218. A Hazy Interlude (3)
From Noble mtl dot com
It was bitter.
I sucked on the blood flowing down my lips and collapsed to the ground.
‘Heh. What did I expect?’
When Jill suddenly opened her eyes wide and called my name, I couldn’t hide my anticipation.
I thought Jill might recognize me.
I thought she might know who I was.
Of course, no such miracle occurred.
Jill was in a state where she didn’t recognize me.
To be more precise, she recognized me, but she didn’t know that she recognized me.
She was able to see me for a moment because she perceived me as a figment of her dream.
That brief moment was so precious.
I wished it could go on forever.
I wanted to stay like this with just the two of us, forever.
As I held Jill in my arms and felt her skin against mine, I couldn’t help but think those thoughts.
‘I have to let her go.’
But this wasn’t what I wanted.
Neither Jill nor I wanted to be perceived as figments in a dream.
If I really wanted to reunite with Jill properly, I had to let her go.
This was like a drug to Jill, sweet at the moment but sure to leave her with a bitter aftertaste when she woke up.
All I could do was let her have a sweet dream, even if it was just for a brief moment of delusion.
Using that as an excuse, I told Jill everything I had wanted to say to her.
I poured my heart out.
I wanted Jill to stop hating herself.
I wanted her to stop hurting herself.
I dared to have such selfish desires, even though I was a pathetic wretch who kept making her wait.
Was it because of that?
Or was Jill just strong-willed to begin with?
As Jill walked out after receiving her report, I could feel the strength in her steps.
‘This should be enough.’
I took my hand out of my pocket, and a golden light spread out.
The yellow jasmine in my hand was emitting a stronger light than ever before.
Just a moment ago, it had been wilted and dying.
Now, it looked as if it had just been picked, with a vibrant vitality and a moist texture.
It felt more like we had exchanged something rather than simply touching.
Should I say that we had shared our vitality with each other?
Or maybe it was just a matter of exchanging saliva······.
The lips that Jill had bitten were still tingling.
“······What a waste.”
Suddenly, Miso grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and pulled me down.
She ran her finger across my lips, smearing the blood, and then sucked it off.
Is it that delicious?
It just tastes bitter to me.
Ignoring her gaze, which seemed to be filled with envy, I gathered the magic I had stored in my hand and prepared for the next jump.
“Let’s go.”
“······Okay.”
Miso took my hand without hesitation.
I cut through space once more.
And I jumped straight to the place that Mu-myeong had told me about.
.
.
.
“Ugh······.”
Thud.
A large bottle of alcohol was placed on the glass table.
Julia shook the glass, where the ice had melted, and took a shot before smirking.
What am I doing?
I’ve always liked alcohol, but I’ve never drunk alone like this before.
I felt like I had become an alcoholic.
I know everything, and I know that I shouldn’t be doing this······.
But even so, I couldn’t stop drinking.
There was no other way to relieve my stress.
I have no friends to hang out with.
I don’t have any active hobbies.
In the end, it’s either work or alcohol······.
Lately, I haven’t even had much work to do.
When I was building the Alliance’s network, I was so busy negotiating with Linda that I didn’t have time to blink.
But now, instead of technical matters, I was being asked to show leadership as the commander of the 2nd Fleet.
It was so burdensome and unpleasant.
I knew that as someone who was responsible for one of the pillars of the Alliance, I had to hold at least one important position.
I also knew that the position of fleet commander was one of the few important positions where I didn’t have to show my face to people or have face-to-face conversations.
Even the position of commander, where I didn’t have to say much and could give most of my orders in writing, was unbearable for Julia.
The stress just kept piling up.
And the person who could relieve it had been gone from this world for four years now.Neither Jill nor Yurina had a habit of drinking alcohol.
In the end, there was really no other way than to pour alcohol into her stomach alone and endlessly.
“Ugh…”
Julia, who belatedly noticed that there was no ice in her glass, got up from her seat.
Staggering.
Her steps kept swaying to the side.
Julia, who took out a large ice cube from the ice maker and put it in her glass and turned around, staggered greatly.
