CHAPTER 108………………………………………………
“Have you been drinking a lot?”
“More or less.”
“Then would you like to have a drink with me?”
Giovanni frowned.
“You just said drinking too much is bad for the body.”
“I only had one drink. Kichep drank a lot.”
I said it without even blinking.
Tyline swished her tail left and right.
「She lies so smoothly, it’s impressive.」
Giovanni, who told us to wait a moment, soon returned with several bottles of alcohol. Among them was the Falke that Kichep had brought.
“Ugh…”
Avoiding the foul-smelling Falke, I picked a similar-looking white liquor instead.
“Oh, this is airag, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
This drink, which I had also had in the Garche tribe’s chiefdom, was made by fermenting sheep’s milk and was relatively mild for alcohol.
It was not strong, so even children and women often drank it.
He poured a clear liquid into the airag.
“If you want to enjoy the taste of alcohol, you can add strong spirits.”
After drinking airag mixed with strong liquor, the alcohol flavor hit much more sharply.
“Ah…”
I took another sip.
“It’s a bit cloudy, but it’s drinkable.”
“The water here isn’t good. Want something else?”
“No, this is fine.”
Glug, glug.
I finished the glass cleanly and set it down.
“Is it alright?”
“It’s good.”
He pushed some dried meat toward me and raised the corner of his mouth.
“It suits the desert. There isn’t a single desert dweller who isn’t a drinker.”
“What about you, Your Highness? Do you drink well?”
At my slightly provocative question, Giovanni smirked and emptied his cup. He drank just as effortlessly as if it were water.
After each of us emptied another cup, I could feel a slight buzz rising.
“The moon is bright.”
I turned my gaze out the window. A yellow moon was rising.
Unlike the desert sun, which was hotter than elsewhere, the moon was just as I knew it.
“Your Highness.”
His gaze, which had been directed outside, turned to me.
Those emotionless eyes, as calm as if the sky could collapse without disturbing them.
I wanted to make him smile.
More precisely, I wanted to make him feel happiness.
I couldn’t help but think of the guardians who had fought alongside us a thousand years ago.
But Giovanni in the Empire didn’t seem happier than when he was in the kingdom.
He used to laugh so freely in the central temple filled with water.
His brothers tried to suppress him, and the chiefs were always ready to strike him down at any opportunity.
Perhaps that was why I kept worrying about him.
[If it is an unbreakable prophecy, shouldn’t he become emperor even without doing anything?]
He had said that back then.
“Do you want to become emperor?”
“……”
“Do you want the throne?”
It might have been a ridiculous question. A mere priest from a foreign kingdom daring to speak of the imperial throne.
If Giovanni laughed at me, I would feel a bit embarrassed.
But he only looked at me with gentle eyes.
As if I were cute for asking such a thing.
‘No, I just have confidence I can make you emperor.’
Just as I was about to look away in embarrassment—
“Does my answer matter?”
I paused, then nodded.
“If it does, I’ll try my best.”
A faint smile appeared on Giovanni’s lips.
“Then I’ll become a true golden lifeline.”
“You still remember that?”
I muttered shyly, and he let out a small laugh. That quiet, almost lonely sound was pleasant, so I simply watched him.
“Well, I’m not sure.”
“Isn’t it something everyone wants?”
“To ‘become’ and to ‘want’ are different things.”
Giovanni’s eyes darkened slightly.
“I’ve never wanted it. The throne.”
I drained the drink in front of me in one go. There must have been a lot of strong liquor in it—my throat tingled painfully.
As I frowned, dried meat was pushed into my open mouth.
Holding the jerky in his hand, Giovanni clicked his tongue.
“You’ll ruin your stomach.”
As I chewed, the salty, savory meat spread pleasantly in my mouth.
“Then what do you want, Your Highness?”
He did not answer.
I had expected that, so I nodded. Somehow, I felt sad.
As if having nothing you want meant you had never been happy.
“Your Highness only has responsibility. And responsibility for others.”
“……”
Resting my chin on my clenched fist, I fell silent. When I fixed my gaze on him, Giovanni looked slightly awkward.
“What are you doing?”
“Thinking.”
“……”
“How to make you have desire.”
Desire is a human instinct and driving force. Desire for life, for food, for time with friends, for happiness.
I stared at his ascetic face, and Giovanni’s lips curled faintly.
Maybe he was already motivated by my words…
“You’re drunk.”
“I’m not?”
“You are.”
He shook his head.
