CH 38.1

“Lucira is a pretty name? Wow!”

Axel, who emphasized each syllable, slowly clapped his hands while shaking his head.

“You might as well confess if you’re going to say this much. If you’re good at this, you might get married before Boss and Sister.”

There was no need for anyone to go first, but the heat came up on Lecter and Lucy’s cheeks.

“Brother, shut your mouth!”

“Do you want to be the first to use the grand garden as a wedding hall where workers are trying so hard to build? You can’t do that. I know you’re feeling urgent but just wait a little longer and let the Boss and Sister go first.”

“Have you gone mad?” Lucy shouted faintly since she couldn’t stand it anymore.

Cherryl hurriedly dissuaded Axel even if she find him cute enough to keep seeing him.

“Don’t tease them too much. You’re making them shy, Axel. What if you find a girlfriend someday? Do you want Lecter to make fun of you rather than support you?”

She was just taking sides but Lecter and Lucy flinched instead.

“Oh, no! What do you mean ‘girlfriend’?”

“We aren’t in a relationship yet!”

Fortunately, Axel agreed hesitantly as if she had a point.

“You’re right. I like teasing everyone but I can’t stand anyone making fun of me. Well, anyway——” Axel shifted his condescending posture and expressed his expectations. “Sister, can I drink at the festival?”

“No.”Cherryl flatly refused.

“You and Lecter are both minors.”

“Please, sister. I’ve never dreamed of it since Schiff told me that he will imprison me indefinitely if I get caught drinking outside. We possessed wolf blood. If we drink, we will surely get caught. Even if I roll around the wet grass and cover it with all kinds of smells, it will still be noticed.” Axel held her hands together and said earnestly. “If I go to the Winter Festival with you, I think he’ll let it slide even if I drink in the open, sister.”

He turned his arrow at Lucy at once.

“Hey! Honestly, you want to drink as well, right?”

“What?”

Axel pressed on brutally. “Just say yes. If you say you’ll drink, sister might allow me to.”

“Oh. I don’t want to drink a drop.”

Lucy’s answer was sharp but hesitant.

Not expecting Lucy’s outright refusal, Axel made a vague face.

Before he became mean, Lecter sided with Lucy.

“Don’t take Lucy the wrong way! How can a minor like us drink alcohol? We shouldn’t do anything bad that violates the laws of the South.” Lecter said mechanically.

From Axel’s perspective, Lecter had lost his mind.

At Cherryl’s first dinner at the Main Castle, she remembered a moment when Lecter was looking for a chance to secretly drink with Axel.

Unfortunately, it got overshadowed by her drunken show.

“You are an unlucky man who plays tricks, Axel!  Now that I can drink alcohol without anyone’s permission, that situation already sounded like someone else’s story.”

Cole, who recently passed his Coming-of-Age Ceremony safely, threw his head back and laughed.

Axel glared at him in annoyance.

“Stop bragging about the Coming-Of-Age Ceremony, you traitor! You’ve been drinking grape juice with us while the other members were drinking wine until recently.”

“Anyway, don’t think about drinking alcohol or you will get in trouble.”

“Damn! What’s the use of alcohol?”

Axel grabbed a bottle of orange juice and drank it.

He might be big but he was still an immature boy who soothed his bitter stomach with sweet juice.

As Lecter pushed a box of sandwiches to Lucy, he suddenly opened his mouth as if an idea crossed his mind.

“Will the boss allow us?”

“What do you mean?”

“Going out of the castle is difficult to manage these days so it’s possible that he might not allow it.”

“Huh? That’s true. There’s no way he’ll let me go, too. Damn it! I hate this!” Axel grumbled, leaning against the back of his chair.

He was about to eat the sandwich in front of Lucy, but he got surprised when Lecter’s hand swatted his hand like lightning.

Cherryl was lost in thought while drinking tea.

A long stone fortress was built at the border between the Lopern Empire and the mysterious region of the North.

The Great Wall was the borderline separating the Southern civilization from the Northern Wilderness.

Recently, Cade was busy with security issues near the border but Cherryl didn’t expect him to prevent her from going to the Winter Festival based on the conversation she had with him before.

“If I want to go out, the Grand Duke just told me to let him know beforehand. So, I thought he’d be willing to let me.”

He said he would assign her an escort while handing her a black card saying, “If you want to buy something, don’t hesitate to use this.”

Axel struck back heartily. “I guess the situation has changed a bit. We started repairing the wall because of something that happened not too long ago. The boss used to be a persistent man when it comes to border issues. He’s that obsessive. Second of all, I don’t know if he’s going to let sister go out.”

“Brother,” Lecter called him quietly as if giving him a hint.

Sensing a strange implication, Cherryl narrowed her eyes at him.

Axel quickly made an excuse.

“Even if it doesn’t include you necessarily, the standards are strict for the three of us. Viper and Hawk are doing well without anyone’s permission, but we have to report every time we go out.”