The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

40 – The Meaning of a Bottle of Traditional Liquor Handed Over by a Northern Woman (02)

041.

The northern part of the Claire Empire.

Although it is clearly part of the same inland, it is actually considered a separate world.

The long, piled-up defensive line, like a fortress wall, serves to protect the empire from possible attacks and at the same time,

It also serves to isolate the ‘north’ as a separate world from other inland cities.

Is that why?

The northern part of the Claire Empire has a strong tendency to cherish the old more than anywhere else.

What is commonly called tradition is exactly that.

Even as time passes and innovations like magic arrive, nothing changes.

Literally a separate world.

The northern part of the Claire Empire is a white snowfield where only they roam.

The northern festival falls within the scope of such traditions.

When it started, how it started.

Its origins are full of unknowns.

The important thing is that it is a tradition that has been cherished and passed down to this day.

Whether it can be called a festival seems to require much discussion.

Anyway, the northerners enjoy the festival.

As it is a place where tension lingers, the opportunity to enjoy it with peace of mind is precious.

Especially in the north, where there are few things to enjoy.

Gathering in the rearmost village and having a huge, warm bonfire with everyone was so precious.

It could also be a time to reaffirm the long-standing relationships.

Meeting someone new, it could be a time to get to know each other.

Or, it could be a chance to encounter an unexpected fate.

In a slightly dark room.

A ruby shining in the darkness was sketching something on the table.

“Sigh…”

No matter how much I swallowed my dry saliva.

A heart that just won’t calm down.

Is it right to stop now?

Even after pondering for a long time, I couldn’t easily find an answer.

Kallen is not a Northerner.

That fact was imprinted in my mind when Kallen said my eyes were pretty.

Even if it’s a misunderstanding, it’s fine.

Even if Kallen just lied to get out of that situation, it’s fine.

Because I decided to accept it as the truth.

The only person I can trust won’t betray me.

Anyway, is it right to do this to Kallen?

Since Kallen is not a Northerner, there’s no need to be bound by tradition.

Kallen wouldn’t know the traditions of the North in the first place.

To such a Kallen.

Is it really okay to act like this?

In a way, I might be like my father.

I decided to turn a blind eye to my selfish heart for a moment.

Selassie looked at the hastily decorated wine bottle on the table.

If I had known it would be like this, I would have cherished it like other Northern women.

I should have put a little more care into making it.

Northern traditional wine.

It’s a wine made by mixing the clean water of the North and a fruit called snow grapes.

Every Northern woman has at least one.

Since it’s made and managed from a very young age, it has a deep and sweet taste.

However, Selassia’s was different from those of other women.

Unlike those that had been carefully managed, Selassia’s was very old and shabby.

When she built the walls of her heart.

Selassia resented many things.

The traditional liquor, which seemed to represent her limitations, was one of them.

Selassia picked up the bottle carefully and bowed her head.

If only she had cherished it like the other women’s, she might have had a bit more courage.

The wine bottle she had discarded before seemed to speak to her.

“Do you think you deserve to act like that?

When all you’ve received is help,

Can you afford to be so selfish?”

“…Kallen.”

But there’s no choice.

Admitting that Kallen was leaving was something she didn’t want to do, but it was something that had to happen someday.

Just thinking about it made her break out in a cold sweat and feel extremely anxious again.

Kallen was someone who had to leave.

This wine bottle would be a selfish gift for that.

Kallen wouldn’t know, but it would be a shackle forged from her selfish heart.

The guilt, the apologies, the gratitude that pierced her heart.

…She would repay them for the rest of her life.

With that, Selassia left the room with the shabby wine bottle in her hand.

*

The northernmost village.

It was the village Kallen had seen when he first entered the north.

Because it was so small, people were gathered around, creating a rather complicated scene.

A huge bonfire in the center.

People around it were sharing their own stories.

The fact that Selassia had won the civil war.

The fact that the women taken by Lord Thorn had been sold as slaves.

The information that it had become easier to find food since the monsters disappeared.

Rumors about the sweet caramel dessert trending in the empire’s inland.

Even the story about Lady Rakatus that overturned the social circles.

Such blooming stories created a somewhat melancholic atmosphere.

The crackling flames were melting everyone’s cold hearts.

