Desmond Manor, indoor Martial Arts Training Ground,

The high roof, spacious and bright area, dark wooden floors, open windows, with a refreshing breeze carrying the fragrance of lotus flowers.

Adrian Desmond, bare-chested with a strong physique, donned in black trousers and barefoot, was training with Barnes Smythe and a few others.

"Are you two women? Your punches are so weak..."

"..."

"Show me some manliness!"

In Abyanabad, describing a man as a woman was an insult.

Sabrina Conner, upon hearing this, got agitated and attacked swiftly and fiercely. Even though she and Barnes Smythe teamed up against Adrian, they couldn’t overpower him.

"Sixth Master, I really want to kill you!"

Sabrina was so furious she could grind her teeth; not being able to duel alone was frustrating enough, and teaming up with the best in close quarter combat at the base like Barnes still couldn’t defeat Adrian, which only added to her irritation.

"Sabrina, don’t just use words, show your strength!" Adrian launched a flying kick, which Sabrina barely dodged.

"Mila, don’t hold back, knock down Sixth Master!" Sabrina said fiercely.

Barnes Smythe’s focus was solely on Adrian; he couldn’t hear or sense anything else because the opponent’s strength made his blood boil.

The body is the strongest weapon, fists clashing like hardened steel, making a thudding sound.

Just as the three were entangled in an intense fight, Adolph Desmond walked in.

"Sixth Master, there’s an old foreign gentleman who wants to see you."

"Who?"

The three didn’t stop fighting, each move was ruthless, as if facing a dire enemy, not like training at all.

"He says his name is Jack Rowell!"

Old Jack?

Isn’t he Laura’s grandfather?

Why did he come from Brevon to find me instead of settling scores with Night Owl?

Adrian, momentarily distracted, was punched in the chest by Barnes, but he didn’t flinch and kicked Barnes away.

"That’s it for today!" Adrian gave the two a disappointed glance before leaving the training ground.

Sabrina, both angry and embarrassed, was fired up after Adrian left and continued the training with Barnes.

"Sixth Master, wipe your sweat."

"Hm." Adrian took the damp towel handed by Brandon Potter and wiped the sweat from his face.

With sweat glistening, his sun-kissed skin appeared as though it was oiled, very attractive.

"Take him to the parlor and tell him I’ll be there shortly." Adrian threw the towel to Brandon Potter and instructed Adolph Desmond.

"Yes, Sixth Master."

Adrian, bare-chested, walked through the back garden, passed the Mirror Lake, and stopped. The lotus flowers in the Mirror Lake bloomed and wilted repeatedly, as if they would never truly wither.

He walked to the lakeside, picked a large bunch of lotus flowers, returned to his room, and placed them in a vase in his bedroom.

The vase was originally placed on the windowsill. After Sienna Johnson returned to Sileria City, Adrian would put the lotuses, that had been basking in the sun on the balcony during the day, on the nightstand when he slept.

"What’s good about going back to Sileria City? Look, you can’t see the lotus flowers you like."

He took a shower in the bathroom, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked into the dressing room. He had many clothes, and when Sienna left, she matched all his clothes for him— which suit went with which shirt, and which tie...

His hand passed over the neatly matched clothes, and his gaze settled on a set of casual wear.

A blue shirt, beige trousers, all made from comfortable linen. She had even thoughtfully picked out matching glasses for him.

After changing into the casual outfit, Adrian looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled.

...

In the parlor,

when Adrian walked in, Adolph Desmond was instructing a pretty young maid to serve old Jack some tea ceremony.

Old Jack, with a full head of white hair and pudgy build, had a kind and gentle expression.

Adrian stared at old Jack’s face, trying to find a trace of Laura in it, but found none.

"Hello, I am Adrian Desmond!" Adrian walked in, respectfully greeting the elderly man.

"Your English is excellent."

"When I was young, my English tutor was a professor from Campton University."

Old Jack appraised the handsome young man before him, satisfied with what he saw.

"Jack, just call me Jack."

"Hello, Jack!"

Adrian sat opposite him, and a servant also served him a cup of tea. Adrian, feeling thirsty, picked up the small teacup and took a sip of the slightly hot tea.

"What brings you to see me?" Adrian asked.

"I’m here because of Laura," the old man said gravely.

"Then you should go to Death Island."

"Death Island, I’ll get there eventually."

Hearing this, Adrian glanced at Jack, realizing the old man harbored deep resentment against Death Island.

"Tell me about Laura..." Old Jack inquired.

Adrian’s lips pressed tightly together; he had no intention of speaking. The one thing he loathed recalling the most was his life on Death Island.

