20~ I’m not drunk!
“Sniff… You stinky woman, I’ll get you later.” Yimi, who had been hit on the head twice, covered her red forehead and mumbled as she hid behind Wenfu, then slouched off to sit at the small table with Wenfu.
“Well then, to our glorious shared future, may our martial fortunes always be auspicious! Cheers!” Princess Filisia seemed to be quite good at drinking and didn’t dislike it. When you think about it, it makes sense – as a princess, she probably had a lot of social obligations to attend.
Drinking was a must at banquets, dances, and even royal meetings every now and then. There’s no denying that alcohol was an indispensable feature of any feast.
Unlike those girls who only drink because they have to, Princess Filisia didn’t seem to have any aversion towards alcohol – in fact, she even seemed to enjoy it.
Aistride raised her wine glass and clinked it against Princess Filisia’s, then gracefully took a light sip.
Wenfu, sitting at the small table, tilted her head and felt like she had mistakenly walked into a high society cocktail party.
Everyone was so elegantly poised.
Looking at her own kiddie-sized glass filled with juice, adorned with a slice of lemon, and then glancing at her own outfit, Wenfu couldn’t help but feel like a village girl who had accidentally wandered into an upscale banquet.
Yimi was sulking as she drank juice with Wenfu, occasionally throwing longing glances towards the main table.
Geez, even though she’s older than most people there, why does she have to sit at the kids’ table?
She didn’t dislike drinking juice but sometimes she missed wine too.
Actually, the reason Yimi wanted to drink alcohol was because it made her feel more mature. Whenever she found herself in a drinking context, she would drink wine to show off her sophisticated side, surprising those who mistook her for a child. As time went on, she ended up falling in love with drinking.
Rather than loving alcohol, she loved the fact that no one treated her like a kid when she was drinking.
Compared to Aistride’s light sipping, Princess Filisia had a much more unrestrained style. After taking a small sip, she tilted her head back and gulped down the remaining red liquid in her glass.
After finishing, she even licked her lips, her soft, fragrant tongue licking up the remnants of the wine, making her lips look somewhat alluringly crimson due to the alcohol.
When it comes to drinking, it’s always better with company.
Even though Aistride drank less, she did sip some. Since she wasn’t much of a drinker, Princess Filisia didn’t push her. And she understood that children shouldn’t drink alcohol.
Yet, one person didn’t even lift their glass and didn’t move at all.
“Tillysha, is everything alright?” Princess Filisia turned her gaze to the blond girl who had been sitting there as still as a statue. “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m fine, thank you for your concern.”
“Hmm.” Princess Filisia glanced at the untouched glass in front of Tillysha and the wine that was half-filled in the cup. “Your glass sure seems pretty full.”
This was akin to the Earth phrase: “Chug it down! Why are you leaving so much wine? Are you planning to keep some for the goldfish?”
“No rush. The food hasn’t come out yet. It’s a tad too early to drink, no?” Tillysha remained calm and composed but it did raise some suspicion in Princess Filisia.
“Tillysha, you don’t, by any chance, know nothing about drinking, do you?”
“If you can’t drink, don’t force yourself.”
“Tch.” Sitting at the kids’ table, Yimi expressed her silent disdain with a blank face. “For a big girl elf, you’re still only at the juice-drinking level. That’s embarrassing for elves.”
“Don’t listen to Yimi’s nonsense. I do know a thing or two about alcohol, and a casual sip wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Is that so? Just remember, don’t push yourself if you can’t handle it.”
“Relax, I won’t. I do have a decent tolerance, and you, Princess Filisia, might be the one collapsing first.”
“Ho? Is that so?” Hearing Tillysha’s somewhat ‘arrogant’ comment, Princess Filisia smiled brightly in response. Here in the kingdom, she’d never lost a drinking contest and, as a descendant of the ancient dragon bloodline, she digested alcohol exceptionally fast and her drinking capacity was top-notch.
She did want to see what kind of tolerance the elf actually had.
Soon, the plates of food were carefully carried by the waiters and served on exquisite white porcelain dishes.
Princess Filisia was thoughtful in this regard; the kids’ table had smaller servings, while the adults had larger ones. Considering Wenfu and Yimi’s limited appetites, this arrangement made Yimi even more annoyed.
