In contrast to Saena’s tension at the suspicious smile, Floria exclaimed,

“An Aberdeen specialty feast!”

“……”

A specialty feast… But why with that expression… She had worried for nothing.

Anyway, Floria is really cute. Getting so excited over something (small?) like this.

‘Come to think of it, what are Aberdeen’s specialties….’

Saena searched her memory but couldn’t recall anything special except that rubies were famous.

“Ta-da!”

“Ah……”

She soon found out what they were.

The Aberdeen territory was famous for its sweet fruits, possibly due to the generally high geothermal temperatures, and the processed products made from these fruits were also famous.

The fruits, preserved fruits, and dried fruits laid out before her were exactly that.

She now remembered that the cognac made from these fruits was also famous—despite its extremely high alcohol content, it had a sweet and fragrant fruit aroma when held in the mouth, making it one of the favorites among wine enthusiasts.

In her past life, Saena had quite a severe alcohol dependency.

Though it would be normal to stay away from alcohol after being burned by it, that wasn’t easy. She had nowhere else to turn to.

Though she hadn’t been in a position to be picky about her drinks, she had never tried Aberdeen’s fruit cognac. Besides being a strong spirit, it was expensive due to its fame.

“This time, brother can’t stop me!”

Seeing Floria’s determined expression with clenched fists, it seemed there was quite a bit of personal interest mixed in with the guest hospitality.

‘So that’s why she had that expression earlier.’

Saena smiled slightly, remembering Floria’s cutely devious smile from before.

Though she wondered if it would be okay to drink strong liquor since her current body wasn’t very accustomed to alcohol, seeing Floria’s eyes sparkling with expectation, she couldn’t bring herself to ask for something else.

She decided to just wet her lips and enjoy her time with Floria.

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“Wow– Yes. It’s strong but delicious?”

But once she actually tried it, she understood why Aberdeen’s fruit cognac was famous. Despite its high alcohol content, it went down smoothly and had a very fragrant aroma. It was a taste that anyone, man or woman, would enjoy.

“…So I almost went on a date with that young lord. But then Brother suddenly appeared!”

“Oh, really?”

As the alcohol kicked in slightly, Floria started unloading various stories. Though her face remained composed, she became strangely talkative.

“He flirts with all sorts of women but acts like that only with me! I really don’t like it!”

“Hmm. I see.”

Duke Aberdeen seemed to have quite the playboy tendency. Though she couldn’t join in criticizing him, Saena was careful with her responses.

“But if you really like that lord, couldn’t you try talking to him properly?”

“…Actually, it’s not really like that. I just thought he looked kind of nice.”

“……”

“I just wanted to try dating!”

Ah, she could understand that feeling.

“Sister Kiki said you need to meet lots of guys to be able to filter out the trash!”

“…Well, that might be true.”

Maybe if Saena had done that, she might have had a better eye for men.

“Right? You think so too, right, Saya?”

Floria continued venting and criticizing Duke Aberdeen. Somehow lately, she seemed to be hearing a lot of criticism about high-ranking people from various sources.

“The sisters will be so jealous of me. Especially Sister Kiki.”

Then the topic changed abruptly. Why did Kirsten suddenly come up?

“Hehe. I’ll write a letter tomorrow to brag.”

She couldn’t understand why the topic suddenly jumped from criticizing her brother to bragging.

While she was puzzling over what kind of bragging Floria meant, Floria’s body slowly tilted and suddenly collapsed sideways.

It happened in an instant.

“…Floria?”

“……”

“F-Floria?!”

Saena jumped up in shock.

“Floria! Are you okay?”

She hurriedly approached and checked on Floria, feeling like her heart had dropped.

‘Ah, she fell asleep drunk.’

To collapse so suddenly without any warning signs…

There hadn’t been even a hint of flush or slurred speech. In some ways, it was quite a dangerous drinking habit.

‘If Duke Aberdeen knew about this habit, I understand why he tried to stop her from drinking.’

One must know their alcohol tolerance and drinking habits. Especially if they’re a woman.

She decided to subtly mention this to Floria tomorrow.

‘Wow, that really scared me.’

Saena looked around and pulled the bell cord. She planned to call a maid to move Floria to her bedroom.

Knock knock. But there was an immediate knock at the door.

‘That’s incredibly fast.’

While wondering where Aberdeen’s maids were waiting to respond so quickly, Saena opened the door.

“Hey! You took the fruit cognac again! …didn’t…”

A loud voice suddenly rang out.

It wasn’t a maid.

“…Your Grace?”

“Ah, Madam…. Ria…”

Judging by Duke Aberdeen’s reaction, it seemed Floria had secretly raided the wine cellar without her brother’s permission.

