Chapter 9

No matter how much Aneta could hold her liquor, emptying her glass in one go wasn’t easy. Apart from anything else, her stomach was full, making it difficult. Luckily, she hadn’t eaten much of the snacks, so she emptied her glass, and Teresa applauded.

“As expected, Aneta. You never fail to impress me. As a token for the drink, make a wish.”

“I’ll do it later. As you can see, this person is so drunk that he won’t even remember.”

Aneta nudged Carlos. His body twitched in response.

“Get up, Carlos.”

Touching him again to wake him up, he slowly lifted his head from the table.

Carlos responded to Aneta’s voice, and as he turned around and made eye contact with her, Aneta was taken aback.

Seeing his dazed eyes, she felt a surge of anxiety.

“You… surely not.”

Aneta’s intuition was correct. As soon as their eyes met, Carlos opened his arms wide and stood up from his seat.

However, she had no intention of being taken advantage of in front of everyone. As he staggered, she searched for something to replace her in the air.

At that moment, something caught on to Aneta’s fingertips. Instinctively, she pulled whatever she had touched back to where she was.

Under the influence of alcohol, she was unaware of what she held in her hand.

“Wait, Aneta!”

The voice of someone who was caught off guard by Aneta was heard and disappeared into Carlos’s lips before it finished.

“…….”

There was an incomparable silence. Aneta, who belatedly understood the situation, cautiously called the name of the person being embraced by Carlos.

“….Serce?”

To be precise, it was his counterpart.

A cracking sound was heard from Serce’s body, and at the same time, the doppelganger in Carlos’s arms disappeared.

“Aneta, you!”

The drink he was holding spilled as Serce, who had sent his doppelganger away, suddenly jumped up.

The changes to his doppelganger had affected his body as well. He must have felt Carlos’s lips for a moment as he released his power.

Aneta ignored the distant voice of the victim. It was a good thing he was too shocked to think of coming this far.

She would have to avoid him for now.

“Duke Baltimor, are you all right?”

It was Erez who walked over to Carlos, who had sunk to the floor after Serce’s doppelganger disappeared. He couldn’t contain his joy at the thought that what he had been waiting for was finally happening.

“Your Majesty, may I assist the Duke to his carriage? “

Russell wasn’t someone who couldn’t read intentions evident in the eyes.

“No, it wouldn’t be appropriate to have the main guest of today’s events do such a thing.”

Without hesitation, he pointed to someone else, as if to say he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Perhaps it should be left to Lady Teresa to escort the Duke to his carriage.”

It seems like Erez felt that the tension between him and Carlos had completely disappeared.

He felt relieved that Aneta’s name hadn’t been called, but the following words dashed any sense of relief he had.

“Then, please do take care of Duke Baltimor and Lady Adenauer, Lady Teresa.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It wasn’t just Erez who was surprised. Aneta, whose name was unexpectedly brought up, narrowed her eyes as Teresa approached, putting down her glass.

“Your Majesty, what is this…”

Even when she tried to speak out, nothing changed. 

Feeling she had no choice, Aneta reluctantly nodded. Since it had come to this, she had also planned to take him to the carriage herself before returning to the mansion.

“Oh, I knew something like this would happen, so I sent Duke Baltimor’s carriage back. Because of this, I will let Lady Adenauer ensure that Duke Baltimor is safely brought to the mansion.”

“……I will do so.”

The question of whether this was the intention from the beginning lingered in the air, but many eyes were watching. Aneta swallowed her regret and followed Teresa, who effortlessly supported Carlos.

She could feel the stares as she closed the door behind her, but she ignored them.

“I’ll help.”

“No, I can handle it.” 

Aneta agreed to just go along; it was a good thing that he was not fully aware of the situation.

“Let’s get this over with and get some drinks.”

Teresa steadied Carlos as he staggered back and forth.

“And what if Lyle wants to use the rooms again?”

“…Should we buy a bouquet upon entering?”

“Just so you know, if you plan on drinking until the florist opens, forget about it.”

Anticipating further anger, she cut it off beforehand.

“His Majesty won’t be around much longer without Carlos.”

Aneta stopped in front of the carriage.

“Would you like me to open the door?”

“Do as you wish.”

As Aneta opened the carriage door, Carlos promptly moved inside.

Teresa, with her strong strength, allowed her to handle Carlos effortlessly.

“It’s done; I will now excuse myself then.”

Watching her disappear with a casual wave of her hand, Aneta turned her head.

“Have you arrived, My Lady? But why did you escort the Duke to the carriage?”

The coachman, who had been waiting, calmly asked about the confusion over the appearance of the master and her drunken ex-husband.

“His Majesty has ordered me to take him. So, please take him to the Baltimor mansion first.”

With those words, Aneta climbed into the carriage. As she closed the door behind her, she turned to see Carlos leaning against the carriage wall, asleep. Aneta briefly glanced at him and then shifted her gaze out the window.

Although the Duke’s and Marquis’s residences were located on the opposite side of the palace, this road didn’t feel unfamiliar.

No, the road leading to the Marquis’ estate felt just as familiar. It seemed that four years had passed by quickly.

“Aneta.”