“If you weren’t, don’t talk to me like that.”
“Huh?”
When I blinked in confusion, he muttered like a sigh.
“It sounds like you’re telling me to develop sexual desire.”
My body froze completely.
“That’s not what I meant…”
Seeing the amusement in Giovanni’s eyes, I lowered my gaze to the cup. My face burned.
「Was that intentional?」
‘Shut up.’
The humid air of a rainy day and Kichep’s voice saying the prince had no experience tangled in my mind.
「Your face is red.」
Ignoring Tyline, I covered my face with the cup.
And an hour passed.
“I really, really want you to succeed, Your Highness.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because your success is my success. That’s what a shared destiny is.”
I rambled on while glancing at Giovanni.
Despite drinking quite a lot and talking endlessly, he remained perfectly upright and unfazed.
I inwardly clicked my tongue.
I wanted to read his thoughts, but instead mine were being exposed.
“Why do you want to succeed?”
Even his voice was steady.
“Isn’t it obvious? Because I want to be happy.”
Meanwhile, I held back the rising intoxication and replied.
‘Can I purify drunkenness too?’
As I had that strange thought, Giovanni’s voice slipped into my ears.
“Becoming emperor doesn’t guarantee happiness.”
I let out a small laugh.
“It’s happier than living while constantly being pushed around by superiors. Pushed around? If you mess up, it’s—”
I made a cutting motion across my neck.
“It’s better than that.”
“……”
“I want you to be happy too, Your Highness. Don’t you find it annoying that people keep ordering you around and putting you down, no matter how much you ignore it?”
Honestly, it was me who found it annoying.
How dare they treat my guardian like that.
“If you become emperor, you can ignore all of them.”
“Are you telling me to become a tyrant?”
“If you’re going to be emperor, how is that tyrant talk?”
“What do you mean?”
Looking at him with heavy eyelids, I said:
“First of all, you’re not that kind of person.”
“……”
“And most importantly, I’m here, aren’t I?”
I smiled brightly.
Giovanni stared at me for a moment, then spoke.
“You’re quite skilled at flattery.”
Startled.
He had seen through my strategy of praising him while subtly promoting myself.
“It’s sincere.”
My voice became slightly timid.
“Still…”
“……”
“That was the nicest thing I’ve heard among all the things people say about becoming Kan.”
Giovanni emptied his cup.
His eyelids drooped, then lifted again as drunkenness finally began to show.
“But a lot of blood will be shed. Lordrakki will not step down easily.”
“Your Highness.”
I suddenly stood and went to his side.
As I refilled his empty cup, a low laugh came from above my head.
“How much do you plan to make me drink?”
“You really aren’t getting drunk.”
I shook my head and sat down heavily beside him, lowering my head.
“Your Highness…”
“I’m drunk. Stop drinking.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“What?”
I looked up at him with strength in my neck.
Those deep eyes, with no visible bottom—what on earth was he thinking so deeply about?
“Desert people are simple. Think simply.”
“……”
“Even if you don’t act, blood will be shed anyway. Do you think your loyal Kichep will step down peacefully? Or the other chiefs? Blood will flow regardless.”
“……”
“If you’re worried about that, then end the struggle for the throne quickly.”
What was he thinking?
He looked at me silently, desert blood clearly visible in his expression.
The lineage of those who once helped us. My guardians.
Giovanni’s eyes widened.
I touched his cheek and temple gently.
I wanted to give this man—who seemed dependable and strong, yet not truly happy—intense joy and passion.
And if not that, then at least a little comfort.
‘I’ve never made it rain in such a small space before.’
As Tyline said, I am the closest being to nature among all living things. What couldn’t I do?
I set the space and boundaries in my mind.
Above us.
Words flowed from my lips:
<Let a light, warm rain fall upon an frozen heart. Soak heavy shoulders in joy. Warm cold hands and feet, and lighten the burdened soul.>
As the whisper faded, a soft rain began to fall above us.
Like steam rising from hot water—soft, moist, and ticklishly warm.
The rain existed only within the space that enclosed just the two of us.
The bookshelf filled with books, Giovanni, and I—this place felt like a separate world.
Giovanni never once took his eyes off me.
I whispered gently into his quietly observing gaze.
“I came here believing in you, Your Highness.”
“……”
“I have no intention of living for anyone else.”
Our eyes met.
“You can do anything. I believe in you.”
“……”
“Anything you want.”
For the descendants of the guardians who once helped me in this life too.
It was my sincere, unwavering truth.
