The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

169 - Pent Up Emotions

Lionel's Point of View

Lily closed herself off after that meeting. Her eyes grew distant, as she tried to bottle everything up that had started pouring out of her... but she stilled looked pained as I helped her into the carriage. Every time I checked on her on the way back to Castle Tepet she would glance to me but then look away into the distance. From the looks I shared with Magdalin, it didn't seem like she got any further with Lily.

The biggest consolation was that she still seemed to be here and not inside a waking dream.

When we arrived at Castle Tepet she excused herself and locked herself away for the rest of the day.

I had vaguely figured this would happen, as she did something similar after I triggered her waking dream back at the academy. Still... I wish she would rely on us rather than hide herself away.

—-*—-

"Ah, you're here," my mother says with a faint smile while tugging the blanket further over her shoulders and enjoys the heat of the fireplace.

"You should be heading to bed. It isn't good to read when it is so dark," I say, somewhat worried for her, and if she's doing well after... everything that has happened. I step up to her chair and gently place my hands on her shoulders.

"Should I help you to bed?"

I myself had been burning the midnight oil when mother called me, so I figured she might have called me to pull me away from work and from worry.

She places one of her hands on mine.

"No... but, it has been a while since Lily went down to the basement after she requested access to look for something to drink, saying the servants likely wouldn't know. Could you go check up on her?"

My mind goes blank.

"You let her have free access to the alcohol?" I try to reconfirm. I'm surprised that Lily actually came out of her room to talk with someone... if this counts as that.

"...Yes. She looked like she needed an excuse to-" my beloved mother then puts a finger to her own lips.

"Well, you'll see. Now off you go."

Her eyes gleam happily as she stares at me, eagerly waiting for me to go...

"You should still head to bed," I remind her carefully before stepping back.

"I'll go check up on her and then head to bed after. Goodnight, sweet dreams."

—-*—-

I head down to the basement and give a light shudder as I take the final flight of stairs down into the cold basement, which currently keeps all of the castle's food and alcohol cooled down.

If Lily has been down here for a while, then I imagine she must be quite cold by now, so I brought an extra blanket just in case.

We have a fair amount of room dedicated to alcohol, and likely more than you imagine. When one of our knights get married we bring the alcohol as part of tradition, but it's not just them. For all the local commoners in the area, when they get married we present them with a large barrel of beer for the party as our congratulations, so a lot of beer passes through our hands. Of course, at times it ends up being other things than the beer, but this is the standard.

I peek in through the door of the first room, which contains exactly this. Barrels of beer. As you'd expect, she isn't there, so I head into the wine room next to it. This holds the glass bottles and wine kegs we need for nobility, but I don't immediately see her. This room has rows of room dividers made to contain the bottles, and if she's looking for something specific then searching through here would take a while.