"...Urgh! Esther, you are so stupid! Why did you just barge into my room out of nowhere! I hate that!!" I wave my hand at Esther, who’s looking around the room.

"Those... are the wine bottles from my mansion?" Esther picks up the wine bottles, looking furious and irritated.

"So what! They’re just... ugh... a few bottles... you owe me this!!"

"...Those bottles are, on average, five to ten thousand years old. Each one is worth enough to rival noble territories and mansions... and you wasted thirty of them?" She stares at the wine-stained floor.

"I don’t know anything about that! I just... had a little bit to drink..." I feel dizzy. I tried drinking to de-stress, but now I just feel nauseous.

"A little bit? You squandered wines from my collection for this? Using shadows to steal from me is an irresponsible use of them."

"Leave me alone! I didn’t even use that much... look! Every bottle still has some left."

"..."

"You stupid drunkard. Once you break the seal, the bottle loses its value. Now that you’ve drunk from all of them, they’re just trash..."

"I am not drunk!! I’m completely sober! Hahaha! Besides, what’s the big deal? Just because you spent all your money buying territories, trade routes, and dungeons doesn’t mean it’s my problem." I say sarcastically, grabbing a wine glass and downing it all in one go.

"Weren’t you getting ready to leave?"

"I just wanted to rest a bit. What’s mine is yours, so what’s yours is also mine! You used the treasure from my personal vault to buy those ports!! So I can drink your wine! You don’t even drink it." I stand up, irritated. Why can’t I have a drink?

"I don’t drink the wine because I didn’t buy it for drinking! Some of it were gifts. Do you have any idea how much they cost? That cellar alone is worth enough to buy vast territories. I was going to sell it in the future, you stupid drunk."

"I am not drunk!" I say, frustrated, staring at Esther in front of me.

"You’re talking to a coat rack with a white towel on it."

"...That doesn’t prove anything!" I turn toward the sound. Everything looks blurry and spinning. I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

"Want a glass?" I offer, grabbing a bottle from the table. I take a swig straight from the bottle. The taste is bitter and intense, but I don’t care. I like the feeling of everything slowing down.

"Give me the bottle." She approaches, trying to grab it. I put a hand on Esther’s chest, pushing her away.

"No! It’s mine! I want to drink a little more..."

"Evelyn, give that to me now... wait... what..." Esther ignores me and walks past. She stops by the bed, then turns back to me with a strange expression while I take another swig.

"This maid... why is she practically dismembered on the floor?"

"Huh? Oh... she had a knife... tried to stab me after going through my stuff, and I saw her... I think there was poison? Hahaha, funny, right! I used what you taught me... some stupid noble sent her... hahaha." I laugh, confused. I don’t really remember exactly what happened.

"You did this alone?"

"Huh? Did what?" I approach her, looking at the floor until my eyes widen. The sight makes me feel a little sick. There’s a woman, and the state of the cuts on her is so horrific I wonder who could have done something so cruel.

"Esther!! Why did you kill someone in my room?"

"Me? But... Evelyn, I already told you to stop drinking. What is your problem, constantly stealing my expensive wines? Not only do you not know how to appreciate them, but you also get drunk off a small amount."

"You’ve had at least ten liters of wine. That’s way more than anyone should drink in a few hours." She grabs my hand, pulling me.

"Stop! Why won’t you answer me?"

"You did this."

"I didn’t do anything! Liar... that hurts..." I mumble, finishing the bottle and dropping it on the floor, feeling tired.

"I just wanted a little to drink... why is everyone so mean to me?" I say, frustrated, as Esther puts me in a chair. I try to get up, but she pushes me back down.

"Stay there. I need to deal with this problem. You seem too drunk to remember what you’re doing. Get some sleep."

"But I don’t want to sleep... hic... I just want to drink." Tears stream down my face. I want another bottle.

...

...

...

"But I don’t want to sleep... hic... I just want to drink." Evelyn’s tears fall. She’s far too drunk. I’ve never seen her this drunk before. Usually, she can only manage half a liter before she’s too intoxicated, but now she’s drunk a lot from several bottles.

"Shut up, Evelyn. Stay quiet there and go to sleep, or you’ll never touch a drop of wine again in your life." I say to her, her makeup smeared. She mutters curses at me while hugging her knees.

"..." I move away from her, back to the side of the bed where the dead maid lies. I look around, trying to see what she was killed with. I spot a shard of glass from one of the bottles; it’s completely jagged.

’The ligaments in each of her limbs were severed, bones were dislocated at points that prevent movement, and an artery was cut to make her bleed out slowly until she died...’ Horrible cuts were made to her face, disfiguring the maid.

There’s a knife nearby that wasn’t used. I pick it up, recognizing the pattern. I know it belongs to a well-known group of assassins. They take any job as long as the pay is good.

’She must have infiltrated the castle because we started hiring new servants...’

"She wasn’t weak..." This maid didn’t have much strength, but for Evelyn, who is extremely weak, she shouldn’t have lost so easily. I look around for an explanation.

"Threads..." I find several white threads scattered everywhere. They’re very thin, so thin I can only see them because they’re stained with blood. I pull a thread, observing Evelyn’s magic running along it.

