## Chapter 879 – #191_Afterglow(4)
#873
1.
It was the harsh sunlight beating down on her eyelids that woke Linne, who was still reeking of alcohol.
“Ugh…”
Linne, curled up like a larva in a cocoon, tossed and turned, her head throbbing with a hangover that felt like it would split open. Though she was accustomed to various pains, she couldn’t withstand the dizziness that felt like dwarves were ringing bells inside her head.
Linne had an absurdly low tolerance for alcohol, and the amount of whiskey she had sipped as a tasting sample was nearly half a bottle, so this was an expected outcome.
Whiskey, after all, is a liquor that exceeds 40 degrees in alcohol content.
“Waaater…. Water….”
Her tongue and throat felt parched and cracked.
But she couldn’t muster the strength to get up and find water, so Linne just groaned. The soft, cradle-like bedding was the last bastion she could rely on.
The blankets and pillows emanated a pleasant scent that even Linne’s body odor, which had become an alcohol humidifier overnight, couldn’t mask. It was a sweet and sour scent reminiscent of peach blossoms.
It was very comforting. But this scent…
“……?”
Linne, who had only poked her face out of the blanket like a bagworm, widened her eyes as if someone had poured cold water on her.
It was certain.
The scent emanating from this bedding was Duke Tiferet’s. And this unfamiliar room structure was also her bedroom.
Linne, who didn’t sleep in the first place, had removed the bed from her room.
“…Ah.”
The moment she realized that fact, fragmented film reels began to play in Linne’s mind.
It was a drinking session that could have easily resulted in a complete blackout, but unfortunately, the god of alcohol hadn’t taken away all of Linne’s embarrassing memories.
It was probably a thoughtful lesson to remember and avoid overdrinking in the future.
Duke Tiferet, the only one among her husband’s lovers who could be called a ‘rival.’ What had she done in front of her?
Linne’s mind flashed through her memorable lines and scenes.
‘Stroke my head as a form of praise.’
First, demanding praise.
‘Ugh, my head is spinning…. My body is heavy…. Like a waterlogged cotton ball…. But I feel light and floaty….’
Speaking her drunken feelings in a cute tone.
‘Why are you trying to get away from me? Linne wants to stay close. It’s warm and soft, and it feels good.’
Clinging to her in a sticky manner.
‘I’m only saying this… hiccup! Now. Forget it after you hear it.’
Speaking her honest drunken thoughts.
‘I wanted to hear those words…. I wanted to hear them….’
Sobbing and complaining about her difficult past.
‘A lullaby…. I want to hear one….’
Asking for a lullaby.
‘Mama…. Mama….’
Especially calling her Mama, which was the climax of Linne’s relentless embarrassing show.
She could remember bits and pieces up to this point, but the fact that she couldn’t remember what else she had done was terrifying.
Linne’s face turned pale, and she swallowed the urge to scream. The pain of her hangover was already secondary to her safety.
Linne, who had jumped out of bed, checked her appearance and turned even paler.
“Ah….”
She was naked. When she pulled back the blanket, she could see with her own eyes that she was completely naked, without a single thread of clothing.
“No way.”
Linne in her memory, acting all cute and coquettish, the broken film reels, waking up in Tiferet’s bed, naked.
When these keywords were combined, an ominous premonition arose.
Linne hurriedly examined her body.
First of all, she didn’t smell of sweat, and there were no dried fluids, so she was clean. But a witch is someone who can use cleaning magic with a flick of a finger.
Cleaning up after ‘intercourse’ was not a difficult task.
“…….”
Linne felt a sense of falling as if the soft ground beneath her buttocks had collapsed.
She had allowed someone else to smell the flower scent that should only be allowed to her husband while drunk.
This was an act of abandoning her chastity and a terrible mistake of betraying her husband.
Of course, Elroa and Linne had slept together before.
But at that time, her husband was with them.
It meant that it was a competition that took place with his permission and tacit consent.
For Linne, who believed that the old-fashioned image of a virtuous wife was the correct attitude of a wife, this was a terrible mistake.
So much so that other embarrassing memories didn’t even register in her mind.
At that moment.
“Are you awake? You should wash up too. You’ll feel much better.”
The door opened, and Elroa entered, wearing a bathrobe. Her cheeks were a healthy peach color, as if she had just washed up.
“…….”
Linne turned her head like a rusty doll, creaking as she looked at Elroa. She wanted to ask what had happened right away, but she was afraid of the truth that would come back, so she couldn’t open her mouth.
So, she observed her mood.
If something had happened last night, there would surely be a change in Elroa’s attitude.
“I’ve washed and organized your clothes. Don’t just stand there, put on a robe.”
“Clothes?”
“Your clothes, I mean.”
