The Fugitive's Wife (13): A Moment's Mistake
"Right then, that concludes today's banquet!"
The planned welcome feast ended in the blink of an eye. Three plump wild boars, each nearly as tall as I was, along with a single deer, vanished instantly before sixty hungry mouths. Even the two jars of milky rice wine that the old official had secretly bought—just in case—were emptied in a flash. All that remained before us were the cleanly stripped bones and the empty jars that now produced nothing but hollow sloshing sounds.
The men grumbled about their lingering dissatisfaction but efficiently began cleaning up. I joined several of the mountain stronghold's women in gathering the scattered bones from the ground.
"We'll simmer these overnight to make a rich broth."
"From bones that have already been picked clean?"
"Yes. It would be a shame to waste such precious bones."
I had never done it before, but I was certain that boiling wild boar bones long enough would yield something close to a hearty hangover soup. At my confident tone, Soso—the girl whose boil Liu Bang had squeezed earlier—widened her eyes in surprise.
"But doesn't wild boar meat have a terribly strong odor? If we boil it, won't it be unbearable…?"
Soso offered the objection cautiously. I smiled brightly and pointed to my bundle of belongings.
"No need to worry about that. I brought plenty of spices, knowing something like this might happen."
"Spices?"
"That's right. I packed a large supply of salt, medicinal herbs, and spices—things that are hard to find in the mountains—just in case we needed them."
No matter how foul the boar smelled, adding generous amounts of ginger, garlic, prickly ash, Sichuan pepper, and star anise would surely tame most of it. After all, that was how sundae soup was made.
"In any case, we'll add the cleaned innards I've set aside to that broth and boil it into a stew. It's the most frugal way to use an entire wild boar."
"Hmm… I see."
Soso nodded, though her expression remained doubtful. A small murmur spread among the other women. Of course, bone and offal dishes existed in this era too. But this was the third century BCE, when pork was considered far more precious than beef. To them, the very idea of "boar bone hangover soup" must have sounded like bizarre fare.
Well, I can prove it with flavor.
I raised my voice, my face showing not the slightest hint of hesitation.
"All right, could you all rinse the innards once more with salt and prepare the head meat?"
"Ah… yes."
The women still looked half-convinced, but they quickly and skillfully divided the tasks among themselves. I watched their retreating figures for a moment before beginning to toss the collected bones one by one into a large pot. Once the pot was full, I turned to fetch the spices—
"Chia."
A familiar voice suddenly emerged from the darkness.
"Eek…"
My heart leaped violently. I clutched my startled chest and glared toward the sound. There, between the flickering shadows of the campfire, stood Liu Bang. He smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
"S-sorry. Did I scare you?"
"Of course you scared me! A scary-looking man suddenly jumping out of the darkness!"
"Ah, hahaha, you don't have to put it that way…"
Liu Bang let out an embarrassed laugh, clearly at a loss. He cleared his throat with a loud "Ahem," glanced around once, and continued.
"So, is the cleanup almost finished?"
"Not yet."
"When do you think it'll be done?"
"…Hard to say."
In truth, there wasn't much left. All that remained was to add water to these bones and let them simmer through the night. Someone would have to stand here skimming the fat and tending the fire, but after the long journey I'd endured today, I doubted anyone would be heartless enough to make me pull an all-nighter.
My only remaining task was to pick one of the women returning with the innards and ask her to watch the broth overnight.
Of course, that's not the real problem…
I glanced furtively at Liu Bang, then asked in the calmest voice I could manage.
"My lord."
"Yeah?"
"You're hoping for a second round, aren't you?"
"…? What's a second round?"
"I mean, aren't you suggesting we return to the hut now, just the two of us, and share a quiet drink together?"
"Aha." Liu Bang nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. We did agree to that earlier."
"…"
Yes, we had made a promise. I had wanted to see his smiling face as I poured him the precious Shangyang wine I'd been saving. But. But…!
I'm scared!
The future was painfully clear. A pleasantly drunk Liu Bang, his arm sliding around my shoulders, and then… that. No matter how many simulations I ran, today's ending had a ninety-percent chance of concluding with that. And that was still… far too frightening for me.
"Chia."
Liu Bang's voice pulled me back to reality. I took a deep breath, lifted my head, and looked at him carefully.
"Yes, my lord."
"Um… so, what I wanted to say is…"
Uncharacteristically, Liu Bang began to stammer. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his fists, and chewed his lip. Then, after a long moment, his resolute voice cut through the night air.
"Thank you."
"…Pardon?"
