Chapter 269: The Drunken Confession

The revelry of the Harvest and Sea Festival reached its ultimate climax on the evening of the third day.

On the massive harbor square, a grand open-air banquet commenced.

Long tables stretched from one end of the square to the other, laden with sizzling roasted sea beasts emitting an aroma of tangerine mixed with the fragrance of ale.

Casks of wine were piled as high as mountains; any passerby, regardless of status, could freely join this merchant-style binge-drinking session.

The atmosphere was so heated it was practically boiling.

Lia held a glass of beautifully colored fruit wine, watching the merchants, sailors, and mercenaries around her laughing and talking loudly with their crude wooden cups, feeling both novel and relaxed.

“This wine is quite good.”

She took a small sip; it was sweet and sour with a strange fragrance, much better than the bland grape wines served at noble banquets in the capital.

“Siren’s Tears, a specialty of Lucerne Port,” Klein explained beside her.

“Brewed from a fruit called Light-sea berries, it looks like juice, but the alcohol content is actually very high.”

Hearing this, Lia raised an eyebrow, looking at Klein with a hint of defiance.

“How high can it be? In the past, I could drink…”

She cut herself off mid-sentence, nearly letting slip details of her past life.

She cleared her throat and put on a face full of confidence.

“Anyway, my tolerance is very high; a fruit wine like this won’t get me drunk.”

Klein, however, didn’t think much of it and said nothing, merely refilling her empty glass once she finished.

The implication in this action made Lia feel as if she were being underestimated.

“Don’t doubt me.”

She picked up her second glass and drained it in one go.

“Just you wait.”

After one glass, she only felt her cheeks grow a bit warm.

After two glasses, the world before her eyes began to take on a soft glow, and the noisy voices on the square felt as if they were separated by a thick layer of frosted glass.

She drank a third glass.

By the time she downed the third glass, the entire world began to sway gently.

Lia dizzily put down her glass and reached out to hold her forehead, feeling the world spin.

“Mm… this wine… why is the kick so strong…”

A hand caught her waist just in time, pulling her swaying body into a solid embrace.

“Will you admit it now?”

Klein’s low voice sounded in her ear.

Lia looked up, and in her hazy vision, Klein’s face was close at hand.

His eyes, under the night and the lamplight, were as blue as the deep ocean, threatening to pull one in.

She suddenly felt very aggrieved; perhaps it was the alcohol or perhaps the complex emotions accumulated over the past few days had finally found an outlet.

She reached out with both hands and proactively hugged Klein’s neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck like a small animal seeking shelter from the rain.

“Klein…”

Her voice was sticky and nasal, her warm breath fanning across his skin, feeling slightly ticklish.

Klein’s body stiffened for a moment, and his arms holding her tightened subconsciously.

“Hm?”

“You’re a bad person,” Lia said muffledly.

“The worst mentor in the world… is you.”

She accused him, her fingers unconsciously clutching the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Always punishing me… and forcing me to wear those strange clothes.”

Klein didn’t argue, simply listening quietly.

The person in his arms seemed dissatisfied with his lack of reaction and moved restlessly.

“You’re not allowed to stay silent.”

“Alright,” Klein responded.

Receiving a response, Lia seemed satisfied, and her voice lowered into a dreamlike murmur.

“But… those clothes… were actually quite pretty…”

“So, you still want to wear them?”

“I do…”

She nodded honestly, but then, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she shook her head vigorously.

“No, I don’t! You perverted guy with bad taste!”

Klein finally couldn’t hold it back and let out a low laugh; the vibrations of his chest were clearly transmitted to Lia through their pressed bodies.

Lia grew a bit annoyed by his laughter and bit his shoulder with moderate force.

“Stop laughing!”

“Alright, I won’t laugh.”

Klein’s tone was full of indulgence.

The clamor of the banquet seemed to become distant background noise.

Lia leaned on him, using the alcohol to pour out all the things she usually didn’t dare or couldn’t say.

“Do you find me annoying? Always asking about this and that, and always talking back…”

“Sometimes, a little bit.”

“Then… will you get tired of me one day, think I’m useless, and throw me out?”

Her voice grew smaller, carrying a panic and tremor she hadn’t noticed herself.

Klein’s heart skipped a beat.

He looked down at the defenseless beauty in his arms; the thing she was worried about was actually this.

“I’m actually… not as amazing as you think.”

Lia’s voice was now thick with a nasal tone and wetness.

“Those things… I don’t know how many more I can think of… what if one day, I can’t think of anything anymore… then will I be… completely useless?”

“Lia.”

Klein interrupted her.

“Hm?”

“That day will never come.”

His voice was soft yet exceptionally clear.

“And even if it does, it doesn’t matter.”

Lia was stunned, appearing not to understand his meaning.

“I… I sometimes have a bad temper, and I’m very petty… I like eating sweets, I eat a lot, I can really eat…”

She began counting off her flaws; the more she spoke, the more useless she felt.

“Please don’t… don’t abandon me.”

This final, nearly inaudible plea was like a feather brushing past, yet it completely softened Klein’s heart.

His arms holding her tightened further, as if he wanted to rub this insecure little thing into his own body.

He admitted that initially, he was attracted by her exceptionally clever mind and those endless creative ideas.

But now, what fascinated him more was this Lia Farrien herself—stubborn yet soft-hearted, who could be happy because of a little sweet, and who would cry because she feared being abandoned.

“I won’t.”

He lowered his head, his lips nearly pressed against her ear, promising in a voice only the two of them could hear.

“I will never.”

Lia finally seemed at ease, nuzzling into his embrace and finding a more comfortable position, becoming completely still.

Klein held her for a while, confirming she had fallen soundly asleep.

He glanced at the still-boisterous crowd around them, then bent down without hesitation and picked Lia up horizontally.

The girl was very light, weighing almost nothing in his arms.

The Moonlight Flower garland on her head had tilted to one side from his movement.

Her sleeping face still bore undried tear tracks and a blush, with crystals hanging from her eyelashes.

Klein adjusted his posture to let her lean more steadily, then set off, carrying her through the noisy square toward the inn.

Tonight, he had heard the words he wanted to hear most.

This little hedgehog, who always kept its quills raised, had finally shown him its softest belly.

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