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

Several days had passed since then.

Lilliana waited in the drawing room of Count Winder’s residence, her heart racing, for Vanessa to arrive.

‘Last time, I came without notice and ended up just running into Jeremyon.:

It seemed that Jeremyon misunderstood, but Lilliana’s visit here was solely to meet Vanessa.

She had no desire to see Jeremyon, not even a fraction.

‘I was planning to show her the finished dress that Lady Winder chose for me and deliver the wine..’

She had come at a bad time when Vanessa was absent, only to have a verbal spar with Jeremyon before leaving.

So today, she contacted Vanessa in advance, claiming she had an important matter to discuss, ensuring she would visit when Jeremyon was not around.

‘She should be here soon.’

Lilliana checked her appearance once more.

Although it felt slightly lacking compared to when Vanessa had styled her, she had put thought into her look based on Vanessa’s advice, so she didn’t look bad.

After that, she checked the items she had brought.

‘I’ve prepared the snacks… Yes, good. I definitely brought the wine that my brother asked me to deliver.’

The preparations were perfect. Now all she had to do was greet Vanessa with a smile.

At that moment, the servant gently opened the door, and a dazzlingly beautiful woman entered.

‘Indeed, Lady Winder… you are beautiful today as well.’

She had prepared some words, but Lilliana completely forgot them, overwhelmed by Vanessa’s presence.

The rich purple hair and the deep violet dress harmonized beautifully. The colorful jewelry, which would look messy on someone else, was completely overshadowed by her striking features and went unnoticed.

‘Wow…’

Truly, Vanessa was flawlessly perfect.

It was in that moment of admiration that Lilliana found herself speechless.

“Yes, I received your letter. You said you had something to discuss.”

Without any formal greeting, Vanessa got straight to the point. This was typical of her, and Lilliana thought it was somehow cool again.

“Yes. It’s nothing else but to show you the dresses you gifted me. I was taught that when receiving such generous gifts, one should show the wearing of them, so I came to visit you in person.”

“Hmph, it seems you received proper education. There are still a few points that could be improved, but it suits you well enough.”

“It’s suits me!” Lilliana smiled brightly at Vanessa’s compliment.

“I want to express my gratitude once again. So, actually, I brought a small gift to repay your kindness…”

As Lilliana opened her bag to take out wine along with some snacks, she hesitated for a moment.

‘Should I give this now?’

If she handed over the wine Tristan had given her, Vanessa would surely be very pleased.

It was a much rarer wine than what she had given before. It was something she could never have obtained if the Locke family hadn’t focused on trade.

‘But…’

For some reason, Lilliana didn’t want to give this wine to Vanessa.

It wasn’t because it was precious.

After this meeting, she couldn’t think of an excuse to visit Vanessa again.

‘If I give this now, I won’t have a reason to visit Mrs. Winder again.’

Her contemplation didn’t last long.

Lilliana withdrew her hand from the wine and only took out the snacks.

“Mother, please try this.”

“Hmph. Who exactly is your mother? And haven’t you broken up with my son yet? I gave you a whole fortnight!”

Startled by the sudden reprimand, Lilliana momentarily panicked but quickly regained her composure. It was because the translation device in her brain was working hard.

‘Mrs. Winder is quite… subtly adorable. She seems to feel guilty about receiving gifts.’

Lilliana presented the elegantly packaged snacks to Vanessa once more.

“This is really delicious. My brother sourced it from overseas. Actually, he mentioned to bring other wines along as well…”

Pausing for a moment, Lilliana continued slowly.

“Do you know Rubert di Amore? I haven’t received it through the servant yet, so I’ll bring it next time I visit.”

Vanessa’s eyes visibly flickered at the mention of Rubert di Amore.

It was understandable. Rubert di Amore was something that was simply not available for purchase.

The only reason Tristan could obtain it was due to years of effort by his aides to scout foreign auction markets.

It meant that if the family’s main business hadn’t been trade, it would have been nearly impossible to even attempt to acquire it.

‘The Winder family isn’t active in the trade business, so it would be difficult for her to obtain that wine.:

Thus, Lilliana knew that Vanessa would react this way.

