106. Promise, promise, promise (2)
[Episode 106] – Promise, promise, promise (2)
Small bands playing in the middle of the store and lively customers laughing and chatting. Since I usually only have quiet meals where I can only hear the clinking of dishes in the dining room, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a lively meal with people making noise like this.
‘I remember a long time ago, when I was just becoming an adult, there was a bar that a lot of people went to. Was it a pub?’
Perhaps because it was the festival season, the number of people gathered at the bar was diverse.
Families who came to enjoy the festival like me and Titania, lovers sitting close to each other whispering their love, people gathering for a drink with friends after work, drunkards who were already drunk and laughing loudly. Everyone was gathered together and laughing.
Even though I entered the store with a bit of pain in my legs, it didn’t seem too bad. Rather, I liked the atmosphere of the bar to the point that I thought I had chosen this place well. It may seem bad for Titania’s education, but after all, this is experience.
I was so entranced by the people-watching that I was absent-mindedly watching the musicians play and the people dancing to the music, when the clerk brought out the food I had ordered earlier. Unlike the excellent food prepared by the royal chef, simple and warm food.
Titania seemed to like the simple food she had tried for the first time in her life, and her eyes widened as she took a bite of the large piece of meat the clerk brought out. Maybe it’s even more so because it’s a taste that can’t be tasted in Wangseong.
I chuckled at the sight of Titania’s wide eyes as she sipped the beer the clerk brought her. Then, Titania tilted her head and showed curiosity about her drink again.
“What does your mother’s alcohol taste like?”
“Alcohol is not drunk for the taste.”
“Yes?”
“You drink with the atmosphere. Well, taste is important too.”
Titania put a question mark above her head as if she didn’t understand what I was saying. Yeah, what would a child know? I glanced at Titania, saw her sigh, and held out the glass of beer she was drinking.
“Would you like to have a sip?”
“Really?!”
“Okay, just take one sip.”
The reason I held out the glass to Titania after telling her not to drink it was because I was worried that Titania might touch her drink on her own out of curiosity.
What if you enter the academy with this much curiosity? What if you make a bad friend at the academy and learn how to drink there? What if the princess of the kingdom becomes a delinquent student?
A delinquent Titania was born in my head. They say the Academy is a place where nobles gather, but such a place is also inherently more festering. Titania is crooked, drinking and smoking…
It’s not that I don’t trust Titania, but I also knew how strong teenagers’ curiosity about alcohol was. It would be right for me to teach you before that happens. They say drinking is something you learn from an adult.
As soon as I gave permission, Titania smiled brightly and took the beer glass from my hand. I rested her chin on the table and watched Titania raise a drink to her mouth.
“It’s just one mouthful. Anything more than that and I’ll scold you.”
“I know. Lol.”
As Titania said that, rather than drinking the beer in her hand, she first held it to her nose and began to sniff it. Titania’s nose wrinkled as she lifted her glass of beer to her nose and took a few sniffs.
Not only the bridge of his nose but also his forehead was wrinkled, making him frown strongly like a puppy smelling a strange smell. In the end, Titania didn’t even touch her beer and she passed her glass back to me.
I burst out laughing at that sight and looked at Titania.
“Why? You wanted to drink that much, right? “Are you sure you’re not going to drink it?”
“…I just want to drink with my mother after graduating from the academy.”
“Okay, well thought out.”
As I sipped my beer, Titania looked at me as if I was really strange. Perhaps because she disliked the unique smell of thick beer, Titania sipped on the sweet fruit juice next to her to quench her appetite.
“Next time…”
Titania, who was sipping her drink, raised her head and looked at me. I don’t know if it’s okay to say this to Titania, but I wanted to say it now.
Because I didn’t want to dampen Titania’s expectations just for today.
“I’ll pick you a drink that smells good and tastes sweet. “So that you can drink comfortably.”
*
Vivian’s face turned bright red, and the empty glasses next to her increased until they filled half of the table. Titania rested her chin for a moment and looked at the musicians playing her tune in the middle of her shop.
Every time the musical score fluttered in front of the performers, the liveliness of the guests gathered in front of the stage increased. This atmosphere was slightly burdensome for Titania, who did not drink alcohol.
There were many people dancing along to the cheerful tunes of the musicians. No, except for her mother and herself, most of the guests gathered together and enjoyed dancing to the music.
Lovers hold hands and dance to show off their affection, or even friends who came together dance cheerfully to music. The dance here was not a dance where etiquette was important, like a ballroom dance, but a dance where everyone enjoyed the atmosphere together.
Titania glanced down at her mother, her face bright red from her drunkenness. She wanted to dance like that with her mother, but she lacked the courage to do so, so she just watched her.
At that moment, she was just snacking on her food and wondering how to address her.
“Are you enjoying the festival?”
Clerk? No, a good-looking woman who seemed to be the owner of her store came up to me and handed me a snack I didn’t even order. As Titania looked at the snacks in front of her, helpless, her shopkeeper snorted and spoke to her.
“A guest dancing over there told all the guests gathered here to drink mead. “I had no choice since I already received the money, but…”
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The shopkeeper turned her head and looked at Vivian. Perhaps because she was drunk, Vivian made eye contact with the store owner and blinked. The store owner sighed heavily at the sight of the half-drained look.
“I thought this person shouldn’t get any more drunk, so I exchanged him for two meads and snacks of similar price. “The person over there has already paid the bill, so don’t worry about the money.”
“Ah, thank you.”
When Titania bowed her head and expressed her gratitude, she waved her hand and said that she was the owner of the store. Titania glanced at the store owner to see when she would return, but the store owner looked at her and Vivian in turn, tilted her head and asked.
“Are you sisters? “Is this your sister?”
