We Made The Man Drink The Wine
“However, these sense enhancing herbs are quite useful. You can tell what a person is thinking just by looking at their facial expressions.”
“Indeed. Normally, you wouldn’t be able to catch such subtle differences.”
The man that Sebastian was talking to tended to smile a lot, perhaps to hide any other emotion. However, as Sebastian said, he would occasionally react to certain words in strange ways.
And we could also hear him muttering. It really was a good thing that we ate the herbs.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Here are the wine glasses…”
“Thank you. Now, will you be so kind as to drink with us?”
Sebastian took one glass and filled it with wine from one of the bottles.
I then filled Sebastian and my cups from the other bottle.
“Let us make a toast then. To good medicine, and this great encounter… Is that fine?”
We raised our glasses into the air.
The man was sweating and staring at the wine in his cup. But Sebastian and I ignored him and drank our cups in one go.
“Ahhh. The duke certainly knows how to choose the best wine.”
“Yes. He is very knowledgeable about wine, and is very particular when it comes to smell, taste and color.”
The wine that the two of us had drunk… We had drunk it at the mansion as well. It was sweet and fragrant. Good enough that I was once again glad that they didn’t throw it away.
And while Sebastian and I smiled and talked, the man continued to stare at his cup and would not drink.
“Oh, is there a problem?”
“Perhaps you are not fond of wine?”
“In-indeed… In fact, I am not much of a drinker at all…uh…”
“I see. How very rude of me. To give wine to someone who does not drink…”
While Sebastian understood the reason, he continued to talk to the man.
Sebastian was scary because he could talk without his face changing even a little.
…I would not want to make an enemy of such a person.
The man was trying to get away by saying that he didn’t drink.
His expression seemed to relax a little, once he came up with that excuse, but Sebastian would not let him go so easily.
After he had chuckled happily, he suddenly looked troubled.
“…Only, His Grace went out of his way to select this one… But if you hate it so much, it cannot be helped. I will make a full report of it to His Grace. …It is unfortunate, as he so wished to have more people drink this wine…”
“We-we-well… Um, I… Can you not just tell him that I drank it…?”
“That would mean lying to him. And I cannot lie or deceive my master. I shall tell him what I saw and felt, exactly as it occurred.”
“Bu-but… What will the count say about this…!”
The man was looking at the wine frantically. The pressure Sebastian was applying was making it so that he could not think properly.
If the duke should know that he didn’t drink the wine… He might be so offended that there will be no contract after all… And what would the count do…? Such were the thoughts that must be on his mind.
I had an idea, as he would mutter to himself.
The man was being toyed with on the palm of Sebastian’s hand now.
…Sebastian. Do you realize how much you look like a villain now?
“Perhaps you could drink just one little sip? You really just have to lick it. And then I can truthfully tell my master, that Mr. Wood has indeed tasted the wine.”
“One…sip…? Very well… I can do that…”
Without noticing Sebastian’s expression, the man was led into drinking the wine.
I didn’t know how much of it you needed to drink to get sick, but the man had clearly decided that one sip was fine.
And so he tilted the glass and hesitantly brought it to his lips.
“…Mmm…glug… There. I drank it… Hah…”
It was not much, but he had indeed drunk some of the wine.
He let out a sigh as if he had just finished a great task.
“Yes, I have observed it. Now my report shall be a lot more positive.”
“Is-is that so? I’m glad to hear it. …Cough-cough!”
The man began to cough as Sebastian smiled back.
There is a saying about how sickness and health start with the mind… Perhaps as someone who knew, he thought it was already starting to have an effect…?
Or perhaps he was trying to get it out of him.
His body might be rejecting it, as he knew it was infected.
“So, you have drunk the wine.
“Ye-yes. Now we can continue with this contract…”
“No, that will not be necessary.”
While the man was now eager to move things alone, there was no way that Sebastian would ever create such a contract.
The man looked stunned when Sebastian revealed this.
Now the fun was about to start… For Sebastian and Mr. Ekenhart, that is.
“Mr. Wood… You know about the wine, don’t you? That this is no ordinary wine.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“This wine… Due to certain reasons, we had to investigate it… And it was determined to be wine that must not be drunk. The reason is simple. Because this wine is the cause of the spreading disease in Ractos.”
Sebastian suddenly started to explain about the wine.
But now that the man knew that someone else had made the connection, he immediately became very pale.