll both wake up and want water, so make sure there’s enough prepared.”
Scott and Jocelyn nodded at Hailey’s straightforward request.
“Ugh… ughhh…”
A terrible headache woke Elion.
As he shifted and looked around, he realized the ceiling and bedding were unfamiliar and flinched in surprise.
But seeing Rubiana brought back memories of the previous night.
‘I must have passed out too.’
As he grabbed his aching head and tried to get up, a sleep-drunk Rubiana pressed herself against him.
The moment their bodies touched, he could clearly feel his magic flowing into her.
‘As I thought, something’s off.’
Rubiana, pleased by the magic entering her body, nestled closer into Elion’s arms.
The intoxicating scent of her body made Elion freeze.
“Ugh… you bad man… ugh… really…”
Her muttered sleep-talk made the corners of his mouth lift involuntarily.
Even though she was swearing at him in her dream, he was happy she was still with him.
‘What am I thinking? Get a grip, Elion.’
He chastised himself for losing control so easily and stared at Rubiana’s sleeping face.
He blamed himself for not pulling away from her grasp.
He resented himself for letting the dam of feelings he had built over the past two weeks crumble in an instant.
He berated himself for not stopping her when she pressed her lips to his.
‘Truly pathetic, to an exasperating degree.’
Elion bit his lip.
“El… ion…! Elion…”
Rubiana murmured his name.
Hearing his name from her red, full lips felt strange and unfamiliar.
She also seemed to be suffering from the aftereffects.
Though her magic had stabilized and her body no longer needed new magic, she still welcomed the magic flowing in, as if relishing it.
It would never be easy to sever ties with the familiar past in an instant.
‘But… I must cut it off eventually.’
That’s right. Nothing had changed.
As long as he remained the Grand Duke Klitzmann, as long as he was the emperor’s only brother, as long as he didn’t abandon that name, Elion had to protect his position.
A lonely, desolate position where no one could stay by his side.
Elion loosened Rubiana’s arms from around him.
Without looking back, he left the room.
‘I cannot allow such foolish mistakes again.’
By the time Rubiana woke up, the day was already bright.
‘Ah… I’m thirsty.’
She got up groggily and spotted a bottle of water on the table.
After drinking two glasses, she looked around and realized she was somewhere unfamiliar.
‘Huh? Where is this?’
Her heart sank.
Then fragments of last night’s events came back to her.
‘Ah… I grabbed Elion. I said I wanted to be with him.’
Her face flushed crimson as the memories grew clearer.
Recalling that she had kissed Elion first to calm herself made her utterly mortified.
She bolted back under the covers.
‘Drunk me is so honest and brave. Pointlessly.’
It was all because of the alcohol! She felt like crying.
While curled under the covers, she heard a small knock and someone entering.
‘Could it be Elion? Ah… no.’
The bustling noises near the table suggested it was the maids.
She could hear them preparing a breakfast table for her.
The smell of warm bread and soup filled the air.
Once the maids finished setting the table and left, Rubiana emerged from the blankets.
A simple breakfast had been prepared, but she wasn’t hungry.
Instead, she noticed a letter in the corner of the table.
It was in Elion’s handwriting.
[Yesterday I lost my judgment and made the mistake of bringing you here.
I am truly sorry. It will never happen again.
Also, please submit the annulment application sometime this week.
I can’t wait any longer.
I have much to prepare if I am to return to the northern territory next month.
I ask this of you.]
That was all.