Glancing at her tablemate, who was drooling like a starving cat, she felt restless at being treated like a child.
“Not drunk tonight until I fall!” Princess Filisia elegantly picked up her fork and took a bite of the perfectly roasted steak before raising her glass.
“Tillysha, come on?”
“Sure.” Tillysha lifted her glass, smiled calmly, and was just about to bring it to her lips when she was interrupted.
“Tillysha, you haven’t toasted yet. Don’t be so eager to drink, trying to show off your drinking skills, huh?” Princess Filisia teased. Through the small actions, she immediately realized that Tillysha didn’t really know how to drink – this might be the first time the girl had ever picked up a glass.
But that should be fine. Glancing at Aistride who had a glass of wine but was neither flushed nor dizzy, Princess Filisia figured that elves likely wouldn’t have poor drinking capacity.
The three glasses clinked together. As before, Princess Filisia gulped down the drink in one smooth motion.
Aistride took a sip, neither too large nor small.
Tillysha followed Princess Filisia’s lead instead of Aistride’s, and downed the entire glass in one go. However, the rapid action caused her to choke.
At first, Tillysha thought, “It’s just another drinkable liquid.” She’d never tasted wine, so she assumed its flavor wouldn’t be too bad since so many people liked it.
But as soon as the wine hit her tongue, the bitter taste that was a hundred times worse than tea filled her mouth immediately.
Caught off guard, she instinctively wanted to spit it all out but soon realized that everyone was watching her, including that troublemaker Yimi.
So, with pain flickering in her expression, Tillysha forced herself to ignore the bitterness and intense alcoholic smell in her mouth, and hastily swallowed it down.
“Hack….hack…” Despite trying her best to keep her composure, Tillysha couldn’t help but cover her throat and coughed softly a few times.
Is this what wine tastes like?
It’s so gross…
Even worse than tea, how can it taste this bad? Is it past its expiration date? But she’d seen Princess Filisia and Aistride drink it so smoothly without wrinkling an eyebrow.
Terrible, so bitter, sour, and overwhelming. It burnt her esophagus. If it’s not the fault of the wine…
Why would so many people like to drink something this awful?
Tillysha couldn’t fathom it.
Aistride had been paying attention to her even before Tillysha decided to drink. In her eyes, Tillysha was clearly not the type to enjoy drinking. This stuff was too bitter for her; someone who only ate sweets and drank fruit tea would never be able to take it.
Tillysha felt a faint moist sensation on her lips, looking up she saw that Aistride was using a wet napkin to wipe away the residual liquid on her lips.
“If you feel unwell, you don’t have to drink.” Aistride provided Tillysha with an excuse.
“Heheh.” Eating nearby while drinking juice, Yimi burst out laughing. Even though her expression remained mostly neutral, the corners of her mouth curled into a teasing smile.
“Can’t drink but insisting on showing off? I told you, alcohol’s not for kids. You should be content with some juice – drinking’s too much effort for you.” Yimi wasn’t going to miss the chance to tease Tillysha.
“Wow, so Tillysha can’t drink?” Princess Filisia was slightly apologetic. “Sorry, I thought you could hold your liquor fairly well.”
Tillysha usually gave off a sophisticated ladylike impression, so saying that such a person couldn’t drink was indeed surprising.
“Then you should join Yimi and Wenfu in drinking juice.”
“No need.” After catching her breath, Tillysha took the towel from Aistride, wiped her lips, and declined Princess Filisia’s offer.
“I can drink of course, it’s just that I haven’t done it in a while and I’ve gotten rusty.”
“Really?” Yimi didn’t let any opportunity to tease Tillysha slip by. “If you’re that bad, I have another idea: put some sugar in your glass. Since you can only handle sweet stuff like kids, a little sugar would help you get used to it.”
Tillysha ignored Yimi and poured herself another glass of wine.
This time, it wasn’t stopping at half a glass; she filled it up completely.
Princess Filisia was a bit scared.
This exquisite red wine was called “Demon Succubus Kiss.” As the name suggested, initially, it didn’t seem like much, but it had a strong aftertaste that made you feel like you’d been enchanted by a succubus. The first few moments might feel great, but the next ones leave your head swirling.
