“...Lord Arc was amazing. He kept the dragon busy using his power...”
“Brother, this is the third time. How many times are you going to tell me about the two of you defeating that dragon?” asked Estelle, looking fed up.
A small smile appeared on Arcrayne’s face as he watched her.
Sirius was merrier than usual—probably because of the alcohol.
Arcrayne didn’t like alcohol, but the bigger problem was that he couldn’t get drunk no matter how much he drank due to his physical makeup. He was slightly envious of the earl, who was actually able to enjoy drinking.
Two days had passed since they’d gone to Echire. They’d successfully slain the dragon and returned today in the early afternoon, at which point they’d raised a small toast. That brought them to the current moment.
The dragon hunt hadn’t taken long at all. Arcrayne had wanted to go back to Estelle as soon as possible, so he’d restrained the dragon with his telekinesis and forced it down on the ground.
Normally dragon hunts were done with more caution.
When hunting hibernating dragons, riflemen would shoot them in their lairs, and as for the dragons who’d raided settlements, they’d lie in hiding and lure out the dragon with livestock, at which point they’d shoot from the maximum range Dragon Slayers could be fired at.
Arcrayne would’ve preferred not to use his power and instead observe how the locals hunted dragons, but that would’ve meant the hunt taking much longer. The prince couldn’t wait that long.
Maybe I should come here again at the start of spring, as was the original plan, he thought to himself. Sirius had previously invited him to see the lair hunting during the thaw. Arcrayne intended to make time to visit Flozeth again next year.
“That’s quite enough, brother!” said Estelle in anger, her patience having evidently reached its limit. She grabbed a nearby glass and drank from it.
“Hey, that’s...whiskey...” said Sirius.
Estelle had accidentally taken Arcrayne’s glass.
“Estelle! How do you feel?!” he exclaimed.
If a person who couldn’t hold their liquor drank a lot of strong alcohol at once, they could faint. Arcrayne stared at Estelle’s face in panic.
“Looord Aaarc.” She glared at him with moist eyes. “Why’re you... Why’re you sho mean to me...?”
The prince was taken aback by Estelle reproaching him with intoxicated eyes and poor enunciation.
“Am I really like that...?” he asked.
“Yesss... You...tease me. Every chance you get. An’ you have thish happy look on your face, like...like...” Her eyes were completely glazed.
“Sorry.”
His apology elicited a satisfied smile from Estelle, who went for another gulp of whiskey. Next, she turned to Sirius.
“An’ you. Yer so persh...pershishtent... You keep shaying the shame thingsh over and over. Brother.”
“Looks like she’s gone over her limit,” murmured Oscar, who sat next to Sirius.
“She told me she was bad with alcohol...” said Arcrayne.
“That is what we told her to say...” replied Pamela. “She can handle two glasses of wine without issue, but if she drinks too much, her personality changes, you could say... She is a rather bad drunk...” She looked terribly sorry.
People like Estelle were called “mean drunks.” It certainly wasn’t anything to be proud of.
“We thought there would be no trouble if she claimed she could not drink in the slightest... We should have told you, Lord Arc.”
“Yes, I would’ve preferred to know about this.” The prince looked at Estelle.
“You...should be more dishcreet with other women, brother. Or you will never get married.” Estelle was still giving Sirius a hard time.
“I get it, I get it. I’ll do everything as you say, so stop already. You wouldn’t want Lord Arc to fall out of love with you.”
What Sirius said created trouble for Arcrayne, as Estelle turned to look at him. “Looord Aaarc... Do you not...love me anymore...?” Her large, purplish-red eyes became even more moist.
“No... This wouldn’t be enough to change my mind about you...”
“Sho you looove me?”
Arcrayne was at a loss for what to say in response to a question so difficult to answer in front of other people.
Estelle began to cry bitterly. “Sho you really don’t like me anymore... You’re gonna get a mishtress one of these daysh...”
“I wouldn’t do something like that. You’re the only one for me,” Arcrayne replied in a fluster.
“Then whyyy won’t you shay you love me?!”
“I love you. A whole lot. Is that good enough?!”
“You don’t sound very sh-sherioush... Put a li’l more heart into it.”
I had no idea she could be this much trouble when she’s drunk, thought the prince. As he hesitated, searching for an answer, Estelle began to topple over.
“Estelle!” Arcrayne caught her in a hurry, at which point she snuggled into his embrace.
“So she’s finally asleep...” said Sirius, sounding relieved.
In contrast to the flustered Arcrayne, the people of the earldom were calm.
“Is she all right? Shouldn’t we call a doctor...?” he asked.
“She falls asleep when she goes over her true limit. She will probably wake up refreshed tomorrow and not remember a thing,” explained Sirius.
Arcrayne looked at Estelle in his arms. Indeed, her rhythmic breathing indicated she was already asleep.
“It would not be so bad if she did not lose her memory. It would at least have been endearing if she had to suffer a hangover...” said Sirius.
“That’s quite the relationship to have with alcohol...”
“Please forgive me for not telling you before. I was not trying to hide it, it was more like I simply forgot to mention it...”
“No need to apologize. I’m not blaming you.” Arcrayne shook his head.
When he’d first met Estelle, he’d forced her into an engagement with him because of her power and told her he would act as if he were in love with her. In retrospect, he’d done a lot of terrible things. Considering how much the people of House Flozeth loved Estelle, if they knew the truth, they surely wouldn’t forgive him.
“She seems to drink in moderation normally, and if she somehow ends up drinking too much, I’ll be on the lookout so she doesn’t put on a shameful display in public. If anything, I feel sorry if I’ve made her hold back from drinking when she wanted to.” The prince looked down at Estelle sleeping in his arms.
“I do not think she had to hold back. We told her to quit and so she did. She probably likes juice more than ale or wine, which taste like alcohol, after all.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Arcrayne with relief.
“It is reassuring to see that you treasure her.”
“What can I say? I’m really glad that fate brought the two of us together.” After saying so in a resolute tone, the prince lifted Estelle in his arms. “I’ll take her to the bedroom.”
“Well, it is late already, so why not call it a night? Please feel free to go to bed when you get there.”
“Then I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Giving the people of the earldom a light bow, Arcrayne headed to the bedroom without hesitation.
✦ ✦ ✦
Even after he’d laid Estelle on the bed, she showed no signs of waking up. Arcrayne sat next to her and reached out for her cheek.
They love you so much, he thought to himself.
It wasn’t just her family—the servants and other people of the earldom treasured her too. While he’d already known about this, seeing it in person had made ugly jealousy well up in him.
He didn’t envy her as much as he had once. Instead, he envied everyone who came close to her. Even the dog in her childhood portraits.
Though I’m sure she can see it, the prince noted with an awkward smile.
While every little thing here made him jealous, it also fueled his love for her. These lands, these people were what had made Estelle who she was. The earldom of Flozeth was special to Arcrayne. He’d never thought there’d come a day in his life when he’d feel this way.
Being with Estelle spurred continuous change in him. He used to be afraid of it and even find it unpleasant. Now, it was different.
Fixing Estelle’s disheveled bangs, the prince smiled.