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

As time passed, that day finally arrived.

“Madam, we have arrived in front of Duke Locke’s estate.”

“Alright.”

The carriage gradually slowed down and came to a halt. As I stepped down, the first person to greet me was Lilliana.

“Mother! You must have had a long journey. I’ll guide you from here!”

Even though today’s weather was chilly, it seemed she had been waiting outside for my arrival for quite some time, as her cheeks were slightly flushed.

Worried that she might catch a cold, I hurried her along.

“Yes, lead the way quickly.”

“Yes, Mother!”

With a bright smile, Lilliana took the lead. Watching her from behind, I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

For some reason, her confident steps seemed particularly cute today.

Following her, I took in the interior of Duke Locke’s estate. It was similar in size to the grand Count Winder’s estate, but the atmosphere was entirely different. The elegant yet sophisticated interior decorations gave it a unique ambiance.

“Mother, there’s still some time before the meeting. Since you’re here, how about a tour of the estate?”

Sure enough, when I checked the time, we still had 30 minutes left until the scheduled meeting.

I was curious about the layout of the mansion, so a tour sounded more interesting than just waiting in the drawing room, but…

‘What if I run into Tristan? No, I can’t. I should decline.’

Ever since I married into the Winder family, I had been avoiding Tristan.

I had made sure not to show up in social gatherings, and once I found out that the wine shop on Wellington Street was his, I stopped going there as well.

I was afraid of the possibility of running into him by chance.

‘There’s no real reason to avoid him, but…’

Still, whenever I came to my senses, I found myself avoiding him again.

Just the thought of seeing him after all these years made my heart uneasy.

‘Even the last time we briefly met, I didn’t have the courage to face him, so that says it all.’

So there was no need to increase the chances of running into Tristan by wandering around the estate.

I was about to coldly decline Lilliana’s suggestion. Or rather, I intended to decline.

“There’s no need for that. Just take me to the leaving room…”

That is, if Lilliana hadn’t looked up at me with that dejected, puppy-like expression.

‘Ugh, no. I know I should refuse. I know I should, but…!’

Lilliana’s face was a weapon against me. In the end, I couldn’t help but give the answer she wanted.

“Sitting in the drawing room might be boring. Go ahead, do as you wish.”

“Yes! Mother!”

The moment I gave my permission, Liliana’s face brightened instantly.

Her smiling face was so endearing that it was difficult to put into words.

‘Hah, fine. As long as you’re happy, that’s enough for me.’

Even so, I still didn’t want to run into him, so I silently prayed that we wouldn’t cross paths.

***

“Mother! Now, let me show you this room.”

To sum it up, the estate tour turned out to be more enjoyable than I had expected.

As befits an old and prestigious family, the mansion had many interesting sights.

It seemed there were still things left to see, as Lilliana led me into another room.

Click.

The lights turned on, illuminating the entire room.

‘Oh…’

I couldn’t help but be impressed by the fascinating sight before me.

“As you’ve probably noticed, this room displays portraits of the heads of our family. This is the first Duke of Locke.”

Lilliana gave a brief explanation of each Duke in order, then stopped in front of the last portrait.

I had been following her without much thought, but when I saw it, my expression froze.

The face in the portrait was one I recognized.

‘This… is Tristan.’

I was captivated, unable to take my eyes off his face in the painting.

It was a face I hadn’t been able to see clearly during our last encounter, now vividly captured in the portrait.

In it, Tristan looked quite different from how I remembered him as a child.

While his strikingly handsome features were still the same, his face had matured, with more defined lines.

I had imagined how he might look after growing up, but he was even more impressive than I had expected.

‘To think I’d see his face like this…’

Feeling overwhelmed, I bit my lip lightly.

As before, Liliana continued her explanation.

“This is the current Duke of Locke. It might sound a bit boastful coming from me, but I’m really proud of my brother. He works tirelessly for the family, day and night.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Sensing that Lilliana was wrapping up her explanation, I responded to her appropriately.

