Watching Ridden’s expression, Ben carefully added,
“…The two of them get along well with everyone. They’re also well-liked among the servants.”
“Of course they are.”
They say ordinary people are naturally drawn to those who are different from themselves, but that wasn’t the case at all.
I was afraid of people who were different from me.
I could never tell what they were thinking. Since they thought differently from me, I could never understand what was going on inside their heads.
“Please treat them a little more generously. I heard their probationary period was much shorter than that of the other servants, and that this is their first time working as attendants.”
“Even so, it’s strange that they have no intention of quitting.”
Ridden tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest.
For someone who had snuck in, he was far too incompetent, yet for someone who intended to stay here without any particular purpose, he was suspicious.
He was strange, and different from everyone else here.
Perhaps that difference was exactly what made him seem so strange.
When I entered the Duke’s room after being summoned by him, the table was already covered with whiskey, two glasses, fruits and cheese to accompany the drinks, and various other snacks.
Was someone coming over as a guest?
But Mr. Henry hadn’t told me anything about it.
While I was busily trying to figure out who this mysterious late-night guest might be, Ridden poured whiskey into a glass filled with ice.
Then he tilted his head toward me.
“Sit.”
“…You mean me?”
Apparently, I was the drinking companion I hadn’t known he was looking for.
“Didn’t you say last time that you’re good at listening to people?”
Ridden silently lifted his glass and swallowed the whiskey.
His Adam’s apple moved as he drank, and drops of liquor that he hadn’t wiped away trickled down the line of his neck.
But it didn’t seem like Ridden was actually planning to tell me about himself.
Unless he was planning to challenge me to some ridiculous drinking game.
He looked strangely intimidating, but I was fine.
I could hold my liquor fairly well myself.
“Then, if you don’t mind…”
Besides, I could drink expensive liquor without worrying about the cost, so for me, this was practically a feast.
I sat politely on the sofa across from Ridden.
The moment I sat down, Ridden poured whiskey into a glass filled with ice and handed it to me.
The liquor, slightly darker than my hair, flowed into the glass with a soft trickling sound.
Once he thought he had poured enough, Ridden straightened the bottle.
“Drink.”
The moment he said that, he immediately brought his own glass to his lips, which made me flinch slightly.
“…But aren’t we going to make a toast?”
Ridden paused at my question.
Then he let out a disbelieving chuckle.
“You bring yours over.”
If I interpreted that correctly, he was telling me to make a toast.
But Ridden had no intention of moving the glass near his lips toward me.
Judging by the amusement lingering on that handsome face, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.
I hesitated for a moment before suddenly standing up.
I leaned my upper body toward him and stretched out my arm.
Ridden simply moved the glass he was holding even farther away.
“……”
Speechless, I opened and closed my mouth.
Ridden lightly shrugged and took another sip of whiskey.
“You’re too late, Charles.”
Then he raised the corners of his lips in an annoyingly smug smile.
If Abel had acted like that, I would have punched him already.
Pretending nothing was wrong, I forced a smile and dropped back onto the sofa.
I had no idea why he kept calling me Charles.
Feeling strangely uneasy, I immediately poured the liquor into my mouth.
After drinking nothing but cheap beer every day, the expensive liquor felt completely different going down.
I quickly popped a blueberry into my mouth.
“You drink well.”
Ridden said that with a satisfied expression and refilled my glass even though I hadn’t finished it yet.
Meanwhile, he emptied his own glass completely.
He was drinking much faster than I had expected.
By this point, I was beginning to feel uneasy.
I didn’t even know what Ridden was like when he got drunk, and drinking with him suddenly seemed a little dangerous.
Considering what he was normally like, I couldn’t imagine his drunken behavior being ordinary.
“…Aren’t you drinking a little too quickly?”
“You should be worrying about yourself, not me.”
Ridden wiped the liquor from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Then he tilted his head toward my full glass.
“……”
“……”
“Oh, is it my turn?”
Ridden answered simply by staring at me.
I cautiously watched his expression, took a small sip, and set the glass down again.
But when I saw his intense gaze, I panicked and immediately drank about half of it.
No sooner had I done so than Ridden refilled my glass.
Then he took another drink.
In an instant, it was my turn again.
Fortunately, Ridden, who had been drinking like he was preparing for battle, finally spoke.
“I heard the Marquess’s daughter lost her memories.”
“Yes.”
The sudden mention of Isis made me feel a little gloomy.
“Were you close to her?”
At his question, I cautiously nodded.
Ridden murmured as though it were something new to him.
“When I saw her before, she didn’t seem to have a particularly pleasant personality. I guess she’s actually quite kind beneath the surface?”
