As the night deepened, Lorne discovered a secret about the noble lady.
She got drunk very easily and her drunk behaviour was truly terrible...
"What did I do wrong, that he would treat me this way?"
"You did nothing wrong, nothing at all. There's no need to punish yourself for someone else's mistakes."
"Why does he get to go out and fool around freely, while I have to live in constant anxiety and swallow my anger every day?"
"That just shows your moral character is superior, my lady."
"He got caught in bed with someone else and still dared to raise a hand against me?"
"Worse than an animal!"
In the dancing firelight, the noble lady in her gauze dress waved the wine jug in her hand, cursing and venting, taking a swig every now and then, working herself up further and further into an emotional frenzy.
A certain listener seated to one side chimed in repeatedly and occasionally supplied a few lines of righteous indignation to stoke the atmosphere, much like a supporting character on stage, but his frequent eye-rolls proved that he was mostly forced to perform.
Never try to reason with an angry woman. Especially a drunk one who needs to vent.
After all, she had already turned her own husband into a late husband and Lorne had no intention of setting himself on fire for the sake of some Argive man he didn't even know.'
'Besides, from what that fellow had apparently been up to, he didn't exactly sound like an upstanding person either.'
Finally, after swinging the wine jug for a full half hour of solid ranting, the noble lady who called herself Klera at last settled down.
She drained the last drop from the jug, lay down beside the fire with an air of deep satisfaction, and passed out cold.
Apparently due to all the vigorous movement earlier, the already loose and flowing dress had slipped somewhat from the noble lady's silky smooth shoulders, exposing a layered expanse of fair skin and a cleavage of unfathomable depth.
Lorne glanced over, feeling equal parts amused and helpless.
'My lady. You really are treating me like one of the family.'
After muttering to himself for a moment, he casually reached into his magical formation diagram, pulled out a blanket, and draped it over the noble lady, concealing the somewhat overflowing scenery.
However, just as he stood up and was about to take his leave, his wrist was suddenly seized.
"Don't... don't go..."
In what was impossible to tell as either a murmur or a plea, the noble lady curled into herself, and tiny glints of tears seeped from the corners of her tightly closed eyes.
Lorne tried pulling his arm free a few times, which only made the lady hold on tighter.
At the same time, feelings of panic and unease kept mounting on her face, as though at any moment she might wake from her dream.
Seeing this, Lorne's heart softened.
He let out a sigh and chose to sit down close by, gently closed his eyes, and waited quietly for dawn to come.
---
....
The next morning.
The soft light of dawn filtered through the shadowy canopy of the forest and fell on a pile of embers letting off wisps of smoke.
Sensing the shift in light and dark outside, Lorne emerged from meditation and slowly opened his eyes.
"You're awake?"
The noble lady came to the campsite with a handful of freshly picked wild fruit, her clothing as neat and dignified as ever after being tidied up.
Lorne smiled slightly, not speaking a word about the night before, and exchanged a few courteous pleasantries.
"Good morning, my lady."
"Mm. You as well."
The noble lady gave a gentle nod in reply.
The corners of her lips, previously somewhat tightly set, quietly relaxed. The gaze she turned on Lorne carried a thread of warmth and approval.
She thought wine was an ordinary drink that she could easily handle.
She hadn't expected that when she actually got drunk, she would let loose in a far more unbridled and indulgent manner than any of her children ever did.
Fortunately, the only person present who knew about it had been considerate and tactful, and she herself had not done anything too out of line.
Otherwise, this would have been a rather embarrassing situation indeed.
"My lady, seeing that you're alright, I can rest easy. If there's nothing else you need, I'll take my leave."
"Wait!"
After a few polite exchanges, Lorne was just about to turn and go when the noble lady before him stepped into his path and spoke in a measured voice.
"I need to return to Argos. How about you escort me part of the way?"
"Ah, I still have some matters to attend to in Thebes."
"That's just on the way then."
The noble lady spoke lightly, her tone leaving no room for debate.
Lorne felt equal parts amused and helpless.
This lady seemed to have decided to latch onto him.
At this moment, the noble lady fixed her gaze on the young man from Thebes and declared with lofty composure. "Bring me to my destination and I will give you anything you desire!"
Hearing the other party's grand claim, Lorne couldn't help letting out a wry laugh. "I'm grateful for your generosity, but I don't seem to have any particular desire for anything."
Catching the polite refusal in those words, the noble lady's expression darkened as she gritted her silver teeth and let out a cold hum.
"Ungrateful!"
So saying, she rose in indignation and headed alone into the dense forest.
However, after only a few steps, she swayed, bracing one hand against a tree trunk, coughing violently.
Golden-red droplets seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Lorne watched from a distance, and couldn't help furrowing his brow.
By the look of things, this lady really had been injured quite seriously.
And from here to Argos the journey wasn't short. Running into magical beasts and bandits along the way was perfectly normal.
