79. Drink in Moderation
79. Drink in Moderation
[Chapter 79] - Drink in Moderation
Clink- clink-
Every time I sat on the bed and swung my legs, the chains restraining my ankles hit each other, making an unpleasant metallic sound. Fortunately, the parts wrapping my ankles were leather, so they didn't feel too cold or painful.
I stared blankly at the chain connecting the bed leg to my ankle and thought, 'Ah, this is a dream.' Surely, I felt like I had had this dream a few times before.
Should I call this déjà vu?
A feeling like I'd experienced it before.
Surely, I'd forget this dream the moment I woke up, before I even blinked ten times. Once I opened my eyes and got up, my heart would be pounding, and I'd surely forget the entire content of the nightmare.
"Have you been drinking all day again?"
Alcohol?
I turned my head toward the voice and saw Titania leaning against the door, looking at me. Her hair was cut short to her shoulders, and she was taller than me. It was the appearance of an adult Titania.
"Even though I said you could do whatever you wanted 'as long as you were in this room,' it's troublesome if you just drink like this. Or are you protesting to me in this way?"
I lowered my head and saw the floor full of empty liquor bottles strewn about. Perhaps the room hadn't been cleaned in a long time; empty bottles with dried-up dregs and unopened bottles were rolling around on the floor together.
Whether I'd spilled alcohol on the floor, sticky, dried wine stains were filling the room with a sweet scent of liquor. There was no 'Mirror' in the room, so I couldn't see my state, but I was sure I must have looked hideous.
For some reason, the me in the dream didn't answer Titania. I wrinkled my brow in annoyance and turned my head, refusing to look at Titania. Like someone who was being petulant.
"Instead of drinking all this alcohol alone... alone, it would have been better if you had called for me."
"Me? You?"
Ha!
I let out a scoff as if I were dumbfounded and glared at Titania. Whether I did or not, Titania picked up a wine bottle rolling on the floor, lifted the corners of her mouth, and met my gaze.
Even though it was a dream, seeing Titania's expression made my heart flutter. That child, who looked only at me while curving the corners of her eyes charmingly, was indeed a child I couldn't hate.
I turned my head away sharply again and clicked my tongue as I replied.
"Do you even know how to drink, talking like that? What would a kid who just became an adult know about alcohol..."
As the me in the dream spoke sarcastically, I heard a splashing sound from behind. Titania brought the mouth of the wine bottle directly to her lips and began to pour it into her mouth as if drinking water. Surprised by the sight of her filling her mouth with wine, I could only stare at Titania.
With a gulping sound, Titania's Adam's apple bobbed several times, and the wine bottle tilted further and further. Just as I was staring blankly at Titania drinking-
"Mmph-!!"
It happened in an instant.
Suddenly lowering her head to claim my lips, Titania supported my chin with both hands as if holding a cup. She twisted as if forcing my lips open, rubbed against them, and crushed my lips hard.
I struggled not to open my lips, but-
Titania pressed my chin to force my mouth open. Through my slightly parted lips, the wine Titania had been holding flowed right in, filling my mouth.
Gurgle, glug-glug.
The wine that came over with Titania's breath filled my mouth and was forced down my esophagus. Just like a mother bird feeding a chick, my mouth was instantly filled with the wine Titania had passed to me.
When I came to my senses and tried to spit out the remaining wine, Titania rummaged through my mouth with her tongue, as if to say she wouldn't forgive me for spitting it out.
As our tongues were forcibly intertwined in my wine-filled mouth, I couldn't breathe properly at all. The wine flowing between our lips instantly soaked my snow-white negligee, staining it red.
The intensely coercive kiss continued until I bit Titania's lip.
At the same time as a crunch sound echoed in my mouth, Titania's lips pulled away from mine. I gasped for air and glared at Titania as if to kill her.
"Haa, haa...! You really... again...!"
Titania, who had stepped back one pace, grinned, licked the wine running down the corner of her mouth with her tongue, and looked down at me. The me in the dream hated it when Titania made that smile.
The child who used to smile purely at me when she was young was now smiling wantonly at me.
It was absolutely not a smile to show a 'mother.' How on earth should I describe that smile?
...Yes, that smile is.
"How is it? I know how to drink now, too, don't I?"
The smile Titania was giving me was a seductive smile that one would only show to someone they truly loved.
In a word, it was a bewitching smile.
*
"Ugh-"
Blink, the moment I opened my eyes, a headache rushed in.
"Wa, wa-ter..."
It felt like my insides were being turned upside down, and like someone was hitting my head hard with a hammer. Feeling like I was going to throw up at any moment, I first flailed my hands, searching for water.
Since I couldn't get up from the bed and was just flailing my arms in the air, I heard a sigh from the head of the bed, and at the same time, someone placed a glass of water in my palm.
"...Mother, here is some water."
"Mm-hmm..."
As expected, my precious and lovely daughter.
Titania had kindly handed me cold water, which was like the water of life. I sluggishly got up from my spot and only after gulping down the water Titania handed me did my churning stomach seem to settle down just a little.
A single glass of water couldn't suppress the terrible hangover, but feeling like I might survive, I let out a deep sigh, lifted my head, looked at Titania, and smiled. It was a greeting of sincere thanks, but...
