AIWTRO Side Story 1
Not long after Keira returned…
Exhausted from her long wanderings, she was lying on her soft bed that day as well.
One thing she learned while traveling was that a soft and comfortable bed like the one in her room was rare. She felt her fatigue fading away just by lying on her bed.
‘Ah…This is heaven…’
Therefore, when she heard that Arthur had visited her, she knew disturbance was inevitable.
Keira, buried in the blanket, turned her head and answered.
Keira: “Sir Arthur? why?”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure it’s good news. He was grinning the whole time.”
Keira: “Hmm?”
Good news Arthur was about to deliver…? Keira had no idea what it was. She headed to the parlor after putting on an overcoat.
And when she checked the face of the ironclad knight, who was sitting at the table and smiling, she immediately noticed what was happening.
She sat in front of Arthur and said.
Keira: “Are we having a drinking party?”
Arthur: “…Wait a moment. I haven’t even said anything yet.”
Keira: “I can tell by the look on your face.”
Arthur: “Hey[1], what do you take me for?”
Keira: “So, am I wrong?”
“…”
At the silence, Arthur awkwardly smiled. As expected, Keira was right.
He loved to play and eat, but it’s also a skill that people didn’t seem to hate.
Arthur: “I guess you’ve learned to mind-read.”
Keira: “I just got to know Arthur better.”
Keira took a sip of the tea the maid had brought her and thought again. Why did he have to come in the morning to talk about partying?
Keira: “Seeing that you came to see me, you must be planning to entice people with the excuse of celebrating my return.”
Arthur: “Heeey[1], you know everything.”
Keira: “If you’re using my name to invite someone… I don’t think it’s His Grace or Sir Joseph, right?”
Arthur: “Your brother, the Young Lord.”
Finally, the main reason came out. Looking serious, Arthur leaned on the table and continued.
Arthur: “As Your Ladyship knows, it’s been a while since the Young Lord came of age.”
Keira: “Right.”
After all, Zeke had his coming-of-age ceremony on the day Cosette appeared. But, as Keira counted her younger brother’s age, she realized something new.
Even when she recalled that name and the events of the day, she didn’t feel anything.
It seemed that the events were now past her.
Leaving behind the unfamiliar feeling, Keira asked Arthur.
Keira: “By the way, what does this have to do with Zeke getting older?”
Arthur: “He’s been an adult for several years, but he still doesn’t know how to drink and how much to drink. All he drank was a few sips of wine at his party. Isn’t that a problem?”
Arthur looked completely serious. To put it more precisely, he was trying to set the tone by looking serious, but Keira pointed out the error in his words.
Keira: “You should just admit that you want to watch an innocent kid get drunk and frolic around.”
Arthur: “No, that’s not…”
Just as he was about to deny her accusation, Arthur trailed off. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again.
Arthur: “Oh, honestly, don’t you want to do something like that, Your Ladyship? I just want to tease upright and exemplary kids.”
It seems that he changed his strategy on the spot. Unfortunately for Arthur, Keira couldn’t agree with his claim.
She timidly replied.
Keira: “No, not really…”
Arthur: “Ah, fine. Let’s say you don’t think that way. But you’re already an adult. If you don’t know how much you can drink, it’s fine to make a mistake somewhere! If a child who has just become an adult makes a mistake, everyone thinks it’s cute, but when they get older, they’re likely to get cursed at!”
“?”
That seemed like a bit of a stretch. Keira thought she had heard something similar a while back, but it seemed like he’d been thinking about it for a long time.
Keira: “Uh… is that so?”
Arthur: “As an older sister, you must correct any mistakes your brother might make.”
Sensing Keira swaying, Arthur spurred on the temptation with well-phrased words.
Keira could almost see a fox tail wagging behind his back. Others would definitely call him a smooth talker[2].
He had a knack for making things appealing to the ears, even when it was something she was initially uncomfortable with.
‘Thinking about it, it would be good for everyone to get together and relax.’
It’s been several days since Keira returned to the capital, but there were some faces she had yet to see.
Finally, Keira caved.
Keira: “Okay. Instead, don’t joke around too much.”
Arthur: “Of course. How could I do that to a noble young lord?”
Keira didn’t put much trust into those words. Arthur tried to get a definite answer quickly while the lady’s face crumpled in discomfort.
Arthur: “Your Ladyship, how giving him a little nudge? After all, the Young Master listens to you.”
Keira: “Don’t worry.”
Thus, an alliance was suddenly formed.
Everyone unanimously agreed to skip the evening training and throw a party.
There was a dissenting vote from Joseph, but he reluctantly rescinded it when he heard it was to celebrate Lady Keira’s return.
They held the party at their favorite bar. Initially, they had planned to set a table at the training hall, but the idea was dismissed because Ludwig was in the mansion.
So, the party was in full swing two hours after it started. Some of them had long since passed out.
Keira fanned herself with her hands to shake off her drunkenness and looked around.
