The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 333: Talking in Circles

Chapter 333: Talking in Circles

"Tsk... Tskkk... Look at you. Dahlia’s no longer around, so put away your fangs already," Fritz snorted at Zoran as he sat on the chair where Dahlia previously sat. "That includes your eyes. You’re creeping me out with those bloody eyes of yours. They don’t suit your ginger hair at all."

To Fritz’s surprise, Zoran was already alone by the time he returned. But despite this, the man still had the same appearance he usually had whenever Dahlia was in his sights. His long fangs and bright red eyes were still shining with hunger for his wife’s blood. To be fair, he was already showing great progress with his training. It was only unfortunate that they couldn’t demand too much time from their king so that they could have more sessions on a regular basis.

From where he sat, Fritz simply raised a brow as Zoran let out a groan, the new vampire’s eyes turning back to their original green color as his fangs retracted back into their regular length alongside his teeth.

"This is a pain, you know," Zoran grunted in annoyance. "It’s just so hard to control these things for prolonged periods of time."

"Why are you looking so disappointed?" Fritz questioned with a teasing grin. "Are you touched whenever you see your wife crying every session?"

"Why did you even come back here?" Zoran hissed at him.

"Hmm... Good question!" Fritz replied with a mischievous smile. He then turned to the door and hollered, "You can come in now..."

At his signal, a servant promptly entered with a cart full of alcohol. They weren’t the expensive kind, but they would serve their purpose, his opinion.

"What are those?" Zoran questioned. "Are you planning on giving me more medicine?"

"What? Absolutely not."

Fritz let out a light chuckle as he sent the servant away. Stretching out his leg toward the cart, he pulled the thing up towards him before grabbing one of the many bottles currently on it. He then tossed one out towards Zoran, the man quickly grabbing it from the air with a skeptical look.

"What is this?" Zoran squinted as he stared at the bottle in his hand. "Wait, is this wine?"

Fritz smirked as he grabbed his bottle from the cart and popped it open with a flick of his finger. "How about a celebration for all of your progress?"

"A celebration, eh," Zoran scoffed. "I don’t think my current progress warrants this much."

"Nonsense," Fritz waved him off. "There’s no better excuse to drink wine than for a friend doing his best."

With a smile, Fritz promptly took a sip from the bottle he currently had. In truth, Zoran was actually correct in that he just wanted to have an excuse to drink alcohol. He needed the practice, especially since he just wagered a bet against Laura that he could drink her under the table. He was pretty confident that he could do it too...

Well, that was until he realized that the woman he bet against could hold her liquor pretty well.

"You’re not usually one for alcohol though," Zoran dubiously pointed out even as he began taking a drink from his own bottle. "What brought this on?"

"Ah... Couldn’t you just accept that I just wanted to drink with you?" Fritz whined as he took another sip from his drink. "There’s nothing to question here except the fact that I’m having a drink with a friend. And what’s wrong with that, exactly?"

Again, a small lie on his part. If Fritz was being honest, the only reason he wanted to drink with Zoran was because he determined that the man was the safest person to drink with. He couldn’t exactly ask His Majesty or anyone else to come and drink with him, or else Laura would learn that he was trying to increase his alcohol tolerance before the big day. And who knows what he’d do if Laura decided that her own tolerance still needed work.

Why, she’d probably bury him in alcohol before he could finish a single bottle.

"You know what? Fine, keep your secrets," Zoran sighed as he downed his first bottle. "I needed a drink anyway."

"Right?" Fritz laughed as he followed his friend’s lead and finished off his first bottle. "There’s no reason we can’t have a drink in the middle of the day. We’re friends, so we can enjoy stuff like this for no other reason than just wanting to hang out."

Zoran scoffed at his words even as he opened his second bottle. Likewise, Fritz began to go through his own bottles as they casually drank their own drinks. It wasn’t much, but he was sure that they’d slowly make their way through the wine bottle he had brought to the room.

Sure enough, one bottle became two. Then two became four. Eventually, Fritz started to feel the regret of wanting to drink in the first place as he began to feel the effects of his alcohol consumption. In front of him, however, it would seem that Zoran was also starting to regret his actions as he swayed to and fro in his seat.

"You know, I feel funny whenever I see Dahlia," Zoran slurred out, a bottle still in hand as he babbled. "I can’t explain it, but I don’t like to see her crying whenever she’s here."

"Oh? That’s good progress, right?" Fritz pointed out. He was getting drunk, but he at least still had control over himself.

"It’s just... It’s just weird, alright?" Zoran grumbled as he took another sip. "Dahlia... That woman makes me feel funny... I know she’s my wife though, so maybe that’s that?"

"I suppose so..."

Fritz couldn’t help but chuckle at her friend’s words. It would seem that despite the lack of memories, his emotions for her still shone through. Well, that at least gave them something to work with in terms of trying to get his memories back.

"How about you though?"

Fritz raised a brow at Zoran. "How about myself?"

"You still don’t have a woman in your life," Zoran clarified himself as best he could despite his slurred words. "When are you ever going to try and find someone?"

"When it suits me," Fritz quickly deflected, the alcohol in his system still thankfully not being enough to stop his quick thinking. "I just don’t like to waste my efforts like that."

"Or you just don’t want to find someone," Zoran scoffed. "What? Are you disgusted by women or something?"

"You know? Maybe I am," Fritz cheekily replied back. "Who knows? Maybe I’m actually attracted to men?"

Immediately, Zoran looked at him with doubt, and Fritz couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his friend’s ridiculous face.

"W-What?" Zoran frowned. "What’s so funny?"

"You should’ve seen the look on your face!" Fritz laughed. "Did you really believe that I was attracted to men somehow?"

"No? And stop talking in circles," Zoran glared at him, his head swaying from all the alcohol. "I asked you a question. Answer."

Fritz raised a brow at his friend’s sharpness. It would seem that despite being drunk, he still had enough wits on him to see through him.

Letting out a sigh, he took a big swig of his alcohol before turning to face Zoran. If he was going to answer this, he at least wanted to not remember doing so at the end of the day.

"You know, you’re too smart for your own good sometimes," Fritz shook his head as he opened a brand new bottle and took another swig. "Fine then. Want to know why I haven’t found a woman yet? It’s because... I don’t want to get hurt."

"Huh?"

Fritz ignored Zoran’s confused expression as he took another sip from his drink. There was something here, but he didn’t want to share it. But then again, what was the harm anymore?

"I don’t want to get hurt by loving someone only for them to disappear on me again," Fritz explained himself with a lamenting tone. "I don’t want to go through that again. But then again, things could change. Maybe I’ll find someone, but I don’t want to put in the effort myself. If things happen, then I’ll take it. But otherwise..."

Fritz opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out as he instead finished off the bottle of wine he had in his hands. At that moment, his vision was blurring and the world was spinning. He couldn’t even see Zoran anymore as he began to sway in his seat. Then again, he could only assume that his friend had already passed out based on the fact that he couldn’t even hear him anymore.

"H-Heh... Guess I’ll see you on the other side..."

With a soft thud, Fritz allowed himself to slip off his seat and lay down on the floor. He tried his best to keep his eyes awake, but he failed miserably as darkness took him. Still, at least he saw that he managed to finish off seven bottles before he passed out.