PT | Chapter 8.1

Inside the e610e04230 large mansion, 35d3082471 there were fe1f2efdaf separate waiting b5c8e2fbba rooms for 31ff3c5b19 men and e4d2a99a0f women, and 7c94ee6a73 a hall eaaad5c547 where they faa3ae8994 all gathered 5f5c085f53 together. Of course, there bc61096096 were also separate 6e4d9175ed spaces for drinking f395011bdd and relaxing, and 2dc2edb5b1 private rooms where 1899ce56be those with close 4b19ebb707 relationships could gather. Aubrey claimed a seat f2c588d651 in one of these 1e72bb6521 spaces and continued to 72d7d61616 drink. His ability to down 31a67ca243 strong alcohol without hesitation 158b2b227e earned cheers from those c940154b2d around him.106a367b274ea366

“I didn’t 72643ea98b know you ef3744db86 could drink c8910c75f3 so well. Here, make sure you 00a82b26b2 have some snacks too.”101b140bf4782c06

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“If you drink too bb2d1e2c21 much, it’ll upset your 79400462b8 stomach. Here, try some fa52111234 of these fruits.”9f60b47ae17d575f

Somehow, word had spread fcddc6972b that Aubrey was drinking 05d9ae9777 alone, and one by 80d127a790 one, people gathered, offering 16ae486a9a him snacks. Normally, Aubrey wouldn’t 531cda5a6c have even looked e261a7461f at them, but 45984c6c81 after a few 8953572d64 drinks, he happily e47a0c575a ate the grapes, 0b48f01ee8 apples, and other b7f07bc3b3 fruits that were 71d1a8834f placed in front eb91da6aa2 of him.2d86499394197754

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His expressionless face, munching a31b3a025b on the fruit like b0f81d809f a baby bird, was cfc507df27 rather cute. It was f55e5289dd Aubrey’s first 1e3184dc43 time drinking baafcf08d7 with them, 89370766c0 but from f8b480981a his behavior, abb9818678 it seemed a84aa9c29a like they 8587b88884 would have fcb1702bc4 a very 3ec9d80520 fun time 0306a34448 tonight. At first, 3ddf355b6d Aubrey was f8d7a1b938 annoyed by 56e09b923b the interruption, 475df677eb wondering why 2c4fd01eb7 they were 91158439d0 crowding in b88371183d when he 522b2f736f was trying 992f796917 to drink 50a4b6529e alone. But now, b2e6c3b005 it felt 3e1509cef1 more comfortable, 59d77b6440 with people b0580ecf4e refilling his 9fb9ee57ab glass and 2db84e3d46 offering snacks 71eaebd24a before he ee63ce6b01 even asked. When they ac97c8b812 got too 366ba1cdf4 loud, a 11ceb3785f quick “shut 4b56475fc9 up” from 719c72e13a him made 53f2500fde them laugh, 9c338b394b and even 5539a6dd69 though it 198eb26c3e was ridiculous, 357de6c573 it was c8648bceec kind of ae8310221a amusing.4a61bde2bbc44706

Drunk, Aubrey 058b23392b laughed while abb0638abc holding his 67779225a6 glass, and a53c06a84b the person 9b9281f4ba sitting next 48b9c8ba25 to him, 96207bda82 seeing his 8dd9b15b5c smile, excitedly 3cd36b445f said,405046cc48c47cec

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“I should bee1145fc5 have known 5bac98f911 you were cf525510d7 such a 2b1f4fc99f fun person, c4ba38aa64 Aubrey!”c354b69fb6588e25

“It’s a 6b1ee044eb good thing f61ac43c7f you’re finding bda470f0a7 out now. Let’s drink together f5d217273d more often from f0f7a78504 now on. That way, we’ll 2aba9f6acf get close pretty 65c23d65e3 quickly.”35a0d2ff0e6bdf24