"That explains how..." I look more closely at Evelyn’s entire room. I’ve never explored it much because of the security magic in place. But looking carefully, there’s a thin thread running along the window frame, following the wall and ceiling to the door.

’Evelyn set traps in the room...’ I run my hand over the blood on the floor. This maid seems to have died about three hours ago, but the wounds are at least four hours old.

’Did Evelyn torture someone for over an hour?’ I stand up from the floor, finding Evelyn’s behavior strange. She would normally never do this because she hates torture, even though she knows how to do it well.

"Hey, Evelyn... open your eyes." I approach Evelyn, who looks up. I notice her pupils are slitted, almost feral, like a dragon’s.

"Evelyn, did the maid touch something?"

"Maid?... Ah... she touched my dress... she grabbed my... huh... something? Oh! The picture of my wife! My wife is annoying! I hate her... but I love her... she’s so mean to me, but I like her... I have a picture..." Evelyn murmurs with genuine confusion.

’She doesn’t even recognize me right now?’ I sigh, not wanting to deal with this. I hate dealing with Evelyn when she’s drunk. She’s confused, messes everything up, and doesn’t remember things clearly.

’So she didn’t kill the assassin because she was an assassin. She killed her out of jealousy...’ I approach Evelyn, grabbing her face and making her look at me.

"What? I know I’m beautiful... but my beauty is for me and Esther..." She murmurs, making a pout as her tail pushes me away slightly.

"You have to go to war in three days, you know. You shouldn’t be distracting yourself with alcohol... besides, you’re not supposed to drink away from me." I don’t know what kind of craziness she’d do while drunk.

"Oh no... no... I don’t want to... why me?... this is so annoying... it’s all that stupid Arial’s fault... I hate her... she’s... she’s weird..."

’Arial? Who’s Arial?’

"Esther... I need to talk to Esther..." Evelyn tries to get up from the chair. As she stands, I move behind her, covering her eyes.

"I’m right here, Evelyn."

"E-Esther... what are you doing in my room!... I’m just... just getting ready..." Her words are slurred, clearly confused about everything.

"Why did you drink so much wine? Tell me the truth, or I’ll be angry with you, Evelyn. And you don’t want your beloved wife Esther to be angry, do you?" When I say this, she sheds tears onto my fingers.

"...It’s all Esther’s fault... Esther is a jerk... I asked her to just be quiet... I just wanted a real apology... but weeks have passed and she doesn’t even know how to say sorry..." She’s back on this again.

"..." I move my fingers gently, wiping away her tears as I hold her firmly from behind, my arms around her.

"Sorry, Evelyn. But I can’t feel the same way you do." It seems I have my answer, but I’m not emotional enough to genuinely apologize for something I feel nothing about.

I don’t truly regret what I did, and Evelyn knows it. I tried to make it up to her, but she clearly didn’t like anything I did to compensate.

"Traitor... why didn’t you tell me... if you had just told me... if you had spoken and asked nicely... we could have worked everything out..." Evelyn pulls away from my hands. She turns to me and pushes me.

"Go away, I’m angry... get out!! Get out! Get the hell out of my room! Can’t you see I want some time alone? I love you, but I’m tired. Seeing your hypocritical face just makes me irritated."

"You know why I’m so eager to go to war? It’s precisely so I don’t have to see you there! So get out! Leave me alone for a while, at least!! Aren’t you tired?"

"Why would I be tired... I’m tired of all this shit. Even when I’m drinking, you come to bother me?... just give me a few hours, that’s all I ask. Get out and let me drink alone." She moves away from me, going to a table to grab another bottle.

"..." I growl at her but decide to leave her alone.

"I’ll send someone to clean up the bloody mess you made next to our bed... and... I’ll give you a better picture of me if you want." I head to the door, taking one last look at Evelyn.

She sits in the chair, staring at the ceiling as she takes a swig straight from the bottle in her hands. I close the door silently, giving her the space she needs.

"I wonder if I should feel something..." I feel nothing seeing her this sad. I just find it irritating. But despite not feeling it, I understand. She’s tired. Of course she would be, eventually.

Sometimes even I get tired of my own attitude toward everything, so I understand she needs time. I think it’s best to "obey" what she wants and let her go to war without me spying on her and maintaining constant contact.

Because at least one thing I know for certain: Evelyn’s love will never end. Because even drunk, which is when Evelyn is most honest, she killed and tortured an assassin over a mere photo of me. And that fills me with a dark satisfaction.

Even if she did it for a picture, probably protecting an idealized image of love she created in her own head, it’s still a love meant for me. An action born of jealousy, which in my mind, is cute. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Because it’s Evelyn showing her true emotions. Evelyn, who would never do this sober, did it only because of a jealousy she tries to hide. And I like those feelings she keeps hidden.

"Haa... I should find out which idiot tried to kill my wife. I need to teach a little lesson about respect to that unfortunate, intellectually deficient fool." Evelyn probably won’t remember killing someone, so I’ll hide that fact. She doesn’t need to know, or she’ll be sad.