The next morning, at a slightly late hour.
Victor Karloff sat at the breakfast table wearing a neatly pressed linen shirt. Before him lay a freshly baked croissant, eggs Benedict with caviar, and a steaming espresso.
Normally, he would have been leafing through a newspaper, surveying world affairs, but this morning his gaze was fixed on his daughter Katerina, who sat across from him idly poking at her salad.
“Did you enjoy last night?”
His voice was tender. Outside he was an oligarch ruling as a ruthless dictator, but before his only daughter, he was always disarmed. Katerina set down her fork and stared at her father.
“It wasn’t fun. What’s so entertaining about watching old men showing off their money to each other?”
As always, her face was bored, but surprisingly Victor didn’t frown at his daughter’s complaints. He seemed quite used to this atmosphere.
“But the wine talk was worth listening to, wasn’t it?”
“Well, that…”
“That young Asian man is exceptionally skilled. You saw yesterday, didn’t you? Stan drinking Astra Veil and being left speechless?”
“That was quite impressive.”
Despite having many complaints about her father, the image of Stan Kronke drinking Astra Veil and falling into silence had made a deep impression.
“If Stan had set his mind to it, he could have obtained dozens of cases of Astra Veil. He could have swept up all the auction stock at Sotheby’s. But I looked into it, and he didn’t even touch it. Do you know what that means?”
“…Because it was a wine you had already claimed, Father.”
“Hahaha! Exactly. We understand each other so well. Stan couldn’t buy in bulk because I had claimed it first. If he had, it would have looked as if he were following my lead.”
“I can’t understand either of you.”
“You may not understand, but think of it as an invisible battle between men. Either way, I was so happy yesterday.”
“……”
Katerina, watching her father’s delighted expression, asked.
“Does it make you that happy?”
“…Why? Do you dislike me being happy?”
“It’s not that I dislike it. You have something you love so much, so I wish you’d stop doing shady things just to make money.”
Victor’s face hardened. He tapped the table, organized his thoughts, and spoke.
“Business is just business.”
“I wish you wouldn’t package it as business. I want you to stop involving yourself in such things.”
“……”
“Do you know why someone like Stan looks down on you so much? Wine is just an excuse. He looks down on the wealth we’ve built. He’s mocking our roots.”
Victor glared at her with blazing eyes, then soon turned his head away.
“Enough. Let’s stop.”
“So let go of it now. You don’t have to force yourself to do it anymore, do you?”
“……”
Katerina placed her hand on top of Victor’s.
“Okay? Do that. Please.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
Katerina, who had expected a flat refusal, embraced Victor tightly.
“I haven’t reached a conclusion yet.”
“Please reach that conclusion. Then I’ll be a good daughter from now on.”
“……You can’t withdraw from business carelessly. I need time. Procedures are important, and I need to find trustworthy people.”
“You can do it, right?”
Unable to defeat his daughter, he shrugged.
“Well, I’ll try.”
“Good. Then I’ll try too.”
“Try? Try what?”
When Victor asked with a puzzled gaze, Katerina smiled brightly, as if she had never worn a sullen expression.
“Chateau Belle Epoque. I can’t just leave it as it is, can I? I think I can find a way.”
Victor Karloff, watching his daughter quietly, spoke.
“Actually, I’m planning to sell Chateau Belle Epoque.”
Katerina’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Actually… near the end of last night’s party, that Asian fellow made me an interesting offer. He said he wanted to buy Chateau Belle Epoque. And at a brazenly low price at that.”
Katerina’s pupils trembled slightly. The image of Brian on the terrace last night, persistently grilling her about Belle Epoque, came to mind. Pretending to simply pity the situation while extracting information, then going straight to her father to strike a deal?
“…How much did he offer?”
“He told me to sell an 80 million euro winery for 15 million. Only 5 million in cash upfront, and the rest to be paid from profits after the wine sells—a bold proposal. He’d leave me only 20% equity.”
Katerina swallowed a hollow laugh at the shocking proposal. She realized Brian was a cunning predator disguised as an innocent farmer.
“That’s ridiculous. Surely you’re not thinking of selling it like that?”
Contrary to her wishes, Victor lowered his eyes and spoke calmly.
“I haven’t given an answer yet, but honestly, I’m leaning toward it.”
“Ha… he’s really something else. He struck exactly where it hurts most. Acting like he’s doing you a favor by taking that white elephant off your hands—the monthly maintenance alone costs hundreds of thousands of euros—when really he’s trying to snatch that massive land for a pittance. Honestly…”
Victor smiled bitterly, understanding what she was trying to say from her ambiguous expression.
“Right. It’s a method I often use when buying real estate.”
Victor tore off a piece of croissant and put it in his mouth, continuing.
“So what do you think? Should I take him down a peg, or should I accept this outrageous deal?”
“…It’s too cheap.”
“True. A 60-hectare (about 150-acre) winery is like being a top-class landowner on the Right Bank of Bordeaux.”
