"Good morning young master. Would you like a hangover drink?"
"No. ... Let's hurry to the capital today. I don't feel like staying at an inn anymore."
"Yes, as you wish, young master."
...
It had been some time since Cale's group had left the inn.
He was feeling anxious for some reason. Their trip to the capital went smoothly, and there was not even a need to stop for repairs or shopping.
That was why his anxiety was so annoying, it was completely useless. There was no need for him to be on edge.
In fact, he made it to the capital faster than expected because of good weather and empty roads. Perhaps Hans also had something to do with it, as he seemed on his guard as well.
Today seemed to make everyone nervous, almost like a premonition of sorts.
"Young master! We will be arriving at the inn reserved by the count-nim soon!"
Cale sighed; he didn't feel like sleeping in one of those again. It didn't feel safe or private, and he would have much rather preferred to sleep in the carriage. But his father would hear about it, and useless rumors would spread that would only shine a spotlight onto Cale.
The only kinds of rumors he liked to spread were the ones pushing him out of the spotlight, or ones that only highlighted his trashy persona. But rumors talking about how a noble slept in a carriage over a more comfortable inn wouldn't help him at all.
It would just be mindless drama, and Cale disliked other people talking about him just for the sake of talking.
So, when they reached the designated inn, which his father reserved without his permission, he acted like nothing was wrong.
Hans was more wary of his behavior after the target practice from earlier, but Cale paid him no mind.
This evening, he was just the average trash.
Bang!
The bubbly conversations sank within five seconds after seeing who opened the door.
Tak. Tak. Tak.
"I'm staying in the room reserved by my father, make sure to bring a few bottles of your best alcohol to it in an hour."
"A, alright, have a good evening sir."
Cale observed everyone in the room before clicking his tongue loudly and heading to his room.
After seeing that Cale Henituse had left without breaking anything or causing any other commotion, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief and complimented the owner for his brave way of speaking. Conversation also resumed as if nothing had happened, although it was slightly quieter so as to not annoy the volatile youth staying on the floor above them.
...
"... Hans, what time is the party again?"
"The attendees are permitted to enter the palace starting tomorrow evening at 6:30 pm. It will end at 11 pm. You will have to bring the invitation, as the nobles invited range from the youngest of a family, to the head or next in line. You did bring the invitation, correct?"
"...Hans, before Basen started, I was the one going to events like this. Explaining it to me will only waste your breath."
Hans thought for a moment that Cale looked exhausted as he said such things. But the second he blinked, the look vanished, as if he had seen wrong.
"Ah. Then what time do you want to arrive? Since it is a royal event, arriving even a half hour past 6:30 would be considered impolite. Should we plan to be there by 6:45?"
"Nine."
"...What?"
Hans was caught so off guard he forgot to address Cale respectfully.
"9:00 pm. Got a problem with it?"
"N, no... So we will leave at 8:30 then? Are you sure the royal family won't look down on you?"
"Hmm? What are you talking about?"
"It's just... if we arrive two hours before the gathering ends, it would leave a terrible impression, well, at least a worse impression than everyone already has of you."
Cale observed that Hans was speaking his mind again. He was a funny bastard.
"No, what do you mean we will arrive at 9:00?"
"What...? But didn't you just say—"
"I meant we'll be leaving at nine. We will arrive at around 9:30, which leaves me with a half hour to 'mingle' and eat, and one full hour to drink and pass out in a corner."
'It is a good plan. If I'm asleep, what kind of trouble could I possibly get into? I will just ignore everyone and everything.'
"..."
Hans just stared at Cale in disbelief. Did he really plan on drinking himself unconscious at a royal event?
"Hans, get out of my room now. I'm going to sleep all day tomorrow so have my things ready and packed as well. I can trust you to deal with everything else, right?"
'What do you mean 'everything else'? You aren't doing any part of it.'
"As you command, young master Cale."
Click.
Cale stared at the closed door for a few minutes after Hans left. His head was blank, but he was itching to do something.
Causing a commotion now, although in character, would probably do more harm than good to the Henituse family name as a whole. He was tired, sure, but he would most likely not be able to sleep. It was also quite boring to just stare at a door for hours.
Tomorrow he would leave late, which meant that most of the day would be empty. He had nothing which could easily waste time besides drinking, but he wouldn't even get drunk anyway.
'...I wouldn't even get drunk, huh?'
He had previously consumed high-quality alcohol for half a day and had gotten a light buzz from it, which was extremely rare. If he could reproduce that effect, dealing with the nobles would be a breeze, and it might make him relax more in public.
"Haha... it's been a while since I did something like this."
If he sent Hans on a list of errands, and ordered the knights to not bother him, he would have plenty of time to drink before hopping in a carriage. If they smelled the alcohol on him, he could just prove he wasn't batshit drunk by acting normally.
It was a solid addition to his plan of acting drunk. The only possible variables were if the inn housed enough liquor to accomplish such a feat, the quality of the inn's alcohol, and the annoying amount of times he would have to use the restroom.
"I guess I'll drink them dry." Cale felt a hint of excitement surge through him.
It had been quite a long time since he had felt tipsy.
____
"..."