"Did Laura mention anything about me?" Old Jack asked again.

"Yes."

Old Jack’s eyes lit up, looking at him with intense curiosity, "What did she say about me?"

"She said you’re a drunkard."

"Haha..."

Old Jack laughed heartily, but as he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes. He fell silent, staring at the green tea before him, wordless.

In the living room, there were only the two of them. Adrian Desmond stared out the window, looking at the artificial mountains and the bamboo, listening to the rustling sound, his mind complex.

"It was me who lost Laura..."

"..."

"When she was five, I took her out to play. A friend invited me for drinks. I drank a few too many, and by the time I came back, I had already forgotten about Laura.

When I sobered up and went back to look for her, I couldn’t find her anywhere."

"..."

"A few years later, my son cut off ties with me... and then, my son and daughter-in-law died in a plane crash...

The Rowell family now has only me, an old man left..." Jack’s expression was tragic, his tone sorrowful.

Adrian wasn’t good at comforting people. At this moment, he didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.

"... You have no idea how much I hated you when you called and told me Laura was dead.

Because if you hadn’t told me, I could continue deceiving myself...

Deceiving myself that Laura was still alive, even if she had forgotten who she was, she had a new life, maybe had someone she loved, got married, had children...

I used to numb myself with such thoughts, otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to get through each day."

"When Laura died, she died with a smile... If there’s really a heaven, Laura and her parents must have reunited there," Adrian said.

"Were you Laura’s boyfriend?"

Adrian was startled by this question, his face changing. If Sienna Johnson heard this, he could imagine how tragic his fate would be.

"Jack, Laura was only ten when she died!"

He wasn’t a pedophile. How could he fall in love with a little girl?

"But Laura told you the location of that bottle of wine."

"She wanted me to tell you."

Jack explained, "Telling me is the same as telling you. Laura had said that bottle of red wine was to be shared with her loved one at her wedding."

"..."

"She said when she fell in love with a man, she would reveal the location of the red wine to him so he could find it, and then they would marry and live happily ever after."

Old Jack recalled his granddaughter’s words, looking at Adrian as if looking at a grandson-in-law.

Adrian’s face was somber, "But it wasn’t me who found this bottle of red wine!"

Old Jack called out, "Hank, bring in the red wine."

The living room door opened, and a man walked in, holding a bottle of red wine in his hand. One look at the bottle and you could tell it had some age.

"This is the red wine Laura hid away."

"..."

"This red wine was preserved when I married Laura’s grandmother... This bottle is older than you..."

Adrian’s gaze also fell on that bottle of red wine, with French writing on it, a brand Adrian had never seen before.

"Hank, open this bottle of red wine."

"Yes, sir."

The attentive Adolph brought a wine bottle opener and two tall glass goblets. Hank skillfully opened the red wine, pouring a glass each for Jack and Adrian.

"You all may leave now."

After Adolph and the others left, the living room once again only had the two of them.

Jack picked up the glass of wine and said to Adrian, "Try it. This bottle has been aged for over fifteen years, produced in Aurinnois at the Lysaluce Wine Castle."

The Lysaluce Wine Castle (Chateaud’YquemofLvsa-Lvsi) is the only premier cru supérieur winery, surpassing the five great wine estates including Lafite, Latour, and Margaux today.

Adrian didn’t know this wine brand but was familiar with the Lysaluce Wine Castle.

Adrian picked up the glass of wine, glancing at the red wine in the goblet, the wine body was very full, balanced, with a slight buttery and citrus fruit aroma, leaving a complex and lingering aftertaste.

"This is a wine of love." Old Jack took a sip, holding it in his mouth without swallowing, closing his eyes to savor it.

Adrian liked whiskey with a strong kick, but later, thanks to Sienna Johnson, he enjoyed chewing peanuts while drinking sorghum liquor.

At that time, Sienna would sit cross-legged on the carpet, her face flushed from drinking, looking very charming... Of course, at that time, Adrian could also take the opportunity to "cop a feel."

Adrian took a sip, the first taste was rich and sweet, with a hint of sugar clinging to the glass, deeply flavorful and lingering.

"Is it good?"

"Is it botrytis wine?" Adrian asked.

"Yes."

Botrytis wine is made from rotting, moldy grapes, and this is precisely the legendary aspect of botrytis wine.

Botrytis wine shines with a wonderful golden color, extraordinarily fragrant, called "liquid gold."

It may sound terrifying, but for Adrian, who has eaten Orienta’s hairy eggs and stinky tofu, no food in this world could frighten him anymore.