Even Princess Filisia only drank half a glass at a time, but Tillysha had poured herself a full glass.
A silent belch escaped Tillysha’s throat; her cheeks began to take on a faint rosy hue, like a plump and tempting fruit.
“Umm…”
Princess Filisia wanted to say something, but when she saw the flushed cheeks of Tillysha holding up the glass and drinking it all at once…
“…” Everyone fell into a strange silence. Yimi opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“Glug glug glug…”
After burping, Tillysha slowly put down her glass, wiped her mouth, lightly gripped her stomach, and glanced at Yimi at the smaller table. “Who said I can’t drink?”
“…”
“Keep going.”
Seeing Tillysha about to refill her glass, Aistride quickly seized her hand. “That’s enough. We all know you can drink. Please stop.”
“It seems like you’re feeling a bit off.”
“Ah, are you worried I’ll get drunk, Aistride? No worries, I’m completely sober.” Tillysha smiled at Aistride and gently broke free from her grasp. Not only did she fill her own cup, but she also filled Princess Filisia’s and Aistride’s.
“Come on, let’s toast, shall we?” Tillysha’s voice floated in a way that seemed like the slightest breeze could blow her away.
Before Princess Filisia and Aistride could say anything, Tillysha directly downed all the wine in one go.
“Hey, what’s the deal? You’re not moving your glasses? Are you scared?” Tillysha propped her head up with one hand, her cheeks flushed as her strands of hair fell over her shoulder.
“Just now, didn’t you say you could drink a lot? What now, scared to put up a fight?” Tillysha’s voice grew more airy and drifting.
“Hehe, you’re useless. You’re both useless, fishies, fishies~” Tillysha suddenly burst out laughing as she laid on the table. Her voice, already drunk, carried a charm and allure as if hearing her voice alone would make anyone drunk.
“You’re drunk, Tillysha.” Aistride had never seen Tillysha act so out of character and tried to support her but was shoved off.
“I’m not drunk! I’m not drunk… I said I’m not drunk!” Tillysha wobbled as she sat back up with her lips pouted. “You two, don’t drink, huh? If you don’t, I will!”
“I, we’ll drink too.” Seeing Tillysha eye their glasses, Princess Filisia and Aistride shared a glance and had no choice but to sip their drinks.
“Tch, what a lame way to drink. Not fun at all.” Seeing that neither of them finished their glasses, Tillysha frown creased her eyebrows, pouted, and clearly wasn’t happy.
Drunk as a skunk, she appeared like a little drunkard but with an uncharacteristic allure that was quite opposite from her usual innocence.
Before the two could say anything, Tillysha lifted the bottle and refilled both their glasses with red wine.
“Tillysha, you’re really drunk…”
“Stop saying that! Burp… I’m not drunk!”
“Come on, let’s drink?” Seemingly hit by the aftereffects, Tillysha’s cheeks were even redder, and her behavior was getting more out of hand.
“Bad children who refuse to drink must be punished~”
Princess Filisia finished hers, but Aistride still had a lot left in her glass. Tillysha smirked evilly.
“Hah? Aistride is such a lightweight, she can’t even finish the small amount of wine?”
“As the new elf princess, you can’t even drink properly?”
“Must, must be, punished~”
“Aistride! Wait! …” before Aistride could protest, the wine bottle’s mouth was suddenly shoved into Aistride’s little mouth.
“hee hee hee~” Tillysha tipped the bottle over, and immediately Aistride’s pupils tightened as the level of the bottle’s wine visibly dropped.
Because the bottle’s opening was so large for Aistride’s small mouth, plus Aistride’s reluctance, a lot of the wine dripped down from her lips, soaking her clothes, spilling over the endless mountain range of her cleavage, and leaving a reddish stain.
“Tillysha, please don’t do that!”
“Children shouldn’t interrupt.” Tillysha’s rosy cheeks were smiling as her eyes sparkled with a hint of danger. “Unless Wenfu wants to be a bad girl?”
“Meow…” So scary.
Drunk Tillysha is really scary!
Wenfu is scared.
“Ugh! Umpff…” Aistride, who had been force-fed half a bottle of wine, felt her stomach churn nauseatingly. As soon as the bottle was pulled out, she vomited out the wine that had flooded her mouth.
