By Zephyria 
I hurriedly checked the glass Aska had been drinking from. I tasted the little bit left at the bottom, but there was nothing particularly strange about it. It was a sweet fruit wine, so weak that even children could drink it.
Surely he wasn’t drunk from drinking this?
“Are you okay?”
“…Bagu.”
“What?”
“Buguni… The apple earlier…”
“…”
His speech was slurred, and he was talking nonsense; he definitely seemed drunk. A cold sweat broke out on my back. He got drunk this quickly from drinking something like juice? Could it be related to the Sealing Magic?
I hope he doesn’t start showing symptoms similar to being injured? Imagining Aska bursting into tears here made my head spin.
“Be quiet and sit up straight. Keep your back straight.”
“…”
I sat close to Aska, put my arm around his waist, and let him lean on me. As soon as the procession ended, I needed to grab Aska and run before anyone could talk to me.
I was on edge, looking around, but Aska was too quiet. Of course, I told him to be quiet, but he’s not usually this obedient, is he?
Does he become obedient when he’s drunk? I couldn’t see his face properly, so I couldn’t tell what kind of expression he had.
“Are you dizzy?”
He didn’t answer even when I asked. Surely he didn’t fall asleep… Anyway, I had to consider myself lucky that he wasn’t crying or chattering.
As expected, the procession soon ended. I half-listened to Khalifa giving a speech, and I slowly prepared to leave, taking Aska’s hand.
There was plenty of time until the next banquet started, so hopefully, he’d sober up by then? If he didn’t seem to be sobering up, I’d have no choice but to send Aska back to Talim first.
As I was thinking that and getting up from my seat, Aska suddenly shook off my hand roughly.
Startled, I widened my eyes and turned to look at him, but Aska didn’t say anything and just started walking forward on his own. Fortunately or unfortunately, he wasn’t staggering or swaying. I thought he would reject me if I tried to hold his hand again, so I just quietly followed behind Aska.
His pace wasn’t fast or slow, so I walked leisurely along with him.
“Your Highness, it’s been a while. I am…”
“Greetings, Prince.”
Ignoring the greetings and inquiries from people who came up to me, I just watched Aska’s back as I walked. I had no idea where he was going. I was worried that he might walk silently all the way to Talim, but then he finally went outside.
The problem was that this was Aska’s first time in this place. It was the opposite direction from the way we came, but he walked confidently as if he knew the way.
At first, I thought it was because he was drunk, but he looked like he had been here before, which made me uneasy. Had he been secretly going back and forth to Sa Dillin as well as Talim?
“…”
Just imagining it made my vision go white. If that was true, I couldn’t just let it go. No matter how pitiful he looked or how he avoided my gaze, I had to give him a stern scolding this time.
He didn’t stop walking even after passing a plaza with a large fountain and entering the inner part of the garden, so I finally stopped Aska.
“Where are you going? You can’t just wander around like that.”
I was lucky that the Servants and knights I encountered along the way recognized me; if Aska had come here alone, he would have been caught a long time ago.
“Stop.”
“…”
“I said stop there!”
“…”
Every time I spoke to him, his pace quickened as if he was protesting. In the end, he was almost running, so I reached out and grabbed Aska’s wrist.
“Stop.”
“Let go!”
Aska shook off my hand like he was having a fit and shouted loudly in a nasal voice. Dumbfounded, I blocked Aska’s path and asked.
“Are you crying? No, why?”
“Get out of the way!”
“Why are you crying all of a sudden? I didn’t know about the alcohol. And it’s something even children drink, so I didn’t think you’d get drunk…”
“Sniffle…”
“…”
The sorrowful sound coming from inside the veil left me speechless. I didn’t know what to do, so I reached out and carefully lifted the veil, revealing a face covered in tears.
Just wiping it roughly wouldn’t do. In the end, I had no choice but to remove the veil completely. I focused only on tearing it off without hurting him, and the ornaments that had been used to fix it fell to the ground with a thud.
I held the veil in one hand and used the other to wipe Aska’s cheeks roughly as I asked.
“Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
“You got angry…”
“When did I?”
“You told me to shut up… Asshole…”
Aska cursed while crying. I was so dumbfounded that I kept choking up.
