I Will Buy Divine Power With Money! - Chapter 149
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Cal, what time did I return to my room last night?”
While changing his clothes, Lute asked the butler about the previous night’s events.
“It was around two in the morning.”
“How did I get back?”
Butler Cal, who had been answering obediently, blinked at the follow-up question.
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember?”
“I remember drinking up to four bottles of whiskey with Ordel, but everything after that is hazy.”
Cal was shocked by Lute’s nonchalant words.
Lute had a blackout from drinking? That Lute?
He had served him since birth, but this was a first.
“W-well, according to the servants who cleaned up after the drinking session, you two consumed a total of five bottles of whiskey.”
“Five bottles? No wonder I can’t remember anything if I drank another bottle after getting drunk.”
Lute let out a hollow laugh.
“But both of you returned to the estate perfectly fine without anyone’s assistance.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. In fact, you personally escorted Lady Ordel to her bedroom before returning to your room.”
Lute nodded at Cal’s explanation.
At least I wasn’t completely unconscious.
“How’s Ordel? Is she awake?”
“Yes. She’s currently exercising in the garden.”
Lute made an incredulous expression at those words.
The current time was 9 AM.
He too had woken up relatively early considering he’d been drinking until dawn.
But Ordel was going one step further and even exercising?
“She’s more diligent than I thought. You said Ordel seemed fine last night too, right?”
“Yes.”
So I was the only one who got drunk enough to black out?
I’ve never lost to anyone in drinking capacity in my life, this is truly absurd.
Just how strong is Ordel’s alcohol tolerance?
“Then Ordel remembers everything I said while drunk last night.”
“Do you remember what you said?”
“Bits and pieces. Actually, I’m not even sure if what I said was right… but I might have said what I’ve been wanting to say all along.”
“What was it?”
“Begging.”
“…Excuse me?”
Looking at Cal’s questioning expression, Lute smiled brightly.
“I begged her not to go anywhere and to stay here. I guess the saying ‘drunk words are sober thoughts’ exists for a reason.”
“B-beg… You begged…”
“But it seems like Ordel coldly rejected my begging.”
“What?!”
At Lute’s next bombshell statement, Cal was nearly on the verge of fainting.
It was already world-shatteringly shocking that Lute had begged someone not to leave, but she ruthlessly rejected it too?!
To reject Lute. Ordel really is an amazing person.
Admirable.
“Tell Ordel I’d like to have breakfast together.”
But the rejected Lute didn’t seem affected at all.
He was even smiling cheerfully as if he was in a good mood.
Despite serving him his entire life, Lute’s psychology was still difficult to understand.
He heard that Lute did the begging and Ordel did the rejecting.
Yet somehow, he felt more sorry for Ordel.
He hoped she would stay strong.
* * *
When Lute suggested having breakfast together, I was quite surprised.
I naturally expected Lute to avoid me.
If he remembered what he said last night, he’d want to avoid me out of embarrassment, and even if he didn’t remember, wouldn’t he usually try to avoid me out of worry that he might have made a mistake?
“Did I happen to beg you not to leave last night?”
However, I had forgotten.
The fact that Lute was not ordinary.
As soon as I cleaned up and came to the restaurant to face Lute, he asked.
“Well, you did…”
“Ah, so it’s true. I’m glad I did.”
Does this guy really have no sense of shame?
I’m the one being more cautious here.
“People usually get embarrassed when they talk nonsense while drunk, but you don’t seem to have that problem, Duke.”
Then again, it would be scarier to see Lute blushing and acting embarrassed.
“Did I also beg you to call me by my name instead of Duke yesterday?”
At my words, Lute frowned.
Is that more unpleasant than the begging?
“You did. You asked why I kept calling you that when your name isn’t Duke.”
“Wow, I really said everything I wanted to say. Then did we also switch to informal speech?”
“Do you really not remember?”
No? I think I remember everything?
“This is also correct. Then it must also be true that you coldly rejected my begging.”
“…?”
This is ridiculous.
He remembers everything else correctly, so why is he remembering this part wrong?