In her condition she might not necessarily be able to handle it.'
On top of that, having just turned her husband into a late husband, even after returning to her homeland her days would probably not be easy.'
No wonder she wanted to find someone to provide safe passage...
Lorne thought it over for a moment and let out a reluctant sigh.
'Well, never mind. Whether heading to Thebes or Athens, the road passed through the Argos region anyway.
Giving her a lift along the way was no trouble at all. Consider it a daily good deed.'
After making up his mind,
Lorne quickly buried the embers, caught up to the unsteadily walking noble lady ahead, reached out to support her, and seamlessly switched to a warm smile.
"What I meant was, escorting you home is of course no problem at all. But repayment is unnecessary.
After all, I didn't help much earlier and even caused you quite a bit of trouble..."
Hearing this, the noble lady's expression gradually softened, though her tone remained stiff.
"What I give you, you accept. No need to worry about the rest!"
"Yes yes yes. Shall we be off then?"
Lorne smiled and nodded in agreement, then summoned the divine horse and chariot he had received from the Sea Goddess's hands, and invited the noble lady beside him to take a seat.
'A divine descendant?'
The noble lady caught this and her eyes flickered as she gave a proud nod.
All the better!
That way she wouldn't have to worry about giving too much later on and the little fellow being unable to bear such heaven-sent fortune.
At the same time, Lorne seated at the driver's position found his own thoughts stirring.
'She's not surprised?'
'Could this lady be something more than ordinary Argive royalty?'
'Klera. Had personally run her own husband through...'
This was no good. He had no memory of this name or these deeds at all and he wasn't particularly well-versed in the history of the Argos region either...
Lorne racked his brain without finding an answer, and could only temporarily press down the puzzlement in his heart, drive the bronze chariot, and carry the mysterious noble lady toward the Argos region.
Though he hadn't managed to work out the full story, he found himself now rather looking forward to this "repayment."
---
They traveled at a gallop all the way, and the chariot arrived at the outskirts of a city-state as night was falling.
As the two divine horses slowed their pace, the noble lady in the carriage made a measured suggestion.
"Let's rest outside the city. I don't want to deal with strangers."
Lorne, equally burdened with his own secrets, naturally agreed without a second thought.
So the two of them chose a nearby stretch of dense forest, started a bonfire in a clearing, prepared food, and settled in for a brief rest.
Before long, delicious food had filled their empty stomachs.
But the noble lady felt like something was still missing.
Then her gaze fell on the wine flask at Lorne's waist, and the answer immediately came to her.
"Give me the wine."
"You want to drink again?"
Thinking of this noble lady's behavior last time she was drunk, the young man felt somewhat apprehensive.
The noble lady gave Lorne a sidelong glance and let out a haughty cold hum.
"I'm merely sampling an ordinary drink. What's there to make such a fuss about?"
Before he could say another word, she reached out and snatched the wine flask from his waist, pulled out the cork stopper, and tilted it straight to her lips for a long, hearty drink.
The manner of it looked less like drinking wine and more like settling a personal grudge with it.
As for the result...
Divine nectar wine brewed personally by the God of Wine would bring every stubborn-mouthed person to their knees.
"Using sweet talk to deceive me, and once you got what you wanted, thinking you could kick me to the curb. Not a chance!"
"Mm..."
"The wives and lovers he's been with are in the double digits. That bastard didn't even spare the great-granddaughter's generation. Shameless!"
"Mm, mm..."
"They say I'm harsh and cold-blooded. Wasn't he the one who drove me to it? If I exposed everything he got up to, he wouldn't have a peaceful day either!"
"Ah yes, yes, quite right..."
Following the usual pattern, Lorne carefully chimed in, and finally managed to coax the cursing, crying, and wailing noble lady into falling asleep.
Confirming she had peacefully drifted off, he then quietly reached out, intending to retrieve the wine flask the lady was hugging to her chest.
However, the moment he tugged at the strap, the noble lady instinctively reacted.
Both arms snaked up like serpents and latched on.
The result was that Lorne not only failed to reclaim the wine flask but also found half his body sinking into a warm and abundant swamp.
'Big. Genuinely big.'
'But my lady, with all due respect, I am not that kind of person.'
Lorne forced himself to stay composed, attempting to peel this thoroughly drunk noble lady off himself.
Unexpectedly, the more he struggled, the more animated the other party became.
That serpentine supple figure writhed restlessly, winding tighter and tighter, and began encroaching step by step on the remaining half of the victim's body.
Seeing he was about to be caught up in the fire, Lorne hastily abandoned the wine flask and extricated himself.
He then looked at the noble lady on the ground who had curled around the wine flask into a boneless puddle, covered her with a blanket as usual, and made a quiet firm resolution in his heart.
'This woman was a terrible drunk.
Best not to let her drink anymore going forward.'
(End of Chapter)