Linne, who was on high alert, noticed the change in Elroa.
Before, there was clearly a thick wall between the two of them.
But now, Elroa’s gaze towards Linne was somehow warm. As if they had broken down the wall together in the time she couldn’t remember.
A chill ran down her spine like an ice pick poking her.
“…….”
“Perhaps you don’t remember?”
Seeing Linne’s lips moving without uttering a word, Elroa added, as if she had realized something.
“That’s right.”
“That’s a shame. It was a fun time.”
“Wh-what do you mean by a fun time?”
“I’m disappointed. After sharing such passionate intimacy, you’ve forgotten everything in just one night.”
Finally, the moment when all her anxieties became reality.
“Ah….”
Linne collapsed like a squirrel whose carefully collected acorns had all rotted.
2.
Seeing Linne in shock, Elroa playfully revealed that it was a joke.
In other words, nothing scandalous had happened between the two of them, and Linne had simply taken off her clothes and gone to bed.
“Why would you make a joke like that?”
“I didn’t know you’d take it so seriously. Here, have some lemon water.”
“I don’t need it.”
Linne was genuinely sulking.
No, in fact, it was too harsh to call it ‘sulking.’ It was so intense that even Elroa would have felt quite uncomfortable if it hadn’t been for what happened last night.
However, the weak side of Linne that she had unintentionally discovered had changed her perspective on her.
Even though she acted like a hedgehog usually, she seemed like a child who needed a comforting hand.
If that weren’t the case, Elroa wouldn’t have surprised Linne with a joke that was so unlike her.
The two of them were sitting in the same place again for work. Linne, who had been maintaining a cold silence, spoke first.
“What happened yesterday was a mistake.”
“I know.”
“…….”
They hadn’t slept together while drunk.
But even though she was relieved that it was a fortunate turn of events, the embarrassing behavior she had shown Elroa last night had gone too far.
Linne couldn’t hide her anxiety as she watched Elroa, who was acting nonchalant and flipping through documents.
Because that incident would surely come back as a weakness.
“Tiferet.”
“What is it?”
“Tell me what you want.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Even if it meant paying a price, it was better to eliminate any future problems. For Linne, who had lived in the world of public affairs, this was a very natural thing to do.
“…About last night….”
Linne was hesitating. She couldn’t bring herself to even indirectly mention her embarrassing memories.
“…I mean, tell me the price.”
“Hmm? It’s fine. I just lent you an extra bed, and there was too much alcohol to drink alone anyway. Would you like to drink together again next time? Of course, we’ll adjust the amount a little then.”
That wasn’t it.
There was such a big incident last night, there was no way Tiferet wouldn’t have understood what Linne was saying.
Meanwhile, Tiferet’s nonchalant attitude of making plans for the next drinking session seemed only more infuriating.
“That’s not it. It’s a different matter.”
“A different matter? Ah, I see….”
Linne was furious at Elroa’s smirk, but she held back.
Because Linne was the one who was in a disadvantageous position.
“Alright, I was definitely flustered, but I’m satisfied with seeing your cute drunken antics. I didn’t know you had such an adorable side.”
Elroa was speaking in a playful tone, as if she was dealing with a novice witch.
Linne was surprised at herself for not feeling uncomfortable with it, and she spoke directly to end this uncomfortable conversation.
“Tiferet. I’m not joking. If you use this as blackmail in the future, I won’t stand idly by….”
Linne stopped talking because Elroa covered her mouth and laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry. When I look at you closely, you don’t seem much different from last night, so I was just thinking.”
“…….”
Although they hadn’t had a proper conversation, her intention was conveyed with just that laugh.
Elroa would never use this as blackmail.
The tension in her shoulders eased.
But why was that?
If it were Linne, she would have kept it as a trump card without much hesitation.
At least, she would have gotten a reasonable price for it.
“Are you two having a secret chat? If it’s a fun story, let me join in.”
Dorothy interrupted before the conversation could get any longer.
The chaotic atmosphere was momentarily forgotten as Elroa and Linne’s gazes turned to Dorothy.
Dorothy had obtained a black cat’s eye stone, or ‘Memorial Stone,’ containing information from the last hunt.
She had locked herself in her room to decipher it, so the fact that she had appeared late meant that it was time to talk about ‘work.’
Linne and Elroa each put on serious faces like masks.
“Did you get the results?”
“The decryption is about halfway done, and the rest will have to be left to the numerology guys, but it’s amazing. I really want the Duke to see it.”
Dorothy opened her laptop.
She had recorded the video from the Memorial Stone and edited it for easy viewing.
“Make sure to watch it and give me your thoughts, okay?”
Dorothy’s white fingertip pressed the space bar, and a video began to play, with the edges distorted as if viewed through a glass crystal.
