Gideon suddenly sat up, both hands clutching his head as he roughly ran his fingers through his messy blond hair.

The memories from last night were slowly returning one by one no matter how much he wanted to stop them, replaying inside his head with painful clarity until his expression twisted in disbelief.

"No way..." he groaned before loudly adding, "Alcohol is actually dangerous."

The movement beside him immediately shifted. Jade stirred under the blanket, letting out a sleepy groan as her eyes slowly opened.

The moment she saw him awake and panicking beside her, she frowned lazily and tightened her arms around his waist instead of letting go.

"Come on," she muttered, her voice still thick with sleep. "Let me sleep for another three hours."

Then, without even opening her eyes properly, she added, "Also, I think spring would be nice for a wedding."

Gideon immediately turned toward her. "Wedding?! What wedding?"

"Hm?" Jade finally opened her eyes wider before sitting up slightly, now looking more offended than sleepy. "You literally agreed when I asked you to marry me."

As she moved, the blanket slipped lower. Her red hair fell loosely over her chest, barely hiding the marks scattered across her skin.

Gideon’s eyes instantly caught them, and the memories crashing back into his head only made it worse.

He definitely remembered kissing her there.

"I was drunk," he immediately argued while narrowing his eyes at her. "Nothing I said last night should count." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Suspicion quickly crossed his face afterward. "Wait... did you actually do that on purpose? You got me drunk so you could sleep with me?"

"What?" Jade looked genuinely offended before dramatically flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Do I seriously look like someone who needs tricks for that?"

She grinned confidently and lifted her breasts with two hands, showing him how gorgeous her tits looked. Because it does look hot.

"Look at me properly. I’m hot, charming, funny, and emotionally devastating. You folded almost immediately."

Gideon stared at her while more memories surfaced against his will. This disaster happened because of that devil’s liquid!

***

Jade slid the shaker across her arm before catching it neatly in one hand. Ice clinked softly inside as she poured the drink.

The first glass she placed in front of Kilian.

Bright amber liquor shimmered beneath the low light, mixed with citrus and something sweet enough to hide the bite underneath. A thin slice of orange rested on the rim while crushed ice floated lazily at the surface.

"For the loud one," Jade said dryly.

Kilian rubbed his chin. "Hm? It shouldn’t taste that bad right? I mean, I drink that so-called aberrant alcohol once and I survive."

"Come on, you need to use that overthinking skill to do your job instead of this simple drink! Stop being fussy." Jade commented.

The man then grabbed the glass and slowly drank it. His eyes suddenly lit up as his expression turned into delight.

"LORD! It’s so good! It’s sweet and a bit sour because of the citrus and the alcohol kicking in later." He looks at her in disbelief, "How the fuck are you able to make this?! Also, fuck, that is a strong punch if alcohol!"

Kilian smiled and laughed like a fool while Jade lifted her chin, proud of herself. She continues working on Gideon’s drink.

When she was done, she put the drink in front of him with another cocky grin, "You will love this."

Unlike Kilian’s, Gideon’s drink was darker. Whiskey sat at the bottom beneath black coffee liqueur and a faint swirl of smoke still lingered from whatever trick Jade had done while preparing it. She also had other liquor besides whiskey, but Gideon couldn’t see what it was.

No decorations or sugar coating, just a simple dark liquid in a small glass, clearly for one shot.

Gideon raised a brow as Jade slid the glass toward him. The liquid inside was dark with a faint reddish glow beneath the dim light, and the smell alone felt dangerous.

"That looks mildly threatening."

"It suits you," Jade replied immediately.

Kilian leaned across the counter the moment he heard that. "Wait, why does his drink look cooler than mine?"

"Because he drinks and acts like a proper adult."

"That’s discrimination." Kilian clicked his tongue before pointing accusingly at Gideon. "Also, you don’t even know if he’s a heavy drinker."

The comment almost made Gideon pause. Because Kilian was accidentally right.

In reality, Gideon barely drank alcohol at all. Back in his old world, he usually only drank once a year during New Year’s Eve, and even then it was just one small glass of champagne under his sister’s strict supervision.

After developing kidney problems once he reached legal age, alcohol became something he naturally avoided.

Unfortunately, it also meant his tolerance was embarrassingly low.

Of course, nobody here knew that and Gideon had no intention of letting them know either.

So he simply cleared his throat and picked up the glass casually. "Well, it’s only one shot," he said with a small laugh. "How bad can it be?"

