CHAPTER 30: CUP OF WHINE

"So, she just fainted like that?" Alice approached and took Enie from Julian’s arms. Just moments ago, Enie had suddenly lost consciousness, and in the urgency of the moment, Julian had no choice but to catch her. Otherwise, she might have been hurt from falling to the ground.

"Is Enie going to be alright?" Alice furrowed her elegant brows, looking at her with concern.

"At the moment... it’s very bad," Julian said, not knowing how to properly describe it.

Judging by her face, Enie still looked like a young girl, but her physical condition was worse than that of an old person near the end of their life. Her bodily functions were practically failing completely.

Alice quietly listened to Julian’s explanation. In the end, she simply gave a soft "Mm" and nodded once.

"I’ll take Enie to her room so she can rest for a bit."

Julian watched Alice’s departing figure, and his gaze once again lingered inside Losiya’s room.

Compared to Lady Catherine’s room, he was extremely familiar with Losiya’s. After all, over several nights, Losiya not only liked to pull him into bed to play, she also enjoyed carrying him off the bed at the height of her excitement, pinning him down in all sorts of places and positions.

After so many rounds, if Julian still wasn’t familiar with this room, it’d be strange. Naturally, he could easily retrace what Enie had done here earlier.

Julian walked around the room as if tracing his memories, but didn’t find anything unusual.

Passing by places like the vanity, the windows, and the blanket spread across the floor, every corner sparked some memories.

He slapped his forehead and forced himself not to think about those chaotic and distracting memories, instead carefully searching the room again.

Still, nothing strange. Enie had only been cleaning the room.

Thinking about the mysterious woman in the carriage who had tasked Enie with something, Julian fell into deep thought. What exactly did she want Enie to do? What was the goal?

Targeting Losiya? Wouldn’t that only provoke her with no real benefit?

Based on what Losiya had told him, that woman was in no way the heir to her family. She was typically unrestrained and indulgent, always chasing pleasure. Coming to bother someone like Losiya wouldn’t bring her any joy — only real danger.

So what was she scheming?

And then there was the matter of her framing Lady Catherine. Even from her limited perspective, she should’ve known that Losiya had uncovered the truth. Yet she still dared to come to the Hundred Lilies Estate — to some extent, that level of boldness could only mean her ambition was immense.

The only possibility was that the Hundred Lilies held something she desperately wanted, something she was willing to risk everything for.

Julian paused at that thought.

He had to admit — even though he had spent some time in this world, he still found it hard to fully use its worldview to analyze people’s behavior.

Thinking about how Losiya had brought up Tania’s obsession with him, Julian bit his lip and furrowed his brow in silence.

Surely it wasn’t really because of him...?

He looked up and just happened to catch sight of his full reflection in the mirror. For a moment, he shook his head.

Julian thought back to his past life as Lin Xuan — the situation was uncannily similar. From that, he could at least understand Tania’s actions.

Now that he had a hypothesis, he might as well take tonight as a chance to probe deeper.

Julian walked out of the room, silently thinking.

—

Meanwhile, in another corner, Tania left Losiya’s office with a composed yet grim expression.

She glanced back slightly over her shoulder and let out a cold smile. Then, returning to her usual perfect smile, she gracefully walked away.

That night, the estate held a banquet to welcome Tania.

No matter how much Losiya disliked Tania outwardly, she still gave her enough face to attend the ceremony.

Naturally, Julian also attended the banquet. Not long after he arrived in the hall, he looked around — aside from a few busy maids, neither Alice nor Losiya were anywhere to be seen.

He didn’t need to guess to know that they were likely worrying about Enie.

Originally, he had intended to help, but earlier today he had already used up all his magic power while treating Lady Catherine.

Finding a quiet corner to sit in, Julian didn’t know why, but he felt a vague sense of unease — as if something bad was going to happen tonight.

Now that neither Losiya nor Alice were present, the only one left to host tonight’s banquet was Tania.

Tania had already confidently walked into the hall. After spotting Julian, she quickly called over a maid holding a tray of drinks.

She picked up two glasses of wine — clearly prepared in advance — and, wearing her charming smile, walked toward Julian.

Julian blinked silently, watching her approach. He waited to see what she wanted to say or do.

"My name is Tania. I wonder if you still remember me, Julian?"

Julian gave a small nod, then awkwardly looked down at the wine glass without replying.

Tania’s expression suggested everything was going according to plan. She continued, "It was a pity, really. That day, I didn’t have enough money with me, and in the end, Lord Losiya took you away. If I get the chance, I’d love to bring you to my territory. Otherwise, I’ll always regret it."

"Losiya treats me very well. Thank you for your kindness, my lady." Julian politely declined.

A flicker of malice rose in Tania’s heart as she eyed Julian. She didn’t just want to bring him to her territory. She wanted to place an unremovable collar on him, drug him, and mold him into the perfect obedient plaything.

But such bestial thoughts remained hidden. On the surface, she still maintained the appearance of a refined and elegant lady, offering no visible flaws.

Truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Julian, already aware of Tania’s nature, silently judged her in his mind.

"Ah, the Countess? She’s always had unmatched talent since childhood. Duke Kelden holds her in the highest regard. With such a background, one would expect her to be kind and tolerant."

Tania sighed and continued, "I’m not so lucky. My lack of talent meant I could never inherit the family. I often have no control over my own fate... and by now, I’ve been forced to do many things I never wanted."

Julian’s expression stiffened. Hearing such textbook manipulative words firsthand felt incredibly bizarre.

"You shouldn’t sell yourself short," he finally replied.

"Let’s not dwell on that."

"Would I be lucky enough to share a drink with you?" Tania asked.

"Of course." Julian took the wine glass from her hand without hesitation.

The two clinked glasses. Tania raised her drink and took a graceful sip.

At the same time, she covertly observed Julian, waiting until the pure color wine flowed into his throat, her breathing became heavier and heavier, not a nervous breath, but a surprised reaction. Tania put down her wine cup, her gaze towards Julian became no longer as polite as before, unable to hide the invasive nature that inadvertently exuded.