Seven Sins System Chapter 282. Drinking Competition (Patreon)

Seven Sins System Chapter 282. Drinking Competition 

I rolled my eyes in exasperation, his accusation pushing me further into a corner of annoyance. "It was just a misunderstanding, okay?" I countered, my words laced with an emphasis that underscored my frustration with his stubbornness.

*Clap!*

A resounding clap, sharp as a lightning strike, reverberated through the room, jolting both Luci and me from our charged standoff.

We turned to Lily. Her once-pristine hair cascaded in disarray. Lily's expression was weary. Ivy and the others, positioned at various points in the room, mirrored Lily's weariness.

Lily's voice cut through the charged atmosphere like a conductor's baton. "Let's talk about something else, shall we?" Her words were punctuated by the snap of her fingers. The room shifted, a whirlwind of reconfiguration that defied the havoc we had just wrought.

In the blink of an eye, the fragmented remnants of destruction were swept away, as if they had never existed. The furniture, once scattered in disarray, was reassembled with seamless precision, an orchestrated return to normalcy.

I settled into the plush cushions of the single sofa, my posture deliberately distant from Luci's. The expanse between us felt like an unspoken chasm. On the long couch nestled between us, Ivy, Lily, and my women had gathered. Their presence was a calming influence.

The servant, ever attentive to the shifting dynamics, moved gracefully around the room, laying out a spread of delectable snacks and a steaming pot of tea on the table. But the offerings remained untouched. Only the girls who were enjoyed them.

"Are they always like this?" whispered Julia to Lily who was sitting beside her.

Lily's lips curled into a sly smile. "Yes," she affirmed, her voice barely more than a murmur. "There is no secret that the lord of wrath and pride have a unique relationship."

Claire's gaze flicked to me, her eyes alight with a mixture of intrigue and surprise. "I never thought I could see another side of Dr— I mean, the prince," Claire remarked, her voice a delicate admixture of hesitance and curiosity.

"He looks a bit childish in this state, doesn't he?" Ivy's voice, was tinted with an unmistakable note of playful mischief.

Rachel leaned in beside Ivy. "But this makes him look more like—" Rachel's voice trailed off momentarily. "---human," she concluded.

Ivy cast a fleeting glance in her direction. "Oh... Please don't say that. He won't like it," Ivy cautioned.

I interjected, my voice carrying a hint of mock admonishment, "I heard that."

Rachel's voice tinged with an air of humility. "Sorry," she murmured, her head bowing slightly in deference.

"You know if both of you don't want to chat that's fine. But at least don't spoil the mood," Lily's voice, woven with a thread of admonishment, reached out to both Luci and me.

"I didn’t spoil the mood," Luci's retort carried an air of mild defiance.

“Tell it to him, not me,” I quipped in response.

"You guys look like little kids," Lily's voice, tinged with a note of annoyance.

Indeed, we acted like two big brats. But that couldn't be helped. I, the prince of the shadow realm, the lord of wrath, and he, the lord of pride, yet my dad just made us swallow our pride whole and trample it down. We were mad, but we simply couldn't do anything.

So here we were… acting like two brats.

“Right. I think we need something fun for this. So… how about wine? Girls?” Lily suggested.

Her suggestion gave me an idea.

I turned my gaze towards Luci, contemplating his reaction to the proposal. "How about a drinking competition to settle it?" I proposed with a quirk of my eyebrow.

Luci, however, seemed to respond with a faint, almost imperceptible frown. "That sounds lame, but okay," he conceded, his agreement tinged with an undercurrent of reluctance.

"Wait, how do you determine the winner?" Lily inquired the quizzical note in her voice mirroring the bewilderment etched across her features.

A smile played at the corners of my lips. "By shooting a target, of course. The one who misses is the loser," I responded, the words slipping out with casual nonchalance. It was a game that had become something of a tradition among the lords of the seven sins.

Evie's brows scrunched together in a mix of perplexity and curiosity. "Target?" she echoed, her voice laced with confusion. "Like, bullseye apple-on-the-head kinda target shooting?" she ventured.

“Yeah, kinda like that,” I confirmed with a nod, appreciating her attempt to decipher the unconventional notion. It wasn't exactly apple-on-the-head type of scenario, but it was close enough for the context.

Turning my attention to the servant, I issued my orders with a casual air. "You caught that, right? Let everyone know we're switching gears here. Bring out the wine and rustle up some shooting targets," I instructed, my tone a blend of nonchalance and expectancy.

The servant dutifully inquired, "What sort of shooting targets would you prefer, Your Highness?"

A wry grin tugged at the corners of my mouth as I leaned back in my seat. "Targets that are up to no good, the ones with a bit of life in them," I replied with a vague flourish of my hand. I could feel the need for distraction building within me, the desire to divert my mind from the heated exchange that had occurred moments ago.

The servant nodded with a respectful bow, smoothly absorbing my instructions like a well-rehearsed dance. With a nod of gratitude, he made his exit.

Julia's brows knitted together as she sought clarity in the midst of our curious conversation. "Up to no good, the ones with a bit of life in them?" she parroted, her expression contorted with a blend of intrigue and puzzlement. It was as if my words had opened the door to a realm of absurd possibilities she couldn't quite fathom.

I couldn't help the mischief that crept into my expression. "You'll get the full picture when you lay your eyes on them," I replied with a smirk, fully aware that the cryptic response only deepened the intrigue for her.