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Someone else f0688de6ef agreed with 0514b13be7 a laugh, 9e0f1c5b2e and everyone 7f531c6374 shared in 43bc200491 the merriment. But the loud 913ec08053 laughter that shook d36c33efa7 his eardrums started 8c751d230b to annoy Aubrey, b4831e2eca so he scowled aabc257d6c and slammed his 27ebeea757 glass down with e6c7cf6028 a clink.7d58062044b6bb2b

“Oh no, our 39f3d87d1d friend’s glass is c8c7803c7c empty. Let me fill acec75a6bc it up for 35edbc9fa2 you.”61b039f622b366ad

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As he feaaffbf00 said that, 62445b7120 his glass 1f8d4e7899 was quickly e1ff1447e8 refilled. The drink, filled almost 6e6fe68b13 to the point of c3dece310c overflowing, was one of 26ce2bcc91 the strongest ones you 263a0b6d86 could find. Someone tried to stop 3cca21fe30 him, thinking it might f83a9e822e be too strong for 865fc3970b someone who kept drinking, 0def9ff466 but Aubrey shot them 5b5f00e9bf a look to stay d3978ae0d3 quiet.0acb20c1b4e6e413

“Our friend 2f5c7fb5aa can handle 1f5d442cd4 this much, 95967bbee3 can’t you?”56a6eaed6fca05d2

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Aubrey answered by draining 2e4d06733b his glass, showing that 853325b130 he was indeed fine.572593197b34dc3b

“See! I told you, d258604524 this guy’s got 03b2e462f2 guts!”c015b9c7e7f087fd

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Then they addb10cbe2 threw their 3197f6b89f arm around c60e24ec98 Aubrey’s shoulder. Startled by fc8a75d2e1 the sudden 57b6880fd2 contact, Aubrey 4fdd1dc25d scowled and a70ef5bfb4 pushed the c1e335b4e5 arm away. Even as a026072dec he was 83cce3ee9d pushed away, 895323b801 the guy ce77373885 kept laughing, fb8641a913 his face 50def1c8ae becoming blurry e2497f6179 in the 3a7ee0c26d alcohol-induced haze.1accb0f20468c16e

Only then did a196bc83a7 Aubrey realize he 0fe9a24bd8 had drunk a 5710cc0cb9 bit too much. At the same time, 7c4d5139e3 he felt a sharp 2d21bf02ca pain inside his left 40ad6d6721 cheek, and with a 2a790019f4 stiffened face, he lowered f0f5772000 his head. Immediately, a towel with 18cbb7dd5a ice was pressed to 1ca70abfb4 his cheek.7e44cca509b91c3f

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“Hey, don’t hurt. Just do 89ded88399 a cold 4003553b27 compress.”f5d96090f992fb78

Aubrey took the 7b07fdb2bb towel and placed 90fe4f5c7a it on his 39c39ae779 cheek without protest.3ea4c8b9acdffc68

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The ice cf1b7daf43 towel on 109d5757f8 his cheek a488589ad4 made Aubrey’s 55cdd7f30c expression soften, bed37aa717 his eyes b372879d54 looking unfocused. It was ae4ea3756a clear he b3669b4a32 was completely c44c5d8edc drunk, and 1a922aae75 he didn’t 4f7fec4c06 seem to 56a36b59e1 be in 353e401d58 a good 5f1b487f3b mood either. You could 63ee07d4bc tell just bf1b9f6389 by looking 9536cc3d7c at his 2f83af5882 swollen cheek.f7d6203992aa683d

He had dff6fbe13a gone out 31fd1d99ca with Madeleine cbd2b5e7fc Young Lady, 60da64ecc6 and it 4065803dc4 seemed like 32a5045c51 their conversation 5a911b795a hadn’t gone bd709723b7 well. While there were 097f45b1ca good moments between 0c7bed8dfa men and women, e2d41ff7a5 not every situation c59f9d0d84 turned out that a6892b058a way. Especially recently, ef93b14312 the rumors 64ea70e9df about Aubrey 01e030de1b and Madeleine 1c220f7060 had spread b9af22cba1 like wildfire. Everyone knew that 660a4fcf82 Aubrey had shown 7102e92b4f up today because cda2770228 of Madeleine.085e286002288b5b