"I said thank you. For always staying by my side. For not giving up on a pathetic man like me."
Liu Bang gently took my hand. His lips moved as if he wanted to say more, but he shook his head slightly and closed his mouth. Instead, he awkwardly stroked the back of my hand before offering a much more relaxed smile.
"Go take care of your business. The night is long."
Liu Bang turned with a bright laugh. At the last moment, the hand that had held mine slid up and gently stroked my hair. A brief but unmistakable warmth. Like soothing a child, or touching something precious. His broad back receded into the darkness.
I stood there in a daze, staring at his silhouette stretched long by the campfire's glow.
…Thank you?
I had no idea how to respond. The man whose arrogance would make anyone else feel inadequate had just casually said something so embarrassingly sincere. I watched his retreating figure for a moment, then shook my head vigorously and resumed my work.
This is strange.
Yet the more I moved, the faster my heart began to beat.
It was about an hour later that I finally returned to Liu Bang's hut. After carefully inspecting the innards with the women and skimming the fat from the bone broth once, I asked Soso to watch the fire overnight and ended my day's duties. The path back felt endlessly long. When I finally lifted the wild-boar-hide curtain and stepped inside, Liu Bang, seated by the campfire, immediately turned his head.
"You're late."
I gave him a quiet bow and walked straight toward the inner part of the hut. A small drinking table had been set before him with dried meat and dried fruit.
"Did you prepare this table yourself, my lord?"
"Yeah. I put in some effort. Figured you'd be a while."
Liu Bang smiled brightly. But his idea of "effort" amounted to nothing more than a few strips of jerky and dried jujubes scattered across the table.
"I see."
I answered calmly and moved toward the corner where I had neatly set down my bundle. I untied it and carefully lifted the largest item inside—one bottle of Shangyang wine.
"Is that… could that be liquor?"
Liu Bang's voice rose at once. He must have been watching my every move. I nodded and turned toward him.
"It's mi-ju. The finest variety—Shangyang wine."
"…Huh?"
Liu Bang repeated the word with a somewhat dazed expression.
"What?!"
As expected, a tremendous reaction burst from his lips. Seeing exactly the response I had vaguely anticipated, a small smile escaped me.
"You said you wanted to try it before, didn't you?"
"W-well, yes, I did, but…"
Gulp. Liu Bang's Adam's apple bobbed noticeably. When I carefully placed the bottle on the table, he reached for it without hesitation.
"So this is the legendary…"
His voice had grown almost ecstatic. He looked as if he were facing a national treasure.
"Then allow me to pour you a cup right away."
I gently took the Shangyang wine from his hand. When I pulled out the stopper with a firm tug, a fragrant yet sharp alcoholic aroma burst forth.
This is… definitely…
The scent felt strangely familiar. After a moment's thought, I identified it.
It smells like high-quality distilled soju mixed with makgeolli.
Regardless, the aroma was in no way inferior to the finest liquors of the twenty-first century. In some ways, it seemed even deeper. As I filled Liu Bang's cup, I thought,
This should be to his liking.
The problem, however, was—
How to stop a drunk Liu Bang.
Of course, there was still a chance he would keep his promise of "just holding hands and sleeping." Even in a sticky, alcohol-fueled atmosphere, he might exercise superhuman restraint. But.
A cat would sooner give up fish.
Realistically, the odds were lower than drawing a Pilgrim in a single pull from a gacha game. And I was not foolish enough to bet my precious chastity on such slim odds.
That's why I prepared…!
Without hesitation, I filled my own cup. Then I lifted it and looked straight at Liu Bang.
"My lord."
"Yeah, speak."
He already looked desperate to toast. His expression screamed that he wanted to pour this delicious-looking liquor down his throat as quickly as possible. That was exactly what I would exploit—Liu Bang's boundless obsession with alcohol.
In a calm voice, I continued.
"How would you feel about playing a drinking game with me?"
"A drinking… what?"
"Ah, pardon me. I mean a drinking game. Like a wine command, or ju-ryeong."
"Ju-ryeong?"
Liu Bang looked utterly lost. I immediately began explaining the rules.
"We'll play a simple word game. Things like Baskin 31 or 3-6-9."
"…What are those?"
"I'll explain the detailed rules as we go. Whoever loses the round drinks a cup."
"Uh…"
Liu Bang tilted his head, still confused. "Isn't that backwards? Shouldn't the winner drink?"
"No, the loser drinks. The alcohol serves as a penalty."
"Even though it looks this delicious?"
"Those are the rules. I hope you'll follow them."
