Lilliana, who had returned to the mansion, headed straight for where Tristan would be.
‘If it’s my brother, he must be in the office.’
It had been about fifteen days since Tristan, Lilliana’s only sibling and the official heir of the Locke family, returned.
Just when she had used the 10 billion won she received from Vanessa to pay off a pressing debt and was pondering her next steps, Tristan had miraculously come back.
‘…At first, I thought I was dreaming.’
The war with the Kingdom of Stel, which lasted four years. Tristan was the bravest among them, always at the forefront of the battle.
Together with Prince Dais, he achieved several small victories for the empire. People hailed both the prince and Tristan as heroes.
However, after about three and a half years, just when it seemed like the empire had secured victory… a twist occurred.
A sudden counterattack by Stel turned the tide of the war.
The situation became increasingly dire, and the empire’s soldiers found themselves isolated, surrounded by enemies. Time passed like a torturous eternity, with no news coming through.
People began to assume that the prince and Tristan were dead. It was rare for a commander to survive and return in such circumstances.
Although Lilliana refused to believe them… as time passed, even she couldn’t help but feel her resolve weaken.
But Tristan had returned, overcoming all the hardships and bringing victory with him.
Lilliana still couldn’t forget the overwhelming joy of that day fifteen days ago. She had clung to her brother and cried uncontrollably, unable to contain her emotions.
Though she wanted to catch up with him and relieve the tension that had built up over time, there was no time for that.
Tristan, now officially the head of the family, had been busy sorting out the disorderly internal affairs of the Locke family.
“I’m sorry, brother. I shouldn’t have let you take on all this the moment you came back… If only I had held things together a bit better…”
“No, you’ve done more than enough. Lily, you’ve protected our family.”
“Even so…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Seeing her looking so downcast, Tristan gave her a reassuring smile, more reliable than ever. He then threw himself into his work as if to put his words into action.
Thinking that today would be no different, Lilliana headed to his office.
As expected, Tristan was there.
Sensing someone inside, Lilliana flung the door open.
“How rude. Barging in without permission… Oh, it’s just you, Lily.”
Fixing his gaze on the desk, Tristan had started to rebuke sharply but softened upon realizing it was his sister. He smiled, but his smile only made Lilliana feel uneasy, reminding her of the mistake she had made.
‘Ugh. I need to apologize for touching that wine without permission… How should I bring it up?’
As she hesitated and shifted from foot to foot, Tristan noticed something was off.
“Lily, it looks like you’ve done something wrong.”
“Uh…”
“It’s okay, just tell me.”
His gentle voice reassured her, and she slowly began to gather her thoughts.
“So, what I wanted to say is, actually, earlier today…”
Starting with a short sentence, Lilliana confessed everything about her encounter with Vanessa.
How they had run into each other at the wine shop, and in her eagerness to impress her, Lilliana had taken one of Tristan’s wine bottles without permission.
Lilliana, her head hanging low, explained the series of events with a face full of regret.
“And so, I gave that wine to Lady Winder as a gift without asking first. I’m really sorry…”
“Lily, what did you say?”
“Uh…?”
“Which wine… did you give to whom?”
Just as she was wrapping up her story, Tristan, who had been listening attentively, suddenly interrupted her.
His previously calm face grew stern. Lilliana had never seen him look like that before.
‘Is he angry…? Or not?’
Having never seen this side of him, she struggled to gauge his reaction but tried to answer as calmly as she could.
But she soon found herself sinking into a deep confusion.
“The Cabernet Brillante… to Lady Winder…”
The oppressive silence that settled over the office the moment she answered was suffocating.
“…”
The atmosphere around Tristan, who had been silently sitting there, had become unsettling. The unfamiliar and intense aura emanating from him made Lilliana feel as though she was about to be overwhelmed.
‘…Oh no. He’s really mad!’
In truth, he wasn’t angry, just serious. But since Lilliana had never seen him like this before, she misunderstood.
Panicking, she began to plead for forgiveness.
“Um, brother, I’m really sorry. You must be upset because I touched your things without permission. I’ll find a way to get that wine back… though it’s a rare one… I’ll do my best, so…”
It was at that moment, amidst the confusion and flurry of words.
After a long silence, Tristan finally spoke.
“No, Lily.”
“Huh? What isn’t?”
“That’s not what’s important right now.”
