Chapter 7

‘So this is beer.’

The color, at least, was clear and pretty, like amber.

I sniffed at the glass.

‘I thought they said it was made from barley, but it doesn’t smell like grain at all.’

Because it was so unfamiliar, I hesitated to take a drink.

‘If I’d known it would be like this, maybe I should have brought Pepe with me.’

Pepe—the only being in this world I could truly trust—came to mind. Now that I knew even Emile and Roseanne had deceived me, Pepe was the only one I could rely on.

‘I’m so glad Pepe woke up. If something like this had happened to me while Pepe was still unconscious, my heart would have completely collapsed.’

After thinking that, I shook my head.

‘I gathered up my courage to come all the way here. Am I really hesitating over a single glass of beer just because it’s unfamiliar? When I was planning to go all the way to the capital?’

Living in the capital would undoubtedly be difficult to adjust to for someone like me, who had lived practically imprisoned in the Countship of Cline.

‘It’s just one stupid glass of beer!’

Flinching slightly, I plucked up my courage and lifted the glass. Closing my eyes tight, I chugged it down.

“Ack!”

The beer tasted genuinely terrible. The maid had said it was incredibly refreshing, though.

‘Why do people drink this?’

Bitter and sour. As I scrunched up my face in disgust, I suddenly realized someone was watching me.

The tavern keeper was staring at me as if I were a thoroughly suspicious person.

‘Eek!’

Well, even to me, ordering alcohol, making strange noises, and only taking one sip would look bizarre.

I forced an awkward smile and cupped the glass with both hands. The tavern keeper tilted his head in confusion, then went back to cleaning. I forced my lips back to the rim of the glass. Still, it was only shocking at first; once I started sipping, it was somewhat manageable.

‘Ugh, but this is definitely the last time. I’m never drinking it again.’

Deciding to just finish this one glass I had already bought, I shut my eyes tight and started drinking.

Yet, how strange it was. As I sat in a tavern with no other customers and downed the beer, my stomach felt more and more churned up inside.

‘How could Emile and Roseanne do this to me?’

I swept my hair back with a hollow smile. It felt like my chest was going to burst.

‘After all the years we’ve known each other, at the very least, we shouldn’t have been a relationship built on such betrayal, right?’

Even without romantic feelings, Emile was already like a real older brother to me.

‘What was he thinking? How did he really feel? Without saying a single word to me, he proposed, and then… he was kissing Roseanne…’

Before I knew it, the glass was empty. Clicking my tongue, I set the glass down. But oddly enough, I felt thirsty.

Glancing up, I saw the tavern keeper still hard at work cleaning. It felt awkward to ask for water, so I poured myself another glass of beer and began sipping again.

How much time had passed? As I pushed myself up from my seat to go get yet another glass, my vision suddenly swayed.

‘Huh? Why does the floor feel like it’s rolling?’

Since I had never been drunk before, I couldn’t even tell what was happening.

‘I feel like throwing up. What is this? Did I drink too much?’

As I staggered and grabbed the table for support, a large hand caught my shoulder.

“Huh?”

Startled, I looked up. Standing across from me was a man with black hair and blood-red eyes, though I had no idea when he had arrived. A heavy voice, as if crawling up from the underground, echoed in my ears.

“Are you alright?”

“Uhh…”

My eyes were blurry, so I couldn’t see his face clearly. Even so, I was certain he was a man I had never met before in my life.

‘His atmosphere is frightening.’

Emile, neat and gentle, was a man like warm spring sunshine. But the man gripping my shoulder was entirely different from Emile.

‘He’s like a fierce wolf.’

How should I put it—it felt as though he might pounce and bite me if I let my guard down for even a second. I pushed his hand away slightly and asked: “Who… are you?”

When I squeezed out the words with a slurred tongue, he let out a scoff, as if incredulous.

“I’m the person who was waiting until you got this dead drunk.”

“Huh?”

I was the one he was waiting for? Was I waiting for a man?

‘Ah, he’s from the Veil Merchant Guild.’

I realized it a beat late.

‘A man built like a boulder put out a ridiculous advertisement looking for a woman with silver hair and green eyes?’

A laugh burst out of me unwittingly. I didn’t know why, but it felt terribly amusing.

“Yes, that’s right. I was waiting for you, yes.”

“Phew.”

