The Sage Who Drinks 42

It was a little while later that Adela finally calmed down.

“Huu….”

Her hand swept back her hair as she let out a slightly breathless sigh.

She pushed down the remaining bit of shame as she spoke.

“Let me ask first.”

As she glanced at me, I silently waited for her to continue.

In this room prepared for royalty within the Imperial Palace – clearly Adela’s room based on the fact that it wasn’t in my memories.

Adela Ciadellia looked directly into my eyes and asked.

“…How did you enter this dream?”

“Hmm.”

Her straightforward question left me full of doubts.

However, after hearing her question, I didn’t have a proper answer to give back.

‘I wonder.’

Adela said one cannot see their own dream. That’s why I had been in her dream until just now.

If so, why am I in my dream now?

“…”

After contemplating this question that had been bothering me, I ultimately had to shake my head.

“I don’t know.”

“Hmm….”

Adela seemed to have grasped the truth in my words. She put her index finger to her lips and became silent.

Then, she carefully touched on a sensitive subject.

“By any chance, what scene did you see in my dream?”

“…It was when you received the teddy bear.”

“Yes. Then the magic activated properly.”

She let out a “Hmm-” as she crossed her arms, making her chest rise elastically where her arms supported it.

Adela tapped her lips as she pondered, then finally declared to me as if she had reached a conclusion.

“Alright. Your Highness, please don’t leave my side from now on.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, there’s nothing to misunderstand! This is purely for your safety.”

Adela raised her index finger. Her slender white finger extended upward.

“Just entering your own dream is already an anomaly. It’s uncertain whether we can properly exit the dream.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Therefore, you must not separate from me, who is both the original target of this dream and the caster of the spell.”

‘I see.’

Certainly, looking at the reasoning, there was nothing wrong with what she said.

In a situation where I didn’t understand what was happening, there was no one more trustworthy than Adela.

I nodded and agreed with her.

“Very well. Let’s stay together.”

“Heheh, heheheh…. Yes. Thank you.”

“…”

Her sinister laugh, as if everything was going according to plan, was not at all reassuring.

Perhaps feeling relieved now that she had achieved her goal, Adela subtly revealed her current psychological state.

Mainly her feelings toward the dream version of me.

“Ah, young Your Highness is so cute… I want to hug you.”

Even following it with a “Sseup-” sound as she swallowed her saliva.

‘Is she saying this for me to hear?’

It seemed unlikely that someone of the Sage’s caliber would show such an awkward side.

Perhaps she was intentionally showing it to me,

…or maybe she was that infatuated with me.

Either way, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant answer, so I just sighed and asked.

“I understand. Then, what should we do now?”

“Ah, right. You still don’t know.”

Clap-! Adela clapped her hands at my words.

Of course she would know since she had been in the dream from the beginning, but I couldn’t know what the situation was after entering the dream midway.

Adela slowly informed me of what we needed to do now.

With a beaming smile on her white face.

“We’re going to see father-in-law.”

“…”

Is there no way to avoid the burdensome word choices?

 

“I saw it before Your Highness arrived, but the Imperial Palace is truly magnificent.”

Adela spoke beside me.

Her gaze swept across the corridor of the Imperial Palace.

Befitting the heart of the Empire, the wide and grand corridor possessed an overwhelming presence just by looking at it.

How could it not, with dragons flaunting in bas-relief between spaces and chandeliers placed throughout the ceiling?

“Even the Tower isn’t at this level. Your Highness knows that, right?”

“Indeed.”

The Pitch-Black Tower that I visited with Adela is certainly inferior compared to the Imperial Palace.

However, I smiled slightly and replied.

“However, considering the object called the elevator, one can also imagine the grandeur of the Tower.”

“My! Thank you for saying that.”

Adela smiled broadly at my words.

It was a comment considering that she belongs to the Tower and her mother is the Tower Master, so I was glad it was well-received.

But.

“…By the way, Lady Sage.”

“Yes?”

The way she tilted her head as if wondering why I suddenly spoke to her was truly vexing.

I looked at Adela with a displeased expression and said.

“Is it necessary for you to hold my hand?”

As I said, my hand was firmly held in Adela’s.

In this dream, I was still young, while Adela was more mature in comparison.

Even considering the physical difference between men and women, Adela was taller.

It looked like an older sister lovingly holding her little brother’s hand.

However.

Adela only tilted her head more at my words.

“Huh? Is there a problem?”

“…”

“I’m Your Highness’s older sister, and Your Highness is my younger brother. So there’s no problem, right?”

While there was nothing wrong with what she said,

I somehow felt that her actions weren’t coming from such wholesome intentions.

