Chapter 77

The drunk Josephine kept rubbing her cheek against Dahlia’s curly hair as if it were the soft fur of some gentle beast.

Only after I forcibly pried them apart did Dahlia, clearly flustered, let out a sigh of relief.

I asked,

“Did Josephine drink?”

“Yes. The young lady brought wine as a gift, and when she said she was thirsty, I poured her a little…”

I looked toward the center of the living room.

On the table the two had been using, two empty wine glasses sat side by side.

“Dahlia, did you drink too?”

“Yes. I had a bit… to keep the young lady company.”

But unlike Josephine, Dahlia looked completely fine.

Not that it was surprising.

Josephine was the official worst drinker in the Candela of Judgment.

One glass of wine was enough to get her completely drunk and unruly.

Dahlia probably didn’t expect that a young lady would end up like that after just a little wine.

“Wh-What should we do? Should we let her sleep it off for a while?”

“Leave it to me.”

With just a few words, I quieted Josephine who kept clinging to Dahlia and insisting on “custody”.

I used simple logic. Once we’re married, my servant will be your servant too.

Josephine blushed bright red and muttered,

“R-Really?”

I seized that moment to grab her by the wrist and drag her out of the house.

“Let’s get you some fresh air.”

To be honest, Josephine right now was basically a ticking time bomb.

Even a mere drunkard is a problem…but a super drunkard with S-Rank talent in swordsmanship? That’s a whole different story.

It’s a good thing we’re on good terms now. If this were the first day I possessed this body, I might’ve snapped and ended up in a sword fight.

Of course, Josephine was a woman of discipline. That’s likely why she’s always avoided alcohol to prevent exactly this kind of situation.

But for some reason, she broke that rule today.

Did something good happen?

“Ugh… You said we were just going out for some fresh air. Why do you keep dragging me somewhere? Do you have something you want to say to me… alone…?”

“I called a carriage. Take it and go home.”

“No.”

Josephine suddenly turned her body away.

Once again, she was looking for Dahlia.

“I promised I’d sleep over with Dahlia tonight. She said she really wanted that toooo.”

Josephine throwing a tantrum? Now that’s rare.

I turned to Dahlia and asked,

“Is that true?”

“Judging by her nonsense, we’d better get her home quickly.”

That’s my attendant, alright.

“I’ll escort her myself.”

“I’ll stay and tidy up the house while you’re gone. Safe travels.”

With that, Dahlia gave a polite farewell. Then, looking slightly concerned, she added,

“But the young lady really was kind to me today. Please don’t scold her too harshly.”

“…Is that so?”

I had invited Josephine over in the first place because I wanted the two of them to get along.

Judging by the look on Dahlia’s face, it seemed I’d achieved that goal.

The carriage arrived shortly after.

I plopped Josephine onto the seat like a bundle of luggage and pushed her dangling legs back inside.

She was clearly in no condition to make it home on her own, so I climbed in and sat beside her.

Josephine’s house wasn’t far from the Academy—

A neighborhood where Lambart’s middle-class nobles lived.

The carriage stopped somewhere between the closely packed houses, and I woke Josephine and helped her down.

Still too drunk to walk straight, she staggered, so I had no choice but to carry her on my back.

She must’ve sobered up a little, because she began murmuring behind me.

“Ugh, so dizzy… Sorry, Winter. I didn’t mean to drink so much…”

“Then why’d you drink when you can’t even hold your liquor?”

“I just… wanted to get close to her. But how did you know I couldn’t handle alcohol?”

“I know everything.”

“Sometimes, I really think you do.”

She let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Haah… Dahlia, she’s such a sweet and admirable girl. But I feel really bad about something.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I’m not telling.”

Another sigh escaped her lips.

Her breath tickled the back of my neck, but since all she’d had was a single glass of wine, she didn’t even smell of alcohol.

And yet, the way her tongue was slurring made it all the more comical.

“And Winter, you’re… a respectable man. No matter what anyone says. What I mean is… umm.”

“Now you’re not just tickling my neck, you’re tickling my face too.”

“Mary, she doesn’t know anything… She doesn’t know how good Winter really is… Oh, right! Mary lent me this… Winter, want to see something cool? My sister gave me suuuch an amazing gift.”

“Stop squirming. You’re on someone’s back, you know.”

“Ugh… sorry. Must be hard carrying me, huh?”

“I can manage.”

“…Am I heavy?”

“You’re not exactly light.”

Suddenly, Josephine went stiff.

“…Put me down. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

“We’re already here.”

I knocked on the front door of Josephine’s house.

They didn’t keep any servants, so after a moment, the one to open the door was Josephine’s father—

My future father-in-law.

“What brings you here…?”

Baron Azetta looked startled to see me, and when he noticed Josephine slung over my back, his face froze.

The well-bred future son-in-law, carrying his drunk-as-a-skunk daughter home on his back.

“…What on earth is going on here?”

“She was drunk, so I brought her back.”

“She left saying she’d be spending the night at your place.”

“Did she? She was already like this when I met her.”

“……”

Baron Marcel wore a flustered expression, clearly unsure what to do.

