“If I were to recommend you for the position of empress and say that we had a connection, even if I don’t remember, what would happen? It wouldn’t be a problem with the empress and the Manoco family. It might be you who becomes endangered.”

“But there’s no need to go so far.”

Once again, I poured liquor into the glass and drank it down.

Ascan, with an increasingly displeased look, said,

“Why didn’t you refuse then?”

“Talking about the position of empress?”

“Yes. If you like me, why leave room for possibilities?”

“Lik… like you?”

One of the things that made Ascan lose his memory was unfair.
It feels like someone who used to shake the heart of a silent person is now trying to turn everything around on me.

Feeling annoyed, I poured more liquor into the glass, but Ascan quickly grabbed it.

“What are you doing?”

“Let’s eat some snacks.”

Ascan sharply glared at me and filled my glass with ice. Come to think of it, the ice had completely melted by now.

‘What’s the big deal with not eating snacks that he’s giving me such a fierce look.’

Puckering my lips, I picked up something from the table full of food and put it in my mouth. Thanks to that, the bitter taste in my mouth felt somewhat relieved.

Ascan filled the ice and poured just a little bit of liquor into a glass, handing it to me.

“No matter how I think about it, it seems like the person who’ll get angry is me.”

“What did I do?”

“…You smiled.”

“What?”

“You smiled at the emperor.”

The conversation seemed a bit shorter.

I was dumbfounded. Ascan, with a chilling expression, looked straight at me and spoke in a lower voice.

“Why are you smiling at just anyone? Wasn’t it because you liked me?”

“Yes, because you liked me more, right?”

I was amazed, so I drank the liquor that Ascan handed me. Still thirsty, I personally poured another glass from the liquor bottle and drank another sip.

Ascan, with a frowning face, snatched the glass away.

“I told you to drink slowly.”

“It’s my heart. And why does it matter to you who I smile at? Are you jealous right now?”

“Who would do such a thing.”

Ascan laughed absurdly, as if it were ridiculous.

I found it even more incomprehensible, so I blinked my eyes and said,

“Then, don’t care about it.”

Ascan snatched away the glass, but it wasn’t that I couldn’t drink. Stubbornly, with the bottle to my lips, I tilted it and drank gulp after gulp.

It was a childish behavior, but now I wanted to do the opposite of what Ascan told me to do. In short, I was in a very twisted state.

Swiftly, Ascan took away the liquor bottle I was holding.

“If you’re going to keep doing this, stop drinking. Drinking in a hurry like this will upset your stomach.”

“Mind your own business. Whether I upset my stomach or not!”

I reached out to take back the bottle Ascan snatched away. But as much as I reached out, Ascan stepped back and said,

“Are you already drunk?”

“What are you saying? I drink to get drunk, you know?”

I didn’t realize it, but suddenly, I felt dizzy.

Drinking high-proof liquor on an empty stomach in a hurry seemed to be the case.

But now, there was no intention to step back. It felt like I needed to get drunk tonight until my nose went crooked to relieve my stress.

“Give it to me… Oops!”

Wrestling over Ascan and the liquor bottle, I lost my balance for a moment.

Feeling my body tilting, I reflexively closed my eyes, and at that moment, I felt the sensation of my face hitting Ascan’s solid chest.

I quickly regained my senses and lifted my head, only to see us in a somewhat awkward position.
Ascan seemed to try to catch me as I collapsed, lying down on the sofa, and I was in a state of mounting him like an assailant.

Unintentionally, his face was right in front of my nose. Long eyelashes, eyes that seemed to be made of moonlight, a sturdy nose bridge, and lips, lips, lips…

Ascan’s crimson lips were particularly vivid before my eyes.

Unconsciously, I gently stroked Ascan’s lip line with my thumb. Inadvertently, his golden eyes were slightly shaking.

“What are you doing now…”

“You have pretty lips.”

Lips that made me want to kiss.

With such thoughts, strangely, my vision gradually blurred.

“Why… why am I like this…”

Dizzy?

Without being able to finish my sentence, I shook my head.

I ended up fainting. Ignoring my tolerance and hastily drinking high-proof liquor, it seemed that the alcohol hit me belatedly.

Ascan momentarily stopped breathing. His heart seemed to pound as if it would burst.

A moment ago, I thought I was about to be kissed. But I had no intention of avoiding it.

If Tanashia lowered her head and kissed me…

What would happen after that?

Ascan felt an unfamiliar emotion he had never felt before. It shook the inside of his chest like a storm.

There was no more room for excuses. There was no way to deny it.

Even if he could lie to others, he couldn’t deceive himself.

Thunk, the force left Ascan, and he let go of the bottle he was holding onto the floor. Thanks to that, the bottle toppled over, spilling the liquor inside.