"You get what I mean? Like, can you imagine eating pasta with chopsticks?! IT'S RIDICULOUS! That's the same thing with chocolate ramen! YOU JUST DON'T COMBINE TWO GOOD THINGS HOPING IT WILL STILL MAKE SOMETHING GOOD! Hey! HEY! Are you still listening?"
Inna waved her hand frantically in front of Raghnall as she paused her drunken rant. But she didn't even let him give enough time to answer as she went on again about her odd discoveries and ideas. Her hooded eyes tried to focus on him while she tried her best to talk probably without slurring.
"Like, Stuart said it wasn't that bad. But boy believe me when I told you that I gagged the moment I tasted it. I also couldn't believe they got green tea ramen. What the heck is up with Japan? But hey, y'now, I love this thing. What do you call this thing?"
Inna swayed a little as she tried to reach for the plate in front of her. But her arms were swaying so much that it missed the plate by a large margin so Raghnall decided to take it instead and carefully placed it in front of her.
He sighed when he saw the mess Inna was making while trying to put the piece of chicken in her mouth. He knew that it was useless talking to a drunk person but he couldn't help but answer her.
"It's breaded garlic milk chicken baked in flower oils. It's a famous dish in this restaurant."
Inna didn't seem to hear his answer as she focused hard on trying to bite the piece of chicken that seemed to always get away from her grasp.
But it seems like her hand was going against her.
It was not letting her have the chicken.
She wanted the chicken, dammit!
Stupid hand!
Because of her anger, she bit her hand hard but when she felt the stinging pain, she instantaneously screamed.
She still didn't realize that her hand wasn't the one responsible for making her unable to eat. It was because she was swaying left and right in her seat that made it seem like her hands were doing it themselves.
Raghnall erupted into laughter when he saw her bite herself but when she did it again, enough to draw blood, he decided to take action.
He went to Inna's side and grabbed her hand, preventing her from biting it.
"Okay, that's enough now."
He casted a healing spell on her slightly bleeding hand as he tried to appease her.
When Inna finally calmed down, he finally let go of her and returned to his seat. But when he turned his back, Inna abruptly grabbed the wine bottle and took a big swig. When he noticed, Raghnall immediately grabbed the wine bottle before she could drink anymore.
But when he shook it with his hands, he realized that the bottle was now empty.
"You--! You just drank Tiger's Bane! A whole bottle of it! Do you realize that?! Just one cup was enough to make you disoriented but now, you actually drank the whole bottle!"
He believed her when she said that she drinks wine. But he didn't expect her to go down with just a cup. Tiger's Bane was one of the most lethal and strong wines, enough to tame a tiger with just a bottle hence the name. But for someone who bragged that she had a high tolerance when it comes to drinking, it was surprising for Raghnall to see her go down with just a cup. Normally it would take him about two bottles to actually feel drunk and he thought that Inna would be the same as him but boy, was he wrong. So, he could only bite his tongue as he endured the pains of taking care of a drunk.
"Inna, come now, drink some water."
He signaled for the waiter to bring in a glass of water. And after a few moments, the water finally arrived.
But no matter how hard Raghnall was convincing her to drink some water, Inna had trouble understanding him. All she saw was the world spinning around in circles and Raghnall mumbling some stuff. Then, suddenly, everything started becoming clear. Too clear.
Her senses became overly heightened and sensitive that the people talking quietly behind her began to sound like they were screaming instead. And to Raghnall who was just speaking across her, he sounded like he was screaming right by her ear.
And she didn't know why but it suddenly made her angry beyond relief.
"HEY! WHY DO YOU KEEP SHOUTING? HAVE YOU NO RESPECT?!"
Raghnall's eyes widened with shock at her loud holler that echoed across the whole place. And in a second, the restaurant was silenced and they instinctively looked around to see the origin of the noise.
Raghnall sighed loudly as he felt a headache form. He shouldn't have trusted her with drinking. She was a pain back when she wasn't drunk but now that she was, she's in a whole different level of being a pain in his life.
But why can't he find it in him to stay away from her?
He sighed again as he tried to calm her down. But the more he tried to appease her, like a baby unreasonably crying, she just kept getting louder and louder until finally, Raghnall had no choice but to clamp her mouth shut with his hand. Using his magic, he moved his chair to sit beside her and he leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Inna, for the love of all that is living, please shut up. I don't want us to be kicked out by a place that Favian partly owns."
He whispered to her ear at the lowest possible volume he could muster.
Inna seemed to calm down under his grasp and she now spoke calmly through his hand.
"But… but everyone was screaming at me… even you were screaming…"
Her voice held a hidden whimper as her eyes started to water. And when Raghnall heard it, he couldn't help but internally panic.
Was she seriously about to cry?!
Seeing the water in her eyes, he tried to rack his brain on what to do.
But before he could try something, a few loud obnoxious voices distracted him.
"Well, I've never seen a woman show such a disgraceful behavior in public."
"I never expected it from a student from that prestigious academy."
"That girl?! A student from THAT academy? How are you so sure that they weren't just lying?"
"I heard it from a few girls as I came in. Something about a crazy student with bells on her hair partnered with a man with a necklace on his head were an embarrassment to their academy."
"Seriously, do they teach students to behave in such an unruly manner in that academy?"
"Maybe the academy doesn't accept geniuses but crazy people instead."
"Hah! No wonder that troublemaking royal brat got tossed in there.
At the table behind Raghnall, the two men laughed loudly. And unbeknownst to them, their action started to turn the wheels of fate.