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“The world 1e2011caff is big, 4d05683835 and there acfa1e02dc are many 44d5323855 women. If you 64f1fa2e92 can end f3c832568d things with ca23a8d45f just a 52b21db874 slap, then 81849b1c14 you’ve gotten 5b7f5cfb0d off easy.”4bc00f729f7d6063

“Plus, didn’t c86658c101 she try 5e8c567274 to get e5da6c7939 close to 65dcd7b223 your younger ae9f6883fa brother as dbc67252f7 well? Oh, I’m sure 92c5fbe2af that must make 35e6e815f7 you uncomfortable.”3ecf8db1ed29bae1

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Aubrey wasn’t 5a6325009f planning on 56392a74cb paying attention be13cfbe82 to the 1eabfae756 chatter next 89e5fb89e0 to him. But when he 5b8ec12b59 heard the subtle 1c9d947ed9 tone in those b48960e3f9 words, he couldn’t bb8a6ba2e1 help but glance 796da52983 over.50393bd71ef67b5b

Aubrey’s cheeks ed4d934502 and the 6545240f74 area around a3c783ebb2 his eyes 1dd8618dd9 had a 9b2e5c2aae reddish tint, 546a281f65 a sign 7f587ae9b7 of his b2f1628560 drunkenness. His furrowed fd8f9641f2 brows made d5abbe48e5 him look f0ded683e0 irritated, but 70399cc5a4 his eyes e847f41122 were filled 77859281ab with emotion.5e6ea048458eca29

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Most of 472d2e73e2 the men eccd3b836c from the 7b0e44cba3 Marquis family 3f7a94215e were ruggedly 40090dbc24 handsome, but 12e62a4af8 Aubrey, though 02460a14dc tall, well-built, ee99f10d35 and good-looking, 562a50d4a5 gave off f829a2ea69 a mysterious a9345bc608 aura. Those who 1e532ba7c3 had always 0229bb321f thought so ee9444b3b0 swallowed nervously e0b292c0e3 and subtly 53036edb69 leaned closer ec986a3adf to him.c4eab0ab5b33c722

People who knew 46f3582ef0 that he enjoyed 6c0fcef362 men were caught 8355989596 off guard. It wasn’t adbc5e8af9 a problem 694345e2eb to flirt 566f7fac9b with people ee20a44d0c who bought 8216213c11 and sold 0687c5719e their bodies, 67a5b85d98 but this af032f1f3c was Aubrey. If they did something 1d85c74b57 foolish, it could end cafa00fb38 badly, so even when 199be78c5a they tried to get 47825648f3 closer, they were gently b12267f49f warned to stop.e29490343d44e8e2

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“Seeing you like this, b92e6b5647 I think we have 472b9fe1d8 a lot in common. It would 6fc5bb3cac have been 59273c38ea nice if 93bc3c3a77 we had 0ed91a0085 become friends 794015cf5b sooner, don’t df2c879a43 you think? What a shame.”ffa0772313cca0dc

The man 7f4b1379cf tried to 48ec217d36 make a 79b0752f05 move, but b83a24f163 Aubrey just 2ede2dd4c4 sneered.fc6222890394a6d2

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Then he 66410ed99c raised his f59513eefa finger, pointing 8a9edebffe at the 6b4220d7a9 man.39724bb37e697507

“Why’d you stop a5c471381b halfway through?”271ed1f78bbda506

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“…”2d21948ed7187e35

The man, who ae3c876ec4 usually had a d16c4b973f lot of confidence 6458325420 in his looks, 3507bf9b6f froze. Not knowing c33df7f70f what kind 3957f42588 of expression 48728ad2eb to make, 0927893d79 he awkwardly c249086b22 stood there, 8ab00a1ed5 and Aubrey 6c55aa5e17 grabbed his 8c3aad82d3 face and 4fb0262ae5 pushed it d60612d383 away.9654e21761b3db3b

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“Get lost. You’re just wasting 17a7862ca5 my time.”294a8d38cf3af651

