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Chapter 05
“Truly beautiful.”
One of the maids finishing Julia’s hair spoke with a smile from behind her.
Julia smiled shyly and looked at herself in the mirror once again.
She had taken off the round glasses she had been wearing ever since her eyesight worsened, and with the maids’ help, she had even put on makeup.
Three maids had worked on her messy hair, carefully combing it and placing a pretty hairpin, and even to her own eyes, she looked quite presentable.
“Jerome, come here and look at Julia. Isn’t she really pretty?”
Catherine placed her hand on Jerome’s arm just as he entered the room.
Julia turned her head to look at him, and his sky-blue eyes shone brightly as he looked down at her.
“Yu… li… ah… beauti… ful… very… pretty… beautiful…”
“Thank you, Jerome. You look very handsome today too.”
Julia replied with a bright smile.
“Alright, alright! Stand together! Oh my… don’t you two look like such a perfect couple?”
Catherine placed Julia and Jerome side by side, turning her head left and right as she sought approval from the servants around them.
“Right? Don’t they? What do you think?”
“Yes.”
“They suit each other perfectly.”
The servants standing along the wall quietly nodded with gentle smiles.
“The two of them look like a beautiful painting. Not because they are my son and the girl I cherish—but truly! They match so well!”
“A beautiful pair.”
“Such a dazzling sight.”
Overwhelmed by the endless praise, Julia quickly linked her arm with Jerome’s and pulled him toward the door of the reception room.
“Thank you, everyone. W-we should go now, Jerome! We’re going to be late. Lady Catherine, we’ll be off!”
“Wait, Julia!”
Catherine hurriedly called her back and walked toward an old cabinet placed in one corner of the room, her heels clicking on the floor.
She opened the drawer and rummaged inside before letting out a satisfied sound as she pulled out two small bottles.
“Hmm… so this was here!”
Catherine walked back and handed Julia two small medicine bottles filled with transparent liquid.
Inside the pale green glass, an unknown liquid shimmered under the reception room light.
“Julia, this is a medicine that clears your mind. If the graduation banquet gets too exciting and you end up drinking too much, it’ll help you. Take it before drinking the mixed liquor. Drink it with Jerome!”
“Lady Catherine…”
“Our Julia already has terrible drinking habits, so I have to prepare these things in advance!”
Catherine laughed playfully and tapped Julia’s arm.
Julia felt deeply grateful for even these small details of care.
‘Is this medicine also something Duke Duncan Duvert got from somewhere?’
Duke Duncan Duvert was a man so sensitive about his health that it almost seemed like hypochondria.
If he so much as sneezed while walking, he would cause a fuss and have entire boxes of herbal medicine prepared.
The couple would constantly travel across the empire buying various medicines said to relieve fatigue, improve skin, or “loosen the tongue,” filling the Duvert Castle’s infirmary with strange and mysterious remedies.
Julia placed the small glass bottle into her handbag.
“Did you drink the special tonic I gave you last time properly?”
“Yes! I drink it twice every morning and night, just like clockwork.”
Satisfied with Julia’s confident answer, Catherine smiled brightly.
“Good. Then go and have fun today. Eat delicious food, meet lots of nice people, and take a look around the newly built guest rooms!”
“Thank you, Lady Catherine! We’ll be going now!”
“Ugh… mo… ther… we’ll… be… go… ing…”
Seeing them off warmly, Julia left the room and got into the carriage heading to Denker Hotel with Jerome.
“Julia! Jerome!”
While looking around the beautifully decorated banquet hall of Denker Hotel, Lily smiled brightly and approached them.
Julia bowed lightly to the doorman at the hotel entrance and walked toward Lily.
“Lily! You came early?”
“I finished getting ready sooner than expected! Huh? Julia, your appearance today is…”
Lily widened her eyes.
“Ugh… does it look strange? Was it too much?”
“No! You’re gorgeous! You should dress like this more often! You look like a completely different person!”
Lily admired her, brushing through Julia’s loosely styled brown hair.
Julia shifted uncomfortably and whispered so only Lily could hear.
“This is so uncomfortable. How do noble ladies live like this every day? I can’t even breathe with this corset squeezing my waist.”
