[Episode 64] - Reading a Romance Novel with Mom (1)
“Mom!!!!!”
When Titania bellowed in front of the door, the firmly shut door slowly began to open. Through the slight gap, a sour and sweetly tangy smell wafted out in a rush. It was a smell Titania had encountered many times before.
“The smell of alcohol!”
At the sour smell of alcohol that hit her at once, Titania covered her nose and scrunched up her face. Having never smelled alcohol this thick and strong before, Titania raised her head to look at the person who had opened the door.
“Titania?”
Vivian, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her undergarments were soaked with spilled alcohol, was dead drunk with her face flushed bright red. Titania frowned in annoyance at the sight, but Vivian looked at Titania’s face, grinned broadly, slipped her hands under Titania’s armpits, and hoisted her up.
Titania, lifted up without a chance to dodge, squirmed as if to say she hated the smell of alcohol, but Vivian paid it no mind and hugged her close. Wondering where the usual pleasant scent had gone, saying that only a terrible alcohol smell came from her mother’s body, Titania’s face crumpled like she was about to cry.
“The princess is here~? However did you know to find this place?”
Only then did Titania go ‘Ah!’ and cover her nose and mouth, surveying the room inside. Just how much had they drunk? The bed and the floor were filled with bottles. And even the Countess and Lady Serena, swaying dead drunk on the bed.
They had tried to get up to greet her, but the sight of them unable to rise, dizzy from intoxication, was somehow unpleasant to watch. Titania showed Vivian the necklace containing Einsel, then whispered in a voice so small that only Vivian could hear.
“Einsel said Mother is in danger...”
“That’s right! Just look at how much you’re drinking...! If you had kept drinking like that, who knows what those ladies might have done to you?! Were you seriously so clueless that you just stayed here?!”
“...? What do you mean, done to me? We were just drinking together; what are you talking about?”
Vivian tilted her head, not understanding, then turned to look at the Countess and Lady Serena, who were drunkenly swaying on the bed. Both seemingly lacked the strength in their legs to get up; when their eyes met, they waved their hands with awkward smiles.
“No! You really didn’t know?! The way I see it, if you had stayed like that...!”
“Such a fuss... We were just drinking together, that’s all? And what could the ladies do to me? Those are good people that even Bensho acknowledged~ Right~? Titania~?”
“Ah! They say humans lose all restraint when they’re drunk!”
Einsel sighed in disbelief, slapping her forehead with a smack. Vivian frowned as if wondering what the problem was, then flicked the necklace with a light tap. Ignoring Einsel’s grumbling about why she was being hit, Vivian turned to look at the Countess and Lady Serena.
“Since the princess has come to pick me up, I should return to my room now. It was truly enjoyable. I do hope there will be more gatherings like this next time.”
“We’re glad you enjoyed it. We were also endlessly delighted to have such a gathering with Her Majesty the Queen. Did you enjoy your day with Viola as well, Your Highness?”
At Lady Serena’s question, Titania plugged her nose and nodded. It was true that she had enjoyed playing with Viola. Vivian waved her hand and left the room, then showered the Titania in her arms with kisses on her cheek.
Normally the kisses would have made her happy, but each time, a terrible smell of alcohol wafted out, so Titania covered Vivian’s lips with both hands and let out a shriek. And with a truly annoyed expression, at that.
“Mom, I hate you because you smell like alcohol!!”
*
Lady Serena, left in the room, was eventually unable to overcome her intoxication and collapsed onto the bed. How long had it been since she drank this much? She had nearly lost her grip on consciousness at the very end; she looked at the Countess lying beside her and smiled brightly.
However, unlike Lady Serena, who was smiling broadly, the Countess’s face was full of displeasure. Puffing up her cheeks like a child, she frowned as if upset and looked at Lady Serena.
Seeming to know why she was making such an expression, Lady Serena propped her chin on her hand with a sly smile as she lay down and looked at the Countess. And then, as if to slightly seduce her, she beckoned the Countess with just a flick of her finger.
“Come here, Yvette.”
Though her cheeks were puffed up, the Countess crawled across the bed as if she couldn’t help it and approached Lady Serena’s side. Then, Lady Serena embraced the Countess who had drawn near. As if this position were familiar to both of them, the Countess buried her face in Lady Serena’s chest.
Looking down at the Countess burying her head in her embrace like a child, Lady Serena giggled and stroked the Countess’s head.
“Were you jealous?”
At the question of whether she was jealous, the Countess puffed her cheeks out even more and tapped Lady Serena’s side with her fist. Saying that the playful hitting tickled, the lady and the Countess laughed and became tangled together on the bed. When the horsing around ended, the Countess asked Lady Serena with a serious expression.
“...Why did you teach Her Majesty the Queen this kind of ‘game’? It’s true that other ladies use this ‘code’... but you know this ‘code’ doesn’t simply mean ‘let’s drink together.’ If Her Majesty the Queen tries to copy this with other ladies...”
“So you were jealous?”
“Stop joking and answer seriously.”
The Countess stretched out and pulled Lady Serena’s face, which still wore a mischievous smile. Lady Serena tapped the Countess’s hand, saying it hurt, then pursed her lips in thought for a moment before answering in a calm voice.
