64. Reading Romance Novels with Mom (1)
64. Reading Romance Novels with Mom (1)
"Mom!!!!!"
When Titania shouted at the door, the tightly shut door began to open slowly. A sour, sweet smell wafted out through the slightly opened gap. It was a scent Titania had smelled many times before.
"Smells like alcohol!"
Titania covered her nose and scrunched her face at the pungent, sour scent of alcohol that wafted out. Titania, who had never smelled alcohol this strong before, looked up at the person who had opened the door.
"Titania?"
Vivian, face flushed red from being completely wasted—not even realizing she'd spilled alcohol all over her undergarments—looked at her. Titania scowled in annoyance at the sight, but Vivian, seeing Titania's face, beamed a goofy smile, shoved her hands into Titania's armpits, and hoisted her up.
Titania, lifted before she could dodge, struggled as if to say she hated the smell of alcohol, but Vivian didn't care and pulled Titania into her embrace just like that. Titania looked like she was about to cry, complaining that the nice scent that usually came from Mother was gone, replaced only by the stench of alcohol.
"The Princess is here~? How did you know to find me here?"
Only then did Titania realize, Oops! She covered her nose and mouth and scanned the room. Just how much had they drunk? The bed and the floor were littered with bottles. And on the bed, the Countess and Lady Serina were swaying, completely sloshed.
They tried to get up to greet her, but they couldn't seem to rise, likely dizzy from the alcohol, which Titania found unpleasant for some reason. Titania showed the necklace containing Ainsel to Vivian and whispered in a voice so small only Vivian could hear.
"Ainsel says Mother is in danger..."
-That's right! Drinking this much...! If you kept drinking like that, who knows what those ladies might have done to you? Did you really not know, so you just stayed still?!
"...? What do you mean, 'what they might have done'? We were just drinking together, what are you talking about?"
Vivian tilted her head, not understanding what she meant, then turned to look at the Countess and Lady Serina, who were swaying, drunk on the bed. Both of them seemed to have lost strength in their legs and couldn't even stand up; when they made eye contact, they just smiled sheepishly and waved their hands.
-No! You really didn't know?! If you had kept going like that, I...!
"You're making such a fuss... We were just drinking together, you know? And what could those ladies possibly do to me? They're good people, even Vin Chaud acknowledged it~ Right~? Titania~?"
-Ah! They say humans can't see anything when they're drunk!
Ainsel slapped her forehead, sighing as if she couldn't believe it. Vivian frowned, wondering what the problem was, and flicked the necklace with a tap. Ignoring Ainsel's grumbling, Vivian turned to look at the Countess and Lady Serina.
"Since the Princess has come to pick me up, I should head back to my room for now. It was truly enjoyable. I hope we can have a gathering like this again."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. We were also incredibly happy to have such a time with Her Majesty the Queen. Did you have a fun day with Viola, Princess?"
Titania nodded while pinching her nose shut at Lady Serina's question. It was true that playing with Viola had been fun. Vivian waved her hand, walked out of the room, and showered Titania with kisses on her cheeks.
Usually, these kisses would make her happy, but every time she was kissed, the pungent smell of alcohol hit her, so Titania covered Vivian's lips with both hands and shrieked. With a look of pure annoyance, too.
"Mom, I hate the smell of alcohol!!"
*
Lady Serina, left in the room, couldn't overcome the alcohol and eventually passed out on the bed.
When was the last time she'd drunk this much? She smiled brightly, looking at the Countess lying next to her, thinking about how she almost lost her mind at the very end.
However, unlike Lady Serina, who was beaming, the Countess's face was full of dissatisfaction. She puffed out her cheeks like a child and glared at Lady Serina as if she were hateful.
Knowing why she was making that expression, Lady Serina lay down, propping her chin on her hand with a sly smile, and looked at the Countess. Then, beckoning with just her finger as if to seduce her, she called out to the Countess.
"Come here, Yvette."
Although the Countess had puffed out her cheeks, she crawled across the bed to Lady Serina's side as if she had no choice. Then, Lady Serina pulled the Countess, who had approached her, into her arms.
As if they were used to this position, the Countess buried her face in Lady Serina's chest. Looking down at the Countess, who was burying her head in her arms like a child, Lady Serina giggled and stroked the Countess's hair.
"Were you jealous?"
At the question of whether she was jealous, the Countess, who had puffed out her cheeks even more, tapped Lady Serina's side with her fist. Saying the playful hitting tickled, the Lady and the Countess laughed and tangled together on the bed. Once the playfulness ended, the Countess asked Lady Serina with a serious expression.
"...Why did you teach Her Majesty the Queen this 'game'? It's true that other ladies use this 'slang'... but you know this 'slang' doesn't just mean let's drink together. If Her Majesty the Queen were to follow this and do it to other ladies..."
"So you were jealous?"
"Don't joke, answer me seriously."
The Countess pulled on Lady Serina's face, which still held a playful look. Lady Serina, tapping the Countess's hand that was pulling her cheek, saying it hurt, pursed her lips in thought for a moment, then answered in a calm voice.