“Oh, no. “She is my mother.”
“Mother and daughter?”
The store owner glanced at Vivian and Titania again and sighed. Titania frowned slightly, thinking she knew what the store owner’s expression and her question meant.
The store owner clearly thought that they didn’t look alike for a mother and daughter, or that there didn’t seem to be much of an age difference between them. She is an adoptive daughter who is not related to her mother by blood, so it is natural for her…
“Yes, she is my mother.”
That look made me feel bad because it felt like she was saying that she wasn’t her mother’s daughter. Even if she wasn’t related by blood, she was her mother’s daughter. She hated the look the store owner gave her as if she was denying it.
The store owner smoothed her chin and then she changed the subject.
“I see. By the way, aren’t the guests going to dance? “What can I say, I’m still working, but are you really going to just sit around and watch while it’s a festival?”
“Yes?”
“I wanted to dance, but didn’t I have to do it because my mother was worried about me? I asked her because her eyes were fixed on the stage. What’s the point of worrying about your mother when you’re dancing? “My mother can’t just sit back and drink when her child is watching her like that.”
Titania flinched and her shoulders trembled at the shopkeeper’s sharp words. Her mother listened to her shopkeeper and she stroked her chin as if thinking for a moment, then she took a sip of cold water, not alcohol, and looked at herself.
Perhaps because of her drunkenness, she felt a strange heat in her mother’s green eyes looking at her. Her shallow eyes looked like the moon floating on a lake. Then, the corners of her eyes curled and melted, and she smiled brightly and answered the store owner.
“I was drunk and lost my senses.”
Vivian stood up from her seat and held out her hand. Titania was at a loss for what to do in the sudden situation, but then Vivian gently placed her hand on her outstretched hand. Perhaps because of her drinking, her mother’s body temperature seemed hotter than usual.
As her hands tightened around hers, Titania’s body rose on its own. Her mother said nothing. She just grabbed her hand and started jumping into the crowd of dancers.
When her mother and herself joined the crowd of people dancing, people immediately made room for them as if they had made an appointment. She couldn’t believe this situation, dancing with her mother as she had hoped.
The dance was in the form of holding hands and spinning around, or dancing to a lively dance. There were no rules or etiquette like at a ball. I just dance as my body goes to the tunes played by the orchestra.
As this was her first time doing something like this, she was confused and didn’t know how to dance. Her mother held her hands and started to slowly spin her around. Every time she walked around the stage holding her mother’s hand, the candlelight at the end of her vision flickered, creating a dream-like atmosphere.
Really, it felt like a dream. Such a happy dream.
If it wasn’t a dream, I was so happy that I couldn’t believe it.
A mother smiling happily with a very red face.
A mother with a smiling face like a girl who knows no worries.
A mother who gets very drunk and keeps messing with the staff.
Nevertheless, my mother only looks at me and smiles.
It was lovely to see my mother for the first time.
I wanted this unrealistic situation to continue forever. However, if there is a beginning, there is an end. As the song neared its end, the people dancing slowly left and returned to their original places.
Just a little more, just a little more.
At least until the song ends.
Her hand, which had been held by her mother, suddenly seemed to be holding it herself. She didn’t let go of her mother’s hand the whole time she danced, like a child throwing a tantrum because she didn’t want to let go. Finally, just before the dance ends.
“Oh my.”
Maybe it was because the stage was narrow?
Or maybe it was because everyone was drunk except him.
Just before the dance ended, Titania bumped her back against the man who was dancing behind her. As she collided with the man, who was bigger and heavier than her, Titania’s body was thrown forward.
Okay, moving forward.
Her hands were holding her mother’s, so she couldn’t even use her own hands.
No, the distance was so narrow that there was no time to use her hands.
It happened so quickly that I couldn’t stop it.
So, this… Really happened by mistake.
It was not intentional. It was just a coincidence.
By chance, I was close to my mother.
Coincidentally, her mother and herself were similar in height.
So…
The inevitable result was that my body leaned forward and my face collided with my mother.
…But it’s not exactly the face, but the lips.
My lips collided with a thud sound rather than a sound, and the pain came before I even had a chance to feel it. Titania, who instantly realized what had happened, unconsciously covered her lips and looked at Vivian.
‘Huh? Just now, my mother and my lips…’
The moment Titania noticed her mother’s lips touching hers, her first feeling was shame. Although it is said to be a mistake, she has lips with her mother…!
However, the shame quickly subsided, and only regret remained for the second time. She wanted to feel her mother’s lips a little longer, but all that was left was a tingling sensation.
‘How did your mother feel…?’
Titania pursed her lips and looked at Vivian. What would her mother think when she locked her lips with hers? Would she be as shy as he was? Or, like a mother, does she have no idea?
The moment she raised her head and looked at Vivian, Titania couldn’t help but be a little embarrassed. She saw her mother twitching the corners of her mouth and looking at her as if she really loved her.
As Titania looked at Vivian with her bewildered eyes, Vivian cupped Titania’s face in her hands and pressed her lips to her cheek making a soft sound.
“?!?!”
“If you wanted to kiss mom so much, why didn’t you tell me? Okay, how pretty is she doing her cuteness like this?”
“Oh, no! That’s not it…!”
She tried to make an excuse, saying it was a mistake, but the barrage of kisses started before she had time to make an excuse.
Cheeks and even forehead. There was no place on her face that wasn’t touched by her mother’s lips. She was really happy if she was happy, but the people around her looked at her mother and herself, making her feel ashamed.
The guests look on with joy at the mother and daughter’s affectionate behavior. The store owner was telling her customers that it is rare to see a mother and daughter who get along so well these days.
It’s good… It’s really good…
‘It’s a little different from what I wanted…’
