IRER 62

Chapter 62

Her Drunken Habit

“The second toast, let’s raise it for our lady.”

At Connie’s solemn voice, everyone nodded deeply and turned their gaze toward Brody.

Suddenly becoming the focus of attention, Brody had to fight hard against a rising hiccup, the alcohol rushing to her head.

“To the one who was the beginning of it all, who sought the most precious thing, and who gave us an unimaginable future.”

In the candlelight, people’s eyes began to shimmer like tiny flickering stars.

Brody found herself short of breath, barely able to continue breathing.

Huh? What is this? This weird feeling again. Is it just the alcohol? No… this feels like what I felt earlier…

Her heart started racing.

“With gratitude for our Lady Bree—cheers!”

“Thank you!”

“Waaaaah! Cheers! Cheers!”

“Thank you so much!”

Overwhelmed by the people’s waterfall of thanks, Brody couldn’t stop herself and downed her second glass in one shot.

And that—

That was why she was now staggering, barely standing at the entrance of the banquet hall.

“No waaay, I’m suuuuper strong with alcohol, you know. I can totally hold my drink…”

“Whether you can or not, please just take our lady.”

As expected, Connie—drunk herself—was half carrying Brody as she delivered her to Aidan.

Aidan was utterly taken aback.

He had never seen anyone this drunk, shouting so loudly right in front of him.

And yet here she was—the (unofficial, but still) Archduchess—dragged along and practically dumped into his arms.

But more than anything, it was Brody herself, completely soaked in alcohol, that unsettled him.

Connie asked, slurring,

“Ah, but, uh… what brings you here, Your Grace?”

From her slurred tone, she had definitely had more than a few drinks.

“From what I saw, the men’s side over there is still having quite the drinking party, isn’t it?”

She blinked toward the building where the men were gathered, then turned back to Aidan.

Judging by the noise, that feast was still far from over.

Aidan didn’t answer—just adjusted Brody in his arms and began to turn away.

But Connie’s giggling voice stopped him.

“No waaay! Your Grace, did you come to spy on our lady?”

The word spy carried a mischievous twist. Those upturned eyes… she was definitely teasing him.

“……”

Aidan couldn’t reply.

First, because he had never in his life been teased like this before—it was utterly foreign to him.

Second, because he couldn’t deny her words.

It wasn’t “spying”—technically it was “guarding.”

After Brody had been dragged into the dark, and that sudden explosive bang rang out, he had barely restrained himself from breaking down the door.

Still, whether guarding or spying, it wasn’t exactly a dignified look for an Archduke to tail after his wife.

But it wasn’t that he worried about being called a “wife-lover” or “henpecked husband.”

More than that… he had a feeling Brody herself would dislike it.

So, after all his tangled thoughts, the only words that came out of his mouth were:

“Don’t tell anyone I was here.”

“Ahahahaha!”

His cautious reply was immediately swallowed up by Connie’s cheerful laughter.

She waved her hand.

“Ah, Your Grace, so it was true after all. I was just joking, but you really did come because you wanted to see our lady. Hahaha!”

“……”

Aidan was left speechless.

To dare joke so casually with the terrifying “Icewall Archduke”…

Connie looked ordinary, not particularly outstanding in any way. So why was she so bold?

Aidan’s face stiffened with fluster—without meaning to, he looked frightening.

His headache made him frown even more.

Connie, who had been laughing boisterously as if she’d hit a soldier’s back in jest, suddenly froze.

She had seen Aidan’s face.

Abruptly cutting off her laughter, she began to hiccup.

Hic. Hi–hic.

Seeing her finally react like any normal person would, Aidan strangely felt relieved.

Yes, this is the usual reaction.

Connie quickly wiped her mouth, glancing nervously at him.

“Ah… I’m sobering up. Forgive me, Your Grace. I must have felt overly familiar because I’d been laughing and talking with our lady just now.”

She bowed her head.

But it felt more like smoothing over a mistake, not like cowering in fear.

And then Aidan realized:

Ah, of course. It was because Brody was beside me.

With her around, he had been experiencing relationships he never had before.

But it wasn’t just limited to her.

The people he’d met in the south, Latua and Adonia, Teddy and the northerners too.

Was it just because his headache eased, because he wasn’t frowning so much?

He couldn’t tell whether he had changed, or whether others reacted differently. But one thing was clear:

Ever since being with Brody, so much had changed.

