Chapter 36: The Drinking Party

Bang!

“Phew!”

While Isaac and Rihanna were taking turns showering, Silverna was busy downing beers at the tavern set up for the soldiers inside the castle.

“What is this? Why does it taste so good today?”

“Miss, you said you were tired.”

Anna, who was keeping Silverna company, sighed but still ordered another glass of beer. Even though she was worried, she understood Silverna well enough not to outright ban her from drinking.

“Hey, barkeep, did you mix honey in here tonight?”

“How could I afford to put something that expensive in beer, miss?”

“Seriously, why is it so tasty?”

‘She’s already getting tipsy.’

Silverna leaned over the table and let out a long sigh. Anna had decided, at least for tonight, to hear her out, every last grumble she spilled from those reddened cheeks.

‘Maybe this is for the best.’

She knew Silverna was still hanging on—those kinds of feelings don’t just vanish so easily. If it were something simple, she wouldn’t have struggled so much in the first place.

But now that Rihanna Helmut was here…

This was a good chance to cut off those lingering emotions once and for all.

“My father used to say, ‘If life is bitter, then liquor tastes sweet.’ Is that why it’s so good tonight?”

“You just wanted to say that line, so you’ve been going on about how sweet it is, haven’t you?”

“…….”

Silverna silently lifted her empty beer mug, but realizing it was already drained, she set it back down with a disappointed smack of her lips. Just then, the beer Anna ordered arrived, and Silverna started gulping it down like water.

“It’s all right, miss.”

Anna patted her back, trying to console her.

“You were never going to get anywhere with that man, right? It’s better to have clarity like this than to torture yourself for nothing.”

“You make it sound so simple!”

‘She’s definitely drunk.’

If she were her usual self, Silverna would’ve just brushed it off to keep her pride.

“Anna, have you ever felt like this? Tell me! Have you?!”

“Why are you picking a fight with me?! And for your information, I’m a romance expert!”

Silverna’s jaw practically dropped.

“What?! You’ve been in a relationship? But you’re always complaining about being busy cleaning up after me—so you’ve been doing all that behind my back?!”

“No matter how busy I get, I still maintain my personal life. You told me to do that yourself, remember?”

“I told you to have a private life, not secretly go around sucking face behind my back!”

Thud!

Silverna slammed her beer mug on the table. The tavern owner froze in place but, not wanting to meddle, acted like he’d seen nothing.

“Sucking face? Do you have to put it so crudely…?”

“Crude? You’re the crude one, Anna!”

This was crazy. If she weren’t her mistress, Anna might have smacked her upside the head right then and there.

“Huu… Anyway, I haven’t actually dated anyone.”

“…Huh?”

“You know…romance novels? The merchant I’m friendly with in the capital gets them for me. I’ve just read a lot of them.”

Anna scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed, and Silverna let out a little snort.

“Seriously? And you call yourself an expert? You’re no different than me.”

“At least I’m not pining after a married man.”

“…….”

Silverna clamped her mouth shut. Seeing her face start to crumple, Anna hurriedly patted her shoulder again.

“Oh, come on! I’m sorry. I guess that was harsh. Don’t take it to heart. I just got carried away.”

“No, it’s fine…”

Silverna shook her head, steeling herself with a determined look.

“Go on, tell me more.”

“Excuse me?”

“I need to really understand what a bad idea this was—so lay it on me.”

“…Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Despite the drunken haze, the sincerity in Silverna’s voice made Anna pause before speaking up.

“To be honest…”

Gulp.

“They looked amazing together.”

“Ugh!”

Silverna clutched her chest. Hearing something that rang true was more painful than any outlandish remark.

“They’re like a perfect couple, you know? It’s like the gods destined them to be together.”

Cackle.

“They were quite famous in high society for a while, right? A love that transcended their statuses—Helmut nobility and a commoner… It stood out even more because of that, and with both of them being so gorgeous…”

Anna snuck a glance at Silverna.

“You really can’t wedge yourself between them.”

Silverna gritted her teeth so hard that her breathing slipped through the gaps. She guzzled her beer, shoving down whatever she’d wanted to say.

Seeing them like that only proved how crazy she must have been. And it made her worry about one more thing…

“Hey, Anna.”

“Should I stop?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Silverna beckoned Anna closer to whisper in her ear.

“…Are you out of your mind?”

Anna stiffened in shock as she heard what Silverna said.

“You’re going to melt down your spear? That spear? And give it as a gift?”

Silverna’s spear, forged from the rare frostsilver Ore—an iconic mineral representing Caldias. A one-of-a-kind weapon.

And she was planning to melt it down and craft some new weapon to give to the Helmut family’s ‘son-in-law’?

“W-Well… Isaac is putting in so much effort. I thought I should at least help a little…”

Silverna wriggled her fingers and mumbled timidly.

Anna smacked herself on the forehead, groaning in a voice of utter despair.

“By now, they’ve probably already started working on it, right?”

“P-Probably.”

“And if we go now and ask them to stop, they won’t return it, right?”

“Probably.”

“Right… He is the same person who marched straight up to the Margrave and kicked up a fuss. He won’t just hand it back.”