She then spotted her brother, talking to the people around him, his back straight.
Her gaze shook as she squinted at her one and only brother.
‘Why…why are you fine?’
The color of his face, eyes, and even how he spoke were all completely normal.
Even Reina, sitting beside him, looked tipsy.
Even though several knights had passed out in intoxication, Zeke’s complexion didn’t change.
‘No, how?’
They were full siblings, so how could only one of them be like that?
Keira mixed half a cup of water in her glass to avoid getting drunk, but she could tell she was about to get drunk.
She concentrated on the sound of their conversation to get herself together.
“Wow…Milord, you have a fairly high alcohol tolerance. Where did you train?”
Zeke: “Train? Why would I regularly drink something so tasteless?”
“You hold up too well for that.”
Zeke: “Okay, I think it’s time to wrap it up? Many people are asleep.”
His words flustered Reina. They hadn’t achieved their original goal, and the party seemed over, so it was a waste.
Reina wasn’t the only one worried when Zeke mentioned they should end it.
Feeling a prick in her side, Keira turned and spotted Arthur’s face seemingly asking for help.
Keira: “Why?”
Arthur: “He wants to end the party. Please do something!”
‘You said you’d help me nudge him a little!’ He whispered and placed a bottle of wine in her hand.
It was a very luxurious-looking bottle embossed with intricate patterns. This was probably the secret weapon prepared for today.
Keira: “Don’t tell me this is some strange drug?”
Arthur: “… I’m not that thoughtless. It’s just a little stronger. If Your Ladyship recommends it, he won’t refuse.”
She promised to help, so she’d have to do something.
Keira walked over to Zeke with a glass in each hand.
She stumbled, unable to walk a straight line, but somehow managed to reach him.
Zeke turned when he felt someone approaching. His face immediately turned serious at the sight.
Zeke: “Noonim… Your eyes are out of focus.”
Keira: “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Zeke: “Your tongue seemed to have loosened, too…”
Keira: “Now, this.”
She held out the drink, ignoring her brother’s concerns about her.
Seeing as her vision’s gotten blurry, Keira felt that it wasn’t long until she was out.
Keira: “You should do it with me once.”
Zeke: “No, I’m worried about Noonim’s complexion now…”
Keira: “It’s fine. I can still hold on.”
Zeke reluctantly accepted the drink. Glasses clinked together, and brother and sister drank together.
The moment she took a sip, she almost had to hold back her swear words at Arthur.
She should have drunk half a glass of water for such a strong drink!
Now, Keira really was at her limit. Less than 10 minutes had passed since the alarm bells rang in her head, and her vision went dark.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw a familiar ceiling. She was in her bedroom.
Fortunately, someone survived until the end, so it seemed they had taken care of her.
Keira: “Ugggh…”
Keira forced herself to get up, her upper body feeling like drenched cotton.
If someone had been watching her, she would have reminded them of zombies crawling out of graves.
Keira: “Hnngh…”
She continued to groan.
It felt like someone had put their hand in her head and shaken her brain.
If she had known it would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have gone along with Sir Arthur’s plan.
Keira nearly crawled across her bed to pull the rope.
Soon after, Rose appeared.
Rose: “You’re finally awake!”
Keira: “Now… ugh… What time is it now?”
Rose: “It’s just noon. The sun’s in the middle of the sky.”
Keira: “G-give me some medicine…”
Rose: “Wait a moment.”
As if she had expected it, Rose dragged a tray from the living room.
She dissolved the medicine in a glass of water and handed it to Keira, who took it and drank it in one gulp.
It would take some time for the medicine to take effect, but Keira’s stomach settled just by drinking cool water.
Perhaps because of her mood, even her headache seems to have calmed down a little.
Rose: “Are you all right?”
Keira: “Yes. Can I have another glass of water?”
She leaned back on the bed for a moment and tried to come to her senses.
After a while, she was well enough to think about the people she drank with last night.
Keira: “What about the others? I was already half drunk before I passed out.”
Rose: “Tell me about it. I was wondering why a pile of corpses was brought in.”
Rose quickly waved her hand.
Rose: “We had a bit of a hard time bringing the knights to bed last night.”
Keira: “Oh, Zeke, too?”
Rose: “No. I remember him walking on his own two feet.”
Oh my goodness. Keira silently admired him.
Everyone must have decided to get Zeke drunk, but to think that he endured it to the end. She didn’t know whether to be amazed or feel bad.
Keira: “Aside from the fact that a lot of people were brought in, nothing special happened, right?”
Rose: “Yes, nothing except that His Excellency, the Grand Duke, found out.”
[1] Arthur said 에이 (ei) and 에이이 (eii), and I couldn’t really think of a proper translation for that because it’s usually just a sound of disbelief or exasperation.
[2] Keira described him as 청산유수라는 (chongsanyusuraneun), which translates to ‘the clear stream water that flows down a green mountain slope’.
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