Sally, Teresa, and Priscilla watched Alice and Rinnie slew gibberish and laugh together as if they understood their alien language. They drank wine moderately, but they didn't think that Rinnie was a lightweight.
Now, Rinnie somehow became a totally different person. They were already used to Alice that whenever their big sister started drinking, no one could stop her anymore. Now, those two were drunk talking as they continued drinking inside the room.
"Where did sister Cora go?" Teresa turned to Sally as Cora just disappeared after changing.
Sally let out a sigh as she peeled her eyes away from Rinnie and Alice to Teresa. "She went to find Brother Hugo. I'm sure he will come by later to see Rinnie. He will surely throw a huge fit if he sees Rinnie in this state. So she said she will keep him busy."
"Can we just blame sister Alice?" Priscilla murmured while staring at Rinnie's beet-red face, and then Alice. "She can protect herself against brother Hugo, after all. But I'm sure I'll be incapacitated if Brother Hugo pulled an aura to me."
"I'm scared," Teresa whispered with a sigh as they regretted letting Alice take charge. They had all forgotten their eldest sister's habit whenever she drinks since it had been a while. She raised a brow when Sally hopped out of the chair she was sitting on.
"Where are you going?" she asked curiously.
"I don't think I should sleep here tonight." Sally cast her two little sisters a dead look. "Even when I can fight brother Hugo's will, it'll be different if he is truly pissed."
"I'm coming with you since I need to wake up early." Priscilla was quick to stand up while Teresa also followed. The latter looked back at Rinnie and Alice, who were sitting from across each other, chatting happily on their own.
"She will be fine, right?" Teresa inquired as she followed her sisters.
"Rinnie will be fine. I don't know about sister Alice, though." Sally rolled her eyes. "Let's just hope sister Cora will get a hold of brother Hugo and keep him busy all night. But just in case she couldn't, it's best to avoid being caught in the crossfire."
"Right… Sister Alice is also someone who doesn't hold back when drunk." Priscilla muttered as they left the room without informing Rinnie and Alice.
It would be a miracle if Hugo didn't throw a huge fit tonight if he found out about Rinnie. And that was what they all believed.
*****
Meanwhile, Hugo freshened up after enjoying a drink with Daniel. He heard his sisters would stay with Rinnie tonight, so he planned to visit her tomorrow.
Standing in front of the window with a glass of wine in his hand, a shallow breath slipped past his lips.
"Doesn't she miss me?" he wondered with a frown before chugging down his drink as he felt neglected. "She was worried that I will be busy once I returned to this damn place, but it ended up she is the one who became busy."
Hugo walked towards the chair around the circular table and perched on it, leaning back while tilting his head back. "Should I see her again?"
Last night, he went to see Rinnie in the middle of the night just because he missed her. Maybe, he thought, she would still be awake if he visited her later.
"I should do that." He nodded as he had already decided. Although his action made it look like he was having a secret love affair, that was the only time he didn't have to fight for attention since his sisters were asleep.
So, Hugo waited patiently for time to pass. While doing so, he read a few important documents for tomorrow to lessen his workload; even though he knew there would be no end to these documents, as they would just keep on coming.
"I will strangle Ivo to death if he doesn't appear tomorrow to help me," he grumbled grumpily.
Time passed by slowly, but he used a lifetime of patience to wait until the night grew darker and silent. When he was certain his sisters were probably asleep by this time, Hugo slammed his hand against the table with a document underneath it.
"I hope she's still awake," he uttered as he got up from his seat and strutted his way out.
There was only one room the princesses would stay inside the inner palace and that was Alice's room. So, Hugo went straight there and soon reached it. Once he was in front of Alice's room, he didn't knock, but carefully opened the door.
He peeked his head in, a bit surprised that the room was still brightly lit, unlike the hallway. Because of the light, his eyes immediately caught Rinnie and Alice's figure.
"What the…?" his brows furrowed, noticing that it was just Alice and Rinnie inside the room. His older sister was sitting across from Rinnie, but it seemed she already passed out as her face was buried on the table.
Meanwhile, Rinnie was hiccuping while cupping her cheeks with both her hands. She turned her head in his direction after a second, smiling until her eyes narrowed as soon as she saw him.
"Hugh…" she called and hiccuped, assisting herself up.
"Hey…!" Hugo panicked as she staggered, rushing inside like a bolt of lightning, and appeared beside her. He arrived right on time as Rinnie nearly fell to her side.
"Oh.. *hic* hehe!" Rinnie giggled as she held his arms, gazing up to see his worried face. "Hugo!"
"Rinnie…" his eyes darkened as he glanced at Alice, the culprit of why Rinnie was intoxicated. He ground his teeth, making his sharp jaw tighten. But before madness could overtake him, Rinnie took a leap. She flung her slim arms around him, clutching his back as she rested the side of her head on his chest.
"Hugh! I missed you~!" she hiccuped while he froze under her embrace. "You are so, so big, like a giant! Why didn't I see you the whole day if you're this big?!"