Amid renewed contemplation, a voice broke the silence of the moonlit night. His eyes, still drowsy, met hers with a low voice that cut through the quiet night.

“What is your wish?”

Despite being unable to control his body due to alcohol, he managed to hear her words.

“I have none.”

There was only one thing that came to her mind in response to the “wish”: the face of her mother. But there is no way to bring the dead back to life.

“You’re lying.”

“Even if I did… there’s nothing you can do for me.”

It was hard to hide the tear-stained resignation of her younger days, and the only good thing was that he didn’t seem to pay close attention to her emotions.

“I would do anything for you.”

“Anything?”

“Yes. Even if it means sacrificing myself.”

It sounded like it was sincere, yet oddly twisted. Aneta was about to tell him that such a thing would never happen, but he seemed to move his body out of his control faster than she could respond.

Carlos was trying to unbutton his shirt, and when that didn’t work, he grabbed the front of his shirt and gave it a haphazard squeeze, which made the button bounce off.

“You’re not drunk, are you?” Aneta asked suspiciously, looking at the button rolling on the floor.

At that moment, as Carlos struggled with the button, a carriage caught on a cobblestone and jolted. Still holding onto the front of his shirt, Carlos lost his balance.

Aneta weakly grabbed his body as it slumped forward. The warmth emanating from his body touched her cool skin.

“Hah…….”

Exhaling deeply in disbelief, Anetas felt Carlos bury his face into her shoulder without giving in to the discomfort.

“I love you, Aneta.”

Still, in an uncomfortable position, Carlos whispered hoarsely as he nestled his face against her shoulder. With each flutter of his lips touching…

“I love you.”

Although it wasn’t the first time she heard the confession, her hand that was pushing him away hesitated. Seizing the opportunity, Carlos pressed his lips against her collarbone.

With a soft sound, their lips separated, only to meet again shortly after.

“My body and heart already belong to you.”

With a firm assurance that his feelings would never change, he closed his eyes half-closed. Watching his slow blinking, it seemed like he was on the verge of falling asleep.

“Alright, now sit properly. It’s uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable. Just let me stay like this.”

“You said you’d do anything for me.”

“Not now; I am drunk.”

“You seem to realize that you are.”

Carlos tightened his arms around her waist as if she belonged to him. Even the scent of alcohol mixed with her smell felt sweet.

“I feel dizzy. My head hurts, and my stomach doesn’t feel good.”

“You shouldn’t have drunk so much. You can’t even handle it properly.” 

“It’s because I got jealous. It’s your fault… You take responsibility for this.”

Each time he speaks, he appears close to passing out. Eventually, he drifts off to sleep. Aneta tried to free herself from his embrace while he slept, but his grip around her waist remained strong. 

Aneta was the second strongest drinker in the capital, after Teresa, but perhaps because she hadn’t drunk much after several attempts, she gave up in exhaustion.

Feeling frustrated, she poked his cheek, feeling the roughness of his skin. His brow furrowed, and he smiled slightly, making his disheveled appearance even messier.

Under his neatly tailored vest, his shirt was half open, revealing a glimpse of his toned upper body. Aneta touched her forehead as she saw it.

“I think you should be a bit more careful,” she said.

Seeing his body brought back memories of their nights together before the divorce. Aneta, feeling mischievous, hesitantly unbuttoned his shirt collar. Although the button had come off, it didn’t matter much.

Even in his sleep, Carlos wore a pleasant expression, as if he recognized her touch. Just as he was about to sneer like a hungry beast, the carriage slowed down and stopped in front of a familiar mansion.

“Your Grace, we have arrived at Baltimor Mansion.”

“Please open the door.”

Aneta heard the coachman’s announcement, but she couldn’t move with Carlos holding onto her. When Aneta spoke awkwardly, someone promptly opened the door.

“Linden.”

The one who opened the door was not the coachman but the duke’s butler, Linden Meagher. When Aneta called his name, he bowed his head and respectfully addressed her as before.

“It’s been a long time, Your Grace.”

“You are still calling me that.”

“The Duke insisted that this time, the only Duchess of Baltimor Mansion is you, Lady Aneta. So it is only right to address you as Your Highness.”

Aneta tried to consider correcting the address but decided not to. Linden was as loyal to his master as Isabel was to her, and she would support and follow whatever Carlos wished.

“But His Grace seems quite drunk.”

Linden, who was quietly scanning the carriage, saw Carlos’s disheveled appearance. 

“He seemed out of control today.”

Aneta avoided detailed explanations, but Linden had a sense of what was happening. He was confident that it must be related to Aneta, as otherwise, his master wouldn’t have drunk to such an extent.

“Go ahead and take him inside.”

“Yes, understood.”

Linden carefully climbed into the carriage. Since Carlos was clinging to Aneta so closely, Linden had no choice but to intervene directly.

Aneta moved to help him, allowing Linden to easily remove Carlos from her. Except for one thing: his hand holding onto Aneta’s dress hem.

Aneta struggled to release Carlos’s hand as he refused to let her go. Seeing him grip even tighter, Linden opened his mouth with a troubled expression.

“Your Grace, I apologize for my request, but may I ask you to accompany me to the bedroom?”