Chapter 32

"Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?"

As night fell, when Jesalde visited Lili's room, he immediately asked her this question.

Lili, not understanding what he meant, tilted her head, and Jesalde scrutinized her from head to toe as if checking her condition.

"I heard you attended the Duchess of Bardin's tea party today..."

"Yes, that's right. The Duchess and everyone else welcomed me warmly, and I had a wonderful time."

"I see... But you left early, didn't you? You should rest well today."

"Huh? But I took a nap this afternoon..."

Lili smiled and replied, but Jesalde, not convinced, turned to leave.

Lili hurriedly tried to deny it, but her argument lacked persuasiveness.

Her attempt to appear frail had failed.

"Ah, wait, I have a request!"

"...What is it?"

Jesalde, who was about to return to his room, was called back by Lili, though she hadn't really been thinking of anything specific.

She just didn't want him to leave.

But then, Lili, who had just come up with an idea, smiled.

"Tomorrow... or the day after, I would like to have lunch or dinner with you."

"Is that your request?"

"No, I'll make my request then."

At Lili's words, Jesalde's expression became displeased, as it had when they first met.

"Why don't you say it now?"

"One of the former maids of the Empress said that it's taboo to make requests to your husband in the bedroom. It can lead to the downfall of a nation."

"...So, you plan to say it during the day?"

"Yes."

Lili was right; history had many examples of foolish kings who were swayed by the sweet words of their favorite concubines and led their countries to ruin.

"...Then, I'll arrange for us to have lunch together tomorrow."

"Understood. Thank you."

"Ah."

Seeing Lili's face light up at his response, Jesalde almost smiled but quickly composed himself.

He didn't want to become one of those foolish kings.

Perhaps her strange behavior until now was to put him off guard.

As he thought this, Jesalde heard Lili's bright voice.

"Good night."

However, Jesalde only nodded lightly at the smiling Lili and returned to his room.

Watching his back, Lili realized she had made a big mistake.

(Maybe I shouldn't have made that request...)

It was too late to regret it, but it had slipped out of her mouth in the moment.

She could only meet Jesalde at night, and if they could meet during the day, she could make her request, which she had been thinking about since yesterday, and it would be a two-for-one deal.

(Well, it's fine. What's done is done. I'll stick to my guns! I'll be stubborn!)

Lili stood alone in her bedroom, raising her fist.

But feeling somewhat empty, she lowered her fist and sighed.

(Ah, well. Even though I brought this upon myself, it looks like it's not happening today...)

She walked dejectedly to her bed and dove in, hoping to distract herself.

But her mood didn't improve at all.

Not only had her frail act backfired, but she had just told Jesalde the night before that he didn't need to go out of his way for her.

(This means that Jed was compromising for me, doesn't it...)

Thinking this made her feel down, and no matter how many times she rolled around on the bed, her mood only sank further.

Unable to bear it, Lili got up and noticed the wine on the low table.

There was even some apple wine today.

(Well, in that case, I'll just... Yes, I'll drink to forget!)

Determined, Lili, for the first time in her life, practiced binge drinking.

In other words, she drank an entire bottle of apple wine, more than she had ever drunk before.

Then, swaying unsteadily, she returned to her bed and collapsed.

She apparently fell asleep as if losing consciousness.

When Lili opened her eyes next, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.

She realized it was a dream.

(My head hurts... and I feel sick. This must be a lucid dream...)

Despite feeling worse than usual, Lili moved around, hoping to find some information.

(What? Could this be the place I visited a little while ago?)

Enduring her headache, she looked around and recognized the clothing of the people and the buildings, confirming it was a place she had visited recently.

However, it seemed to be a different area from before.

As she swayed and moved her gaze, she saw several plumes of smoke rising from the foot of a mountain.

(Could it be... a forest fire? No, that's impossible. Maybe they're cooking something delicious.)

The moment she thought this, she found herself inside an unfamiliar building.

Though she was used to this, the scene before her eyes surprised her.

A row of white vessels was neatly arranged on a shelf.

They looked like Shana's, but they were plain and unadorned.

Outside the building, she could see a simple shed with a large pile of firewood.

Next to it, there was another building where she sensed people, and she moved toward it.

She was stunned by what she saw.

(What is this? Because... this is... No, it's disgusting!)

Lili suddenly opened her eyes and, feeling extremely ill, rushed to the bathroom.

Moving so quickly after just waking up was difficult, but she managed to reach it and vomited.

It seemed she had a hangover.

After such a terrible experience, Lili regretted and vowed never to binge drink again.