It was about 8 pm the next day.
Cale hadn't slept for longer than 5 hours since his stay at the non-alcoholic inn.
So in other words, two days ago.
Cale had found out that the alcohol served in the capital's most popular inn was indeed high-quality. They also had a basically unlimited supply of it.
Hans had hesitantly left to go do the bullshit tasks Cale had given him, and the knights did not even station themselves at his door, so privacy was not an issue.
In other words, Cale Henituse had been left unsupervised for just under ten hours with unlimited amounts of high-quality alcohol at his disposal. It was safe to say that most of his father's allowance had been used up in a single night.
He was now at a comfortable buzzed state; perfect for attending a noble party with.
And just in time for Hans to return with a useless array of clothes, foods, and a few special items which Cale had put at the top of the list.
'Good, Hans did a proper job at picking them out. It's fortunate that kids chatter about their favorite things at every opportunity, or else I'd have no idea what they like.'
"Young master Cale, is everything to your liking? I'm afraid even if it isn't, we will be leaving soon."
Ah, Hans was definitely a special one. Most people and servants were afraid of Cale to some degree, and yet Hans was basically telling Cale that he wasn't going to shop anymore even if he was ordered.
"I guess there is a reason you are the deputy butler. All my things are ready, yes? I'll be in my room then. Don't bother me."
Cale turned and walked straight back to his room, unaware that Hans was picking at the meaning of his words, and didn't know if what Cale said was a compliment or an insult.
Clink. Cale set a glass down on the bedside table.
There was still an hour before he had to leave, and another 30-ish minute commute to the palace of joy.
That was definitely enough time for Cale to accidentally sober up and lose his progress. So, the only logical solution was to keep drinking.
And drink he did. By the time Hans knocked at his door to collect him for the carriage ride, Cale had broken past the 'slightly buzzed' level, and was heading towards 'slightly tipsy' instead.
Hans' nose crinkled at the smell of strong alcohol, but didn't say anything since Cale did not seem to be an incapacitated level of drunk.
The carriage ride felt long and boring, but Cale dreaded the destination even more. He was extremely glad that he had chosen to drink beforehand, as he really might punch somebody, and he'd rather fight tipsy instead of being sober.
Sober fights hurt more, and he did not like pain.
But soon enough, the carriage stopped in front of the palace. The doors were shut, just as expected, and there were guards by the doors and gate. Their attention was naturally focused on Cale, who leisurely stepped down from the carriage like he wasn't late in the slightest.
He walked with an aura of false confidence and bullshit arrogance, and kept his graceful strides still looking regal and purposeful.
The knight in front of him was very bad at hiding his emotions. Surprise, scrutiny, dislike, and hostility sprang up in that order. Every time someone reacted to his presence with emotions such as these, Cale smiled a little bit bigger.
It meant his trashy façade was well crafted and worth his effort.
Cale smirked openly as he held out a genuine invitation with his name on it.
"I'm here for the party. I assume I don't need to introduce myself."
"... You may enter."
The knight only responded after sending messages to the other knights through not-so-subtle eye contact. They probably did not want to let him in because of his reputation, but also were curious as to what sort of commotion it would cause.
Plus, with an invitation, there were no rules saying Cale could not enter. There was no clause stating he couldn't arrive late.
The knight opened the gate, and Cale smoothly knocked their shoulders together. He laughed internally as he saw the knight's clenched jaw line and dark expression.
'It is fun to mess with greenhorns.'
At the doors to the palace, a similar situation happened, but this time with obviously more experienced guards. They did not reveal their emotions, but Cale guessed they were probably just as irritated based on how tightly they were holding the hilts of their swords.
As he walked through the wide hallways to reach the designated room for the gathering, everyone who made eye contact with him avoided his gaze and picked up the speed at which they were walking.
He was grateful for it, as he also did not feel like interacting with anyone.
Finally, he reached a large set of double doors which were also guarded. Music and loud talking seeped through the walls, indicating that this was the right place.
"Invitation."
'Straight to the point. Well, I guess this makes things easier.'
Cale simply held out his invitation once again, and watched as the knight took a considerably long time to examine it. Eventually, she returned it with a stoic expression.
"You are Cale Henituse, first son of Deruth Henituse, the count of the Henituse Territory. Is this correct?"
Cale thought it was unnecessary to ask such a repetitive question, but answered the guard nonetheless.
"Mhm. I can enter now, right?"
"Yes."
She appeared to be unbothered by the scent of alcohol around him, and continued staring forward. She looked quite young to be a knight, maybe in her late twenties.
This guard did not open the doors for him, but Cale prefered it that way. Perhaps it was a form of passive aggression, as nobles were notorious for wanting things to be done for them, but Cale didn't care in the slightest.
The second he would open the doors, all the spotlights would be on him. It was a bit daunting, but nothing he hadn't done before. He straightened his coat a bit, took a deep breath, and placed a firm palm on each door.
'Time to party.'
Creeeeeeaaaaak.
A/n: If it's not already glaringly obvious, I don't drink. Btw the absurd drank-for-the-whole-day-and-only-got-a-light-buzz thing is directly from the wiki iirc
Thx for reading.