A heavy sigh poured over my head. Whether it was the courage provided by the alcohol or not, I just kept giggling foolishly. If I felt like it, I might even offer him a drink right now.

Judging that I wasn’t in a state to hold a proper conversation, he let out a deep sigh and reached his hand toward my face.

“Why don’t you show your face before you act drunk? So I can see if you’re the match who fits the exact conditions I’m looking for.”

In that moment, I must have momentarily lost my mind. Even though I was so drunk I kept stumbling, the moment his hand tried to peel back my robe, a shrill scream squeaked out of me.

“No!”

“…”

If I revealed my face in a place where anyone could see, there would surely be people who remembered me later.

‘Then, even after I escape the Countship of Cline, word will spread right away.’

If things didn’t go well with this man, the fact that I had tried to leave this place might be exposed. Wanting to prevent that at all costs, I clung to the man desperately.

“I don’t want other people seeing my face! I’ll show you in a place where it’s just the two of us!”

“Good grief…”

The man let out a deep sigh, but he didn’t push me away. Raising a hand to the tavern keeper, who was watching our tussle, he pointed upstairs and spoke.

“We’ll go upstairs for a moment.”

“Go right ahead.”

I had no idea the second floor of the tavern had a small attic where one could rest. That was where the man led me. He didn’t shut the door completely, standing near the doorway with his arms crossed.

“We came here just as you requested. So why don’t you take off the robe?”

“Waaah…”

I really was drunk. The moment I thought that I was left alone in a place where no one else was coming, tears suddenly poured from my eyes.

‘Emile and Roseanne, both of you are too much.’

Thinking of the two of them brought another surge of betrayal and resentment rushing in like the tide. I flopped down onto the floor.

“Waaah! It’s too much! I really hate them both!”

“Hey! Why are you suddenly crying?”

“Waaaaah! They’re so mean! To think my fiancé and my friend were actually lovers!”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

As I sat there sobbing my heart out, he looked utterly bewildered, but ultimately stepped closer to me.

The handkerchief offered by his large hand was clean and neat, quite unlike his rugged demeanor.

“First, wipe your tears.”

“Yes, thank you…”

My tear ducts were definitely broken. I thought I should stop crying, but as soon as I accepted the handkerchief, tears blinded my vision again.

“Sob, how could they do this. How could those two deceive me like this?”

“…Hey.”

The man let out a long sigh. Then he slowly sat down right beside me. Even in the midst of frantic sobbing, I turned to look at him.

Turning his head the other way so he wasn’t looking in my direction, he spoke in a blunt tone.

“Just finish crying first, then we’ll talk.”

“…You’re a good person.”

“I’m not a good person. I’m just waiting because you’re crying so hard we can’t talk.”

“That is being a good person.”

“Let’s just say it is.”

Sniffling, I looked down at the handkerchief he had handed me to wipe my tears. It was a rough handkerchief with no name on it.

“What kind of handkerchief is this? It’s ugly.”

At my words, the man frowned and turned back to me.

“Then just give it back.”

“It’s mean to take back something you gave.”

“I told you, I’m originally a bad person.”

Liar. How could someone who lends a handkerchief like this be a bad person?

“…Thank you.”

I should repay such a kind person.

“Hold on, miss. What are you doing?”

“Please wait just a moment.”

I pulled a needle from the needle pouch I always carried and stuck it into the handkerchief. But perhaps because I was drunk, I couldn’t see the thread.

‘Huh? What’s wrong with this? Why isn’t it working?’

As I tilted my head in confusion, he held out a large hand and said: “You’re drunk, playing with a needle is dangerous. Hand it over.”

“Dangerous? A needle?”

A needle wasn’t dangerous at all.

‘Needles have been my friend since I was little.’

Or maybe, ever since I was in my mother’s belly, all along, continuously?

〈As long as you have a needle and thread, you’re a wonderful magician too, Yvonne.〉

A memory of my mother’s voice, which I couldn’t even properly recall, seemed to tickle the tip of my ear. As if possessed, I kissed the tip of the needle.

At that moment, the needle—without even being threaded—began moving back and forth all on its own.

“Hehe.”

Seeing the man stare at me with a wide-eyed, astonished expression was so funny that this time a silly giggle escaped me. Then, I slowly slouched over to the side.

Everything went dark.