The Drinking Sage 26

“Will you take off your clothes?”

“Ah. Yes.”

If that’s what she really wants, I should comply.

At my words, Adela cheerfully beckoned to me. It seemed she was planning to guide me somewhere.

I followed behind her.

“In Bardishe Bar, there are rooms that customers cannot enter.”

That’s what she said as she guided me to a room inside the counter area.

I tilted my head at her words.

“Then wouldn’t I be unable to enter as well?”

“Not at all.”

Adela smiled brightly at my question.

“Because I’m here.”

“…”

Is she not a customer? She seems to be connected to the bar somehow.

As if she noticed the doubt in my gaze, Adela added an explanation.

“The Master and I have a very special relationship. We tell each other everything.”

“That’s unexpected. You don’t seem like someone who would open up completely to others, Sage.”

“Well, the Master here can never talk about students’ personal matters, right?”

Adela shrugged her shoulders.

“Think of it as me pouring out my complaints to the Master, trusting in that. That’s how we became close.”

“Hmm.”

That statement, in other words, meant that I hadn’t yet become that intimate with Adela.

‘I still have a long way to go.’

When would I be able to hear her personal circumstances?

As we conversed about various things, we found ourselves inside the room.

Though I inwardly assumed it wouldn’t be the case. Clinging to my last hope, I asked Adela.

“Do you really want me to take off my clothes?”

In response to my question, Adela.

Click-

Answered by magically locking the door.

“…Why are you locking the door?”

“Ah.”

Adela smiled brightly again.

“So that silver-haired woman can’t come in.”

“…”

“It’s not like I’m going to show Your Highness undressing to everyone, right?”

“I think I could just not undress in the first place.”

“No.”

Adela raised her index finger.

With it, I felt her poking my back.

“I mentioned it before, right? That I wanted to examine your body.”

“Hmm.”

‘I see.’

I realized why Adela said she wanted me to take off my clothes.

“It’s an interesting topic. Observing the body of an imperial family member with Dragon Blood is something I, as a magician, can’t easily pass up.”

“Couldn’t you have just said that from the beginning?”

“No.”

Once again, she gave me the same answer and.

Adela smiled broadly. That appearance, without any trace of the previous coldness, was so beautiful.

“Male-female relationships are about push and pull.”

“…”

My face turned sour at those words.

To some extent, it was probably said with playful intent. But for me, such behavior making me conscious of romantic relationships was burdensome now.

Because a gray-haired girl flashed through my mind.

I still remember the words she had spoken so distinctly.

-Explain.

“…”

I prayed that Rinet and Adela would not meet.

 

Sreuk- Sreureuk-

I undid all the buttons and removed my upper garments one by one.

It was truly embarrassing to expose my skin openly in front of another woman. Even for emotionless me, my actions couldn’t help but slow down.

However.

“Gulp….”

The sound that had been repeating in my ear as I turned my back to her.

Adela had been continuously swallowing as she looked at my body.

Like a child with something delicious right in front of them.

Having removed my upper garments, I asked with a sense of disbelief.

“…Do I need to take off my lower garments too?”

“Gulp… Ah, no! Of course not!”

Adela, who had been staring at me fixedly, hastily came to her senses and answered.

Her attitude was quite awkward. Because I was considerably concerned, I verified one thing with her.

“I believe that you truly asked me to undress for research purposes. That there was no personal desire involved.”

“Oh my, of course! When a magician is focused on a research subject, they wouldn’t even recognize their own family.”

‘Is that so?’

It sounded so exaggerated that I wasn’t sure if it was sincere. Well, I suppose I should just accept it since it’s coming from a genuine magician.

“Please sit with your back facing me.”

Following her words, I roughly cleared the dust from the floor and sat down. Adela bent her knees, leaned her upper body forward, and brought her body close to me.

Cold fingers touched my back.

“Haah….”

“…”

If there was no personal desire involved, why did the sigh coming from behind sound so hot?

However, such sighs didn’t last long. Soon, Adela began examining my body as per her original purpose.

Seuuuu-

Mana sprayed out from the tip of Adela’s finger. The mana entered my body directly and circulated through my bloodstream and nervous system.

A skill obtainable only by rising to the position of Sage. Interference with another’s mana.

I could feel her mana flowing throughout my body. A precise flow that seemed determined not to miss any part of my body.

And yet, it flowed as gently as possible, perhaps fearing I might be uncomfortable – truly befitting of a Sage.

“Hmm….”

Adela frowned behind me. Did she discover something displeasing?

Eventually, the cold sensation from behind disappeared. After removing her fingers, she whispered to me in a soft voice.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

“What was the situation like when you awakened your Dragon Blood? If Your Highness cannot disclose it, I won’t ask. But I think I need to know to give you a definitive assessment.”

“Hmm.”

I pondered for a moment at Adela’s words. It was a subject that shouldn’t be carelessly revealed to others.

Beyond the pitch-black vision I saw when I closed my eyes, I recalled a memory from some time ago.

A warrior attacking a procession. Royal guards falling. My sister and I desperately fleeing.

And.

The Dragon Blood, awakened when facing the moment of death.

“…I was facing a life-threatening crisis.”

After long deliberation, I finally opened my mouth.

This was also to gain information by consulting the Sage about my body, but.

“I awakened it then, but unfortunately, it was only once. After that, I couldn’t handle the Dragon Blood as I did during the awakening.”

Trust.

The feeling that trusting her would help fulfill the imperial command and.

Beyond that, my personal desire to trust her.

Both were significant factors.

“Hmm.”

Adela stroked her lips with her index finger. She seemed to be assembling information.

Soon after, she shared the results of her investigation.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

“According to what this girl has found, Your Highness’s current body is not that of an ordinary human.”