I merely surveyed the surroundings with a troubled gaze.

As I worried, the palace maids were whispering about us.

-Look at that. The Second Princess and the Fourth Prince.

-Oh my. They look so close.

-Really. How do they match so well together?

“…”

The emotions visible in my dragon eyes were uncomfortable.

I know that in this world, love between family members isn’t problematic behavior.

But when you think of yourself as the subject, it’s impossible to hide the discomfort.

“Heheh, heheheh….”

However, my “sister” beside me didn’t seem to think so.

Adela was trying to suppress her smile from others, yet her lips kept trembling, unable to go down.

“Aah, to be Your Highness’s older sister… when will I ever get to do this again.”

“…”

“I should enjoy this moment. Yes. I should stay as long as possible.”

‘Is that why you used magic?’

I swallowed the words that rose up to my throat. I didn’t want to spoil Adela’s happy mood.

So we walked through the Imperial Palace.

Finally, we arrived at the place where the sovereign of the Empire resided.

-Enter.

At the voice from inside, I suddenly recalled a memory from long ago.

‘That’s father’s voice from back then.’

The timbre of that era that I can no longer hear.

Feeling a bit of nostalgia, the door in front of Adela and me opened by itself, and we both took a step forward.

Then.

“Wow….”

Although it was against etiquette, Adela let out an exclamation.

The Emperor’s room was already too large to be called a room. It was closer to the size of an imperial citizen’s family home.

On the opposite side of where we entered, similarly large tables and chairs with dragons carved on them were placed.

The golden splendor, the symbol of the Imperial Family, was truly magnificent.

After looking at that scene, she turned her gaze to the front.

There was a man with golden hair and blue eyes.

Adela gulped.

“That’s Your Highness’s father….”

“…”

Kook- Her hand holding mine. Strong pressure was felt there.

‘Is she nervous?’

In her own way, Adela seemed to be trembling at seeing the Emperor, even if it was a dream.

That’s what I thought, but.

“Even though it’s a dream, this is like showing my face to the parents… I can’t take this lightly. Do it properly, Adela.”

“…”

Her thought process seemed to be entirely based on romantic matters.

‘This is something.’

I was dumbfounded by her attitude of thinking from the perspective of sharing love with me, wherever and whenever.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I silently looked at my father.

Emperor Laios von Welert. He watched us with a slight smile.

“You two seem to be getting along well today. Adela, Loran.”

I wonder if the Sage and I had a particularly deep bond in this dream.

I had simply thought so, but for Adela, it was something else.

“Ehehe, is that so…?”

Adela, who had been steeling her resolve just a moment ago, immediately relaxed her face and smiled sheepishly.

Seeing that, the Emperor merely laughed loudly.

“Yes. Adela, didn’t you always say you would marry Loran?”

“Ah, d-did I? Did I really?”

“Hmm? Has there been a change of heart? You always said so yourself.”

“Oh right, I did! That’s right. I’m going to marry Your High- I mean, L-Loran. Yes.”

I inwardly sighed at the conversation that seemed like a comedy skit. I raised my head and stared blankly at the ceiling.

‘Thank goodness it’s a dream.’

If this had happened in reality, I might have fainted.

“The reason I called you is none other than this.”

Father cleared the atmosphere and got to the point.

In a comfortable posture leaning against the backrest. However, his gaze looking at us was by no means light.

“Adela.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps sensing the change in atmosphere, Adela also responded politely with proper etiquette.

Looking at her, the Emperor continued.

“I’ve heard you’re not getting along well with Gaius lately.”

“Gaius?”

“The Third Prince. You’re not pretending to have forgotten his name, are you?”

His sharp gaze was like a blade. It was about the protocols to be observed in the Imperial Palace.

Adela, also seemingly realizing that she was a princess in this dream, trembled her fingers slightly and answered.

“No. I haven’t forgotten. I’m sorry.”

“Good. Anyway, I don’t think Gaius is a child with great potential either, but it’s not right for members of the Imperial Palace to make that so apparent that even the public knows. Understand?”

“Yes. I understand.”

Listening to the conversation, I also recalled the past.

‘Gaius von Welert.’

In reality, he’s the Second Prince. In this dream, he’s the Third Prince, and he’s my older brother.

He’s my brother, but.

‘I don’t have any good memories of him.’

A person who had bad relations with me even before I matured.

No, he didn’t get along with any of the siblings from the beginning.

Gaius was an extremely arrogant person. His pride as royalty was so high that if a maid made a mistake, he would immediately slap her and.

-You insect-like woman. A woman like you doesn’t deserve to be in the Imperial Palace.

