Chapter 135: Viki (Part 2)
The night was lonely.
With only flickering candlelight tonight, the moonlight was nowhere to be seen.
The exceptional beauty floated in the air, her face turned to the heavens, quietly drifting in the thickest darkness, as if in a deep slumber.
Occasionally, she would lift her lotus-like arm to bring the wine glass to her lips.
Her golden hair danced in the wind like clouds parting, and her extremely lazy posture, along with her incredibly beautiful profile, made the splendid lights from the buildings behind her seem like mere backdrop scenery.
In that moment, Victoria resembled a butterfly dancing in a warm spring breeze.
Or perhaps, the lifeless bones sinking to the seabed.
“Hmm… hmm-hmm~”
She softly hummed a familiar tune, her left hand, naturally dangling, was almost out of wine in the bottle she clutched in her palm.
Casually placing Captain Gray’s plate on the round table, I frowned, tiptoed towards the balcony railing, and pushed aside the vines blocking my view, feeling a gentle breeze brush against my face.
It seemed Victoria hadn’t noticed my approach, or perhaps she simply didn’t care, as she took another sip of wine.
I squinted, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, and softly called out to her, “Come down.”
After a moment, I added, “You’ve had too much to drink; it’s too dangerous.”
I waited, but Victoria still ignored me.
Not even a glance.
I was a bit upset, my little nose scrunched up, my empty left hand touching my lips, as I started to ponder what to say next.
Dinner’s ready!
…That was obviously not going to work.
There’s a fire!
…That was too silly.
I might as well just find a rock and throw it at her…
And so I bent down and searched for a small stone on the ground. Just then, Victoria finally broke the silence.
“They say… that’s how my father died.”
Her voice, delicate as flowing water, carried an always cold, frosty tone. The emotionless statement weighed heavily on my heart.
Victoria’s father, the former king of Ethanbel, had passed away…
Looking up at her again, I felt clueless about what expression to wear.
…But I guess she didn’t need me to show any particular emotion, nor did she require polite condolences like “please accept my deepest sympathies.”
Victoria didn’t turn to look at me, just continued speaking as if to herself.
“During a hunting trip, my mother, uncle, and Duke Lex were there. My father got drunk, ignored the warnings, flew up into the sky, and before long became disoriented and fell to his d*ath, mocked behind his back as the ‘king with broken wings.’ I was fourteen that year.”
“I didn’t believe it. I snuck a bottle from the wine cellar, pinched my nose and drank it all, not leaving a drop… that was my first taste of wine. I got incredibly drunk, and after drinking, I was very happy. I flew in front of my mother, flew in front of my uncle, flew all over the royal city. I wanted to prove to everyone that even if I got drunk, I wouldn’t d*e.”
“They all thought I was crazy.”
The cool night breeze seemed slightly stronger now.
I cradled the unopened wine, leaned on the iron railing, lifted my little head, and quietly listened to Victoria recount her past.
“Later, my mother ordered me locked in the tower for a whole year. She sealed the windows and didn’t let anyone speak to me. I could do nothing but drink… since then, I’ve always drunk. Whenever I got drunk, I would fly into the sky. Back then, I felt the whole world consisted of blue skies and white clouds, so clear.”
Her speech was very slow and her tone very calm.
Calm to the point of rendering me speechless.
Sadness?
Sympathy?
Compassion?
That elegant and fragile figure in mid-air didn’t need any of those.
If it weren’t for drinking too much, she probably wouldn’t even say any of this.
Yet, I felt a pang of sadness.
I wanted to say something.
I had to say something. Anything to respond to her.
But after hesitating for a while, I could only awkwardly ask, “So… do you want to find out the truth now?”
“…The truth?”
Victoria replied with a question.
“That doesn’t matter. Who killed my father, whether it was the Clive Family, my uncle, or my mother… even if I know, what good would it do?”
Revenge… the very word spun on the tip of my tongue but never made it out.
I feared she might think I was immature.
Because I understood. Victoria’s identity destined her to be unable to live a life of easy revenge, boldly doing whatever she wanted.
“My truth never existed from the beginning. Knowing or not, what I want to do won’t change, and my enemies won’t change either.”
“Many call me the black mandala, do you know why?”
I didn’t want to know why.
It surely wasn’t anything cheerful.
“Come down.” I said, worried for her.
Victoria still ignored me.
“I envy you, Peilo. You said today that spending time on things you love makes you happy. Eating delicious food makes you feel happy… that kind of feeling must be very blissful.”
She took her last sip of wine, holding the empty bottle up to her eyes, staring into the distance.
“This wine… is becoming less intoxicating.”
But you’re already drunk.
“Once it’s finished, you should come down,” I said again.
Finally, Victoria turned her head toward me.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her face tinted rosy. Her somewhat dazed eyes reflected a light that made me feel a bit tipsy too.
“Give me the wine,” she said.
I immediately shook my head.
“No.”
