Chapter 34
Carl, his mouth twisted, leaned his weight on the table with his arms crossed and pulled his upper body towards Sian. Skull quietly covered Bill’s ears tightly. A man’s instinct told him that a proper bomb was about to explode.
Sian’s brow twitched. Although Carl’s curved lips looked ominous, surely he wouldn’t bring up the conversation from the room earlier in front of all her people.
Just as Sian thought this, Carl betrayed her expectations and drove the final nail in with a gentle smile.
“I still haven’t heard your answer to my confession earlier.”
Carl said. Skull’s instinct was spot on.
Damn it… Sian unconsciously bit her lip hard, filled with anger. The 10-year-long teasing material had finally exploded.
“Confession?”
“What?”
Bewildered cries erupted from all around simultaneously. Max shook his head as if dazed.
“No, what are these two doing? Talking about romance in this situation, surrounded by poor bachelors…!”
“Wait, Dr. Zivago. That confession might not be the kind of confession we’re thinking of.”
Max held back Zivago, who was about to explode with anger at the situation he had hoped against hope wouldn’t happen, with one last desperate wish bordering on denial of reality.
“What do you mean it’s not, Brother Max? Why are you talking like some clueless kid who’s never dated in his life? I thought the strange atmosphere flowing between them since last time was odd…”
“So that’s why you got hit…”
Skull, who was quite perceptive, muttered in dismay.
“He deserved it.”
“It’s fortunate he’s not dead.”
Someone else nodded in understanding.
“Shut up, be quiet. Our conversation isn’t over yet.”
It was chaos. Sian, who had become calm with anger rather than blushing, waved her hand and organized her surroundings like a leader. The murmuring around them instantly fell silent again.
“Yes, yes, don’t mind us and finish up. This is just so damn interesting.”
Dr. Zivago grumbled with a voice twisted with frustration. When Sian shot him a sharp look, he quickly sucked in his protruding lips.
“I respect my colleagues’ opinions. If the rest of my colleagues want it, the re-contract until the Dragon Temple…”
Sian paused for a moment.
“…Alright, I’ll agree.”
It was an answer everyone had already expected. Carl, included in that “everyone,” merely nodded lightly at Sian’s response.
“But for the second matter…”
“Absolutely opposed.”
Dr. Zivago interjected in a small voice, pouting again. Sian glanced at him but didn’t glare or get angry.
“…That’s what they say.”
“But that’s just the doctor’s opinion, isn’t it?”
This time, Carl’s lips protruded slightly. Sian’s brow furrowed with anger.
“If you like me that much, just pine for me in secret, pine. Unrequited love, how beautiful and nice. Why do you keep pushing when I say no? It’s unattractive.”
“You don’t dislike me either.”
“Stop with the ‘you’. Did you spread butter on it? It’s disgustingly greasy, really.”
At Sian’s merciless rebuke, Carl’s lips now protruded by two finger-widths.
“It’s not like you’re trying to catch two rabbits, you’re so greedy. A person who should be fighting for their life to clear their name or not, leisurely talking about romance, romance.”
“Right, that’s correct.”
When Dr. Zivago interjected again, Max, sitting next to him, elbowed him in the side.
“Then, does that mean you’ll date me after I clear my name…?”
“Ah, why does this person keep doing this, really!”
Unable to bear it anymore, Sian cut off Carl’s words and burst out in anger. For a moment, remembering the fist that had struck his side earlier, Carl flinched, crumpling his princely dignity.
“That’s not something to get so angry about.”
“It is when you keep pestering me.”
Carl’s voice subsided. Sian belatedly realized that she had unconsciously clenched her fist again and regained her composure.
“Once a woman has spoken, she won’t go back on her word. Re-contract until the Dragon Temple, fine. But I hope that during the journey there, this second topic won’t come up in any way, not even once.”
“But I absolutely oppose your romance! If you’re going to date, let me date too!”
Dr. Zivago clenched his fist. Carl glanced at the doctor who kept throwing cold water on the situation. However, the doctor, undeterred by the prince’s sharp gaze, thumped his chest saying, “What? What’s wrong?”
Carl clicked his tongue.
“I was trying to drive the point home, but I failed.”
“Some point that was.”
Sian clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Now the conversation is really over.”
Sian finished the tiresome topic by banging the table with her palm. Skull, who had been covering Bill’s ears tightly, released his hands.
“Can we eat and drink again now?”
“Sorry. I hope your ears didn’t rot.”
“What were you talking about?”
Bill, whose ears had been covered by Skull and hadn’t heard anything, blinked his innocent eyes. Sian smiled generously at Bill.
“We were talking about eating and drinking as much as we want today, and leaving early tomorrow morning for the Dragon Temple.”
“The Dragon Temple?”
“Yes.”
While Sian was talking with Bill, Carl picked up his wine glass and gulped down the alcohol. It seemed he was trying to drown the pain of being publicly rejected with alcohol.
“Drink up, drink up. If you get properly drunk, I’ll carry you on my back tomorrow.”
Skull comforted Carl in his own way. Even Dr. Zivago, who had been shouting his absolute opposition, seemed to feel a bit sorry for Carl drinking his alcohol, and silently refilled Carl’s empty glass.
“Still, you got off lightly with just one hit to the side. As expected of His Highness the Prince.”
Dr. Zivago’s comfort was not comforting at all.
“Doctor, know that I’ll interfere even if you just make eye contact with a woman.”
“Oh, come on. We all know the situation.”
When Carl glared at him menacingly, Dr. Zivago laughed nervously.
“Go ahead and drink. You’ll forget everything when you’re drunk.”
Carl glared at Dr. Zivago but followed his advice and drank more alcohol. Sian, watching from across the table, smiled slightly.
“That’s right, eat a lot. Today’s meal expenses will be covered by that persistent person over there.”
“When did I say that!”
Carl shouted, putting down his glass midway through drinking.
“Thank you, Brother!”
“We’ll eat well, Brother!”
Despite Carl’s denial, the mercenaries seated around the table bowed deeply, bending their waists at 90 degrees, not missing the opportunity. Carl gritted his teeth, finding himself in the position of having to cover the meals for ten mercenaries.
Sian felt Carl’s glaring gaze but laughed out loud as if nothing was wrong.
* * *
The night deepened quickly amidst the laughter, chatter, and merriment.
‘…Will it be alright?’
Sian, too, felt the intoxication rising to the top of her head as the night grew deeper. It was hard to tell whether it was her vision or the dark world that was spinning round and round. A smile leaked through her teeth at the pleasant feeling of floating.
“It’ll be fine. What could possibly happen?”
Sian leaned against the inn’s wall to steady her body, which was swaying even though she was standing still. Only then did the sky, with its thin crescent moon, come into clear view.
No, the clarity was only momentary. Again, the sky, brushed with dark clouds, began to spin, indicating just how intoxicated she had become.
“Does fate really exist? In the end, I’m going there unavoidably.”
Sian asked the voice in her head. Soon, the strength left her legs. She fell to her knees and sat down, staring blankly at the swaying dark sky.
‘From this moment on, you are a child who exists nowhere.’
Sian waved her hand dismissively at the voice overlaying her dark vision. She was unaware that the voice penetrating her mind was merely a memory, not reality.
That’s why it was sadder. No, it was a strange feeling of being in a good mood yet somehow on the verge of tears.
