Chapter 61
“I should have the authoritative power by the end of today, Lilien.”
Christian said, the fine lines on his brow showing just how much he’d been through alongside her these past few days.
“Your father wasn’t happy about selling the estate, but in the end, he gave his consent.”
“I see. You’ve worked so hard, Christian. Thank you.”
Even after that, Lilien continued visiting her father in the hospital to try and persuade him, but it only backfired.
“Oh, Lilien! Didn’t I tell you to just stay put? I’ll take care of everything, dear.”
Lilien let out a long sigh, her worried gaze dropping to his injured leg.
‘He thinks someone as frail as me could never travel so far by train to sell off the villa…’
Still, she figured she was in better shape than her father, who could barely walk, but she didn’t want to add to his worries, so she kept her mouth shut.
Eventually, she gave up on having a productive conversation, choosing instead to play the good daughter—asking after his health, tending to his mood, and quietly leaving the hospital room with nothing to show for it.
And so, Christian ended up being granted all the authority to act on his behalf—not just formally, but with full practical power.
“Much as I hate to admit it, Lord Headington deserves most of the credit for getting your father’s approval. Just like you said, I dropped his name.”
There wasn’t much else Christian could say to comfort Lilien in her resignation.
“All right, let’s get these accounts sorted first.”
“Before you got here, I tried to organize things based on the paperwork my father kept.”
As she flipped through the stack of documents, Christian’s expression shifted from impressed to truly admiring.
“Lilien, you could practically take over House de Bermore yourself!”
She just shook her head, assuming he was only being polite.
Looking over the detailed property prices and expected returns, he couldn’t help but offer genuine praise, but Lilien still dismissed it as mere flattery.
“So, when is Lord Headington coming back?”
Truthfully, Christian had already done all the calculations—he’d skimmed through the ledgers on his way to the hospital and had even worked out the minimum amounts they needed from each asset.
Still, what he really wanted to know was the state of affairs between the two young people.
“I doubt he’ll come again…”
“Why?”
“Because I acted terribly, completely unreasonable toward him.”
“You? Lilien?”
Christian knew better—he was well aware of how sensitive Cairn could be, at least when it came to Lilien. He figured Cairn had overreacted to even a hint of rejection from her, which in turn had left Lilien feeling guilty.
He could imagine something like that happening.
“I keep thinking that once I leave Baltan, I’ll never see Cairn again… No, that’s just an excuse. The truth is, I crossed a line. I probably disappointed him—maybe so much that he never wants to see me again.”
“Lord Headington would never do that, Lili.”
“No. This time, I think he might. I did something so very… me. Maybe this is why I don’t have any friends. I only ever had one, and now even he’s gone. Doesn’t that mean I’m the problem?”
Retreating into the dark cave of her thoughts, Lilien shut out any attempt at comfort, needing time to climb out on her own. Christian could do nothing but gently stroke her hair. He knew that right now, even the kindest words would feel hollow to her.
“Still, you should apologize and at least say goodbye before you leave Baltan.”
“…But what if Cairn refuses to accept my apology?”
Even Christian, who rarely visited Baltan, could see how strong the bond was between them. Sometimes, Lilien seemed to trust Cairn more than she did him, her own family.
“What if he hates me now?”
It was new for Lilien, who usually took Cairn’s affection for granted, being so anxious now.
“If that’s the case, then there’s nothing you can do. I don’t know what happened between you two, but you can’t force Lord Headington to forgive you.”
“Christian… Cairn’s acting strange.”
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