He said that and drove her out.

At the same time, I knew there was a dark ambition in his heart to aim for the Emperor’s seat.

That’s why he envied our oldest brother, the First Prince, and took out his frustration by bullying his younger siblings.

What took me out of my reverie was my father’s subsequent words.

“Loran. I have something to tell you too.”

“Yes.”

I immediately embodied the protocol of the Imperial Palace. I bowed my head to show respect to the sovereign.

“I know that Gaius is harsh to you. But, I’ve heard rumors that you don’t particularly respond to it. Why is that?”

The Emperor’s words were somewhat perplexing. It was a statement I had never heard in reality.

‘Why don’t I respond?’

Well, father wasn’t the type to point out such things meticulously. It was closer to a policy of self-sufficiency.

I answered appropriately without holding back.

“…I am numb to emotions due to the strong dragon blood. Therefore, I don’t particularly mind my older brother’s unpleasant behavior.”

“Hmm.”

Father let out a groan, as if something in my words bothered him.

Then, as if wanting to tell me something, he said a word.

“Loran.”

“Yes.”

“It’s fine for you to do so now. But someday, there will come a time when you must stop Gaius.”

“I am ignorant and don’t understand your meaning. What is the intention behind your words?”

“You may be emotionless about him touching you, but can you be the same if Gaius touches your people?”

“…”

I frowned slightly at those words.

‘My people, he says.’

There are few individuals who fall under that term.

My only little sister until recently, Lorela.

Perhaps now, three women have been added to that.

‘If Gaius were to touch them.’

…Honestly, I couldn’t predict how I would react. There’s not enough data.

I simply responded politely to my father’s words without saying anything.

“I understand your words. I should act appropriately.”

“Yes. I’m curious about what choice you will make then.”

With those words, father waved his hand. It was a dismissal telling us to leave now.

As Adela and I were about to bow deeply and leave.

Father addressed us from behind.

“Come to think of it. Adela, my daughter.”

“Yes, Father.”

Adela’s expression was full of questions as she turned her head to look at the Emperor.

At her eyes asking why he called her, Father, Laios, smiled and.

Dropped a bomb.

“I think you and Loran make a good match.”

“…What?”

Adela’s pupils became momentarily dull.

It was that unexpected of a statement.

Father continued without caring about her reaction at all.

“Loran, that child, is a dull child. You can only move his heart by pushing forward. I’m secretly pleased that you seem to be targeting that point well.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

“If you keep going like this, you can break down the wall around Loran’s heart. Do well.”

“…Yes! Father!”

Like a subordinate addressing a superior, Adela bowed deeply to father with a rigid posture.

Father, regardless of that, waved his hand as if telling us to really leave now.

So the door closed by itself again, and as we two came out.

We found ourselves in a ridiculous situation where one side was trying to avoid the other’s fervent gaze.

“Your Highness, Your Highness.”

“…”

I did not answer.

As I tried to avoid her gaze by looking elsewhere,

Adela leaned her head in and breathed sweetly in my ear.

“This means Father acknowledges it, right? He’s declaring that I have the qualification to be by Your Highness’s side, right?”

“…Lady Sage. Please calm your excitement.”

Unable to choose either yes or no, what I chose was to calm Adela down.

I continued with utmost calmness.

Although I couldn’t suppress the twitching of my facial muscles.

“This is only in a dream. It’s not what my real father said. Therefore, having too high expectations…”

I was in the middle of making my heated statement.

What made me close my mouth was a fierce physical assault.

“C-Cute!!!”

With a shrill voice.

“Mmph?!”

With a woosh, soft feminine flesh embraced my body. It was Adela.

She hugged me tightly and rubbed her body. Adela’s chin scratched the top of my head as her voice rang in my ear.

“Cute, cute, cute! My goodness, with such a small body acting so grown-up! How impertinent!”

“Wait, Lady Sage….”

“Pretending to be indifferent yet showing that you care. Oh, this truly impertinent little kid! You’re so cute I could die.”

The strength with which her two arms embraced me was so strong that it was difficult to escape with my young body.

Adela’s sweet scent of flesh, felt even through clothes.

And, forcibly embraced, my face was pushed against her chest.

Feeling Adela’s soft chest change shape accordingly with a squish,

I could only think silently.

‘This won’t do.’

Somehow, somehow, I needed to correct this habit of Adela’s.

Otherwise, I would continue to be dragged around by her like this. That was sincerely something I wanted to avoid.

‘I don’t know if I will truly make a lifelong promise with Adela.’

But at least in this romantic relationship, I must never give Adela the initiative.

It was the moment I understood that fact.