The loser had to drink, obviously. No matter how much twenty-first-century knowledge I possessed, if Liu Bang played seriously, I might still lose. My goal was to deliberately make him lose repeatedly until he was completely drunk.
Once the old man passes out first, I'll spend the night peacefully in a corner far away.
This wasn't the cheap, common rice wine sold in markets. It was the real thing, properly aged. Moreover, Liu Bang had already drunk quite a lot at the earlier banquet, dragged along by Fan Kuai. Even the great Liu Bang would surely collapse if he emptied both bottles of Shangyang wine.
"So, shall we?"
I held my cup and stared directly into his eyes.
"Hmm…"
Liu Bang still wore an expression that said he couldn't quite grasp why the loser had to drink.
"Fine. If it's what you want, Chia, let's try it."
He gave a small chuckle and nodded.
Got him.
I smiled triumphantly inside and extended my cup.
"Excellent. Then let's start with a light drink to wet our throats."
"Oho, finally. Yes, let's toast right away."
We lightly clinked our cups. A clear clink rang through the hut. As I moved to drink, Liu Bang suddenly set his cup down and grabbed my hand.
"Chia."
It was a bit abrupt, but his eyes didn't look like he was about to pounce.
"Yes."
I nodded calmly. Liu Bang smiled radiantly and stroked the back of my hand.
"Thank you. As always, I have only you."
"…You flatter me."
He released my hand and picked up his cup again.
"Right. Let's drink."
"Yes."
Thus began our drinking session.
…It's delicious?
My first thought was one of honest admiration. It really was delicious. Clean and fragrant enough to rival high-end twenty-first-century soju. The alcohol content seemed higher than ordinary soju, yet the aroma made it dangerously easy to drink. I wasn't an expert, but with only slight exaggeration, it was the best liquor I had ever tasted.
When my eyes sparkled involuntarily, Liu Bang let out a hearty "Krr!" and looked at me with satisfaction.
"Tastes good?"
"Yes, it's truly delicious."
"Haha, right? It really is. As expected of my wife."
Liu Bang cleared his throat and continued.
"Shall we start that ju-ryeong thing?"
Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten about the drinking game. I quickly refilled both our cups and began explaining the first game I had prepared.
"The first game we'll play is called Baskin 31…"
"…"
I opened my eyes. My whole body felt languid and my stomach churned. A pounding headache throbbed at my temples. Bright sunlight poured through the half-open hide curtain.
What…?
It felt as if a massive blank had formed in my mind. I couldn't remember anything. I had definitely been explaining the rules of Baskin—no, 31—to Liu Bang, but…
What happened next…?
There was nothing. A complete film cut.
What on earth…
Throb! A sudden headache surged. I clutched my forehead and sat up. The hide blanket covering me slid down, bringing a rush of chilly air.
It's cold…
I frowned and looked down. And then—
"…What?"
My eyes met my own large, smoothly exposed breasts.
"…?"
My mind froze for a moment. This wasn't simply tossing off pajamas in my sleep. My underclothes, which had clung to me like a second skin, were gone. I was completely naked.
"Oh? You're awake?"
Liu Bang's voice reached me at that moment.
"Kyaa?!"
I yelped and yanked the blanket over my head. Liu Bang, who had been writing something in the corner, flinched, then offered a gentle smile.
"Haha… now that it's daylight, I suppose it's a bit embarrassing?"
"W-what do you mean, now that it's daylight…?"
"I understand. When I first opened my eyes… well, it felt like I was dreaming."
"Dreaming?!"
My voice shot up uncontrollably. Liu Bang's laughter cut off abruptly.
"Uh… yeah, why are you suddenly—"
Even the ever-cheerful Liu Bang sensed something was wrong and lowered his voice cautiously. I asked in a trembling tone.
"Um… my lord."
"…My lord?"
"Did I… make some kind of mistake last night?"
"…"
Liu Bang froze. A deflating sound escaped his slightly parted lips.
"…You don't remember?"
He continued in a tiny voice. When I nodded silently, his eyes squeezed shut.
"Oh no."
Then came silence. Liu Bang let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face with both hands. At the same time—
Ow… it hurts so much?!
Sudden, intense pain flared around my waist and pelvis. It felt as though I had done something I absolutely shouldn't have. As if my pelvis had been forced far beyond any normal range of motion.
This… this can't be…
A terrible premonition crawled up my spine.
"…Well, you see…"
After a long pause, Liu Bang finally spoke carefully.
"Actually, last night…"
His somewhat apologetic voice began to vividly describe everything that had happened between us the night before.