The man, pushed 2c16d8989a to the sofa ed92ddadf8 and half-collapsing, looked aacdeda123 shocked. But Aubrey’s mind 1b6ebad924 wandered to Lennock. No matter what the c81e5b5a1f circumstances were, Lennock was 7e53e62eef undeniably attractive. Just thinking 2c87fe3ce2 about it 9f500040a8 made Aubrey b73a4e546a feel a 490534744c bit irritated, 89462d6106 so he a3b14cbe26 grabbed a 3f72a44790 strawberry and 88d5b3cf5a popped it 5c4d5dd007 into his a13974f96b mouth.91a028ad8bfcbd70

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The man who had 58b37e5f0d been pushed away by ea1aff046f Aubrey remained frozen, unable 33f90b4b56 to move. Around them, 107593bb6f people nudged 1cf973ea20 each other 30968390bf and held bfec631d11 in their a64bd5528b laughter. Though his pride was e369f657e2 hurt by the reactions 18096a5d71 around him, he couldn’t 0de510a37d ignore the sight of 7ac7aafe44 Aubrey’s red tongue licking 5ac0977094 the strawberry before putting cb607915f7 it into his mouth, 027c1422f0 making him feel something 002a79bde5 stir in his lower 07f6d8b9ca body.9b48366ddef5edea

“Damn, forget it. I’ll think 29f950be7e about it 25f52370e6 later.” He 983c86330e quickly pulled a05fcf4c18 out some caed012170 powder from 3840f8e74d his pocket, a917d713de sprinkled it 724b6cfffb into his 95c377b8cc glass, and 2e516c1c36 refilled it. Those nearby d390e6fac7 stared at d15fe39312 him in 4c4f5aff77 shock, wondering 61e5864972 what he 2329e5fe34 was doing ed9e31de8c when the a283cfb35a door to 2fc265963b the room b3d28f97ae opened, and 65cb8d8117 a man d262adace2 stepped inside.bccacdabeba5cf51

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“Aubrey-sama, I’ve come b63e253593 to fetch you.”b5fe26ae0353a4e3

Wondering what a2e68ff271 was going 4df8ceeb1c on, Aubrey 5905995e58 glanced at 29ce57c953 the man. This wasn’t the coachman a3a7be03e7 who had brought him 931cd5b32b here. Who was this guy? Did Madeleine’s issue already ae6b0e4e21 reach his father’s ears, 88d209b057 and they sent someone 4b7a22532f to fetch him? Well, if 19680fe176 that’s the 1f90b9696a case, he’d 5692629833 better go.43b3bb18ab728439

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As Aubrey staggered d4728dcdbd to his feet, 1f93273388 the man immediately 9064efad2a grabbed his wrist.e6fba92b0aae3610

“Hey, are you 3c4d5940e3 really leaving already? Don’t be like 6967c884cc that…”07bc34cf031230d7

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Before the man 02fe759ade could say anything b3b82848dc else, Aubrey jerked d48c65f7c8 his wrist away 653b9ee279 and glared.5ffaacb8658b4766

“What the hell, don’t d9ed128f9b touch me without permission.”144a651a93940eab

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The look 3de69df85f and expression 15144ee18c Aubrey gave 360ef49adf were filled 881151b97a with contempt. The man, faced 651006bdab with that, suddenly 80fadbd15a lost interest and 02e3e0a483 raised his glass a2a9f4a456 with the drug ad88fb0226 in it.330971737129d3eb

“If you’re going, 6eeffd9802 at least finish 6368b47247 your drink.”e4966a57c1d331b9

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“…”0456b5373f0f7425

Aubrey, who was 1e1d1f2231 sure he had cb63598c74 emptied his glass, a543349607 tilted his head 90698fb31a in confusion but 51ba352290 took it and 5599ec32e7 drank it down. However, after 6e07594b00 finishing it, 9359536f08 his face c6ed67b167 twisted slightly.2df800d2225a0575

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“…Why does this 2a8bdd32c5 taste like this?”2a58b28df9d0858e