Whether she changed his behavior, or her presence lowered the walls of others…

Connie bowed again, this time with gravity in her voice.

“Please take good care of her, Your Grace. Our lady is truly a wonderful person.”

Without hesitation, Aidan nodded.

Seeing this, Connie finally smiled again, reassured.

❖ ❖ ❖

After sending Connie away, Aidan slowly walked through the potato fields.

Memories stirred—walking this same field with Brody just before marching to Fort Ferdan.

The weather now was colder, the green leaves replaced by snow.

But the moonlight still shone softly, just as before.

Brody was fast asleep in his arms, breathing gently.

Her tousled, wheat-colored hair shimmered under the silver moonlight.

“Grant me just one wish.”

He remembered her bright smile from that day.

And how foolish he had been, promising to grant anything, without knowing what she’d ask.

When she wished for freedom after the war, he had said, “Of course—you’re not a prisoner, but the Archduchess.”

Looking back now, her expression then had been… complicated.

She must have been utterly dumbfounded.

What arrogance, to assume she would be happy to be his wife.

He shook his head with a sigh.

No… I was sure she liked me too.

The breath they shared in bed—that couldn’t be faked.

At least, not for Aidan. He wasn’t the kind of man who could pretend that.

And she did say she liked me…

My body and face?

He gave a bitter smile.

But he now understood: even if someone liked you, it didn’t mean they wanted to stay by your side.

Especially in noble families, where marriages were mere contracts.

As the Archduke of the North, he too would have had to marry for alliance.

So he knew well that heart and duty didn’t always align.

“I was greedy for both… foolishly.”

His quiet murmur vanished into the frosty air.

“What was greedy?”

Startled, Aidan flinched.

Brody was awake, looking up at him.

“Ehehehe.”

And smiling—radiantly, dazzlingly.

Aidan stared at her, struck dumb.

With the moonlight and her fluttering hair, she looked almost unreal—like a dream.

Why would she smile at him like this?

Just this morning, they could barely even talk without awkwardness.

And that was his fault. From their wedding night to the night he met Kalihiel…

He seemed to know no way to protect her without hurting her.

“What was it? What were you greedy for?”

She asked again.

“Are you… sober now?”

He dodged the question.

But she didn’t notice—answered cheerfully instead.

“Of course! I told you, I wasn’t drunk, hehe.”

Her breath carried a sweet scent of fruit wine.

Claiming she wasn’t drunk was the surest proof that she was.

“Are you cold?”

“No, not at all. Maybe I’m becoming a northerner too.”

“……”

Definitely drunk—if she claimed she wasn’t cold.

Watching her smiling face, Aidan thought,

So… her drunken habit is… smiling?

Since she rarely smiled, the sight felt unfamiliar.

Then suddenly, her face filled his vision.

Her cool hands wrapped around his neck, pulling herself up.

Soft warmth brushed against his lips.

Her tender lips coaxed his frozen ones.

Unable to resist, Aidan returned her deep kiss.

As she clung to him, his cloak slid off her shoulders and dropped to the ground.

The thud snapped him back to his senses.

“Ugh.”

He tore himself away.

Was this revenge? Payback for their wedding night?

His heart pounded painfully with every kiss, every separation.

But Brody, cheeks flushed, simply smiled.

Her hands moved from his neck to his face, fingers tracing his features—then brushing over his furrowed brow.

“You frown too much. Relax a little…”

“……”

Aidan was dumbfounded.

Did she think kissing him would ease his frown?

Did she know how weak he was to her?

When he gave her a helpless look, she tilted her head with a smile, as if asking, See? Isn’t that better?

And Aidan couldn’t help but chuckle.

Strangely enough, his headache seemed to have eased.

Maybe it really was her—her presence soothing his mind, lifting the pain.

So one kiss really does relax my frown… I must be hopeless.

Brody, satisfied, gave him a quick peck before twisting out of his arms.

“Put me down now, Your Grace.”

“Ah…”

Before he could react, she had hopped out of his arms, picked up his cloak from the snow, shook it off, and draped it over her shoulders.

Then she marched forward.

Well—“marched” was generous. She staggered, swayed, nearly tripping every few steps.

His oversized cloak dragged in the snow behind her.

He didn’t even have time to miss her warmth—he had to focus entirely on keeping her from falling.

She even began humming.

“Into the… annnon? …something, something…”

Some strange lyrics drifted out. Was it a new song popular in the capital?

He had never heard it before, but her joy was unmistakable.