Chapter 93
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 93
I first glanced down beneath the balcony. Imperial Palace Knights were patrolling the grounds.
Even if Victor were a spy, I didn't think I needed to worry about my own safety. If anything happened, it would only confirm his status as a spy anyway.
"Namia, what are you thinking about? You're not answering me."
"...Oh."
Startled by Victor's voice as he drew near, I opened my eyes wide. Victor handed me a champagne flute with a smirk.
"It's been a really long time, hasn't it?"
"Pardon?"
"Us talking alone together."
His light brown hair swayed gently in the night breeze. His kind, sky-blue eyes gazed at me steadily.
"I suppose... so."
I accepted the champagne glass while thinking to myself that I absolutely should not drink this.
"This is actually the first time we've had a conversation alone since our first meeting back at the Academy, isn't it?"
"That's... right? Ah, now that you mention it, I think you're correct."
Victor laughed as if perplexed, yet his gaze never left me as he smiled broadly.
"But the timing was never right."
"The timing?"
"Yes, the timing."
Victor's eyes suddenly seemed distant as our gazes met. As I stared at him intently, he spoke with a faint sigh.
"We have a four-year age gap. I met you when I was in my final year, and I reached adulthood four years before you did."
A four-year difference meant nothing now, but at sixteen and twenty, it had been an enormous gap.
"And when you joined the Scroll Management Department after being hired, I already had a long-term overseas assignment scheduled."
In fact, two months after I started working, Victor left for abroad.
"I've only just been able to return."
"Oh, come on..."
I laughed and waved my hand dismissively.
"Even so, it's not like we never had the chance to talk alone. We never even grabbed a meal together after I started working here."
"The 'timing' I'm talking about, Namia..."
Despite my lighthearted remark, Victor continued slowly, his voice devoid of any playfulness.
"...is the kind of timing where we can continue to be 'alone together' going forward."
Victor sipped his champagne slowly, then smiled brightly once more.
"Namia."
"Yes?"
"Now that we're here, it suddenly occurred to me—would you like to play one of the Academy's traditional games?"
"There's such a thing? I don't know what it is anyway. I've never played it."
"Yeah. It's called the truth game. I've only heard people say we should play it together, but I've never actually done it. This would be my first time playing with you."
A truth game. It was exactly the kind of game Anastasia would be thrilled about.
But thinking of Anastasia's name made me feel melancholy again.
When Anastasia had disposed of Riedan with coffee grounds and hot water, she'd seemed so reliable... but what if she were a spy?
Could it really be her?
"Let me demonstrate first. It's actually a drinking game...."
He spoke playfully, tilting his champagne glass slightly toward the balcony railing. It was an ordinary railing, about the width of my wrist.
"You must tell the truth first, then pour a little alcohol onto this railing. According to legend, if you speak truthfully, the god of wine blesses you and the liquid clings to the railing without falling. However, if you lie, it drips down and spills below."
"That's not scientific at all."
"That's exactly why you must speak only truth. If you dare waste alcohol by lying, the god of wine takes offense and curses you. Unsettling, isn't it?"
"I've never even heard of a god of wine."
I furrowed my brow in response to Victor's explanation.
"Isn't this just a common ploy to set the mood between a man and woman who have feelings for each other? With all this unscientific talk about a 'god of wine,' it seems like you're ready to backpedal the moment something feels off."
"Huh? Well...."
"If I were the god of wine, I'd show these men and women who peddle me in places like this the bitter taste of youth."
"Cough, cough. Thank goodness you're not the god of wine. Anyway, I'll go first."
He tilted his glass toward the railing before I could say anything.
"I've met many people. So the moment I saw you, I knew you were special."
A drop of alcohol settled on the railing with a soft tap. According to Victor's rules, it meant truth. I watched silently.
"But I wished only I knew that."
Another drop clung to the railing without falling.
"Actually... I wished you didn't know either."
Sensing the atmosphere growing serious, I interjected abruptly.
"Senior, stop. This game isn't fun."
But Victor tilted his champagne glass once more and continued.
"I've never been honest with you. Far more than you think."
His sky-blue eyes gazed at me quietly. In my memory, his eyes had never held only me like this before.
"You actually... know almost nothing about me."
Another drop fell, yet clung stubbornly to the railing without rolling. It was almost spiteful.
"I was afraid. That this day would come—when I'd grow so impatient, when the timing still isn't right...."
His sky-blue eyes remained fixed on me. He took a shallow breath and added quietly.
"That others might come to know you."
The droplets merged into one, growing quite large, yet it hung obediently from the railing without falling. Victor exhaled softly and continued in a low voice.
"You already knew I think you're special. You're perceptive enough to have noticed."
He tilted his glass once more. Again, the drop didn't fall.
"I was special to you too, wasn't I? Among those around you, I certainly didn't shine the brightest?"
I stared directly at Victor. He spoke like an adult dangling candy before a child.
"Don't you want to have something that shines? It's human nature."
In truth, I wasn't familiar with Victor's front profile. I knew his side profile, his back profile.
If Victor insisted on crossing the line right now, I needed to respond in kind.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"Yes."
I tilted my glass. My drop settled on the railing with a soft tap.
"That's right."
That was when it happened.
With a loud crash, the balcony trembled slightly.
I turned toward the source of the explosion. Surprisingly, Crown Prince Kiaros stood with his back to the glittering Banquet Hall. His crimson eyes were cold.
'What?'
As I stood bewildered, Victor reached out his hand and asked.
"Namia! Are you alright?"
That was when it happened.
Another crash echoed as the floor between Victor and me fractured with a sickening sound. Crown Prince Kiaros spoke in a voice as fractured as the ground beneath us.
"I distinctly told you not to follow any other man. That I would return quickly."
So I responded promptly.
"Yes. I didn't follow him—he followed me here."
And I examined the floor seriously.
'The Administrative Support Department surely conducted a safety inspection before the banquet?'
The safety checklist definitely included the Balcony. I was mentally reviewing the detailed checklist once more when—
Victor's expression grew momentarily flustered, and he blinked before whispering just loudly enough for me to hear.
"Ah, you said you refused him, right?"
Then he immediately smiled in a friendly manner and greeted first.
"Your Highness, it's an honor to meet you formally. I am Victor Awin."
"Leave."
"...Pardon?"
"Why question me? When I tell you to leave, you should leave, shouldn't you?"
Why was he being so authoritarian, unlike his usual self? Or did he suspect Victor was a spy and speak so carelessly?
Victor's expression was slightly bewildered, yet he still bowed respectfully.
"Yes, understood."
Just as Victor was about to leave the Balcony—
I impulsively spoke to him.
"Ah, Senior. Just one last thing."
"Hmm?"
I tilted my wine glass toward the railing.
"I have so much to point out that I'm not sure where to begin..."
The drop of wine merely beaded but did not fall.
"First and foremost... it's now obvious to anyone that I outshine you."
I gazed at him with a sorrowful expression and continued.
"And since things are awkward now anyway, from now on, just call me Minister. Always, even when we're alone."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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