Episode 34

“Oh, you startled me!”

Yvon, who was starting his day with a refreshing herbal concoction, was taken aback by Apollion’s sudden appearance.

At such an early hour, before the sun had risen, no one had ever burst into the infirmary without knocking.

Apollion, oblivious to Yvon’s surprise, walked straight to the table where a kettle was placed. He poured water into an empty cup and drank it down in large gulps. Fortunately, the water was lukewarm.

“W-what brings you here?”

Yvon forgot about brewing herbs and approached Apollion. Seeing the cold sweat trickling down, it was clear he was flustered.

Apollion answered Yvon indifferently.

“I came to drink water.”

“Pardon?”

“Water.”

Apollion lifted the teacup as he responded nonchalantly. Yvon alternated his gaze between Apollion and the teacup with a bewildered expression.

“Water…?”

Nod, nod.

Still not satisfied, Apollion poured and drank more water from the kettle.

Yvon’s eyes gradually refocused as he watched this. Then his face twisted in frustration.

“Did you really come all the way here at this hour just to drink a cup of water?”

“Not one cup, but two.”

“…”

Apollion’s serious face made Yvon realize he wasn’t joking but telling the truth, leaving Yvon even more bewildered.

“I didn’t come here specifically.”

“Then…?”

“I drank all the water during training, and the infirmary was the nearest place around the training grounds to get more water.”

“…”

“So I came.”

“…”

“…And I have something to ask.”

“Something to ask?”

Yvon’s expression turned even more grim, recalling the absurd question Apollion had asked last time.

“Is it your heart troubling you again?”

“It’s not my heart.”

Apollion replied with a deliberately firm tone.

“When I move vigorously or swing my sword hard, I get dizzy and feel nauseous.”

“…”

Yvon almost replied that it was normal but remembered that Apollion didn’t fit into the usual ‘normal’ category.

As his primary physician, it was necessary to examine him if his body was showing abnormalities. But unlike last time…

“You weren’t with your wife.”

“…Aha.”

Yvon nodded, making a foolish sound.

Just in case, he checked again. As expected, the grand duke was quick-witted about such things.

Yvon stirred the herbs a few more times to prevent them from burning, then pulled a chair to sit in front of Apollion. He scrutinized Apollion’s face closely with wide eyes.

If he felt dizzy and nauseous, it could indicate a problem with his head, such as a concussion or brain hemorrhage.

Yvon used a magnifying glass to examine if Apollion’s pupils were normal in size, if any blood vessels in his eyes were burst, and if his complexion was off. Everything appeared normal.

“Have you hit your head recently?”

“No.”

“No signs of indigestion or fever either…”

Yvon furrowed his brows lightly. What could be the cause this time? Apollion hadn’t mentioned being with the grand duchess.

If there was a problem with his brain, it was a serious issue. There was no time to waste here idling.

Yvon rubbed his eyebrows, deep in thought.

“Ah.”

He let out a short exclamation as if recalling something. His expression turned sour.

Unlike the worried look he had before, his current expression showed clear signs of being fed up.

“Your Grace, didn’t you have lunch with your retainers yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“And you drank some alcohol there, no, until you blacked out.”

Apollion nodded. As if he expected this, Yvon let out a deep sigh.

“I heard last night that His Highness turned into a slime after three glasses of wine.”

“…What do you mean by that? That I became a monster?”

“It means Your Grace got so drunk after just three glasses of wine that you lost your senses and melted like slime.”

“…Me?”

Apollion blinked in disbelief.

He tried to imagine himself melting like a sticky slime, leaving purple goo with every step he took. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t picture himself completely drunk. How could it even make sense for a person to turn into slime?

“That’s absurd. How can a human be like slime?”

“If it’s hard to believe, you can ask the grand duchess.”

“……”

“In fact, there’s no need to ask the grand duchess. You could grab any passing servant and they’d tell you the same thing.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“There are many who saw you clinging to the grand duchess like slime.”

The mention of the grand duchess made Apollion’s eyes shake violently.

Yvon spoke to him with the same expression he had when Apollion visited the infirmary recently, claiming to have heart problems.

“You sang together, put your arms around each other’s shoulders. I’ve even heard that you carried the grand duchess up the stairs.”

“……”

“In the first place, my advice or prescriptions aren’t necessary. Why I didn’t realize until now that the best remedy for Your Grace is alcohol…”

“W-wait, what, that, what nonsense…!”

What nonsense is this? The idea that he would lay a hand on Petunia, committing such an unscrupulous act!

Apollion’s earlobes turned red as he sprang to his feet. He opened his mouth to say something to Yvon.

At that moment, he recalled a blurry image of Petunia, unable to stand properly, constantly falling over. He also remembered carrying her on his back up the central stairs to support her.

The memory made Apollion’s face turn white. His changing complexion was reminiscent of an octopus.

Yvon, ignoring Apollion’s state, continued speaking.

“You said you felt dizzy and nauseous? That’s due to a hangover.”

“…A hangover?”

The word ‘hangover’ left Apollion’s mouth slightly agape, as if startled.

He hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of carrying Petunia. The continuous barrage of shocking facts made it hard for Apollion to stay calm.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Yvon asked, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

Of course, Apollion thought he was quite good at handling his liquor.

Despite blacking out, his body felt refreshed, and his mind was clear. Considering all this, he concluded that he was good at drinking.

But Yvon had a different assessment.

“I can guess what you’re thinking, but I’ll tell you anyway.”

Yvon spoke in his characteristically dry tone.

Apollion involuntarily gulped at the sight of Yvon’s face. When Yvon made that expression, he felt like a child being scolded by his parents. Even though he had almost no memories of his parents, it still felt that way.

“Overdrinking naturally leads to a hangover. Typical symptoms include dizziness, nausea, thirst, and vomiting. You are experiencing classic hangover symptoms.”

“B-but I actually feel refreshed…”

“You slept soundly for several hours while drunk, so of course, you feel refreshed. The reason the hangover isn’t severe is because the amount of alcohol you consumed was too insignificant to cause a severe hangover… In other words, it’s laughably small.”

Apollion’s eyes grew colder.

“The fact that you blacked out means your body reached its limit. Your limit is merely three glasses of wine, which is too little to cause a significant hangover. In fact, if three glasses cause dizziness, it’s better not to drink at all.”

“……”

“Compared to the average male in the Empire, Your Grace can’t handle alcohol. If you feel hangover symptoms from such a small amount, your body… well, you know what I mean.”

“……”

“To live a long and healthy life, you should abstain from drinking.”

With those words, Apollion turned away from Yvon coldly.

His broad shoulders drooped unusually. He looked like a duck who realized it wasn’t a swan.

Apollion paused as he was about to leave the infirmary. Then he hesitated and spoke.

“…My wife drank an entire crate.”

“It might sound disrespectful, but… the grand duchess is… an anomaly.”

Having already said everything disrespectful he could, Yvon belatedly added a touch of politeness.

“I see…”

Apollion quietly looked down at his fingertips. His despondent appearance was pitiful.

Yvon thought as he watched his master. On the outside, he looked fine, but inside, he was no different from a fool.

What exactly was his master disappointed about? That he was a lightweight? Or that he had a hangover?

Yvon was strongly convinced it was both. The grand duke was a tender-hearted man, despite his appearance.

“If it’s uncomfortable… should I give you a potion?”

“…A potion?”

“There is a potion that’s good for hangovers…”

“No need.”

Yvon stopped mid-stride towards the dispensary at Apollion’s firm refusal. Apollion’s hesitant voice stopped him from returning to his seat.

“…It would be better to give it to my wife instead.”