“I begged you not to leave, saying I’d give you everything you wanted, that you should take responsibility since you saved me, asking if you knew how interested I was in you. And you kicked me away after I pleaded so desperately.”
He even remembers exactly what he said.
“And you rejected me with such harsh words: ‘What? Why should I?'”
Lute pounded the table with his fist, venting his frustration.
Hey, I’m the one who should feel wronged, not you.
“I see you’re remembering the sequence all mixed up. Those words didn’t come from that situation.”
“But you did say them. Such heartless words.”
Lute covered one cheek and sniffled.
If I had actually kicked you, at least you wouldn’t be wronged.
“Take responsibility. You made me this sad, so take responsibility.”
“Whether you’re drunk or sober, you say the same things.”
I let out a hollow laugh and placed the pouch I brought on the table. It was the portable wine cellar pouch.
Lute, who had been pretending to cry, tilted his head.
“Why do you have that?”
“Because you gave it to me last night. Along with this.”
I also placed the sapphire next to the pouch.
“Wait, so you’re saying I gave you this pouch full of alcohol?”
However, Lute didn’t even glance at the sapphire.
“I thought I only did good things last night, but I did something stupid too.”
“Is giving me the alcohol pouch a bigger problem than the sapphire?”
“Of course!”
When I asked incredulously, he shouted.
“Because you like alcohol more! This has been such great bait all this time, what am I supposed to do now that I’ve handed it over.”
“…”
“What am I going to use to keep you tied down from now on?”
Lute lamented with genuine sincerity.
I was naturally going to return it, but seeing that expression makes me want to change my mind.
If I keep this, I can demand that he obediently listen to me whenever he wants to drink with me, right?
Maybe I’ll just return the sapphire and keep the wine pouch as is.
Of course, I wouldn’t drink from it without Lute’s permission.
Knock knock.
“Excuse me for interrupting your meal. An invitation has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
Just then, with a knocking sound, Butler Cal announced.
“Tsk. This damn Imperial Palace really can’t get their timing right.”
Lute clicked his tongue with an annoyed expression.
There probably isn’t another person who would treat an imperial letter like that.
“It’s an invitation to the Harvest Festival.”
Lute said indifferently after roughly tearing open the invitation Cal had brought.
The Harvest Festival was the biggest festival held in autumn.
‘And it’s also where important events unfold in the original story.’
Of course, it was supposed to be the Harvest Festival held next year, not this year.
But now there’s been a variable.
As time has rewound, ‘Evil’ is also showing different behavioral patterns from the past.
Although he has no memories of the past, there was no law saying he wouldn’t pull the same stunts this year instead of next year.
“Are you going to attend the Harvest Festival?”
“I have to. Though I’m not particularly interested.”
Lute waved the invitation back and forth while looking at me intently.
“Ah, that’s right. You can come along too.”
Well, I was also considering going since events might unfold at the Harvest Festival…
“What if you run away while I’m away? That won’t do. So let’s go together.”
Was that the problem?
“I’m not going to run away.”
“I still remember you coldly kicking me away when I begged you not to leave.”
“I never did that.”
Of course I didn’t even answer, but at least I didn’t kick him away.
He didn’t even give me time to respond.
“Anyway, let’s go together. Got it? Ah, if we’re going to travel to the capital, we should start preparing now.”
However, as if my answer didn’t matter at all, Lute simply stood up and left the dining room.
“I said I’m not going anywhere…!”
Even when I shouted belatedly, Lute didn’t listen one bit.
Only Cal, who was still remaining instead of Lute, looked at me pitifully.
Thus my trip to the capital was decided half by others’ will, half by my own.
* * *
Lute wasn’t the only one who received an invitation to the Harvest Festival.
“What a situation.”
Sun God’s Main Temple.
Airic, who was receiving an invitation from the Imperial Palace for the first time, let out a sigh.
【We sincerely hope that the Holy Maiden of the Sun God’s Main Temple will attend the Harvest Festival and grace us with her presence.】
It was an invitation specifically targeting the Holy Maiden, which made him sigh even more.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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