However, the taste of the wine he took a sip of after clinking glasses with Teore made all other thoughts disappear.
“Oh…!”
“Is it good?”
Teore asked with a smile that made his heart flutter again.
Perhaps because his face felt hot due to that smile, Raha just nodded while keeping his gaze fixed on the wine glass.
“Yes, it’s the best wine I’ve ever had.”
He hadn’t been a big fan of wine in his original world, but he had drunk some quite expensive ones, so he wasn’t completely ignorant of the taste.
But the wine he had just tasted was distinctly different from any he had ever tried before.
‘I never knew a single sip of wine could feel like it was clinging to my tongue.’
Raha thought that even someone who knew nothing about wine would realize this was a premium one.
“You must have drunk a lot of wine.”
Teore asked, bringing his own glass to his lips.
Raha turned his head to look at him, but suddenly, the world started spinning before his eyes.
Raha squeezed his eyelids shut, opened them, and spoke,
“Not a lot, but I’ve had quite a bit…”
“Didn’t you say you drank well, Raha?”
Teore asked, his brow furrowing slightly as he watched Raha keep blinking because his vision kept spinning.
“Yes? Ah, yes, I said I could easily drink three bottles in one sitting…”
Raha answered with a nod, but he collapsed onto the table right then and there.
Had Teore not quickly reached out to catch his forehead, he would have slammed it right into the table.
“Raha?”
“…”
“Did you lose consciousness? …After one sip of wine?”
Teore’s expression shifted from bewildered to utterly flustered.
Flash.
Raha’s eyes snapped open.
“Are you awake?”
Teore’s pleasant baritone voice flowed from above his head, where he was leaning obliquely.
As he straightened his waist by reflex, Teore’s hand, which had been wrapped around his shoulder, fell away.
Raha realized he had been sleeping in Teore’s arms and rolled his eyes to check the time.
“About 20 minutes.”
Teore said to him.
’20 minutes…’
It seemed this ridiculous body lost consciousness the moment alcohol entered it.
‘Living in the High Temple since I was a child, there’s no way I could have tried alcohol.’
So, it must have been because he collapsed as soon as the alcohol hit his system.
Even after sleeping for 20 minutes, his body felt like it had a hangover, so it was certain he had lost consciousness due to the alcohol.
Raha let out a small, dry laugh at how tragically weak his body was to alcohol.
“You said you drank well. You collapsed after one sip of wine, Raha.”
Raha forced an awkward smile at Teore’s words.
“I know. I didn’t think I’d be this weak…”
“It’s cute, but I’d prefer you to be honest. That way, no unforeseen accidents will happen.”
‘…I’m being plenty honest right now.’
Originally, his tolerance was quite high.
He could easily knock back three bottles of Soju in one sitting.
That was why he could naturally say he drank well when the topic came up.
But since he wasn’t in his original body, it seemed he had no choice but to deal with a body that didn’t share that tolerance.
Raha let out a short, internal sigh and watched Teore, who was sipping his wine.
Teore seemed to have been emptying his glass while lending his shoulder to him, who had collapsed after one sip.
He clearly opened a new bottle, but the contents were already at the bottom.
When he instinctively looked at Teore’s face, he wasn’t the least bit tipsy; he was staring straight at Raha with his handsome, unchanging face.
“Why?”
Teore was the one staring at him, yet he asked with a look that suggested he wanted to know why Raha was looking at him.
“No, I was just surprised you drank the whole bottle.”
“Because the person I was supposed to drink with fell asleep.”
“Is the alcohol content high by any chance? I mean, is it much stronger than regular wine…”
“It’s the same as regular wine.”
Teore answered, raising the corners of his lips slightly.
At that remark, Raha realized once again that the body he had possessed was indeed a lightweight, and he let out a short sigh.
“Then it seems I’m someone who can’t drink at all.”
“Didn’t you say you drank well?”
“I thought I would, naturally.”
“Haha.”
“Damn it, what joy is there in living now?”
Raha sighed in resignation and, without realizing it, let his head rest on Teore’s shoulder.
Teore’s eyes widened to the point of popping out at the action, but Raha was so shocked by the fact that he was a lightweight that he didn’t even realize he had rested his head on Teore’s shoulder of his own volition.
“Joy?”
Teore asked, naturally pressing his lips to Raha’s head before pulling them away.
Only then did Raha realize he had rested his head on Teore’s shoulder, and he jumped up to sit straight.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“How sudden.”
Teore, who had raised the corners of his mouth, saying he had been using his shoulder for the past 20 minutes anyway, so why was he apologizing so suddenly, took another sip of wine. Raha stared at him with envious eyes without realizing it.
“…Do you want to drink?”
“I’d like to, but I’m afraid I’ll collapse again.”
He had only drunk a sip, but the memory of the flavor and aroma that had filled his mouth hadn’t faded in the slightest, so Raha instinctively swallowed hard.
Teore’s eyes, watching him, glistened like a snake’s.
‘Seriously… if I can’t drink, what am I supposed to live for?’
Raha looked out the window, his expression crumbling as if the sky were falling, thinking about how he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the drinking and partying that he had naturally incorporated into his plan for a life of leisure.
It was especially unfortunate because this wine was the most delicious alcohol he had ever tasted, even before his transmigration.
‘Since it’s wine drunk by the Grand Duke of the Empire, it must be an expensive one that only the Imperial family drinks…’
Raha’s eyes instinctively turned to the nearly empty wine bottle.
Teore, watching him intently, picked up the small golden bell on the edge of the table and rang it twice.
As soon as the clear, cheerful sound died down, the door opened and Teore’s servant entered quickly.
“Bring two more bottles.”
Teore said, gesturing with his chin toward the nearly empty wine bottle, and as soon as the servant bowed and left, he spoke to Raha.
“I’ll let you taste it, Raha.”
“Yes? No, Your Excellency, didn’t you see it with your own eyes? I told you, I collapse after just one sip.”
“I’ll make sure you don’t collapse, Raha.”
Teore slowly swirled the remaining wine in his glass twice and brought it to his lips.
It wasn’t as if he was just teasing him. Raha’s eyebrows twitched as he glared at Teore.
He was already depressed, shocked by the fact that his body was so pitifully weak to alcohol, and now Teore was asking for two more bottles of wine—wine that was nothing but a painting on a wall for him—only to claim he’d make sure he wouldn’t collapse even if he drank it.
Raha couldn’t fathom how Teore intended to keep his consciousness clear and sharp when the mere touch of alcohol usually sent him into a blackout.