"First of all, the reason I taught Her Majesty the Queen this game is... because after getting married, Her Majesty, who had no interest in high society until now, is trying to re-enter it. I thought it would be fine to teach her this 'slang' that's trendy these days. Honestly, ever since Lady Catherine appeared in high society, it's true that most ladies use this slang, right?"
"That... may be true, but..."
Lady Serina's words were correct. Since Lady Catherine appeared in high society, there were even social clubs that mimicked hers. Therefore, it was true that such 'games' using this 'slang' were currently trending in high society.
However, if asked whether it was okay to teach this to Her Majesty the Queen, the Countess wanted to answer 'no'. Because drinking together through this 'slang' didn't just mean let's drink.
The most important meaning contained in this 'slang' was a 'game' that stimulated the lascivious, sexual parts of the ladies. A lascivious playground for ladies who valued only pleasure, to the point where they couldn't tell men. That was the game using ladies' slang that was trending in high society these days.
"I know what you're worried about. You want to say I only taught her the superficial stuff, right? But, in the first place, I had no intention of touching Her Majesty the Queen. No, who would touch Her Majesty? It's not like they want to die."
Lady Serina chuckled and stroked the Countess's cheek. Seeing Lady Serina looking like she was walking a dangerous tightrope, the Countess frowned and pinched the Lady's cheek even harder.
"This is to prepare for when other stupid ladies use 'slang' on Her Majesty the Queen. She's a Queen who has just set foot in high society. It's unlikely, but if some idiot of a lady really uses 'slang' on Her Majesty, how would Her Majesty react?"
"Obviously, she would say she doesn't know, like today..."
"Right, she would definitely say she doesn't know. But it's a problem even when she says she doesn't know. 'Her Majesty the Queen doesn't know this 'slang' that's trending in high society these days?' Then, seeing that innocent appearance of the Queen, there will be ladies who mock her. Since the Queen is royalty, some stupid lady will appear, thinking her nose is high because she's teaching royalty."
Lady Serina propped her chin on her hand and fell into thought for a moment. Fortunately, the Queen seemed to be trying to enter high society using her. Through 'herself', not other ladies. So, until the Queen established her place in high society, she had no choice but to be the Queen's shield.
"So, it's better to only teach her the surface level. If another lady uses 'slang', I can just follow along and protect the Queen. So just up to here, I just need to teach her the 'atmosphere' of playing while drinking."
At Lady Serina's serious expression, the Countess smiled. How nervous she had been when she first used this 'slang' on the Queen... She had watched anxiously, wondering if Lady Serina might make a 'mistake' with the Queen, but...
"And, honestly, it's the Queen with that beauty, right? I also wanted to see the Queen in a negligee-"
Smack!
The Countess raised her hand and slapped Lady Serina's buttocks. The moment she thought she looked admirable, such words came out, so even if she didn't want to hit her, she had no choice. The moment she was huffing and about to hit her buttocks one more time—
Lady Serina, who had grabbed the Countess's wrist, pounced on the Countess and kissed her lips. The Countess struggled at the sudden kiss, but eventually surrendered her body to Lady Serina at the sticky kiss that followed.
As the tongue that licked her lips widely forced its way in, the alcohol-tasting tongue swept her gums, forced its way between her teeth, and licked the roof of her mouth. The Countess, frowning at the sticky, alcohol-tasting kiss, pushed Lady Serina away to catch her breath for a moment.
Lady Serina, who licked the saliva off her lips, swept the Countess's face with a seductive smile. An expression she had never shown in front of the Queen. At that expression, which she only showed when she was in bed with her, the Countess let out a sigh of relief.
"Were you jealous after all?"
"......"
At that answer, for which she already knew the reply, the Countess quietly nodded. Fortunately, the hunting competition started the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow's schedule was from the afternoon. So, the two women's night was still long.
*
"So, there's Viola, right? She taught me what a romance novel is, and that is-"
"Mmm-"
"Viola taught me the difficult paragraphs from the novel. At first, I didn't even know the word 'chastity' well, but Viola must have read a lot of books-"
"Mmm-"
Titania, looking at Vivian who was answering her story vaguely while lying on the bed, puffed out her cheeks and shook Vivian's shoulder. She had been with other people all day long and hadn't even talked to her. Titania already hated that her Mother was trying to fall asleep.
"Wake up. Mom. Mommmm!"
"Titania... Mom is so sleepy..."
"It's not time to sleep yet!!"
"Mmm..."
Vivian, who had forced herself up from the bed, looked at Titania blankly. Titania, so that Vivian couldn't lie down, sat on Vivian's lap holding the book she had borrowed from Viola earlier. Then, she opened the book and began to read the paragraphs she hadn't understood earlier, one by one.
She was dying of sleepiness from the alcohol, and on top of that, trying to read text made Vivian feel like she was going crazy with drowsiness. She was so tired that she felt like she would fall asleep if she closed her eyes for even a second, but she couldn't ignore Titania, who was sitting on her lap and pestering her to talk to her quickly.
Even Ainsel had been saying strange things since earlier...
"...Just a little bit. We'll read just this book and sleep. Okay...?"
"Hehe, okay!"