And among them, the place that undoubtedly attracted the most crowd.

There, a slightly different scene was unfolding.

“Ha, I surrender!”

With someone’s declaration of surrender.

The sound of quiet applause pouring in from around.

“He even beat Sir Craders!”

“Amazing, Kallen~.”

“Are you drunk? So cute…”

Craders sensed something rising from within and hurriedly left the spot.

In the space that was revealed, the face of a boy appeared.

Surrounded by the village women, the boy, with his face flushed, smiled brightly, lifting the corners of his mouth uncharacteristically.

“…Won again.”

How many times has it been now?

He couldn’t remember due to his slightly dazed head.

Anyway, he won a lot.

So he felt good.

At first… it was a bit boring.

The festival started early, watching people dance.

He liked the rather cozy atmosphere.

But then Celacia disappeared, saying she had something to prepare.

Left alone, everything was unfamiliar.

He just sat still.

– Hey! What are you doing alone?

Until nightfall.

From noble mtl dot com

A woman approached and spoke to him.

– Just sitting.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… Then, would you like to play with me?”

It started with that woman.

As we chatted about this and that, people gradually gathered around us.

Another woman, and another woman, and yet another woman.

The village women, finding something amusing, covered their mouths and giggled as they approached.

Then suddenly.

“Would you like a drink?”

Is this really a ‘festival’?

I was offered a drink, something I had only seen Blamia drink occasionally.

But Blamia had said that it was a bit early for alcohol.

It was essential to know one’s drinking capacity before drinking.

And I was still too young, she said.

“No, thank you.”

So I just declined.

“Why?”

“She said I’m too young.”

“Huh?”

What I remember clearly is the giggling laughter of the women around me.

“Oh, how cute. Did your mother say no?”

“No, it’s just that I don’t know my limit yet, and if I drink…”

“Are you scared?”

Looking back, I think that was the problem.

After one woman said that, I got a little defensive.

“You learn by drinking. Come on, my arm’s getting tired.”

“…Please cancel that.”

“Huh?”

Kallen should not have accepted the drink the woman offered.

“If I drink it all, please take back what you said about me being a coward.”

The village women exchanged glances for a moment.

Kallen continued to accept and drink the liquor the women handed him.

One bottle, two bottles, three bottles.

The more Kallen drank,

The news that ‘something interesting is happening over there’ quickly spread.

After competing with the women, the knights, and finally Sir Cradders in a drinking game, he arrived at this moment.

Kallen had a habit of getting a little excited when he heard the word ‘bet’.

Even if he was the one who uttered the word.

“Whew…”

Kallen felt his head spinning as he staggered to his feet and raised his fist above his head.

In his mind, it meant he had won.

It was a disgraceful act he would never have done if he were sober.

But Kallen, who had drunk so much that he didn’t even know how many bottles he had consumed, was not in his right mind.

Moreover, the more he drank, the softer the women’s hands that stroked his head felt,

Kallen smiled, feeling simply happy.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before in his life.

As he was surrounded by the women and deeply engrossed in the drinking game,

He saw someone walking towards him from afar.

Could it be another challenger?

Kallen, unable to even think of hiding his already bright red face, looked up.

The new challenger’s eyes resembled beautiful rubies.

*

“…”

What is this?

This absurd situation.

“Lady Selassia?”

One of the many women surrounding Kallen asked urgently.

The vibrating scent of wine.

Kallen’s flushed face.

There seemed to be no need to find out what had happened.

“Did you… give him alcohol?”

“Yes? Ah, his reactions were just so cute.”

How much alcohol did they give him to make him like this?

Though deeply bewildered, Selassie asked the most important question.

“…Did you give him something you made?”

“No. We would have if Kallen had completed his coming-of-age ceremony, but he’s not from the North. We just gave him regular alcohol.”

At least the worst was avoided.

Selassie sighed in relief at the thought.

Then she crouched down towards Kallen, who was sitting surrounded by her skirt.

“Kallen, are you okay?”

“Nod. Sniff. Yes.”

“…”

Even in this state, he didn’t give up on formal speech.

His eyes didn’t seem unfocused, so there was no need to worry about him forgetting this incident.

“What were you doing?”

“I was putting those who don’t know their place in their place.”

“…Huh?”

