Chapter 152: A Confusing Kind of Flirting
Because Evelia brought back ten full boxes of alcohol, she didn’t prepare dinner for Armand that night.
She didn’t even make her signature tomato dishes that usually filled the kitchen with the smell of tomato sauce. Without that familiar scent, even the other chefs felt something was missing.
As for Evelia, she had already made up her mind, she was going to get Armand drunk tonight.
To make it easier, she had chosen a strong liquor that tasted just like regular beer at first, but had a very high alcohol content. It didn’t feel like much at the start, but if someone let their guard down and drank too much, they’d be knocked out for sure.
She even bought some of Armand’s favorite bar snacks to help him drink more.
So, the moment Armand heard Evelia say they were going to finish all ten boxes of alcohol together, and then realized there was no dinner waiting for him. He understood immediately, she was being serious.
“Mr. Armand, are you going out?”
Just as he was about to sneak away, he opened the door to his bedroom and saw Evelia standing there, with all ten boxes of alcohol neatly stacked behind her.
“Ah… well—” Armand gave a nervous laugh. “Cough, uh… Carle needs me for something, I have to go meet him.”
“Really? Didn’t you just get back from Mr. Carle’s place?”
“Haha… oh, yeah, you’re right…”
His obviously fake excuse was easily exposed by Evelia. Armand was even too embarrassed to look her in the eye.
But even so, he kept thinking of a new excuse. If Carle didn’t work, he could say another friend needed him...
—Wait…
—Ugh, seriously?!
Armand shouted in his head.
‘I don’t even have any other friends…!’
Besides Carle, the only other person Armand was really close to was the crown prince. But there was no way he could drag the prince into this kind of excuse. If he used that now, he’d have nothing left to fall back on later!
“Mr. Armand, don’t look so troubled, like you have no one to visit except for Mr. Carle.”
Why are you so sharp about this kind of thing…
Evelia usually acted a little clueless, but when it came to making Armand uncomfortable, she somehow never missed.
“It’s not that bad. I do have other friends, okay?”
Actually, aside from Carle, all of Armand's other relationships were just between superiors and subordinates, people he had only worked with on the battlefield or during patrols.
He was just being stubborn.
“It’s okay, Mr. Armand. I’ll always be with you.”
Even though Evelia’s face stayed calm as usual when she said this, if you looked closely, you could see that her eyes were full of determination. Her words didn’t sound like something said just to comfort someone.
“You still have me, Mr. Armand. I want to become someone important in your life.”
What Evelia said was basically a confession.
Even though her tone sounded calm and serious, the meaning behind her words was filled with something warm and emotional, though a little hard to understand clearly.
“R-Really…?”
This time, it was Armand who didn’t catch on right away.
Maybe it was because Evelia had said so many vague and unclear things before, that Armand no longer took her emotional words seriously.
After all, this wouldn’t be the first time Evelia had said something confusing.
But this time, Evelia truly meant it.
Even though she herself hadn’t fully realized how deeply she had fallen, the words “I want to be someone important in your life” came straight from her heart, said by instinct and pure emotion.
She had actually learned this kind of slightly dramatic line from a romance novel, where a maid comforts a knight when he’s going through a hard time.
But now, Armand wasn’t really going through any tough moment, and Evelia’s words were more than just comfort.
“…Thank you.”
Armand gave a helpless smile and thanked Evelia.
At this moment, more than "having someone important in his life," Armand just wanted to stay alive.
“Mr. Armand, if you’re not busy with anything… then let’s go drink.”
Evelia bent down and firmly pushed the boxes of alcohol, lined up neatly on the floor, into Armand’s bedroom. Armand had originally planned to help her, but he really underestimated how strong Evelia had become now that she was used to her alchemy-enhanced body. Since he was standing right across from her, he was nearly knocked over by this strong girl’s sudden shove.
“…Are we really going to drink all of this?”
“Yes, Mr. Armand. I specially prepared this for you. I even brought my tomato ketchup.”
As Evelia said this, she went back to the hallway and brought out another box. Armand instantly recognized it. The label was from her favorite ketchup brand, the same one she always kept stocked in her small kitchen area.
“Beer… with ketchup?”
This strange combination made Armand swallow hard. Of course, that wasn’t because he was hungry, it was more like fear.
“Yes.”
Evelia nodded seriously, picked up a packet of ketchup and a bottle of beer, opened the bottle, and without hesitation squeezed the entire packet of ketchup into it.
“Ugh…”
Hearing the ketchup make that familiar squish squirt sound, Armand’s eyebrows twisted into a strange shape. Even his lips twitched downward.
Evelia didn’t even like alcohol. She had said so before.
She said alcohol made her mess up tasks, left a strong smell on her body, and that someone like her, an assassin, shouldn’t be drinking. It was something to avoid.
But tonight, she held the bottle firmly, determined to do whatever it took to get closer to Armand.
As long as there was ketchup, there was nothing she couldn’t swallow. After adding another ketchup packet and shaking the bottle thoroughly, Evelia held it tight and downed the entire thing in one go.
Since it was strong liquor, there wasn’t actually that much in one bottle. It was a short bottle, so drinking it all at once didn’t take long.
Her mouth was filled with the strong taste of ketchup, and only occasionally did a little bitterness from the beer come through.
Evelia smacked her lips. Just like the bar owner had said, this kind of alcohol didn’t feel strong at first, but it could slowly get someone drunk. Just like a frog slowly boiled in warm water.
Yes. This would work.
Evelia made up her mind in her heart.
Tonight, she was going to make sure Armand got drunk!