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

As Tristan greeted me with ease, I found myself freezing unconsciously.

This was the first time I’d seen his face since the victory banquet.

I wasn’t sure what to say or how to react.

I wasn’t ready to face him, not even slightly.

A myriad of words surfaced in my mind only to vanish just as quickly.

Why did the surroundings have to be cloaked in darkness, just like that day? As I looked at him standing in the moonlight, memories of the balcony came flooding back.

My heart pounded with nervous energy.

After taking a few steps back from my guard and a long silence, I finally managed to utter a single sentence.

“How did you… get here?”

As if he’d anticipated my question, he smiled, his eyes crinkling softly.

“Lilliana mentioned that the opening was soon, and she regretted that she couldn’t make it.”

Only then did I understand the situation.

‘So that’s what was bothering me back then…’

When I told Lilliana not to follow, there’d been something oddly suspicious about her tone.

‘I thought she might send someone in her place, but…’

I never thought it would be Tristan.

I answered curtly.

“That doesn’t mean you had to come uninvited. Especially at this late hour.”

“How could I not, when my one and only sister was feeling down? It’s my duty as her brother.”

An excuse. There was no need to verify it to know it was just an excuse.

We both knew that, yet Tristan continued speaking without a hint of hesitation.

“And besides, I’m also a business partner, am I not?”

Tristan took two steps closer to me.

“I couldn’t miss such a joyful occasion.”

He extended a bouquet he’d been holding in his arms.

“Congratulations, Vanessa. The time has finally come for all your hard work to bear fruit.”

The bouquet, a mixture of white and yellow flowers, was wrapped neatly.

Seeing Tristan offering the flowers to me made my mouth go dry.

‘…Reject it. Just reject it.’

Accepting it would only make me feel even more unsettled, so I waved my hand in refusal.

“This sort of personal gift… isn’t necessary.”

“I’m giving it as a business partner. There’s no other meaning to it. So, take it.”

“Oh!”

Ignoring my refusal, he almost threw it at me, and I instinctively caught the bouquet.

“No need for any words of thanks.”

Ugh. I wasn’t even planning on thanking him.

He smiled down at me with that shameless expression.

I felt like I was getting swept up in his pace as soon as we met.

‘How did things end up like this?’

As I sighed in frustration, he spoke up.

“There’s no need to look so openly displeased. It’s not as if I came here without any reason.”

Tristan took two more steps toward me and bent down slightly.

I wasn’t particularly short, yet he had to lean down quite a bit for our heads to meet at the same level.

It struck me how much he’d grown from the boy who used to be smaller than me.

He whispered in my ear.

“I heard the news from my informant first—just as you predicted, it seems the war between the Kingdom of Chelais and the Kingdom of Meliden has finally ended. So I immediately dispatched a trade ship.”

“Is that really—?”

The astonishing news made me turn my head on instinct.

In that brief moment, our faces were dangerously close, close enough for our noses to nearly brush.

“Oh.”

As I hurriedly stepped back, he shrugged with a disappointed look. Unlike my surprised reaction, he continued speaking calmly.

“Yes, it’s true.”

It was certainly good news.

‘If the trade ship has just set off… we’ll be able to start on the next project as soon as it returns.’

The ingredients for the perfumes imported through trade were truly unique. They allowed me to create a much wider variety of fragrances.

I stayed silent for a moment, mentally reviewing my upcoming plans once more.

Tristan, watching me quietly, came to stand beside me.

“Now that I think of it, I’ve always been curious.”

“Curious about what?”

“If it were simply about making money, there are plenty of easier ways for someone with your skills to achieve that, Vanessa.”

He leaned casually against the wall as he continued.

“So I wondered… why would you take on such a risky endeavor like this?”

Why perfume, of all things?

The answer to that question was complex.

‘Sure, it was a new market with little competition… but that wasn’t the only reason.’

After seven years of living under the label of a villainess, I was undeniably worn out.

Sometimes, it was almost amusing to watch people who didn’t know anything about me be fooled by the persona I’d created and point fingers at me.

The truth is, if they closed their eyes, they wouldn’t even know who I was.

They wouldn’t remember my reputation or the biases against me.

I think that’s why I was drawn to fragrance.

It was one of the few things one could appreciate even with closed eyes, free from any prejudice.

‘I wanted to share with others how captivating a scent can be—not just for me but for everyone.’

That was why I’d chosen this difficult path over an easier one.

Someday… I hoped that people would come to enjoy this new culture of perfume through this place.

Even the name of the boutique reflected this wish.

New Silhouette.

It was my very first shop, created entirely through my own efforts.

Not only did it signify a new beginning in my life, but it was also the first step in bringing a new “Silhouette” to the empire through fragrance.

‘But… there’s no need to tell Tristan all of this.’

I didn’t want to reveal such a vulnerable part of myself to him.

“There’s no particular reason. I simply thought this path made more sense than entering a market already filled with competitors.”

“Haha, for a ‘simple reason,’ you seem to have poured a lot of affection into it.”

Despite my careful words, Tristan didn’t seem to believe me at all.

‘Is he perceptive, or does he just know me too well?’

I thought I’d grown skilled at lying, but in front of him, everything seemed exposed.

He lifted himself off the wall and took a step closer, speaking in a voice tinged with regret.

“It might seem hard now… but one day, I hope you’ll be honest with me, Vanessa.”

“…”

“I’ve been curious about how you spent all that lost time.”

He finished speaking and gave me a gentle smile.

“In any case, congratulations once again, Vanessa. You’ve finally achieved your dream. Here, please accept this.”

Tristan reached into the inner pocket of his thin coat and handed me something.

The silver surface of the object gleamed under the moonlight.

Realizing what it was, I froze.

“Unlike the bouquet, I’m giving you this with a particular meaning. I’ve never forgotten our old promise.”

In my stiff, unmoving hand, he placed the gift.

It was… an elegant pocket watch.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

Without any further words, Tristan departed simply, leaving me feeling conflicted as I watched his back.

‘It’s a promise from over a decade ago… yet he remembered it.’

Back when he was still studying abroad in the Kingdom of Onz, we’d once shared our dreams with each other.

—

‘So, Vanessa, what do you want to do after leaving the Kingdom of Onz?’

‘I… I suppose it may sound silly to you, but I’d like to start my own business. Succeed or fail, I want to make my own choices.’

‘Ah, a business, huh?’

‘Yeah. Here in the palace, I’ve never handled anything entirely on my own. It’s a bit absurd, isn’t it? It seems so trivial.’

At that time, I feared he’d laugh at me. I tried not to show it, but my self-esteem was nearly nonexistent.

Unlike me, a nominal princess, he’d been born into power. I couldn’t help but feel that, in his eyes, I was probably laughable.

But Tristan simply replied with a bright smile.

‘Then I’ll give you a watch this big! Time is gold for a businessperson, after all!’

‘What? You can’t even carry something like that around.’

‘Ah, you’re right. Then… a pocket watch! I’ll get you a pocket watch that suits you, Vanessa! Then you can carry it with you every day and, every now and then, think of me. It’s a promise!’

—

I don’t recall what else we talked about that day. I had always thought of that promise as a playful joke.

‘…Yet he remembered it even after more than ten years.’

A sharp ache spread in my chest, like a needle prickling at my heart.

I felt both grateful and resentful toward him for keeping that promise.

Because the promise I’d truly hoped he would keep all those years… wasn’t this one—it was something else entirely.