Well, alcohol is alcohol, I wasn't in the mood to drink until just now, but once I started, I couldn't stop.
"That's right, you're drinking well. You gotta drink alcohol to know it."
Aramis smiled as he watched me gulp down the wine.
"Hoo... the taste is decent."
"Right? You can't ignore Lotos's eye for booze."
"Yeah, you're the best. Pour me another one."
I received the wine that Lotos poured and drank it again.
"The drinking party is already in full swing."
Laurent came into the house late, wondering what he was doing.
"Oh my, who's here?"
As soon as Laurent entered, Planchet, who had been hiding in the kitchen for fear of being scolded by Lotos, rushed out.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Laurent."
"Ah, yes! Nice to meet you. Aigo~ Master-nim! You brought a beautiful lady, and now a handsome young master-nim overflowing with wildness..."
"Hey, Planchet."
"Yes... Yes?"
"Go get another glass."
"Understood..."
Lotos cut off Planchet, who was getting excited alone at Laurent's appearance and trying to add unnecessary remarks, and Planchet returned to the kitchen, utterly dejected.
"Planchet!"
"Yes!"
Planchet reappeared with a bright expression.
"Bring two glasses, not one."
"There's only one guest... You want me to bring two glasses?"
"Just bring them. What's with the servant talking back to a noble like that?"
"Ah, I understand. Please wait, I'll bring them right away."
At my words, Planchet bowed deeply and disappeared into the kitchen.
While Planchet went to get the glasses in the kitchen, Laurent pulled up a chair and sat down at the table.
"Is that man Lotos-nim's servant?"
"Yeah, he was my friend's servant, but that guy died in the war, so I took in Planchet, who was left alone... I'm regretting that very much now..."
"He's doing very well."
Armis interrupted Lotos, turning the page of his book.
Lotos looked at Armis as if he was dumbfounded, and Armis raised and lowered his eyebrows, staring intently at Lotos.
"Oh, geez..."
Lotos drank all the wine in his glass at once.
"I brought the glasses."
Planchet brought two glasses, and I poured the wine.
"Is the noble young master-nim drinking two glasses?"
"One is for you to drink."
At my words, Planchet seemed incredibly touched, and tears began to well up in his eyes.
"Keuheuk...! To think that I would receive such consideration from a noble young lady who is so beautiful and kind-hearted...!"
Planchet is a really nice guy. Of course, except for the unnecessary remarks.
If he just kept his mouth shut, a heartwarming situation would be created, but he ruins the atmosphere by flapping his gums.
"Planchet."
"Kuljjeok... Yes?"
"Shut up, drink that, and then get the hell out of here to the kitchen."
Planchet, with an expression as if his country had fallen at my words, slumped down.
"What did I do wrong...?"
"Euhahaha! You did something wrong. You might have done something very wrong."
Lotos burst into laughter, and Laurent rolled his eyes around, trying to figure out why I was angry again.
"Just go to the kitchen, drink that, and don't come out of there."
"Then... I'll just eat a piece of ham and go..."
Planchet wiped away his tears, snatched a piece of smoked ham from the center of the table, and disappeared into the kitchen, shedding tears like a tragic hero.
We watched Planchet's waddling back.
"When is that friend... going to lose weight?"
"I don't know. He said he'd lose it, so won't he lose it someday?"
At Aramis's words, Lotos shrugged.
Laurent picked up his glass from the table.
"Let's make a toast."
At Laurent's words, the three of us looked at him.
"What should we toast to?"
"I don't know... You decide."
At Laurent's question, Aramis said indifferently, turning the page of his book.
"Hmm... For His Majesty the King?"
"That kid who can't do anything because he's completely controlled by the Duke of Orleans? Why don't you toast to the Duke of Orleans instead."
Lotos scoffed at Laurent's words.
"I believe His Majesty the King is about the same age as me?"
"How old are you?"
"23 years old."
"A kid."
"A little kid."
"A kid, indeed."
I, Lotos, and Aramis all answered at the same time to Laurent's words.
"You're being too harsh."
"Don't complain. After getting old, I realized that being young is more advantageous."
"How old are you all?"
At Laurent's question, the three of us flinched for a moment.
"Hey... Aramis, you said something unnecessary."
"So, how old are you all..."
"Isn't it rude to ask a lady's age?"
"That's right, Marie! Well said."
I threw out any words to escape the crisis, and Lotos chimed in, agreeing with me.
"Ah... I'm sorry."
But it was surprisingly effective compared to just throwing it out there, as Laurent scratched his head and apologized to us.
"What's so embarrassing about being old? It'll be easy to calculate if you just think we've been rolling around on the battlefield for over 10 years."
"Aramis!"
I shouted, and Aramis gave me a sly smile, adjusted his glasses, and continued reading his book.
Laurent folded his fingers and calculated, then nodded.
"Marie-ssi..."
"What."
"The age difference between us isn't that big."
Laurent's boiling gaze began to feel burdensome.
"Don't say anything more than that."
"Understood."
At my warning, Laurent nodded obediently.
"Anyway, then what should we toast to? The proud country of Elans?"
"After rolling around on the battlefield and shedding blood for the country for 10 years, even after seeing our state?"
"..."
At Aramis's words, Laurent shut his mouth tightly.
"Hmm... Friendship?"
"Love?"
Laurent looked at our faces, but when it didn't seem to work, he brought up various things, but our lukewarm reaction remained the same.
"Then what is most important to you?"
"This."
At Laurent's question, I took out a 10 Blanc silver coin from between my breasts.
"Ooh..."
Lotos exclaimed, amazed that I used my chest pocket.
"You can store it in such a place? How peculiar."
Aramis chuckled at my chest pocket.