However, facing Vanessa’s trembling red eyes filled with excitement, she felt a pang of conscience.

Because what she had said was a lie.

‘I’m sorry, Mrs. Winder. The wine is in my hands right now… but I felt I had no choice but to do this, or I wouldn’t have another chance to see you.’

Fortunately, Vanessa seemed quite happy with just the snacks.

The atmosphere in the parlor was surprisingly cheerful.

It was a relief that Tristan’s hobby was collecting fine wines. Starting from the first encounter at the wine shop with Vanessa, their relationship had progressed so much.

‘Come to think of it… why does my brother collect wine?’

Tristan was personally interested in wine to the extent of running a wine shop, but when thinking about it, he didn’t actually enjoy it himself.

She had hardly ever seen him take a sip, claiming that it was hard to focus on work when drunk.

‘How strange. Collecting without even drinking. Is he actually gathering it to gift to someone?’

This question, lacking much significance, occupied her mind for a moment but quickly evaporated.

She was simply happy to be in such a warm atmosphere with Vanessa.

Lilliana and Vanessa were completely unaware, but there was someone secretly watching them.

It was Jeremyon’s long-time aide.

He had peeked into the parlor, which was usually filled with silence, because it was unusually noisy, and had witnessed the two of them together.

‘Why are the lady and Princess Locke so amicably conversing? Something feels off. I need to report this to the Count immediately…!’

He waited for Jeremyon to return to the mansion and reported a few hours later.

“…I witnessed the lady and Princess Locke together.”

Crack.

The sound of a fountain pen’s nib breaking was heard.

The aide, feeling tense, observed Jeremyon’s expression.

His tightly shut mouth conveyed his emotions.

Meanwhile, Jeremyon felt particularly troubled today.

A combination of his stepmother and his former contract lover.

He couldn’t understand the situation, but it was clear that anger was rising within him.

‘There shouldn’t be any connection between the two. It’s unlikely that the introverted Lilliana approached my stepmother first.’

This meant it was highly likely that his stepmother had approached her first.

At that moment, he felt as if some pieces of a puzzle were fitting together in his mind.

Lilliana, who had broken up just two weeks ago.

Vanessa with her.

And on the day of our separation, Lilliana’s expression, which had looked strangely confident compared to the suffering caused by debt before.

The discomfort I had felt throughout merged into one, suggesting new possibilities.

‘Could it be… that my stepmother urged Lilliana to break up with me?’

It was Jeremyon’s principle to verify any doubts immediately.

He promptly ordered his assistant to find out about Vanessa’s recent activities.

It didn’t take long for him to learn that Vanessa had issued checks worth 10 billion to give to Lilliana.

* * *

All secrets were revealed.

It was clear that Lilliana had broken up with me because of Vanessa.

Anger surged up. My jaw muscles trembled with excitement.

“……”

Lilliana was the woman I had finally found.

The only person who had what I wanted while also needing what I could give.

Yet, Vanessa took her away from me without my consent.

Unable to contain his boiling rage, Jeremyon went straight to Vanessa’s chamber. He knocked fiercely on the door and shoved aside the servant guarding the entrance.

“You’re being violent, Jeremyon.”

Hearing the commotion, Vanessa opened the door and revealed herself.

Her expression was so calm and brazen that it felt as if she had donned an iron mask.

Jeremyon couldn’t understand why she appeared so confident despite her actions against him.

“Why are you so hell-bent on ruining my life every time? Was killing my father not enough? Urging Princess Locke to break up with me!”

“……”

“What is the reason for this, exactly? Answer me. Go on, give me an answer!”

Jeremyon poured out his emotions, but Vanessa’s expression remained unchanged.

“I told you before.”

“What on earth did you say!”

“I didn’t kill your father.”

“Are you asking me to believe that? It’s obvious you’re the culprit!”

Even as Jeremyon threatened her with a murderous intent, Vanessa didn’t blink.

“You will believe it. Tonight.”

With that short remark, she turned away and left.

All that remained was a man still unable to forgive his stepmother.