I clutched the wine bottle tightly to my chest, terrified she might pull some bizarre stunt or skill and swoop in for it if I took my eyes off her.
“Come down and take it yourself.”
Victoria narrowed her brows ever so slightly, gazing at me for a long time.
It seemed like her mouth twitched slightly…
Before I could discern if that was merely a figment of my imagination, her body finally moved.
Whoosh—
With an ethereal figure, accompanied by the whisper of the breeze, she slowly descended before me.
In that moment, I envisioned a goddess from myth, graceful like a startled swan and enchanting like a drifting dragon, leaving me a bit dumbfounded.
Then came the intoxicating aroma of wine swirling around me.
“Give it to me.”
Victoria’s voice whispered into my ear, soft as a breeze.
I instinctively wrapped my arms around her.
I held her tightly. Her pale arms slid through my slender waist, wrapping around me as our fingers intertwined, my little face pressed against her tender and soft skin.
My senses overwhelmed with the fragrant scent.
This woman… she looked skinny, but I had no idea she was quite well-endowed!
That thought flickered away as I gruffly told her, “I’ll give you the wine, but you can’t fly up again.”
“Let go.” Victoria murmured.
“Nope.”
“Let go.”
“Not a chance!”
I shook my head determinedly, trying to snuggle up to her a bit more… it was so comfortable.
“Unless… you promise not to fly.”
“I promise.”
Victoria quickly replied, her response so fast it made me doubt she was being sincere.
“…Really?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Well, you are Her Majesty the Queen. You must keep your word.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Only then did I slowly release my hold, handing over the bottle of wine that was almost warmly heated by me.
Victoria really didn’t fly up again.
She took the wine, swaying slightly as she walked to the round table, not bothering with the fine dust scattered on the armchair, and comfortably settled down.
With a pop, the cork flew off.
“Though living isn’t very meaningful, I still don’t want to d*e. If I d*e, I’d truly fulfill some people’s wishes.” As Victoria poured wine into her goblet, she spoke to me, “Ethanbel is a beautiful country; I don’t want it to be destroyed by those arrogant people someday.”
She downed the wine in her goblet in one gulp, then looked up at me, her face expressionless, asking, “Do you want to drink?”
“…I don’t drink.”
I affirmed this openly.
Though I felt bitter about it… after two lessons, I had come to a profound realization about my pitiful alcohol tolerance.
“Is that so?” Victoria lightly nodded, “What a pity.”
I pulled out the chair across from her, took off the handkerchief tied around my left wrist, wiped it carefully, and finally sat down.
My gaze shifted to Captain Gray’s plate.
…I may not be able to drink, but I can eat.
I quickly reached for a piece, took a bite, chewed slowly, then grabbed another to offer to Victoria.
“This one is super delicious.”
She had hardly eaten anything for dinner, just filled herself up with wine… she needed to eat something.
But Victoria rejected it, “I don’t eat sweets.”
I tilted my head, considering, and tearing off the honey-glazed part of the cake from Captain Gray’s dish, I stuffed it in my mouth, then offered her the remaining cake.
“There, it’s not sweet.”
Victoria looked at me, then at the cake I held, a bit hesitantly saying, “You picked that up off the ground, didn’t you?”
Uh…
Busted.
My face flushed slightly, and I thought about withdrawing my hand, but before I knew it, Victoria had snatched the cake from me.
“You tore it apart so badly…”
She said this gracefully, tearing off a piece from the top and delicately chewing it before slowly swallowing.
Her lovely brows lifted.
“…It’s still sweet.”
Yet she didn’t stop eating, taking small bites.
She really had drunk too much wine.
“Haha.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Not long after, a servant brought in some dishes. While they were still quite simple, I was ready to dig in.
“You had my share, so let me taste yours!”
Without waiting for her response, I speared a piece of beet and took a bite.
…The flavor was a bit bland, but much better than I expected.
“Eat more vegetables.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Without her telling me, I devoured the food quickly.
Yet after a few bites, Victoria set down her kn*fe and fork and started pouring herself more wine.
I paused my eating, tilting my head in thought.
“Victoria.”
“Mm?”
“I have an older sister who admires you greatly. She thinks you’re amazing, a big hero.”
“She doesn’t understand me.”
“Maybe… she definitely doesn’t know you’re a drunkard.”
“You can tell her.”
“No need.” I shook my head, “She can see you now.”
“Where is she?”
I stretched out my delicate fingers, pointing upwards.
“She’s in the sky.”
In the night sky, the stars twinkled, blinking like they were winking.
“So, don’t drink anymore. Let’s sing.”
“Sing what?”
“Just sing that song you sang that night. It was beautiful; teach me.”
“…Okay.”
Not long after.
On the small terrace of the manor, under the moonless night, beautiful melodies filled the air.
“Take me… to the moon…”
“Let me sing… forever…”
“I want to break free from this mundane prison… and frolic among the stars… let no one find me…”
“Let no one…”