Jade’s grin widened. For some reason, that should’ve been a warning.

Gideon tilted the glass back and swallowed the drink in one gulp.

The effect hit instantly. His throat burned so violently that it felt like someone had poured liquid fire directly into his body.

The heat slammed downward into his chest, harsh enough to make his eyes widen for half a second. He nearly choked right there, his entire body instinctively trying to cough the alcohol back out.

But Gideon forced it down. His fingers tightened around the glass while he desperately kept his expression under control, even as his throat screamed in pain and his eyes watered slightly from the burn.

He couldn’t even taste anything,

’Holy shit.’

For one terrifying moment, he genuinely thought he was about to die in front of them.

Kilian stared at him expectantly. "Well?"

Gideon slowly placed the empty glass back onto the counter with what he hoped looked like composure instead of survival instinct.

"...Smooth," he answered hoarsely.

Jade immediately burst out laughing. "You look like you just swallowed acid," she said between laughs.

"I did not."

"Alright then, mister heavy drinker," Jade said with a wicked grin. "Let’s see how you handle the next one and the one after that. The night’s still long anyway."

The moment she said that, Gideon realized he was completely screwed.

The second drink was somehow even worse than the first. The liquor burned down his throat so violently that tears almost gathered in the corner of his eyes.

He forced himself to swallow it anyway, trying his hardest to keep a straight face while his entire body screamed in protest.

Beside him, Kilian stupidly asked for the same drink and drank it too.

"What the fuck?!" Kilian started coughing violently, nearly falling off the stool as he gasped for air. "Are you trying to kill me?! That’s not alcohol anymore, that’s chemical warfare!"

The timing was perfect. While Jade and Kilian started yelling at each other, Gideon casually tilted his hand beneath the counter and poured the rest of his drink onto the floor.

"I made it for the heavy drinkers," Jade laughed shamelessly. "I don’t think you qualify, Kilian."

"Nah, I’m not drunk yet!" Kilian slammed his glass down dramatically despite still coughing seconds ago. "Give me more! I’m stronger than him!"

’This buffoon.’

Gideon wanted to physically shove the vodka bottle into Kilian’s mouth just to shut him up before Jade got even more ideas.

Instead, Jade’s eyes lit up immediately. "Alright then." She clapped once excitedly. "Let’s make this a contest. Loser handles the winner’s paperwork for a week."

"I’m in!"

Kilian agreed so quickly it was painful.

Gideon took a slow breath. If he backed out now, these two would absolutely call him a coward forever.

"...Sure," he said reluctantly. "Do whatever you want."

Jade immediately moved into action, grabbing bottles and placing them down in front of both men before forcing Kilian to scoot aside so she could sit between them.

Gideon recognized the label instantly. It was Balkan 176 vodka.

"It’s weaker than the thing I gave you earlier," Jade explained casually while opening the bottle. "If we use absinthe for the contest, we’ll literally die."

Kilian, meanwhile, laughed like an idiot. "What do you mean by die? We’re built different!"

The man was already completely drunk. His face was red, his grin stupidly wide, and he looked way too proud of himself for someone who had almost died from one glass earlier.

"Well," Jade said while pouring the drinks, "this should be an easy win for you then, right?" She looked at Gideon teasingly.

Honestly, he already felt lightheaded before the contest even properly started.

Gideon genuinely couldn’t remember how many shots he drank after that. Most of the alcohol meant for him quietly ended up on the floor whenever Jade or Kilian got distracted, but even then it was still far too much for someone with his tolerance.

Jade, on the other hand, drank everything properly like some kind of monster.

At some point, one entire bottle disappeared. Then Kilian disappeared with it.

One second he was loudly arguing about how invincible he was, and the next he simply slid off the stool and collapsed onto the floor, dead asleep.

That left only the two of them.

"So?" Jade asked while resting her chin against her hand. She still looked completely sober somehow. "Want to continue?"

Gideon blinked slowly at her, barely processing the question. Everything felt warm. His body felt strangely light and fuzzy, like his muscles had melted into the chair.

His head floated pleasantly, all the stress from the day fading away into something distant and unimportant. Even the constant pressure sitting in the back of his mind felt muted now.

For some reason, everything also seemed funnier and brighter. Like the entire world had been made from rainbow and sprinkles,

"Seems not," Jade laughed softly after seeing his expression. "Come on. Let’s get you to your room. You’re wasted."