The Mind-Reading Mate: Why Is the Lycan King So Obsessed With Me?!-Chapter 120: The Past Encounter

"But how did you end up working with my father?" Primrose asked, narrowing her eyes.

"The ingredients come from Noctvaris, right? You could’ve made it on your own instead of working with a distillery owned by humans."

"We did try to distill it ourselves," Edmund replied. "But the fruit is extremely difficult to ferment and refine. One small mistake, and instead of becoming a calming drink, it turns into something rotten, even poisonous."

He paused for a moment, then added softly, "And actually ... you were the one who told me to work with your father."

Primrose’s eyes widened. She stared at him in disbelief.

"Me?" she blinked, confused, glancing around the room like she was searching her memory. "I’m pretty sure we have never met before."

"We did," Edmund said gently. "But maybe you don’t remember. It was a long time ago. I think ... about ten years back."

Primrose tilted her head, quickly doing the math.

Ten years ago? She would’ve been ... twelve?

How could a twelve-year-old version of herself have met the Lycan King?

There was a twelve-year age gap between them. Back then, he was already an adult.

She even used to joke with her friends that whoever married the Lycan King would die young from stress.

Well...

That joke didn’t aged well.

"Where did we meet?" she asked, her eyes growing round. "Wait ... don’t tell me you had feelings for me back then?!"

She gasped, staring at him like he’d just confessed something scandalous.

"No! Of course not!" Edmund said quickly, almost shouting. "It wasn’t like that at all. We only met once, very briefly, and after that, we never crossed paths again!"

He lowered his voice a little and added, "We met at an auction house. At the time, I came to the Azmeria Kingdom in secret, under a false name. I’d heard rumors about a very rare, high-quality liquor being sold there, so I decided to check it out."

Back then, the relationship between beasts and humans was still incredibly strained.

And yet Edmund, the Lycan King, had risked sneaking into human territory ... just for a bottle of rum?

"Oh!" Primrose gasped again as something clicked in her memory. "You were the one who bought my father’s rum! You ... you even placed that ridiculously high bid!"

Ever since she was little, Primrose often accompanied her father to the auction house.

It wasn’t that the Duke of Illvaris enjoyed spending money at the auction, it was quite the opposite. He earned a fortune from the auctions.

Every year, Lazarus would sell a single batch of rare, high-quality rum, a one-of-a-kind distilled liquor that would never be made or sold again.

The people lucky enough to win it always said it was the best liquor they’d ever tasted.

Because of those incredible reviews, more and more people came to Azmeria each year, eager to experience it for themselves.

The auction house, which started as a small local place, eventually grew into the biggest auction house in the Vellmoria Empire.

But Primrose had never imagined that Edmund had once been part of that crowd.

And if her memory was right, he wasn’t just an ordinary guest.

He was the man who had offered five million gold coins for a single bottle of her father’s finest rum.

That price caused a huge uproar.

Many nobles had been furious, fuming over an anonymous bidder who shattered the price record and outbid everyone without revealing his identity.

"You’re right," Edmund said gently, opening the bottom drawer of the cupboard. He pulled out an empty glass bottle, the label still faintly visible.

"That rum ... it’s still the best I’ve ever tasted. Nothing has come close since."

Primrose’s gaze locked onto his icy-blue eyes, the very same eyes she remembered from long ago.

She had once sat across from a mysterious man at the auction house, the man who had bought her father’s prized rum for an outrageously high price.

Back then, he had covered himself in a dark cloak.

But even then, she could see those eyes shining from beneath the hood, the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

"We met backstage," Edmund said.

And just like that, the memory came back into her mind as clear as day.

Normally, the owner of a product didn’t need to meet the buyer. Everything was handled by the auction house staff.

But since Edmund had offered such an astronomical price, Lazarus had decided to personally give him a bottle of the publicly sold version as a gift.

The meeting was brief. Edmund hadn’t spoken much.

They were about to part ways when a commotion erupted outside the auction house.

It turned out the nobles were furious, frustrated they hadn’t even gotten a taste of the famous rum.

Lazarus had gone out to calm them down, promising he’d put two bottles into next year’s auction to make up for it.

While her father handled the crowd, Primrose had been accidentally left alone backstage with Edmund.

She remembered keeping her distance from him.

He looked intimidating—tall, silent, and wrapped in a heavy black cloak.

At first, she didn’t understand why he didn’t leave. Why he just stood there in silence.

Trying to ease the tension, she had finally said, "Sir, you must really love alcohol. No one’s ever bid that high before."

The man, who she now knew had been Edmund, replied in a quiet, emotionless voice. "I only buy what I like."

His tone was cold. Like snow in the middle of winter.

It made her step back even further.

But then, suddenly, he said, "Don’t go anywhere."

She froze.

At the time, she thought he was going to kidnap her, or worse, kill her.

She had even considered screaming for her father.

But before she could do anything, Edmund added softly, "If the riot outside gets worse ... you could get hurt if you go out alone."

Primrose went quiet for a moment, realizing that the frightening man had purposely stayed backstage, just to keep her safe while her father was away.

It was strange, though.

They had barely even known each other, and Edmund had only just met her father briefly.

So why would he choose to protect the young lady he didn’t even know?

"I’m not going anywhere," she had murmured.