Leon's POV
Professor Rose was guzzling down an entire bottle of alcohol like it was water. She'd already drained three bottles, while I was still nursing the first one she'd handed , barely halfway through.
The stench of booze clung to her, thick and pungent, like it was seeping from her very pores.
"Being an adult is a fucking pain in the ass," she slurred, her words heavy with drunken frustration. "I barely get any sleep, my back's always killing , and when I wake up, I'm still tired as hell. I can count the hours I sleep on one hand—maybe two fingers if I'm lucky. And then, you gotta slap on a presentable face, make everyone think you've got your shit together. But it's all bullshit.
I miss how things used to feel when I was younger," she mumbled through hiccups, her voice thick and sloppy with the alcohol that had her completely wrecked.
I gazed up at the shimring stars and the sprawling night sky as I took a deep gulp from the bottle. "It really does seem like a fucking pain in the ass," I said. "Sotis, I wish I could stay young forever. No responsibilities, just endless opportunities."
"It's that intoxicating sense of freedom that makes you think like that," she slurred, her voice thick with the effects of the alcohol. "Once you're older, you're shackled by work and barely have any ti for yourself. Sotis, I escape by getting plastered and shouting into the abyss from this cliff."
Her words echoed mories of what my sister used to say. After our parents died, she had to shoulder everything alone. She'd always insist I needed to savor my youth, to seize every chance and live fully without regrets. She wanted to pursue what I desired because she didn't want to face the sa burdens she did. She was my anchor, always reaching out to keep grounded when I was at my lowest.
"I wanted to go back in ti and do it all over again," she said. "Back then, I dread of having a grand house all to myself, and maybe even having a prince charming sweep off my feet, so we could start a family. It all feels so childish now, but our minds back then were driven by different fantasies than we have now. Who would have thought soone like would have such fantastical dreams?"
"It isn't that hard to believe, honestly," I replied.
"Eh?"
"I an, everyone has their own wild fantasies. Like , wanting to conquer the world and hold it in the palm of my hand."
She let out a soft chuckle, her eyes sparkling with amusent. "That's a pretty ambitious and fantastical dream," she said with a playful grin.
"I know," I said, letting the words linger in the cool night air as I took another slow sip, the taste of the drink grounding . "But yours, it feels more real. It's not just so fantasy; it's the kind of dream a normal girl has when she's thinking about her love life."
She let out a soft, almost bitter laugh, the sound carrying a trace of sothing deeper. "You think I'm a normal girl?" Her chuckle was laced with a hint of self-mockery. "You should've seen back then. I had my hair chopped short, and I was a wild beast. I racked up more fight records in the academy than any of the boys. My mother, she gave up on trying to make into a lady.
Didn't see the point."
I glanced at her. "You look like any other lady to ," I said. It was a simple statent, but I knew it was more than that. Most won would've taken offense, hearing they were just like any other girl. But for her, who had always struggled to fit into the mold of a conventional woman, it was a genuine complint.
She, who had never felt like a true woman, might finally see herself as one through my eyes.
Her face turned a deep shade of red, the flush either from the alcohol or my unexpected complint. She stamred, "T-Thank you for that... I guess..." and quickly tried to hide her embarrassnt. She took a shaky breath and continued, "Phew. I'd probably regret it if I could go back in ti. I an, if I did, I wouldn't have had the chance to et you, Partner."
"Well, I think I was still pretty young back then," I said. "But if we were the sa age and you were still the sa as you were then, I'd definitely marry you."
Her drinking ca to a sudden halt as she fixed with a scrutinizing gaze, her eyes narrowing with a mix of suspicion and amusent. "Are you trying to seduce now, Leon? You can stop that. It won't work on . Besides, you've got a girlfriend, right? I don't want her getting the wrong idea.
She's a princess from another kingdom. If she catches wind of this, you might find yourself in a lot of trouble, you know?"
"I'm not trying to seduce you or anything like that," I said. "I'm just talking about a hypothetical scenario. Honestly, I'm stunned that guys your age can't see you in a different light. You'd make a hell of a wife. And I genuinely an that as a complint."
Her face flushed slightly, or maybe it was just the alcohol making her cheeks red. "If you're not trying to seduce with those words, then you must have a knack for it without even realizing," she said. "I might really land in hot water if you keep this up."
"Keep what up?"
"That... You saying things like this to . I don't want to get caught in a ss. I despise trouble, and my job is already a fucking ss. I don't want to find myself tangled in a complicated situation."
"If you really need to let it all out, you can always shout it here," I said, my voice low and steady. "This place has a way of helping you release everything, right? That's why you keep coming back here when things get rough."
She let out a shaky breath, her voice quivering with emotion. "I'm serious, Partner. I don't want to get into trouble, so please, don't say any more of those strange things to ."
Professor Rose's heart was breaking at a pace I hadn't realized was possible. If I pushed any further, her emotions might spiral out of control, leading her to do exactly what she wanted to avoid.
I reached out and gently touched one of her hands resting on the ground for support.
Her hand twitched for a mont before she turned her head toward . Our eyes locked, and I saw the conflict within her.
"I don't... really want to get in trouble..."
"If you really want to do it, then it's okay to get in trouble every now and then," I said softly. "Just like what we're doing right now. I an, I'm definitely breaking curfew by being here, but I'm doing it because I want to be with you, Professor."
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In that mont, I saw sothing shift in those deep green eyes. Without another word, she let go of the glass bottle. Her hand moved to my cheek as she leaned in, closing the distance between us.
Her lips t mine.
The beer splashed as the bottle hit the ground.
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