“Floria has fallen asleep.”

“Did she suddenly…”

“Yes. Suddenly.”

“Haah, this kid really…”

“You should explain it well to her when she wakes up.”

“I don’t understand why she insists on drinking when she can’t handle alcohol.”

Well, it’s human nature to want to do something more when told not to.

“Rather than just telling her not to do it, it might be better to explain the dangers properly.”

“……”

“It might also be good if Your Grace set aside a day to drink with her so she can clearly understand her tolerance level.”

Regarding the dangers of not knowing one’s alcohol tolerance, wasn’t Saena living proof? And now Saena knew her own tolerance quite accurately.

“Hmm. That would be a good approach.”

While Duke Aberdeen nodded slightly, seeming to have never considered this before, a maid arrived.

“Master. Did you call?”

“Not me. The guest called.”

“Ah, I called because Floria needs to be moved to her bed.”

“That, I’ll do.”

Duke Aberdeen strode into the reception room and easily lifted Floria.

“You escort the guest to her room.”

The Duke ordered the maid.

“No need. I know where my room is. It would be better to have you help change Floria’s clothes.”

“We can call more maids.”

“I can call them myself.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

After watching Duke Aberdeen walk away with the maid following behind, Saena left the reception room. Despite only sipping and wetting her lips, she felt quite tipsy. It must be because it was strong liquor.

Changing her mind about going straight to her room, Saena decided to get some fresh air. Not wanting to go all the way outside the building, she looked around and found a perfect spot. Since the building was built in a square shape with an open center, there was a small inner garden on the first floor.

Saena walked slowly and sat on a bench there.

Looking up at the sky, she saw a clear night sky without a single cloud. It was the same color as Constantine’s eyes when viewed from darkness.

Her thoughts drifted to him again without her realizing it.

‘That secrecy of his…’

If anyone said mysterious men were attractive now, she might want to smack them on the back of the head.

Honestly, though Saena tried to be understanding since she also had circumstances she couldn’t talk about, it wasn’t easy. She was newly realizing how secrets could be fatal to developing relationships.

Saena propped her elbows on the table, rested her chin in her hands, and let out a long sigh.

“Do you have any worries?”

“……?!”

Saena startled at the sudden voice.

“Why such a deep sigh?”

“Ah, Your Grace.”

It was Duke Aberdeen.

He must have found her after putting Floria to bed.

“Just… thinking about various things.”

“What kind of things?”

It wasn’t really something she could talk about…

After hesitating for a moment, Saena asked a different question.

“What’s it like being a Covenant holder?”

“…Are you asking what my life is like?”

“Yes. Everyone only envies the Covenant holders… but I thought it might not be like that.”

The air around Aberdeen, which had been languid and decadent yet light, suddenly began to settle.

“Why do you ask such a thing?”

“Living close to it, I’ve found it’s different from what I imagined.”

“Hmm.”

Though his attitude remained somewhat light, his eyes were serious.

“Indeed. If people actually sat in this position, many would want to give it up.”

“……”

“Being a Duke in the Macfeyden Empire is actually like a plum that looks better than it tastes. Frequent subjugations, having to see the ugly faces of demonic beasts more often than people.”

Duke Aberdeen made a slightly weary expression.

“Hmm. Are there… side effects to the Covenant?”

Saena asked the question she had wanted to ask before. Though she wasn’t sure if he would answer.

“Side effects?”

“Yes. Controlling Guardian Spirits doesn’t seem like it would be easy.”

The Duke let out a small chuckle.

“There are.”

Contrary to her worries, he answered immediately. His tone suggested it was completely natural that there would be side effects.

So it wasn’t just Constantine.

“…May I ask what they are?”

Duke Aberdeen rested his arms on the table, propped his chin on his palm, and began speaking.

“Well. Like when you’re on a date and try to just kiss, they pop out wanting to watch and completely ruin the mood…”

“…What?”

“Even in bed, it’s a bit…”

The Duke shrugged his shoulders, looking troubled.

“……”

Saena was at a loss for words at these unexpected side effects.

“You like Guardian Spirits, don’t you?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Now that you’re the wife of an Oathkeeper, you should probably know this much. Let me tell you a few things.”

Though she wanted to learn some information, she hadn’t expected him to volunteer more. Saena’s expression grew serious.

“It’s better to give up any illusions about Guardian Spirits.”

“……”

“When the spirits became Guardian Spirits, they had their own wishes.”

“…Wishes?”

“You don’t think they made a one-sided covenant just to benefit humans, do you? They all had their own reasons.”

Ah, she had never thought about it that way. Though perhaps she should have.

Maybe it was because of expressions like ‘noble power’ and ‘protector of the empire.’