“First, the reason I taught Her Majesty the Queen this game is that after getting married, Her Majesty, who has shown no interest in high society until now, is trying to re-enter it. I thought it would be fine to teach her these ‘code words’ that are in vogue these days. Honestly, ever since Lady Catherine appeared in high society, most ladies have been using this code, haven’t they?”
“That... may be true, but...”
Lady Serena was right. Ever since Lady Catherine had appeared in high society, social clubs imitating her social club had even sprung up. It was true that this ‘game’ using ‘code words’ was currently in vogue.
But if asked whether it was appropriate to teach this to Her Majesty the Queen, the Countess would have wanted to answer ‘no.’ Because drinking together through these ‘code words’ wasn’t limited to the meaning of simply drinking together.
The most important meaning contained in these ‘code words’ was a ‘game’ that stimulated the ladies’ lewd, sexual side. A lewd playground for ladies who valued only pleasure, to an extent they couldn’t speak of to men. That was the game using the ladies’ code words that was in vogue in high society these days.
“I know what you’re worried about. You want to say I only taught her superficially, right? But I had no intention of laying a hand on Her Majesty the Queen from the start. No, who would dare touch Her Majesty the Queen? It’s not like they want to die.”
Lady Serena giggled and caressed the Countess’s cheek. At Lady Serena’s appearance, as if she were walking a tightrope, the Countess frowned and pinched Lady Serena’s cheek even harder.
“This is in preparation for when other foolish ladies use ‘code words’ on Her Majesty the Queen. Her Majesty has only just set foot in high society. It probably won’t happen, but if some truly foolish lady uses ‘code words’ on Her Majesty, how would the Queen react?”
“She would naturally say she doesn’t know, like today...”
“Right, she would certainly say she doesn’t know. But it’s also a problem when she says she doesn’t know. ‘Her Majesty the Queen doesn’t know this ‘code word’ that’s in vogue in high society?’ Then ladies will appear who mock that innocent appearance of Her Majesty. Since Her Majesty is royalty, foolish ladies will appear who put on airs, claiming they taught royalty.”
Lady Serena propped her chin on her hand and fell into thought for a moment. Fortunately, Her Majesty the Queen seemed to be trying to enter high society using her—through none other than ‘herself.’ So until Her Majesty solidified her position in high society, she had no choice but to serve as Her Majesty’s shield.
“That’s why it’s best to only teach her on the surface. If another lady uses ‘code words,’ I can follow along and protect Her Majesty. So only up to this point—just teach her the ‘atmosphere’ of playing while drinking.”
At Lady Serena’s serious expression, the Countess smiled. When these ‘code words’ were first used on Her Majesty the Queen, how anxious she had been... She had watched nervously, wondering if Lady Serena might make a ‘slip’ with Her Majesty, but...
“And honestly, she’s such a beautiful Queen, isn’t she? I wanted to see Her Majesty in a negligee too—”
Smack!
The Countess raised her hand high and brought it right down on Lady Serena’s buttocks. The moment she thought Lady Serena looked admirable, such words came out that she couldn’t help but hit her despite not intending to. The moment she was huffing and about to hit her bottom once more—
Lady Serena caught the Countess’s wrist and covered her body, pressing their lips together. The Countess flustered at the sudden kiss, but eventually surrendered her body to Lady Serena at the ensuing sticky kiss.
A tongue that had licked its lips wide pushed its way in, and at the same time, the alcohol-flavored tongue swept across her gums, squeezed between her teeth, and licked the roof of her mouth. The Countess frowned at the sticky, alcohol-flavored kiss and pushed Lady Serena away to catch her breath for a moment.
Lady Serena licked up the saliva on her lips, smiled seductively, and stroked the Countess’s face. An expression she had absolutely never shown in front of Her Majesty the Queen. At that expression she showed only when in bed with her, the Countess let out a sigh of relief.
“So you were jealous after all?”
“......”
To that answer she already knew, the Countess quietly nodded. Fortunately, the hunting competition started the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow’s schedule was from the afternoon. Therefore, the two’s night was still long.
*
“So, there’s Viola, right? She told me about something called a romance novel, and it—”
“Mhm—”
“The difficult passages that came up in the novel, Viola told me about them. At first, I didn’t even know the word ‘chastity,’ but Viola must read a lot of books—”
“Mhm—”
Looking at Vivian, who was lying in bed and answering her half-heartedly, Titania puffed up her cheeks and shook Vivian’s shoulder. She had been with other people all day today, and hadn’t even talked to her. Titania hated her mother, who was already trying to fall asleep.
“Get up. Mom. Mom!”
“Titania... Mom is so sleepy...”
“It’s not time to sleep yet!!”
“Mhm...”
Vivian forced herself up from the bed and looked blankly at Titania. To prevent Vivian from lying back down, Titania took the book she had borrowed from Viola earlier and sat on Vivian’s lap. Then she opened the book and began reading the passages she hadn’t understood earlier, one by one.
Drunk and dying to sleep, and now having to read words on top of that, Vivian was on the verge of going crazy with drowsiness. She was so tired she felt like she would fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes, but she couldn’t ignore Titania, who was sitting on her lap and throwing a fit, demanding she talk with her at once.
Not to mention Einsel had only been saying strange things since earlier...
“...Just a little. We’ll read just this book and then sleep. Okay...?”
“Hehe, yes!”