“…”

I closed my mouth at those words.

There was something that came to mind.

Adela explained her assessment grounds methodically.

“It’s so different from a regular person’s body composition. This is almost similar to that of a different race. As if…”

“A dragon, I presume.”

“Yes.”

Adela then explained the intention behind her earlier question.

“It makes sense that Your Highness cannot use basic swordsmanship or magic. Since it’s not a human body, it’s inevitably impossible.”

“Is that so.”

“And that is due to a forced awakening.”

A forced awakening.

“Considering that such symptoms don’t appear in other imperial family members, we can conclude that because you forcibly awakened the blood in a moment of crisis, your body became distorted.”

And, she continued.

Adela carefully continued her words.

With a very worried expression.

“Your Highness must no longer use the Dragon Blood.”

“May I ask why?”

“Erosion is progressing.”

Adela manipulated magical power to display an image.

In the diagram of the human internal body, what appeared to be a liquid could be seen eating away at the organs.

“The Dragon Blood is transforming Your Highness’s body. And it seems to have started very recently.”

“…”

“Your Highness. Let me say it once more, you absolutely, absolutely must not use the Dragon Blood. If you continue to use it beyond this point…”

Adela’s voice trailed off.

“You will die. Without fail.”

“…”

I sighed softly.

It wasn’t something I didn’t know. I was the child born with more Dragon Blood than my brothers and sisters from birth. That’s why I’m more susceptible to its influence.

‘But.’

Can I really not use it?

There will be many times in the future when I’ll need to use power while living at the Academy. And the only power I have is the Dragon Blood.

It’s like I have to move forward even if there’s a cliff at the end of the road.

However.

“…”

Seeing the concern deeply embedded in the obsidian eyes looking at me.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth.

“…I understand.”

I could only outwardly say that I understood.

Clap! Adela clapped her hands.

She seemed to dislike the unnecessarily gloomy atmosphere lingering.

She rose to her feet and declared in a clear voice.

“Anyway, as long as you don’t use the Dragon Blood from now on, you can live a long life without any problems. That’s certain.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. So leave the difficult things to me, and Your Highness just needs to preserve your precious body.”

As she proudly thrust out her chest, the soft-looking chest tissue jiggled.

I smiled bitterly at the sight.

If only they hadn’t caused problems in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to come to the Academy under imperial command. Then I wouldn’t have used the Dragon Blood either.

How could I not know that her intentions were for my well-being?

“Thank you.”

As my mouth conveyed gratitude, Adela immediately snatched the conversation.

“Really? Then can you grant me one more request?”

“Pardon?”

Shouldn’t this end warmly with just a thank you?

I was surprised by her immediate pounce, like a bird catching a fish.

Adela pulled out a letter from her bosom. It bore the seal of the Pitch-Black Tower.

“There’s a place I’d like you to go with me.”

There was no need to ask where.

“The Pitch-Black Tower?”

“Yes.”

Adela nodded and explained.

“This time, the Tower Master is inviting influential figures from all regions for a party. You and I are naturally included. I think invitations will probably go to the Saint and the Sword Star as well.”

“Hmm.”

I let out a short hum.

It was quite a sudden invitation, but in a way, it was also beneficial.

‘I should look for a new task at the Pitch-Black Tower.’

What could be the problem when I have the Sage by my side?

However, I had one question.

“How did you know about this in advance?”

“The Tower Master gave me advance notice. Because we’re related by blood.”

“…”

It probably meant a mother-daughter relationship, but.

‘Why does she speak as if maintaining distance?’

Mom, mother, parent. Without using any of these words.

I was curious about the intention behind the term ‘Tower Master.’

“By the way?”

Adela raised her finger.

She pointed her index finger at my face and.

Lifted the corners of her mouth. It was a smile that looked quite mischievous.

“The Tower Master told me that if I wanted, I could come in advance.”

“…”

Even before she finished her words.

For some reason, I easily guessed what she was about to say.

“So, I’d like to go ahead ‘with Your Highness’ and pay my respects.”

Is that okay? Adela concluded her words mischievously like that.

For a moment, my mind became complicated. I wasn’t foolish enough not to notice when she was giving such explicit hints.

Adela was now speaking indirectly.

-Come meet my mother with me.

Like a daughter introducing her boyfriend to her mother.

Knowing that intention, my mouth couldn’t easily open.

-I love you.

The night with the moon. I still remembered the Saint confessing her love to me.

‘However.’

-Actually, I fell for Your Highness at first sight.

If we were to determine the order. It’s true that Adela was the first to confess to me.

It was just awkward because it was at the level of a drunken truth.

After a brief but profound contemplation.

“Very well.”

I made my decision.

“Let’s go see the Tower Master together.”

At my words, Adela’s face brightened dramatically.

The emotions flowing through my Dragon Eyes contained joy and relief.

Though she didn’t show it outwardly, she must have been extremely worried.

“Thank you. Then I’ll let you know the specific date later, and at that time we can-“

As Adela excitedly spoke like a machine gun.

Before she could finish her sentence.

Bang!

The closed door opened.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t just opened but was more like it was shattered and torn off.

Huduk. Beyond the debris of the door falling to pieces.

“You.”

As emotionless as usual, but.

Somehow showing a chilling demeanor. It was the Sword Star, Silvia.

“Who gave you permission to take him?”

One sword strike.

Seeing the Sword Star’s tongue-made blade of words cutting the Sage.

I suddenly had one intuition.

‘Why?’

Surely the confessions from the Saint and the Sage were enough to complicate my mind.

Somehow I felt that the Sword Star would get involved in this, and it made me deeply anxious.