‘Now that we’ve seen all the portraits, will we finally head to the leaving room?’

However, my prediction was wrong. Lilliana continued talking about Tristan.

“To be honest, my brother is much more handsome in person. Because of that, many noble ladies have proposed to him over the years.”

I had already heard those rumors.

‘Well, that’s not surprising. Tristan is quite the catch. But now that I think about it, I’ve never heard of him accepting any proposals.’

Intrigued, I found myself paying closer attention to Liliana’s words.

“But do you know what, Mother? My brother turned them all down. Not only that, but he’s never even had a proper romantic relationship. These days, it’s rare to find a man with such a clean past!”

“I see.”

“He’s also very well-read and knowledgeable. He rarely gets angry, thanks to his calm nature, and he’s incredibly responsible. You can’t forget the achievements he made in the recent war either. I learn so much from him every day.”

As I listened quietly to Liliana, I began to feel a sense of unease.

‘Why am I suddenly listening to Tristan’s praises?’

Unlike her earlier explanation about the previous heads of the family, Lilliana seemed much more enthusiastic now. It didn’t feel like she was just bragging about her brother; it seemed like there was a purpose behind her words.

‘Am I imagining this?’

Liliana’s tone reminded me of a home shopping presenter, as if she was trying to sell me something.

“Handsome, smart, kind, and with his head firmly on his shoulders! Isn’t he just the perfect husband?”

Lilliana’s eyes sparkled as she continued to praise Tristan, eagerly waiting for me to agree with her.

It was hard to grasp why she wanted me to agree with such a question. Still, feeling the pressure of her hopeful gaze, I nodded reluctantly.

“Hmm, yes, I suppose so.”

At my words, Lilliana beamed with satisfaction, as if she had accomplished something difficult.

“I’m so glad you think so, too, Mother! Oh, look at the time! Shall we move to the leaving room now?”

“Let’s.”

Normally, I would have spoken more sharply, telling her to do as she pleased, but this time, I hurriedly nodded.

I wanted to get out of this space as quickly as possible.

***

The leaving room wasn’t far from where we were. It only took two minutes to reach it.

‘Phew…’

Standing in front of the door, I let out a sigh of relief.

‘I’m so glad we didn’t run into Tristan on the way here.’

I had been avoiding him for a while, but now, the thought of seeing his face terrified me even more. If we did meet, all the praises Liliana had showered on him would come flooding back, likely giving me a headache.

‘Alright, time to focus. My business is at stake here.’

My goal today was to secure a contract with the Locke family. I planned to ask them to import raw materials from the East for my perfume business.

‘Since I came through Lilliana’s introduction, they’ll probably want to do business with me. But I can’t take that for granted.’

Business deals can only happen when there’s mutual benefit, so I had to present my proposal in a way that clearly showed what they stood to gain.

Rehearsing my prepared lines in my head, I opened the door to the leaving room.

But all that preparation evaporated in an instant.

A stunning figure, with an appearance that would make anyone gasp in awe, stood before me. His deep blue eyes, ones I had seen countless times in my dreams, locked onto mine.

The person standing there was none other than Tristan Locke.

“We meet again, Lady Winder.”

The man I absolutely didn’t want to see greeted me with a smile.

The moment I saw him, my entire body froze.

‘Why… why is he here?’

I was supposed to meet with an expert on imports today, not Tristan.

Unable to hide my shock, I glanced at Lilliana, who scratched her cheek with an awkward smile.

“I thought it would be more helpful for your business if I brought the highest authority in the family!”

Isn’t that great?

She didn’t say it out loud, but her expression clearly conveyed the sentiment.

Normally, I would have found her expression endearing and responded warmly, but today, I couldn’t. Not after seeing Tristan in front of me. I could barely form any words.

I had tried not to show it, but there was a reason I had been avoiding meeting Tristan for so long.

It was because I feared how he might react if we did cross paths.

Seven years ago, I had trampled on Tristan’s heart.