Just then, Josephine squirmed on my back and mumbled,

“Are we almost there, Winter? I didn’t want to say this, but… I really need to use the bathroom…”

In the end, Baron Marcel wiped his face with one large, calloused hand. Like a seasoned swordsman would.

“If you need the bathroom, you can walk there yourself, daughter.”

“Ah—Father?”

It was the moment Josephine’s slurred speech suddenly cleared right up.

Marcel fixed her with a terrifying glare.

If one were to interpret it, it would’ve translated to: “We need to have a talk later.”

I could feel a faint tremble from Josephine on my back, so I stepped in to defend her.

“This happened because I invited her and was late getting home. She must’ve had a drink to pass the time. Please don’t be too hard on her.”

“…Right. She’s not usually like this.”

“I know that well.”

I handed Josephine over to her father.

Baron Marcel, seemingly uncomfortable around me, let out a small grunt before finally offering a polite gesture.

“Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?”

“No, thank you. Now that I’ve made sure Josephine got home safely, I’ll be on my way.”

“Travel safe, then.”

And with that, I bid farewell to my future father-in-law and turned to leave.

But just outside the house, I unexpectedly ran into a familiar face.

Mary de Azetta.

Josephine’s younger sister.

“Ugh.”

Josephine’s sister’s face immediately soured the moment she recognized me.

She was dressed in a flashy gown and was likely coming back from some ball. Mary didn’t even spare me a glance and tried to walk right past.

At least, until I called out to her.

“Mary de Azetta.”

“For fuck’s sake…”

Cursing right off the bat—

My fiancée’s sister, in other words, my future sister-in-law, was one fierce piece of work.

But since I’d seen real madness, the kind that shows up with a knife in hand…she looked no more threatening than a kitten before a lion.

So I said what I had to say, without feeling a thing.

“Mind if we talk for a moment?”

“I don’t have anything to say to you, okay? Do I look like the kind of girl who comes running when you call and chatters away just because you want to talk?”

“We usually call that ‘being polite’.”

“Hmph. Just so you know, if you weren’t my sister’s fiancé, I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now.”

But despite her words, Mary was the one to ask a question next.

“Anyway, where’s my sister? Weren’t you two supposed to meet today?”

Guess she was still worried about her family.

I answered.

“I just walked her home.”

“Walked her home? She said she’d be staying over tonight. Don’t tell me you kicked her out because she annoyed you or something?”

“Why would I do that?”

“It’s not like it’s the first time.”

“…Josephine was drunk today; that’s the only reason I sent her back.”

But upon hearing my response, Mary’s gaze suddenly shifted. Like she was looking at some trash.

“You gave her alcohol? Even though you know she can’t drink? Don’t tell me you… took advantage of her while she wasn’t fully conscious or something…?”

“If I had, I wouldn’t have taken her home.”

“Hmph. Whatever.”

“But honestly, I don’t know why I’m even explaining myself to you.”

“Who asked you to? I’m leaving.”

Just as she said that and tried to walk away, I grabbed her wrist.

“Stop right there.”

“Ugh, what is your problem? Let go!”

Mary snapped and turned around sharply.

She tried to yank her hand away, but I held on firmly, giving her no chance to escape.

After struggling for a while with a hiss between her teeth, she eventually gave up and looked up at me, rubbing her now-reddened wrist.

At first, she bit her lip in frustration, but then flinched and shrank back slightly.

Looks like intimidation worked.

“I said… let go of me.”

I wanted Mary to quiet down, so I deliberately stared at her in silence.

And soon enough, her gaze began to waver with unease.

Then she suddenly shouted:

“You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you? How could you do this…right in front of my sister and father’s house?!”

“……?”

“You filthy pervert! Don’t even think about anything disgusting. If you so much as touch me, I’ll scream!”

Winter Winslet was an infamous womanizer.

And now, it seemed I’d been mistaken for failing to suppress those womanizing instincts and laying a hand on my fiancée’s younger sister.

“You shameless bastard. Don’t tell me you got my sister drunk and brought her here just as an excuse to go after me from the start?”

“I think you’re seriously misunderstanding something…”

“Don’t you dare try anything. I’ll bite my tongue off if I have to.”

“You’re impossible to talk to. Here…look at this.”

I pulled a small object from inside my coat and held it out.

The moment Mary saw it, she fell silent, as if hypnotized.

“What am I even supposed to—ah.”

No, I hadn’t actually hypnotized her.

What shimmered under the glow of the streetlamp was a small card.

It was the marker I’d received in return for handing over a Caraphine to Sakis Lubas, the second point of the Heptagram Society.

If I showed this marker to one of Longsoniere’s field agents, I would be granted access within authorized limits to the spy network led by Sakis Lubas.

In other words, this is what I meant:

“Mary de Azetta. Who would’ve thought you, Josephine’s little sister, were the contact for Longsoniere, the Libron’s spy unit.”

Mary’s face went pale.

“This… this is ridiculous…”

A fiancée who was the commander of the kingdom’s secret unit.

And I her fiancé who was a traitor to the kingdom.

And a sister-in-law who turned out to be a spy.

What a wonderfully disastrous family situation.