“Ugh.”

“Spit it out.”

“How can I spit this out?”

Niol quickly handed her sweet snacks and water.

“……Delia. Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry. I’m stronger than both of you……”

“Delia.”

…here.

Thud!

The rest of her words never came.

“Delia!”

Two voices urgently called her name simultaneously.

If there was something Delia had overlooked, it was that when mentioning their alcohol tolerance in the original work, only the ‘number of glasses’ was specified.

What type of alcohol it was, or what the alcohol content was, hadn’t been mentioned.

Delia hadn’t considered that the alcohol content of what people commonly drank in this world might be several times stronger than a mixture of soju and beer.

Another thing was that small penalties were always present around her.

[A penalty occurs due to decreased plausibility score.]

This time, the penalty seemed to have caused problems with her body’s detoxification function.

It seemed her plausibility score had dropped considerably during the time she couldn’t meet Kaiel. It was Delia’s mistake not to consider these things before volunteering as a black knight.

But was there time for regret?

Her memory cut off there.

“Get up, Delia.”

“This is crazy.”

“Why did you volunteer to fold your fingers like that? Come out. I’ll carry her.”

“If you hadn’t just attacked me, I wouldn’t have folded them all. Move.”

“That’s how the rules work, you know? You’re really no fun at all.”

Before Kaiel and Niol could even get up from their seats. Suddenly, Delia’s attempt to grab Niol’s neck happened in an instant. Her two hands shot out at frightening speed, heading straight for Niol’s neck.

If Kaiel hadn’t caught Delia’s waist, she would have latched onto Niol like a leech and grabbed his neck tightly.

Niol’s lips moved slightly in shock.

“What the?”

Kaiel lightly restrained Delia, who kept reaching for the neck, and offered his embrace.

“You’ve got the wrong target, Delia.”

“What’s going on. Right now.”

At his sharp tone, Kaiel glanced at him before turning his attention back. Because Delia had quickly picked up a glass this time. She certainly wasn’t planning to drink it.

The quickly raised glass came down with force aimed at Kaiel’s head.

Even that was easily taken away as Kaiel carefully set the glass back down.

Similar attacks and defenses continued several more times after that.

During this time, Niol watched them with a serious expression before finally getting up and separating the two.

“Delia, please calm down for a moment. I’m sorry, just a moment.”

Surprisingly, as soon as Niol lifted Delia, the commotion quieted down.

“That……”

Niol spoke in a low voice to the expressionless face that acted as if nothing had happened.

“I think we need an explanation. Lord Tranade.”

“……”

Kaiel couldn’t answer readily. An explanation? It was difficult even for him to explain. How could he explain something he had just naturally come to accept?

Seeing Delia who had fallen asleep in Niol’s arms, Kaiel sighed and got up from his seat.

“Give her to me.”

Before Niol could do anything, Delia swung her legs, trying to get down from his arms first. After a moment’s hesitation, Niol carefully handed her over to Kaiel.

“I thought you two were close, but this is quite surprising. If it’s difficult to talk about, that’s fine. I don’t want to put Miss Delia in an awkward position either.”

“I apologize, Your Highness.”

Niol sat back down and poured alcohol into an empty glass.

“Go.”

Kaiel frowned slightly before nodding his head in a slight bow. But as he walked to the door, he suddenly stopped. The sound of pouring alcohol behind him stopped almost simultaneously.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

After a moment, Kaiel spoke in a low voice before leaving the room.

“Drink moderately, Niol. It’s bad for your health.”

* * *

“Ughhhh……”

Oh my, my head.

Delia raised her heavy, iron-like body and clutched her throbbing head.

“Ah, my head. Ahhh……”

It was a hangover she hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

“I deliberately didn’t wake you, Miss. Are you feeling better?”

“Mmm. I’m not sure. What happened yesterday…… Oh.”

Suddenly, Delia remembered the notification sounds that had sporadically appeared in her dark memories.

It seemed the system had displayed a mission notification to kill him, perhaps taking advantage of her drinking a few glasses of alcohol.

She might have even lunged at someone.

“……”

“Miss?”

‘Or not?’

The problem was that she couldn’t remember anything else besides that.