Lilliana bit her lip in anxiety, confused by his cryptic words.
But the response she received was something she had never expected.
“You should have offered a better wine. Not just something like that.”
“W-What…?”
“Lily, you know as well as I do that we owe Mrs. Winder a significant debt.”
Tristan had returned, and Lilliana immediately told him about receiving 10 billion shillings from Vanessa. Thanks to her, they had safely overcome the family’s crisis.
‘I was worried at first about being asked the reason, but…’
Fortunately, Tristan didn’t ask for details. Thus, she was able to keep hidden the fact that she had been urged to break off with Jeremyon.
Lilliana’s response was delayed as she momentarily recalled that time.
Tristan let out a small sigh.
“And you gave our benefactor such a meager gift?”
There was a note of reproach in his flat tone. Tristan continued.
“The lady is a former princess of the Kingdom of Onz. Do you think she would be satisfied with just that? She might even misunderstand and think our family is of a low status.”
“Huh? No, she seemed pleased…”
“Lily.”
Calling her name calmly, Tristan smiled.
But it wasn’t the usual kind of smile, making the observer feel a subtle pressure.
Tristan then pulled a rope to summon a servant and gave an order.
Lilliana watched the series of events unfold while her thoughts ran wild.
‘What is he talking about? More importantly, how does he know about the lady’s background?’
No matter how smart her brother was, it was strange that he knew about the Countess’s family.
‘Oh, now that I think about it…’
Suddenly, she remembered that Tristan had studied abroad in the Kingdom of Onz when he was still a boy.
Even after returning, he often reminisced about that time.
‘They say he met his first love while studying abroad, too.’
It occurred to her that his familiarity with Vanessa might stem from his study abroad experience.
As she was resolving her questions internally, the servant returned, holding a box. Lilliana immediately recognized what it was.
‘That’s definitely…’
Inside the box was a wine called “Rubert di Amore.” Long before he went to war, Tristan had painstakingly collected this wine over several years.
It was even rarer than the wine he had given to Vanessa, and it was Tristan’s most cherished bottle.
‘Why is he suddenly…’
The sudden behavior didn’t stop. Tristan abruptly stood up and began putting on his coat.
Then, with the finely wrapped wine in his arms, he headed out of the office.
“…Where are you going?”
Since his return from the battlefield, Tristan had rarely left his office chair, as if it were glued to him. He was so busy he didn’t even eat his meals properly, so this sudden departure was shocking.
‘What is he thinking…?’
As he passed by her, Tristan answered her question more firmly than ever.
“To restore our family’s honor.”
With that, he stepped out.
“…Our family’s honor?”
Still confused, Lilliana could only mutter in bewilderment.
***
At the same time, in the Winder Count’s residence.
As soon as I returned from the wine shop, the first thing I did, of course, was open the wine Lilliana had given me as a gift.
Drip.
The beautiful red liquid swirled and shimmered in the glass.
Watching it, I momentarily forgot my composure and swallowed hard.
As I gently swirled the glass, a unique yet pleasant aroma wafted up. It truly lived up to its reputation.
It had been my dream to taste this wine at least once before I died, and now I had an entire bottle of Cabernet Brillante.
‘Lilliana, you precious girl! I love her so much.’
My affection for my favorite just soared to the heavens.
‘It’s such a shame I have to pass up the chance to make her my daughter-in-law.’
If only Jeremyon had been just a little more decent, I wouldn’t have had to.
Suppressing the rising emotion, I calmly took a sip of the wine.
“…What a remarkable flavor.”
The rich taste that hit my tongue immediately captivated me. I was completely immersed in the wine, savoring the moment.
At that moment, I never would have guessed what would happen next.
That this enjoyable moment would soon be interrupted by an unexpected guest.
“Madam, a guest has arrived.”
Hearing the maid’s voice from outside, I tilted my head in curiosity.
‘A guest at this hour…? How strange.’
But regardless of who it was, I wasn’t in the mood to tolerate any interruptions.
I snorted and gave the maid a command.
“Who would call such an unannounced visitor a guest? Send them away.”
“Um, but…”
The maid, who rarely defied my orders, hesitated, which piqued my curiosity about who the guest might be.
“Who is it, then?”
“It’s His Grace, the Duke of Locke, who has just returned from the war.”
I was so shocked by her answer that I nearly dropped the glass in my hand.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