“Ugh…?”
Is it because of my mood?
I felt like something had just grabbed me…
Julia, who had regained her balance, returned to her seat.
And then she tried to tilt the bottle again, but stopped.
“What would Eugene say if he saw me like this…”
Her arm, which had been moving uncontrollably, stopped.
Her mouth was parched.
Eugene also liked to drink.
But it felt like he was just hanging out with Julia.
That’s because I’ve never seen him drink alone when Julia wasn’t around.
So if he saw me drinking like this without any countermeasures, he would probably nag me.
He would tell me to stop drinking because it would hurt my body.
And then he would give me something else to drink instead.
“When I put away the glass… he might even kiss me…”
She touched her lips, recalling the longing sensation.
I made a mistake.
I can’t remember it well.
As tears were about to flow, she had the illusion that something was touching her lips.
“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh…”
And then, peck. Peck.
Julia groaned in an ambiguous position as if she was being held somewhere.
Her cheeks were held on both sides as if they were being squeezed, and she couldn’t move.
Following her cheeks, the back of her neck was also held, and she couldn’t even pull her head back.
It felt as if her entire neck was paralyzed.
Something seemed to be touching her lips, but it wasn’t certain.
Her vision was blurry.
Her mind was becoming more and more confused, and she could even taste a sweet taste that she couldn’t get rid of.
“Phew…”
Was I holding my breath?
Julia’s chest heaved as the breath that had been blocked burst out all at once.
It was a strange feeling.
For some reason, a familiar sensation kept touching Julia.
Gently, tenderly.
And as if to apologize…
As if brushed by the wind, the hair that had been bitten by Julia’s mouth was brushed away and her bangs were straightened.
“Ugh…”
And then, another peck.
She felt a soft touch on her forehead, and her body trembled.
Julia originally hated touching other people’s skin.
She even hated shaking hands.
When she first met Eugene, she was so startled when she came into contact with him in her sleep that she woke up in a fright.
And then the only thing she got used to was Eugene’s touch.
He accepts me for who I am, and since he already knows everything about me, there is nothing to be disgusted about.
Julia only gave her body to Eugene.
It was instinctive, physiological.
Then what is this?
Just a simple hallucination?
A dream?
Did I drink too much?
Julia gave up thinking about it.
She felt too groggy to continue thinking.
“Ugh?! Ugh? Ugh…”
Then, gulp, gulp.
Her chin was lifted up, and she felt something flowing down her throat.
Something viscous and thick.
My jaw hurts.
And that moment.
“□□ □□ □□ □□ □□□.”
“……!”
My head was throbbing.
Her eyes flashed open.
Thud!
Julia grabbed the table as if her heart was sinking.
Her blurred vision cleared up, and her groggy mind returned.
The drunkenness that had been swaying had completely disappeared.
Just when she was wondering what had happened.
A cold air filled the room.
She turned around in surprise and saw the Frost Lord closing the door and staring at Julia with a serious expression.
“Julia. Come to me.”
“Huh…?”
“Come to your senses and hold my hand. There’s an enemy in here.””······!”
Thud!
Yerina lightly tapped her foot.
Mana resonated from her toes, one by one, and began to run wild.
Then, all the mana and magic power in the room froze coldly.
The floor and walls were covered in frost, and the windows and doors were completely frozen.
Natural barrier.
It was the completion of an ice prison that no one could leave without the permission of the Frost Monarch.
“Th, th, th, that······ wh, what do you mean······?”
“It’s exactly what I said. There’s an intruder in the headquarters.”
“Th, the alarm-“
“I didn’t sound it on purpose. I was worried that the enemy would escape. Just in case, I had magic detection sensors installed throughout the headquarters, and one went off in the Saintess’s quarters and another went off in Julia’s quarters a little while later.”
“Th, then······.”
“Yes. The culprit is in here. The culprit we’ve been chasing.”
The Frost Monarch’s cold gaze swept across the large room.
She couldn’t see or feel it at all, but she was certain.
Was this the certainty that Rex had shown on the battlefield?
The enemy was definitely in here.