Breathing wasn’t the only issue.
Her hands, trapped inside elegant white gloves reaching up to her forearms, felt constantly damp with sweat, and her feet in high heels hurt so much that even a short walk felt like her toes might break.
Even the low neckline revealing her neck and collarbone kept bothering her.
“Just endure it for today. These days, people don’t really dress this formally unless it’s a big event like a banquet.”
“Still…”
“Come on, let’s go in! You haven’t tried the mixed liquor I made yet, right? Big sister will show you a fun time today! Just don’t end up like last time and lose your mind completely!”
Before Julia could resist, Lily grabbed her and dragged her into the center of the banquet hall.
They pushed through the crowd until they reached a table where familiar faces were already gathered.
As soon as they arrived, Evan poured a deep red liquid into the empty glasses in front of them.
“Since you arrived late, let’s start with a drink, ladies and gentlemen.”
Evan bowed like a butler, bringing his right arm to his chest, and Lily chuckled.
“You’re the one who came early, Evan. You used to be late all the time at school, but you only become punctual for things like this.”
“Lily, you don’t understand. This is exactly when you need to arrive early.”
“Unbelievable…”
Lily immediately sat down and downed the drink Evan poured for her in one go.
As expected from the academy’s best drinker, she didn’t even blink after gulping down such strong alcohol on an empty stomach.
On the other hand, Julia was very weak with alcohol.
She pulled a small bottle from her handbag.
“What’s that, Julia?”
“Um… a hangover cure…?”
“Yeah, you definitely need that. Don’t drink too much today.”
“Julia! But what exactly is your drinking habit? I’ve heard it’s pretty famous.”
Daisy, sitting next to Evan, suddenly joined in.
“Ah, Daisy, you’ve never seen Julia drunk before?”
“No! Actually, Julia only studied all the time, she didn’t really drink much, right?”
“True… except for one time. Lily’s 20th birthday party.”
Evan lowered his voice as if sharing some huge secret.
“You two are talking about me right in front of me…”
Julia glared playfully at them, then opened the bottle and drank it in one go.
“Daisy, you’ll get to see Julia’s drinking habit today. I think you’ll see it for yourself.”
“No, I’m really going to control myself today.”
“Sure, sure.”
Teased by her friends, Julia sighed and handed the remaining bottle to Jerome.
Jerome met her eyes and drank the medicine with a faint smile.
He has a strong tolerance, so I don’t need to worry about him. I should worry about myself…!
With a mix of excitement and nervousness, Julia lifted her glass.
The alcohol of this world was slightly different from the one from her previous life.
It felt… lighter, somehow? Almost like it contained a mild stimulant effect.
She had heard that in the Tritan Empire, magical stone tools were used in alcohol production.
Apparently, some people were naturally resistant to magic, and Julia might be one of those rare cases, which explained why alcohol affected her so strongly.
She brought the glass to her nose and inhaled.
A sweet grape aroma mixed with a sharp alcoholic scent filled her senses.
“Is this like wine?”
She muttered and slowly tilted the glass, letting the red liquid flow into her mouth.
A refreshing yet slightly bitter taste lingered before smoothly flowing down her throat.
The fruity aftertaste spread through her nose, creating a pleasant sensation.
“It’s good…”
“Hey, Julia’s glass is empty! Try this too!”
Lily quickly refilled her glass with a blue liquid.
“What is this? The color is unusual.”
“I just made this mixed liquor! No one has ever said it tastes bad.”
Gaining confidence from the first drink, Julia quickly downed the blue drink.
“Ghh!”
“What kind of person drinks alcohol like it’s hot soup?”
A warm rush of alcohol spread from her throat down to her stomach.
Ah… it had been so long since she felt this sensation…! So exhilarating!
Excited, Julia began drinking one glass after another.
Carbonated drinks, fermented alcohol, distilled liquor, whiskey, and even Lily’s carefully mixed creations…
“It’s so good!”
With each emptied glass, her mood seemed to float higher and higher.
“Uru… li… a… you’re drinking… too much…”
At that moment, Jerome, sitting next to her, grabbed her hand as she reached for yet another drink.
When she turned to look at him, his cheeks were also slightly flushed, and he was watching her with concern.