Seeing her father’s obvious regret, Katerina also furrowed her brow. She knew well that her father had bought that land not simply to make wine, but also from the conquering desire of possessing territory. Yet selling it so cheaply must be a decision made after deep deliberation.
“So will you be satisfied with 20% equity?”
“Externally it can be packaged well enough. The scene of joining hands with the superstar from Napa Valley that I discovered and creating another victory in Bordeaux, France.”
“……”
“I remain a great patron who recognized the world’s greatest genius and entrusted the heart of Bordeaux to him. If a legend begins again from the land Stan Kronke mocked, what revenge could be more perfect? I feel like I’ll go mad anticipating the look on Stan’s face.”
Knowing her father’s mind was made up, she sighed.
“Hoo, it can’t be helped.”
Victor gently took his daughter’s hand and spoke.
“Daughter, don’t worry. I’ll find another winery for you. I know you studied wine for me.”
“…..”
“This time I’ll find a very good plot without failure. Building a relationship with that young Asian man will be a great help when buying your winery.”
“Alright.”
At his daughter’s nod, Victor smiled proudly.
---
That afternoon, as I was packing to return to Napa Valley, Andrei—Victor’s man—guided me back to the penthouse. On the table lay a stack of documents.
Victor greeted me with a steely gaze that showed none of yesterday’s intoxication.
“I’ve decided to accept the conditions you proposed exactly as they were. 15 million euros, 20% equity. And 5 million euros upfront, followed by an earn-out.”
Then Victor pushed a fountain pen toward me.
“In return, I want Victor Karloff’s name to be heard wherever you go.”
In exchange for letting it go so cheaply, if the wine succeeded, he wanted me to promote his name as much as possible. At these words, I grabbed the fountain pen without hesitation, smiling. With a scratching sound, my name was inscribed at the bottom of the contract.
“Don’t worry, Victor. Someday Stan Kronke will call your secretary’s office to buy this wine. You can look forward to seeing how humiliated he’ll look.”
Only then did Victor grip my hand firmly, seemingly satisfied.
After concluding the contract with him, as I was about to exit the building under Andrei’s guidance, I saw Katerina waiting for me.
“You coaxed my father well, obtaining that vast estate so cheaply?”
“Don’t think of it only negatively. It’s a win-win contract.”
“Hmm… I think so too. For my father’s sake, please succeed at that winery.”
“Thank you.”
“Ah, and there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Is your girlfriend very pretty?”
“…Yes, very much so. She’s the top beauty at UC Davis.”
I walked past her strange smile and got into the Rolls-Royce Andrei had waiting.
Then I boarded the plane I had come on and returned to Napa Valley.
---
What greeted me upon returning to Napa Valley was the quiet scenery of the redwoods. The quiet, cozy farm landscape I encountered after experiencing New York’s glamorous life calmed my heart.
“As expected, farming is right for me.”
Though I had enjoyed glamour and comfort I had never experienced even before my regression, still I was comfortable at the farm and missed my parents and Chloe.
Sure enough, when I entered the winery, Chloe had been waiting for my arrival and was the first to rush at me. She hugged me tightly and soon sniffed at my chest.
“You smell amazing?”
“She took my clothes and even did the laundry herself.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“Hahaha, let’s go in.”
I took Chloe’s hand and went in. In the office, my father as well as Warren and Daniel were waiting. Warren immediately greeted me with a smile.
“Your face looks brighter after returning from New York?”
“It was a good experience. Are you well, sir?”
“I’m still in my prime. A cold is nothing.”
Then I turned my gaze to Daniel. As soon as I arrived at Napa airport, I had contacted him and deliberately had him come to the winery.
“How is the wine?”
“It’s aging well in the oak barrels. This fall, rumors will spread that an impressive wine has emerged at Laguna Creek.”
I nodded and sat down. Everyone focused their gazes as they sensed I had something to say.
“Actually… while in New York, I bought a winery from Victor. In Bordeaux…”
At first, people were surprised that I had bought a winery, but they were even more surprised when they heard the location was Bordeaux.
“Bordeaux? You bought a winery in Bordeaux?”
Naturally, Chloe was the first to ask.
“Yeah, it’s called Chateau Belle Epoque. It’s a winery Victor Karloff owned.”
Warren cut in upon hearing.
“I know. Victor was quite troubled by that winery.”
“Right. So… I need to go to France soon to finalize the acquisition process…”
Before I finished speaking,
“Me too! I’m going too! I’ve finished treating the frost damage perfectly, and a week or so without my hands is no problem at all.”
Chloe clenched both fists and stared straight at me. Those intense eyes showed a determination that she wouldn’t forgive me if I left her behind this time too.
“Okay… I said okay… I was going to ask you to come with me anyway.”
“Really? Really? Kyaa!”
After barely calming Chloe down as she cheered and hugged me, I spoke to Warren and Daniel.
“So I need both of you to come with me. Especially… Daniel, this trip might take a bit longer this time. Will you go?”
This was both an offer for a long-term business trip and my permission for him to join the company. Perhaps because of that, Daniel smiled deeply and said,
“France is my specialty.”