2.5

After a sudden downpour, the day of the meeting had arrived.  

“Here we are, my lady.”  

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”  

It had been less than a week since their first drinking session, and now she was visiting the annex again.  

Nervously stepping out of the carriage, Iliana’s gaze met that of a petite woman standing ten steps away. She was someone Iliana knew well.  

“Madame Lorres.”  

“You’re here.”  

The estate’s elderly butler bowed politely. Returning the greeting, Iliana glanced around.  

“Where is Lucian?”  

“He’ll be here shortly. The Earl is expected to visit briefly the day after tomorrow, so the estate is quite busy.”  

“Are you short on help?”  

“Not at all. It’s just that some of the staff have been replaced with new hires since the Earl’s move to the capital. There’s no need to worry.”  

The butler, adept at addressing Iliana’s concerns, smiled and led her to the drawing room. Bowing as he opened the door, he gestured for her to enter.  

Inside, the table was already set with wine and simple snacks. It truly seemed like a setup for practicing drinking etiquette. Seeing crepes and sandwiches often served at banquets, Iliana stood there awkwardly until the butler approached with a wine opener.  

“The young master requested that the food be similar to what was served at the recent festival. Do you like it?”  

“Lucian asked for this?”  

“Yes, although he did request a slight change in the choice of wine.”  

“I see…”  

Nodding slowly, Iliana listened as the butler added that he was glad she liked it. Moving toward the table, he pointed to the cork of a slightly dewy wine bottle with his index finger.  

“This wine has a slightly lower alcohol content. Compared to the festival, it should be much easier to drink.”  

“Oh, thank you.”  

Glancing at the wine, Iliana nodded, noticing the wrinkles forming at the corners of the butler’s eyes as he smiled. His unique chuckle made her glance toward the open doorway.  

“Madame Lorres.”  

“Yes, my lady?”  

The woman standing neatly beyond the doorway, her face calm and composed, met Iliana’s gaze. The elegant lines of her expression reminded Iliana of her poise. Swallowing dryly, Iliana carefully chose her words, then…  

“…It’s nothing.”  

She bit her lip and lowered her head.  

“Oh my, really? If it were a secret, I was ready to listen at any time.”  

Madame Lorres covered her mouth as she smiled, her eyes crinkling elegantly, forcing Iliana to feign ignorance and look away.  

Madame Lorres was known as one of the most conservative retainers in the Declan household.  

• Just recently, she told me not to hug anyone unless they were my future spouse. She still treats me like a child. I’m fifteen, you know!  

Lucian’s assessment of Madame Lorres during his adolescence highlighted her emphasis on propriety and, in another sense, her rigid demeanor.  

Even without Lucian’s words, there were plenty of indicators that she was strict about relationships between men and women.  

For instance, Madame Lorres disliked the behavior of young people at festivals and was particularly intolerant of public displays of affection within the estate.  

For such a person to set up this table so casually…  

The smile on Madame Lorres’ face, filled with certainty that nothing would happen, weighed on Iliana’s chest. 

Did she think I wouldn’t make a mistake?  

Feeling pricked by her conscience, Iliana pretended to examine the wine’s alcohol content. Misinterpreting her evasive behavior, the butler began explaining the wine. Just as Iliana caught a fragment of his explanation about the wine being a rare Valère vintage from 16 years ago, a voice cut across her thoughts.  

“Sorry, Iliana! I’m late, aren’t I?”  

Turning, she saw Lucian, his shirt collar and hair slightly disheveled, as if he had run over. When their eyes met, he smiled brightly, and the butler, as if on cue, turned to Iliana.  

“Then I will take my leave. I’ll be in the main building, so if you need anything, please ring the bell over there.”  

The butler gestured to a cord hanging in the corner of the drawing room before bowing and closing the door behind him.  

Taking advantage of the moment, Lucian removed his jacket and approached Iliana.  

“Did you wait long? Madame Lorres didn’t tease you, did she?”  

“I didn’t wait long. I just… heard about how busy the Earl’s estate has been. Besides, Madame Lorres isn’t the type to play pranks.”  

“Really? She’s always so sharp.”  

Draping his outerwear over his arm, Lucian exhaled and glanced at the sofa.

“Go ahead, have a seat.”

“Oh, sure. Thanks.”  