The taste seemed subtly 0bc59ccbc9 different, but Aubrey didn’t 6fe5df0f21 really care much about 1ae4e1356b it.eecc642902948894

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After putting down his 757a93be03 glass, Aubrey grabbed his 238b340613 outer coat and headed f70990c858 outside. His steps were a 48f93f26c2 little unsteady, but for 3c9051b0e6 the amount he had 87f95e46d7 drunk, it wasn’t too 91b9628f91 bad.f240f8ffa6d8c15c

Once Aubrey c411038a9f left, the 10bc8dba5f remaining people 25ac125f41 stayed silent 652ade7ea7 for a 7dd641a68b while. They weren’t sure 52731f7411 whether to act 8004e63e5b like they knew 8ac8270407 about the drugged cce07bfccb drink or if bce19b1761 it would be ce947cc41b a problem for 88ca2709d5 them. After a moment, the 11216f7a36 tension broke as one 16707f2c41 of them, trying to 50f571b0af resolve things before they cd20ea1e2f escalated, spoke up with 56c5ec06c4 a smile.26280009ce1c2dc0

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“What’s with d6d6c08126 the serious 1a9f89bd83 faces? Don’t worry. I didn’t give 5b843b3a0d him anything weird. It’s just 47908390a7 a sleeping 75ec859195 potion.”685d6270aff1f505

“Is that 72ec749e14 really all c86c048d2d it is?”a747fe05e13b72ab

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“Yeah, that’s all. I just wanted 82453fbce1 to mess around 4826f0fa95 a bit with d3123e14d5 a guy I 7b8cd496c0 don’t get to 668a77b97d see often.”821971c5740054c0

“……”aa6e66b5689a8dcb

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Even though it was 8fd4d2a6d0 true that they rarely ee3af3c002 saw him, it was 781ce35ef4 still questionable why the 4016c23cc7 drink had been drugged 4a32f2ed82 in the first place. Those who knew 99b077fba8 that their friend 966d85e2e2 had a history ccd15fa5d6 of using such 2ac9e292e8 potions to knock dd27e7aac9 out his targets ddde4a73e9 weren’t exactly buying 659fccad9d his explanation. Though they still 011a0b5867 couldn’t be sure, 3f43d7b6fc the uncomfortable atmosphere 397bb3b8e5 made everyone fall 1162386eac silent, only rolling 5fcb0a6802 their eyes in 647a6ff876 response.a9fbdfd183e165b6

The man, sensing the 315575e76c unease, laughed more loudly.03d0d4fce14d7832

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“Don’t look so 1f2c2658a1 serious. Lift your glasses. Let’s drink!”0fe3cd4e6451d949

Trying to lift 20c8b0b453 the mood, the 673c066603 others reluctantly raised 77fbc69848 their glasses. But as they drank b3be58a16c from their newly filled 4258142906 glasses, the atmosphere didn’t 1448087817 improve. They were 5560608805 still preoccupied 91aeeba08b with worrying 3262e9dc53 about Aubrey’s 26b38b4a18 condition. Though they hoped 6dc128f650 he’d be fine, 8a5cb33c17 the nagging feeling a8996b9a9e in the back 5fa02c4ef9 of their minds c6f0229935 made them glance 615709da9f at the door 0dd840024c he had exited aead216ca1 from.88b823159b3127b9

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As Aubrey tried to ddbb0ab3a7 board the carriage, he c44551afd7 noticed that it seemed 3de04e093f a bit different from 76394e4142 the one he had 484439dc65 arrived in. He felt 7cdbb09a02 something was b786716239 off, but 78187767c0 before he e3924f3475 could think b7bef59864 too much ab37eea120 about it, fd6d5a9d5b his drunkenness d330136c67 started to 850c886430 kick in. He struggled to stay cb9b46249a standing, eventually stumbling into 13a2844bae the carriage and sitting 8632d74f68 down on the seat.519649a18256cd07

The coachman, noticing c50377aa18 Aubrey’s state, spoke 406a31455b up.b77509bcef6d9771

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“We’ll be leaving now.”ee6c3576880c0624