"Titania...?"
"...Mother, come over here and sit down."
Titania patted one side of the bed and glared at me. Uh, uh...?
At Titania's coldly chilled voice and gaze, which I had never heard before in my life, I swallowed dryly without realizing it. Had Titania ever given me a look like that before? No, not in my memory.
I crawled on my knees on the bed to the spot Titania told me to sit and quietly knelt. I clutched my head and tried to recall if I had committed some wrong against Titania while drunk yesterday, but-
'Oh no. I can't remember.'
My memories of last night were completely, utterly wiped clean. I clearly remembered the three of us—Hailey, Yvette, and me—drinking heavily together yesterday. It seemed like we were chatting noisily and talking about many things, including the masquerade ball today, but...
'I really can't remember...'
Only fragmented memories came to mind; I couldn't remember exactly what we talked about at all. I clutched my head trying to recall, but because of the pain in the back of my head that felt like it was being beaten by a hangover, I couldn't remember even if I wanted to.
"Mother."
"U-uh. Titania."
Titania called me in a voice that sounded like frost had fallen. I quickly adjusted my posture and glanced at Titania. And then, she let out a deep sigh as if the ground would collapse...
"Until now, I haven't interfered with you coming here and drinking. Because you also enjoyed drinking and playing with Countess Serina."
"Y-yes... Thank you..."
"But... yesterday was too much. Last night, from you, drunk, I couldn't find any of the dignity or decorum that a Queen of this country should have."
"......"
"I never dreamed that the saying 'you become a dog when you're drunk'... would be true. Mother."
The bitterly stinging rebuke from my thirteen-year-old daughter... hurt more than I could have imagined, as if it were gouging out my heart. Just how drunk and out of my mind must I have been to hear such things from Titania?
"...Mother, would you like to see my negligee?"
"Negligee...?"
"Doesn't it look a bit different from usual?"
I looked at Titania's negligee with eyes that felt like they were going to fall out. Certainly, she was wearing a different negligee than usual. It looked bigger than usual, and the sleeve length didn't seem to fit...
"Yesterday, you dirtied my negligee, so I had no choice but to borrow one from Viola."
"Ah..."
"And I was the one who cleaned up the dirty negligee. Since you threw up in the room, I was worried that if I called a maid to clean it up, your dignity would hit rock bottom!"
Bam!
Titania, who slammed the bed with both hands, glared at me intensely. Really, I had no excuses. Not only did I black out from drinking, but I also dirtied Titania's clothes. I'm a disqualified mother...
"I-I'm sorry... I should have restrained myself..."
"...I know that you don't usually drink. You never drink alone unless you're drinking with Grandmother... I know you try not to show me you drinking."
...It was true.
At the royal palace, I had tried my best not to show a drunken appearance in front of Titania. But, whenever I came here, could you say the reins were loosened a bit? Perhaps because of the fact that it wasn't the royal palace, the pressure was reduced a little, so I enjoyed drinking.
Maybe I was trying to relieve accumulated stress with alcohol... Yesterday was definitely too excessive. I had never drunk enough to black out like this, so I thought I could control myself, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
"I'm really sorry. From now on, I'll restrain myself a little..."
"A little?"
"...I'll try to abstain from drinking."
At the word "a little?", I felt a pressure like a thousand pounds, so I declared abstinence. When I said I would abstain, only then did a bright smile spread across Titania's face. How annoyed must she have been taking care of me while I was drunk yesterday to pressure me like this...?
As if satisfied with the answer, Titania smiled bashfully and looked at me, overlapping her hand with mine.
"Abstinence might be too painful for you, so let's just ban drinking here from now on. They say alcohol is bad for your health, right? I don't want you to lose your health because of alcohol."
"Y-yes... I promise not to drink here ever again..."
"And..."
Titania, who was holding my hand tightly, pursed her lips as if shy.
"Later, when I become an adult... I want you to be my first drinking partner. So... you must stay healthy until then. Do you understand?"
Titania smiled bashfully to hide her shyness. Looking at that smile, I chuckled without realizing it. Really, I made such a cute daughter worry.
"Yes, when you drink for the first time, let's definitely do it together."
"Really? Is it a promise?"
"Yes, yes. At that time, I'll have to ask the Minister of Education for some good liquor again. No matter how expensive the liquor is, the Minister of Education will surely hand it over willingly."
When I nodded, Titania hugged me tightly. For a while, we hugged each other tightly until we were breathless, then looked at each other with bright smiles.
Titania, who had smiled brightly, broke free from my embrace, hopped, lay down next to me, and looked up at me.
"They say it's time to start preparing for the ball. You really are attending, right, Mother?"
"...Yes, I will attend."
I turned my head and looked at the clock.
Perhaps because I slept in, it was already just before the afternoon. The masquerade ball is held at night, so if I didn't want to be late, it seemed I should start moving now.
I barely managed to lift my body and head, which were churning due to the hangover, from the bed. Perhaps already exhausted from the hangover, I looked at Titania with a pale smile.
"If we don't want to be late, let's start getting ready. It's the masquerade ball you've been looking forward to so much."