“I won all the bets today.”

Hehe.

If expressions had sounds, it would surely feel like that.

Kallen, who seemed to not know what an expression was, smiled brightly.

That look had a different charm to it.

Selassie cleared her throat to calm her swelling heart.

“Kallen, do you want to know the real reason I brought you here?”

“The real reason?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier. Will you listen now?”

Kallen nodded.

“Guarding Lady Rakatus alone… was just an excuse. I didn’t want to think about anything back then.”

Her soft, gentle voice spread quietly around the campfire.

“Actually, I might have been exhausted. It was so dark in front of my eyes that I just wanted to give up everything.”

Selassie was smiling, but the face illuminated by the huge bonfire.

It wasn’t just filled with the emotion of joy.

“In the midst of that, I heard news about you. Adding to my own delusion that a boy might be related to the image that Lady Rakatus had blossomed.”

In that final confession.

It meant that Selassie had completely opened her heart to Kallen.

“Maybe I could get an image too. If I get an image, I might be able to bring down those two trashy humans. That’s why it was you.”

What human wouldn’t get tired?

Loneliness and solitude gnaw at a person.

Selassie, who had to endure it alone for at least several years, was very tired.

“They said trust is built on shared memories. I still don’t think I can open my heart to anyone other than you. But still.”

Eventually, what colored the surroundings was a wave of emotions so distant it was overwhelming.

The wave, tinged with crimson, painted a certain spectacle, and those gathered there couldn’t even breathe.

“But still, I believe that Kallen’s promise is real.”

Selassie moved the hand that had been behind her all along.

What came out from behind was a shabby wine bottle.

The question from a moment ago.

The emotion in Selassie’s expression as she looked at Kallen.

As the women around them simultaneously thought of one thing,

“Will you accept it?”

Selassie held out the bottle to Kallen.

Those who knew the meaning behind that action were about to faint.

But Kallen was not a Northerner.

He couldn’t know the meaning behind that ‘tradition.’

Kallen, who had been staring blankly at the bottle, stood up.

Selassie stood up with him.

Thump, thump.

Why was it so nerve-wracking to watch him look at the bottle?

Selassie felt like she might go deaf from the uncontrollable pounding of her heart.

Tick, the sound of the cork popping was the moment Kallen took the bottle.

“Uh…?”

Kallen took the bottle, brought it to his lips, and drank it all in one go.

Selassie, watching the sight of the liquor he made himself going down Kallen’s throat, was so shocked that he froze in place.

Even though he knew that Kallen had no idea what that action meant.

“Ah.”

Kallen, having emptied the bottle, staggered a bit,

Rustle-

“Eek?!”

and fell over, covering the frozen Selassie.

“Oh, I’m sorry… Miss.”

“Ha… Ha… I’m your sister…”

His glasses fell off, revealing Kallen’s bare face.

Selassie, trembling, was pinned under Kallen, who was younger than him.

His eyes widened as he looked at Kallen right in front of him.

The faint sweet scent of snow grapes made his head dizzy.

Having nothing to grab onto when he fell, Kallen unintentionally pressed Selassie’s hands above his head and smiled awkwardly.

Still, he was happy thinking that he won the bet by drinking the bottle Selassie handed him in one go.

At the same time, he recalled the words Selassie had said.

The loneliness this girl must have felt.

Rather than giving clumsy comfort, he decided to give her a compliment.

Selassie hated things about his own body, so maybe praising it would boost his self-esteem.

With his head fuzzy and weak, Kallen let his face fall beside Selassie’s.

The body that had been struggling underneath him stopped moving as it was pressed down.

Kallen turned his head slightly and, uncharacteristically, smiled as he whispered into Selassie’s ear.

“You’re beautiful. Sister.”

“…”

Kallen didn’t know, but the words, heavily abbreviated due to his drunkenness, spread like a whisper in Selassie’s mind.

Because of the violently beautiful imagery Selassie had created.

They couldn’t help but be astonished.

Because they knew.

The meaning behind the act of a northern woman offering her cherished traditional liquor to a man.

And also, the meaning behind not just accepting it, but drinking it all on the spot.

The meaning contained in a bottle of traditional liquor offered by a northern woman.

‘I want to spend my life with you.’

– it was.