“I never told you to shut up, I told you to be quiet.”
“You’re always angry at me.”
“When am I?”
“You get angry at me when I do something wrong!”
“You’re supposed to be scolded when you do something wrong.”
What kind of conversation is this? I was trying my best to coax and soothe him, but it wasn’t easy to respond to his illogical words. Aska cried as sorrowfully as a people who had lost their country, as if he was so wronged.
“Don’t get angry at me even if I do something wrong…”
“…”
“Don’t get angry at me… Sniffle…”
As he lowered his head and started sobbing, tears dripped down. The sight of it was somehow shocking.
Had something been building up without me realizing it? Or was he just talking nonsense because he was drunk…? Whatever the case, I was just as bewildered, so I said defensively.
“I forgive you quickly even when I get angry, right? Were you scared every time you were scolded?”
“I did something wrong…”
“That’s right. I wouldn’t scold you if you didn’t do anything wrong.”
It’s not like he’s only caused one or two incidents… But Aska glared at me with wet eyes at my words, so I shut my mouth.
“Still, you shouldn’t get angry at me.”
“Why?”
“You shouldn’t get angry at me…”
“…”
“Even if I do something wrong, you can’t get angry at me…”
You shouldn’t try to reason with a drunkard. I nodded without thinking to appease Aska for now.
“Okay. I won’t get angry.”
“If I’m fighting with someone else, you have to take my side.”
“Okay. I’ll only take your side.”
“Don’t get angry at me…”
“I’ll never get angry.”
His crying finally subsided a little as I kept nodding. I sighed as I looked at Aska, who was sobbing while rubbing his eyes with both hands.
I grabbed Aska’s wrist and gently wiped around his eyes.
“So that’s why you were crying? Because I told you to be quiet earlier? That wasn’t even getting angry.”
He didn’t answer, but I guess that’s why he felt bad. How did things end up like this? Who spoiled him like this? To get upset and cry over just a word. Of course, it’s because he’s drunk.
“You need to know how much I’m letting you get away with…”
That way, he wouldn’t cry so sorrowfully over such a trivial word. He’s drunk, but he must be thinking like that usually, so he’s crying so sorrowfully now that he has the chance, right?
“Stop crying and calm down. People will come looking if they hear you crying.”
“Not many people come here…”
Aska mumbled while sniffling as I sighed. My face naturally frowned at those words, but I asked kindly because I was afraid he would cry again if I got angry.
“How do you know that? Have you been here before?”
“I’ve been here a few times because of the statue…”
Not just once or twice, but several times…
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Okay, my bad.”
I stroked his wet face and chin, and when I touched the back of his neck, I felt that his body temperature was higher than usual. Aska closed his eyes, tilting his head as if he was enjoying the coolness of my hand.
“Are you dizzy?”
“No, but I want to take off my clothes.”
“Not here. I’ll take them off for you when we get back later.”
“It’s hot…”
Aska, who was muttering, suddenly lifted the hem of his clothes with both hands. As a result, his calves and feet were completely exposed.
“Don’t take them off.”
“I’m not taking them off.”
Aska walked unsteadily towards a small fountain while holding his clothes.
“Wait…!”
I had a bad feeling for a moment, so I shouted as I reached out, but Aska was much faster than me. Before I could stop him, he put his hands in the water and started washing his face roughly, making splashing sounds.
I covered my mouth with one hand and watched the bizarre scene in a daze before cautiously approaching him. Then, Aska turned his head and looked at me.
Water was dripping from his forehead, where his wet hair was sticking, and from his face, which was so pale it was almost white.
“Hehe…”
“…”
Then, his lips, which were flushed with heat, parted to the side, and a strange sound came out.
“Hehehe.”
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden? It’s scary.”
“Water… Water got in my mouth. Hahaha. I splashed around.”
“What are you saying…”
He was splashing around and laughing like a child, saying something, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying at all. I turned my head as a hollow laugh burst out along with his giggling, and Aska suddenly reached out his arm.
Then, he hugged my waist tightly and started rubbing his wet face all over my chest.
“…”
“Hehe…”
“…”
“Hehehe.”
“…”
I stood there awkwardly with my arms out to the sides, unable to do anything, and became a living towel for a while.