“Wh-What do I do? Maybe I can just hand it over casually? It won’t look too weird, right?”

“Who wouldn’t find that weird? A sword forged from Frostsilver Ore, crafted by Caldias, being handed over to Helmut.”

“…….”

“And his wife is right there next to him! This is basically a declaration of war!”

Silverna clutched her face with both hands.

“I’m an idiot.”

“No, you’re—”

“Anna…”

“You’re worse than an idiot. Go bigger.”

“…….”

Unable to hold back, Anna suddenly sprang up and started smacking Silverna on the back.

“How could you? Even the most thoughtless person wouldn’t do this! And you go around claiming it’s pure devotion! Saying how you’ve moved on from your regrets—oh, it just makes me angrier!”

“Ack! Ack!Anna! I’m a noble!”

“Fire me then! Go ahead and fire me! Ugh, I’m ready to quit so I don’t have to worry anymore!”

After going at it for a while, Anna plopped back into her seat, nodding as though she’d made up her mind.

“There’s only one way now.”

“What is it?”

“You have to be the one using that weapon.”

“…….”

“That’s all we’ve got. This is a good chance to try a different weapon instead of your spear.”

Silverna let out a sigh, thinking how ridiculous it was, bandanna—who wasn’t entirely serious—was about to drop the subject when:

“By the way…”

She suddenly remembered what Nortemus had mentioned today.

“He said that after seeing Isaac’s sword, the Transcendants claimed it as part of their swordsmanship, right?”

“……That’s correct.”

“He’d never even seen a saber before, and he seemed very knowledgeable about the Transcendants.”

“And about the rituals, too?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s why, starting tomorrow, I’m going to be investigating Rihanna. Father said so.”

Of course, when she said “investigate,” she meant the sort of conversation where the two of them would likely answer questions without trying to hide much.

Given that everything here more or less ran by Uldiran’s discretion, it shouldn’t turn into a major issue.

Just then—

Thud!

The door swung open, and in came a girl with pigtails.

“Barkeep! Hit me with something strong!”

“Oh dear…”

It was Sharen Helmut and her maid, Kelsey—looking completely out of place in the tavern.

Seeing as only Silverna and Anna were there, they obviously caught her eye.

“Huh?”

Naturally, Sharen made a beeline for their table, taking a seat with them.

“You really are out here drinking, huh?”

Silverna let out a hollow laugh as she watched Sharen sit down as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Though they’d started off pretty hostile toward each other, fighting side by side on the battlefield turned them into little more than comrades.

“Do you even drink?”

She only asked because Sharen looked like she’d prefer sweets. But Sharen shrugged as she answered:

“I love booze!”

With that, she exchanged a few words with the tavern owner, then started whipping something up herself.

“Kelsey here makes fantastic drinks. They taste great with snacks!”

“Oh?”

Silverna thought she might ask for a glass, and before she knew it, Kelsey brought one over.

A faintly reddish liquid—nothing like beer.

Sharen took a sip and beamed.

“Mmm! This is delicious! I think I might get drunk quick, considering how exhausting today was!”

“…Could I have a sip?”

“Nope.”

Sharen pouted her lips in a pretend show of stinginess, but then she pushed the glass toward Silverna so she could take a small taste.

Silverna took a little sip.

‘…This is orange juice?’

Confused, she glanced at Kelsey standing behind Sharen. Kelsey just smiled gently, pressing a finger to her lips.

Orange juice and snacks.

Well, that combination did make sense. There was a slight tang, but it clearly wasn’t alcoholic.

“Tasty, right? Kelsey makes it by mixing orange concentrate, kind of like how you’d make wine!”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

Silverna subtly returned the glass. Feeling her mind clear a bit, she let out a small sigh and asked:

“So, why are you here?”

“Because I’m stressed! It’s so annoying when people treat me like an idiot!”

Sharen gulped down her “drink,” raising her voice. She apparently thought she was actually getting drunk.

“What’s bothering you?”

The sudden intrusion wasn’t so bad. It kept them from discussing Silverna’s one-sided love too much.

“It’s Isaac and unnie! They keep telling me the same things over and over—like they think I’m stupid! That pisses me off!”

“Huh?”

“I mean, why would I go around announcing they’re getting divorced? They keep telling me over and over to keep it hush-hush, which is making them look like the dumb ones! It’s driving me nuts!”

“Uh, my lady!?”

Kelsey, who’d been standing behind Sharen, jumped in, panicked. Even though she didn’t know about the divorce, it was obvious to anyone that this was a huge slip of the tongue.

“What? I—”

Sharen, who was about to take another sip, froze in place.

Her red eyes flicked around, catching the expressions on the other two’s faces.

They were both staring, mouths agape.

Rattle. Rattle!

“I’m drunk! Very drunk! I’ll be leaving now! See you tomorrow!”

Sharen shot to her feet, stumbling out in a fluster.

“W-What do I do? Unnie is going to kill me! What do I do?! Kelsey, help meeeee!”

Her frantic voice echoed as she fled the scene.

The two left behind at the tavern table were silent for a long while.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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