Meanwhile, Laurent's face turned slightly red, and he lowered his head.
Ting~!
When I flicked the silver coin with my finger, it spun and somersaulted upwards.
"This."
I took out my Mangosh and threw it at the coin.
Teo-eok!
The coin, which had risen high enough to touch the ceiling, was pierced through the center by the Mangosh and stuck to the ceiling.
"And this."
I gracefully grabbed a glass and drank the wine.
"Hoo... After living, I realized that there's nothing else to trust but these."
Laurent looked back and forth between me and the Mangosh stuck in the ceiling.
I slumped on the chair and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Um... I don't know if I should say this..."
Laurent started to cautiously look at our faces, wondering what he was going to say.
When the three of us turned our heads and looked at Laurent, he hesitated and started to speak.
"Well... the people who were Musketeers don't seem like heroes as much as I thought they would."
Laurent took a few sips of the wine in his glass and continued.
"What should I say... The continent was divided in two, and there was a war for 30 years, and the people who rolled around in that big war for over 10 years... seem a bit pathetic..."
"It can't be helped."
Armis closed his book, took off his glasses, and placed them on the table.
"Oops, you're going to spill the glass."
Lotos quickly moved the glass to the side.
"You said the war lasted for 30 years, right? Then what happens after the war ends?"
"..."
"People like me, Marie, and Lotos weren't born as the eldest sons of noble families. The law stipulates that the noble's father's position and property are all inherited by the eldest son."
"That's right, I'm the second son too."
At Armis's words, Lotos shrugged from the side.
"So people like us have no choice but to risk our lives and go to war to secure a position."
"I see."
"The reason why our Elans is a strong army compared to other countries is because there are so many people in our situation."
Lotos nodded repeatedly at Armis's words.
"Because we are nobles, we can't work because of our reputation, and we don't have money, and we don't have means of production."
"After the war, we just drink alcohol, gather all the money we have and throw it into gambling... We fight with the Duke of Orleans's subordinates every day, and live like that..."
I made a gesture of slitting my throat with my hand.
"That's how we go..."
"Hehehe..."
At my words, Lotos and Aramis laughed hollowly.
"Kid, people like us need a justification to do something."
"Justification?"
At Armis's words, Laurent tilted his head.
"Yeah, since we are nobles, we need a plausible justification to do something in order to receive money or goods from someone."
"The justification we had was the war that lasted for 30 years."
"My father was a noble, but he managed a trading company?"
"Think about it again, did your father really manage that trading company? Or did he hire an agent and use him to run it? Since your father is also a noble, he couldn't really manage that trading company."
"It's still better. Your father has a territory, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, you're not the eldest son, are you?"
"Yes, I have an older brother."
"Your brother will inherit all of your father's territory and position, so he must have helped you get a recommendation so that you could join the Musketeer Corps to find a way to make a living."
At Armis's words, Laurent rested his chin on his hand and pondered.
"Anyway, we're all washed up now. We just follow along if someone calls us with a plausible justification."
"Isn't there the Cardinal-nim?"
"We only go if that person calls us. Frankly speaking, can you guarantee that he will call us?"
At my words, Lotos closed his mouth.
"Planchet! Booze! Bring booze!"
"..."
"Planchet!!!"
At Lotos's shout, Planchet came running from the kitchen in a hurry.
"Aigo... I'm sorry. Lotos-nim, we're out of booze."
"What? How can that be? You didn't drink it all up in the kitchen by yourself, did you, Planchet?"
Lotos asked, widening his eyes at Planchet's words.
"No, I'm telling you, the booze I brought earlier was the last of it."
"Then why didn't you say so sooner?"
"I mistook the honey pot for booze."
"Then go get some."
"Everything's fine, but... that's a bit difficult."
Planchet glanced at Lotos and continued.
"Somehow, I'm all out of money."
At Planchet's words, Lotos looked at him with a serious expression.
"Ha... Planchet, what did I usually call you?"
"A pig that takes up space for no reason?"
"Besides that."
"A glutton who only eats?"
"Again."
"A moron who can't do anything?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"I may be a moron, but I don't have the talent to buy booze with no money."
Lotos took off his hat and scratched his bald head.
"Planchet."
"Yes... Yes?"
Laurent took out two 10 Blanc silver coins from his pocket and handed them to Planchet.
"I can't thank you enough!"
Planchet bit the silver coin with his teeth as if he were appraising gold.
"The handsome young master-naree has a heart as wide as the ocean like the young lady over there... I feel like crying."
"Go buy booze, booze! Booze! Booze! Booze! Booze!"
I shouted for booze, banging on the table with my fist.
"Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze!"
"Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze!"
"Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze Booze!"
When I, Lotos, and Aramis shouted to bring booze at the same time, Planchet wiped his face with his hands.
"Yes, I will bring the booze right away."
"Hey, Planchet."
At my call, Planchet looked at me with a resentful expression.
"Smile."
At my words, Planchet forced a smile, pulling up the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah, that's good to see. Go buy booze."
"Yes. Understood..."
Planchet went outside with his shoulders slumped.
While Planchet was out buying booze, the four of us just sat blankly at the table.
Knock knock knock
I got up at the sound of someone knocking on the door.
"Marie, are you going?"
"Yeah, there's nothing to do until Planchet buys the booze."
I swept my hair back once and opened the door.
"I came to deliver the Lord's grace... Heo-eok!."
The priest who was waiting in front of the door was startled when he saw my face.
Seeing the priest say that he came to deliver the grace, it seemed that the Cardinal-nim had sent a letter calling us.
"Give it to me."
"Yes, yes!"
The priest, who had been staring blankly at my face, handed me the Cardinal-nim's letter when I reached out my hand and asked for it, and quickly disappeared.