“……”
It was true that Isis was kinder than she appeared, but I kept my mouth firmly shut at Ridden’s question.
The last thing I wanted was for Ridden to take an interest in Isis.
Fortunately, Ridden didn’t bring her up again.
One glass, two glasses, three…
The number of empty glasses continued to increase.
Ridden continued drinking with me, yet he looked completely composed as he watched me.
The problem was that I was beginning to reach my limit.
That’s why, no matter how well you could drink, you should never become overconfident.
If I lost control of myself and accidentally revealed my real name, it would be disastrous.
To sober up even a little, I took a few ice cubes from the ice bucket and put them in my mouth.
Meanwhile, Ridden drank another glass and then tilted his head toward me, signaling that I should drink.
Ridden himself was frightening, but the glass filled with liquor was just as terrifying.
Though perhaps it was more accurate to say that I was afraid of the consequences tomorrow rather than the glass itself.
I couldn’t bring myself to pick it up and simply watched Ridden nervously.
But the look in Ridden’s eyes was unwavering.
Still, I was truly at my limit.
After thinking for a brief moment, I closed my eyes and slumped over to the left.
I figured it would be better to pretend I had passed out from being drunk.
“……”
With my eyes closed, I heard the ice in Ridden’s glass clinking as he swirled it around.
Soon, I heard the clattering of ice again, followed by the sound of liquor going down his throat.
Since he wasn’t saying anything, it seemed he had no intention of waking me.
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be even better if he simply called another servant and had them take me away like this.
Ridden placed his glass on the table.
Then I heard him stand up.
Just as I wondered if he was going to bed, the sound of his footsteps slowly approached me.
My heart began pounding wildly with anxiety.
He wasn’t going to pour liquor into my mouth while I was pretending to be unconscious, was he?
If I drank any more, tomorrow morning would definitely be miserable.
I liked drinking, but I could definitely do without the hangover.
I had to work tomorrow too.
And it wasn’t just me—Ridden had to work tomorrow as well!
Then I heard the plates on the table being pushed together.
With my eyes closed, the sound almost resembled someone smashing all the plates to pieces.
Was he angry?
Just listening to the noise made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Feeling as though even the back of my head was sweating, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“How long are you going to keep doing that?”
Ridden’s cold voice pierced my ears.
I was terrified, but I stubbornly continued pretending to sleep.
“…This is troublesome.”
Right? It’s troublesome for you too, isn’t it?
So let’s just stop now.
“Do I have to put something in my hand before you’ll finally come to your senses…?”
Whatever he was about to pick up certainly wasn’t going to be a drinking glass.
Having finally decided to come to my senses, I stretched and sat up gracefully.
“Yaaawn. I slept well.”
I even yawned as though I had just woken up.
Yet Ridden didn’t even blink.
He simply began pouring whiskey into my empty glass.
Then he forcibly placed the cold glass into my hand.
I looked back and forth between the glass in my hand and Ridden’s face before cautiously asking,
“…Can we stop drinking now?”
Even though I looked at Ridden pleadingly, he simply met my gaze with an unchanged smile.
Haha… this is crazy.
In the end, I squeezed my eyes shut and drank the liquor.
I was truly at my limit.
Really, really, really—I couldn’t drink any more.
To clear my head even a little, I picked up some ice from the water glass and put it back into my mouth.
But my mind was still hazy.
Ridden naturally took the water glass from my hand.
Then he placed a glass of liquor into my now-empty hand.
“No… It’s Your Grace’s turn to drink this time.”
Seeing Ridden’s slightly loosened expression, I felt a little hopeful.
Because, obviously, the Duke was drunk.
If he drank any more, tomorrow would be difficult for him too.
So I hoped he might finally suggest that we stop drinking at this point.
“Ah, right.”
But Ridden simply drank as casually as ever.
‘There’s no way he isn’t drunk…’
I was a fairly strong drinker, and I had never met anyone who could drink better than me.
Besides, Ridden hadn’t spilled a single drop of liquor throughout the entire time we’d been drinking.
But now, liquor that he hadn’t managed to swallow was trickling down the line of his neck.
As a result, his white robe was gradually becoming soaked.
Ridden wiped his mouth with his hand, picked up a grape, and popped it into his mouth.
Then, contrary to my expectations, he shamelessly said,
“What are you doing? Drink.”
“……”
At his words, I forced a smile and poured the liquor in my hand into my mouth.
When I set the glass down with my face scrunched up from the strong taste, he popped a grape directly into my mouth.
“Grateful?”
Resting his chin on one hand, he stared intently at me, who was drunk.
Then he reached out and gently fiddled with my cheek.