‘It should be fine, right……?’

Delia struggled to get out of bed. But after taking a few steps, she suddenly sprawled flat on the floor.

“Miss……!”

It was because of an unwelcome visitor that appeared before her eyes.

“This damn penalty.”

“Pardon?”

Delia blankly stared at the ceiling, contemplating her hopeless future.

“Here we go again……”

[If failure is detected without a retry within 24 hours, a penalty will be imposed immediately.]

[11:17]

It seemed something had definitely happened, but if she couldn’t succeed with a clear mind, there was no way she could succeed while drunk. She probably failed after making a clumsy attempt at attack.

Delia let out a hollow laugh.

“May I ask for one favor?”

The maid nodded while helping Delia up from the floor.

“Of course. First, let’s try to get you up!”

“When eleven hours have passed, no matter what happens, please come and tell me!”

“That’s not difficult at all. Yes, Miss. Eleven hours!”

While it wasn’t a difficult request, it was very important for Delia.

After all, she didn’t want to keep collapsing from penalties in front of others.

“What about Kaiel and His Highness?”

“Both are in the office. Her Highness is with them too. I never thought I’d live to see all three of them together.”

At those words, Delia paused for a moment before smiling brightly.

“Right.”

With somewhat excited feelings, she threw open the door to the imperial office, and truly, the three were sitting together.

Ashlene approached with a bright face.

“Oh my, Delia! It’s been so hard to see you lately.”

Ashlene warmly guided Delia to a seat.

“My eldest brother has been praising you so much, he says he really wants your help with this matter.”

At those words, Delia looked at Niol, who winked at her.

‘So nothing really happened yesterday. Thank goodness.’

Feeling relieved inside, Delia sat down.

Since she was so used to sitting next to Niol in the office, she naturally headed towards his side. Just as she was about to sit down, Kaiel called her.

“Delia.”

He glanced at the seat beside him.

Come here.

At this silent command, Delia hesitantly got up and sat down next to Kaiel instead. Niol said nothing, just smiled briefly before speaking.

“We don’t have much time left. Soon, the Floren Army will cross the border. Ashlene, as you’ve heard, since you’re the target, it could be dangerous. So I’m thinking of sending you to Tranade for protection.”

Ashlene had been nodding throughout, but when she heard the last part, she put down her teacup.

“Won’t Floren notice?”

“They probably will. That’s why we’re looking for a stand-in.”

Delia, who had been feeling somewhat interested in the newly changed story, suddenly jumped up from her seat.

“I’ll do it!”

“Sit down.”

“No, I’m saying I’ll—”

“No.”

Kaiel immediately dismissed her words and gently pushed Delia back down, his hand around her waist. Having long since realized how difficult it was to get this kind of permission from Kaiel, Delia changed her target to Niol.

“I can do it.”

However, despite her passionate gaze, Niol also shook his head with a gentle smile.

“I’m sorry, but that won’t work, Delia. It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous no matter who does it! If anything, it’s better if I do it!”

Well, she couldn’t die, so she was actually the most excellent candidate. That was an obvious fact. But there was no way the other three could know that.

“Delia, I’m sorry but I oppose it too. If something were to happen to you while standing in for me, how could I bear it?”

When even Ashlene stepped in to stop her, Delia lamented internally.

‘I’m telling you I’m the safest option……!’

That’s when it happened.

“To stand in for the Princess, you need to be properly prepared. You need to have the ability.”

“Grand Duke……?”

The cold and firm words pierced her ears.

“You can’t do it.”

‘I can’t do it?’

Delia’s face instantly turned bright red.

It was such a coldly cutting remark against her pride.

For a moment, Delia’s stunned gaze turned to Niol and Ashlene, seeking help.

However, those two only looked at each other awkwardly.

After a while, Ashlene spoke first.

“Th-that’s right, Delia. Um, it won’t be as easy as you might think. It will take time to prepare too. I don’t want to waste your precious time. Right, brother?”

Instead of answering, Niol just showed a polite smile.

“……”

Delia couldn’t say anything and just pressed her thumbs together, trying to steady her breathing. Her expression was visibly perturbed.