I Became the Mother-in-law of the Regretful Female Lead

As soon as the meal ended, Vanessa hurriedly disappeared with her son, as if escaping.

“Lady Winder, if you still have time, how about a cup of tea? There’s something I wish to discuss privately…”

“I’m too busy for that. Come now, Jeremyon! Let’s go! Quickly!”

“Mother, we have plenty of ti— mmm.”

Covering Jeremyon s mouth to stop his oblivious interference, she quickly quickened her pace.

Tristan watched the scene with an unreadable expression.

That subtle look on his face filled Lilliana with unease.

‘He’s going to say something strange again!’

Hurriedly, she grabbed Tristan’s arm and pulled him in the opposite direction.

“Let’s go, brother!”

She had no intention of repeating the uncomfortable situation from the earlier meal.

‘If I had known Mother would be with Jeremyon… I wouldn’t have bothered greeting them.’

Being distracted by Vanessa and only noticing his presence late was a mistake. It had led to such an awkward situation.

Driven by that worry, she had impulsively dragged him away, but fortunately, Tristan followed obediently.

Of course, that didn’t mean she could completely relax.

Even to the last moment, Lilliana kept glancing behind them. Once Vanessa and Jeremyon were completely out of sight, she stopped walking.

“Why did you do that earlier, really!”

She shot a sharp glare at her brother. It was her attempt at a fearsome expression, but naturally, Tristan, unfazed, simply asked back nonchalantly.

“Hm?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You suggested a meal for no reason…”

“Lily, is it wrong for me to suggest a meal with the Countess of Winder?”

“Of course, it is! You said it was a meal, but you were really testing Jeremyon, weren’t you? There’s no need for that…”

When Tristan responded with a slight smile instead of words, Lilliana muttered in frustration.

“…We’ve already broken up. Just imagine how uncomfortable Jeremyon must have been, being tested by the brother of a woman he no longer has feelings for…”

As she rambled on, Tristan, who had been quietly listening, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Who said he has no feelings?”

“Well, that’s…! Ugh, forget it. Do I have to spell this out? Anyway, don’t do that again!”

Recalling an embarrassing memory, Lilliana’s pale face turned beet red in an instant.

Not wanting to show her flustered state, she sprinted ahead, distancing herself from Tristan.

Watching her run off, Tristan shrugged.

It seemed his sister was under some grand misunderstanding… but there was no reason to correct her.

He followed Lilliana at a leisurely pace, speaking soothingly.

“Alright, Lily. I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. Cheer up.”

If he cleared up the misunderstanding here, it might have helped the progress of Lilliana and Jeremyon’s relationship…

But he had no intention of acknowledging a man who couldn’t even properly express his feelings as a match for his sister.

Especially not if that man was the new son of the woman he himself loved.

“Let’s go together, Lily.”

“Catch up if you can!”

Tristan soon caught up with his younger sister. At the same time, he wore a smile that was difficult to read.

About a week had passed since the nerve-wracking confrontation.

During that time, I had been constantly worried about Jeremyon as a mother. I feared that his encounter with Lilliana might have caused him to lose his mind even more.

But contrary to my concerns, Jeremyon seemed to have been improving since that day.

“Did you sleep well last night, Mother?”

“Yes.”

Look at that.

He’s speaking to me first, without me having to initiate the conversation!

Jeremyon had begun greeting me again, much like he did before the breakup.

I gave him a long look, up and down.

Unlike the previous week when he was a mess, today he appeared immaculate. And it was early in the morning, no less.

“Where are you going dressed like that so early?”

“I received a report about an issue at the diamond mine. It seems like a minor problem, but I’m going to check on it.”

Hmm.

I nodded in satisfaction.

That was indeed the right attitude for a businessman.

Of course, the diamond mine was only a supplementary source of income for the Winder family. Our main focus was on manufacturing.

It was my late husband who had been quick to embrace the rapid advancements of science and invested heavily in it.

He built factories and focused on mass production, which allowed the Winder family to become one of the wealthiest in the empire almost overnight.

Even now, Winder still concentrates mainly on manufacturing…

‘But there’s no reason to ignore other profitable ventures.’

We had expanded into various industries and were earning substantial income from our supplementary businesses as well.

The diamond mine was one of those businesses where Jeremyon had been putting in a considerable amount of effort.

‘So that’s why he’s decided to take action himself.’

Not long after his heartbreak, Jeremyon had already recovered and was even planning to go out.

It seemed that Jeremyon was much stronger on the inside than I had thought.

‘Of course, if that’s not the case… he might just be forcing himself to endure it.’

Whatever it was, I hoped Jeremyon was hurting less.

“Then, Mother, I’ll be going. Let’s have breakfast together tomorrow morning.”

“Let’s do that. Take care.”

I saw Jeremyon off as he left, and so the day began.

To get straight to the point, the problem at the mine turned out to be something very minor.

“If this issue arises again, just report it to me and handle it the same way.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Jeremyon quickly gave orders to the site manager, then let out a quiet sigh.

He calmly fixed the strands of hair that had been blown out of place. The early morning wind had messed it up.

After checking that his hair was neat again, he chuckled dryly.

There was no one to impress anyway, so what was the point?

‘…I wonder if Lilliana is still sleeping.’

Ever since that nerve-racking meeting a week ago, Jeremyon had undergone a significant change.

It was the awareness of his own feelings.

He had finally come to admit it: that he liked Lilliana.

To be honest, Jeremyon hadn’t been pleased about the encounter a week ago either.

His stepmother, his former fiancée, and her brother—what kind of strange combination was that?

So when Duke Locke suggested that ridiculous group meal, Jeremyon had been determined to refuse.

But the words that actually came out of his mouth were…

‘Since it seems to be fate, how about we all have a meal together?’

‘Sounds good. Let’s eat.’

Even while feeling Vanessa’s sharp gaze, Jeremyon had responded that way. He didn’t even know why he’d said it, but he soon realized.

A gathering that should have been uncomfortable.

Yet Jeremyon’s heart raced throughout the meal.

He was genuinely excited to see Lilliana, someone he thought he would never meet again after their breakup.

Even when Tristan kept testing him during the meal… it didn’t matter, because simply seeing her made him happy.

So how could he not admit it?

That he had feelings for her.

Once he defined his confusing emotions, he actually felt relieved. It helped that his future path became clearer too.

‘This feeling… I’ll have to let it go.’

This love was entirely one-sided.

So it was right to give up.

From the moment he made that decision, Jeremyon had been trying to return to his usual self.

He buried himself in work to erase thoughts of her, and even now, it was part of that effort.

‘I’ll return and review those documents that are due by tomorrow.’

Just as Jeremyon checked the time and was about to head back, a site manager rushed over, sweating profusely.

“My lord! You need to come quickly!”

“Wasn’t the problem already resolved?”

“N-no! It’s not that… at the mine…”

With a deeply flustered expression, he continued his report.

“They’ve discovered a blue diamond!”

It was the first time Jeremyon had heard of a colored diamond.

He hurriedly followed the manager.

And the gemstone he saw there…

It was the same color as Lilliana’s eyes, a clear blue that seemed to capture the sky on a bright day.