As Iliana sat on the sofa nearby, Lucian smiled and hung his outerwear on the coat rack. Watching him, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of desire. If only Iliana could take his clothes and neatly arrange them for him…  

Embarrassed by her own imagination, Iliana opened the wine bottle using the opener handed to her by the butler. The scent of the wine slowly rose, lingering at the tip of her nose. As she moved her hands slowly, she heard the sofa across from her sink under someone’s weight.  

“Oh dear.”

His gaze swept over the table, breaking the brief silence. Iliana looked up, her eyebrows slightly furrowed in surprise.  

“What? Is something wrong…?”  

“Yeah. There’s a bit of a serious problem, Lana.”  

Lucian’s gaze deepened. Feeling uneasy under his stare, Iliana set the wine down. Lucian chuckled softly and lightly tapped her furrowed brow.

“It’s hard to joke around when you react like that. It’s nothing serious. It’s just that I wanted to pour the wine for you, but it was already filled, so I felt like I was a bit late.”  

“…”

“Relax.” 

His voice carried a playful tone.  

Understanding that his sigh was merely the result of seeing the setup already completed while he was rolling up his sleeves, Iliana finally smiled.  

“Geez, you made me nervous for no reason!”  

When she laughed a little too hard, Lucian’s lips curved into a lazy smile. Raising his glass with a word of thanks, he took a sip and nodded slightly.  

“Let’s have a good time again today.”  

“Of course. I hope we can figure out your drinking capacity today.”  

And if I could also figure out what you think of me, that would be even better.  

Her response, half earnest and half filled with selfish intent, made Lucian grin, showing his teeth before taking another sip.  

Perhaps because it was their second drinking session, it wasn’t as awkward as the first. Both of them deliberately made an effort to converse and create an atmosphere similar to that of a banquet hall.  

“Lately, Anas’s personality has been completely out of control.”  

She talked about how his younger sister had become grumpier due to the increased workload from preparing to take over the family headship—“Though I bet she’s still less grumpy than you,” he teased, earning a playful slap from Iliana.  

“Recently, the royal family sent a message asking us to come to the capital for the upcoming social season.”  

The Earl’s busy schedule was partly due to this, and partly because they couldn’t refuse due to contractual issues with the Marquis’ household—though Iliana only half-listened to the details.

“I heard your Viscouncy recently improved working conditions for your employees.”  

The conversation drifted to differences between the Viscouncy and the Earldom. When Iliana heard that the Earl’s family tried to avoid night shifts whenever possible, she thought their Viscouncy should follow suit.

As they repeated trivial stories and reminisced about their first meeting, the food on the table noticeably dwindled. Meanwhile, Iliana diligently kept track of how many glasses Lucian had.  

That makes four glasses…  

As she poured him another, she glanced at him. His voice, as he thanked her, trembled slightly.  

“Lucian.”  

“Yeah?”  

“Are you drunk?”  

Blinking, she looked at him, and Lucian blinked back a couple of times before laughing. His silly grin confirmed her suspicion.  

“You’re drunk.”  

“Hmm.”  

He slurred, and Iliana sighed deeply.  

“Seriously, Lucian Declan, are you out of your mind?”  

It was just four glasses. And the wine had a lower alcohol content than the one at the festival. If he was already drunk, perhaps his body just couldn’t handle alcohol at all.  

Setting her glass down, Iliana slowly reached out her hand. Her gesture, clearly implying he should set his glass down, made the veins on Lucian’s hand stand out.  

“You’re definitely drunk, Lucian.”  

“I wouldn’t say that for sure.”  

“Drunk people never realize they’re drunk. So, let’s stop here.”  

“Hmm…”  

Rubbing his eyes as if he hadn’t heard her, Lucian took another sip of wine.  

Sighing, Iliana stood up and managed to snatch the glass from him.  

“Ugh.”  

The table wobbled as it bumped against her leg. The physical pain brought tears to her eyes, but she was determined to accomplish her goal. Deciding it was a waste of time to walk around the table, Iliana placed her knee on it to climb across.  

Noticing his pupils quiver slightly, Iliana perched herself in front of Lucian. Thankfully, the empty dishes had already been cleared away. She reached out her hand.  

“Hand over the glass.”  

“…” 

Iliana barely managed to snatch the glass away from him, holding it out of his reach. Just as she was about to climb back down, her sleeve was grabbed.  

“Iliana.”  

Lucian, leaning slightly forward, let his hand slide from her sleeve to her wrist. Startled by the sudden closeness, she instinctively held her breath. Lucian intertwined their fingers and whispered.  

“Shall we kiss?”  

“…What?”