Chap 1: Oak wooden box

“King Coong…King Coong”

The bell at the bar counter rang softly as Anthea pushed open the bar door and entered. A gentle, but equally seductive scent of wine hit her nose, making Anthea's mind feel extremely relaxed.

For some people, for alcohol, they always think: alcohol is fun, drunkenness, and wild nights. They consider alcohol to be an evil thing. When people are immersed in it, they can no longer keep themselves. Just like that, the mind gradually became confused, the mind was dreamy, and the perception of the surrounding world quickly changed. Since then, I have done many terrible things, which people cannot predict.

Some people who believe in religion and heresy believe that alcohol is a liquid that can awaken the beast that is sleeping deep inside each person. A kind of water that lures the demons that are hiding in the subconscious of each individual. This is extremely scary and dangerous. Those people hate alcohol and denounce this liquid. They even openly attacked the Empire's wine cellars many times. Although the damage caused was not much, but at least it showed their clear spirit and attitude - heretics. Anthea did not approve of what they did and did not oppose it. She just found those actions ludicrous, attacking with violence was not something that could solve the problem. On the contrary, it only makes things more complicated.

As for Anthea, when it comes to wine, she always values ​​it and considers it as a friend. She understands wine well, knows the stories behind them: taste, aroma, ingredients, how they are made, the era they were born… Each bottle of wine is a secret, they contain puzzles. about the history of time. If you understand this principle, you can easily control them and from then on you will not be swayed by alcohol. Of course not everyone is lucky enough to know this, Anthea is one of the few. However, she did not take it for granted, Anthea was proud of that knowledge.

“You came so early today?”

The owner of the tavern noticed that the "customer" was happy to come out. Rushing to ask questions.

"Um, it's convenient, so I'll stop by"

Anthea replied with a shrug, she didn't seem pleased at being warmly received by Maxi. Cold and indifferent is what others use to describe Anthea.

“Just in time, I have something to show you.”

Maxi paid little heed to Anthea's indifference as if he were all too familiar with this kind of feeling. It wasn't very pleasant though and it was hard to act normal because no one had ever dared to ignore him before.

"What?"

Anthea raised an eyebrow at the man in front of her. Light blue and white eyes, golden hair glittering with metallic luster, harmonious and beautiful five senses like a statue. This makes his beauty and temperament, not inferior to any god. But when she saw the mischievous smile on Maxi's beautiful face, Anthea silently cursed her thoughts.

"I guarantee it, it won't let you down."

Maxi winked at Anthea, trying to sound mystical. Lips do not forget to curve up into a crescent moon. This appearance makes Maxi more like a delinquent than ever.

Anthea didn't care about Maxi, she casually reached for a glass of wine from a passing waiter. Raise it gently in front of him, making an inviting gesture. Then take a sip, and dry it up. The warm liquid that ran down her throat was so comforting.

Maxi found himself being ignored, less than a glass of wine for the commoners, and was furious. But that anger was quickly replaced by a smile on the bottom of his eyes. He said nothing, turned, and walked towards the bar, gesturing to the waiter. He quickly took out a wooden box from the cellar and carefully handed it to Maxi. The wooden box is very delicately carved, each line of the wood grain seems to have been handled very meticulously, and you can feel the smoothness at your fingertips.

Maxi's actions successfully caught Anthea's attention, who at first was just curious as to what he was up to. Until the box was brought out, Anthea's brow furrowed slightly, her eyes darkening a bit.

“My boss invites you into the bar.”

The waiter walked up to Anthea and said respectfully.

She nodded, signaling him not to block her view, silently watching Maxi standing in the bar. He was giving a slight provocative smile.

Anthea took a deep breath, adjusting her chaotic mood. Returning to his usual nonchalant expression, he walked towards the bar without expression.

Maxi pushed open the door to the cellar. As soon as the door opened, Anthea's mind was quickly filled with the faint smell of oak in the air. Maxi placed the wooden box on the table in the middle of the room, then carefully adjusted the light to an appropriate limit.

Since entering the cellar, Anthea has remained silent. She calmly rolled her eyes and observed everything here. The oak barrels are neatly arranged, one after the other, evenly spaced. It is estimated that in this cellar, the number must be up to hundreds of barrels. But when arranged like that, it looks very neat.

Anthea can feel that teach oak barrel contains a different wine. By touching the barrel, checking the wine's temperature. Different wines will have different room temperatures. And the second thing that helps Anthea easily distinguish each type of wine is its scent. Distinctive, distinctive, unmistakable.

"What are you doing? Come here?"

Maxi called out, seeing Anthea walking further and further down the room, following a row of aged oak casks.

Hearing Maxi's call, Anthea turned around in surprise. See him standing in the middle of the room, waving at her. Anthea had just found out, she had come this far.

“Very fragrant.”

Anthea spoke up, this was one of the few times she took the initiative to talk to Maxi. The words, though brief, could not hide the appreciation.

“Of course, they are all under my supervision from ingredients, processing, and distillation.”

“You monitor so closely. Strictly manage both temperature and light. These two factors are also extremely important to the quality of a bottle of wine. I appreciate this.”

“A must-do”

Both Anthea and Maxi – connoisseurs of wine know well that, to make a bottle of wine, there are many steps to go through. Sequential and methodical. There are no shortcuts, no steps can be skipped. Little by little, bit by bit carefully and meticulously, creating results. A bottle of wine sought after by aristocrats should be something that enhances their human value when used, not cheap water. It must be the sweet liquid that flows in their throats that make them nostalgic, not cheap perfume. The kind of water whose fragrance has a very short life.

“You keep them well, but is this a safe place to protect them?”

Maxi looked thoughtfully at Anthea. He recalled, that he had also encountered such questions from people close to him. Most of them expressed concern that such a quantity of precious wine was stored in a cellar of a commoner's tavern, where the guard was lax. Anyone from any social class can enter.

“The most dangerous place is the safest place”

Maxi shrugged in response to Anthea's question. At the same time, he kept an eye on each oak barrel that was stored in the cellar. Who dares to say that this place is not safe enough to protect them. It's like him being too despised and undervalued.

To Maxi, these wooden crates he valued like his own life, the turbulent liquid sleeping inside them, he valued more than his own blood. Only he knows how much effort he spent making them. And only Maxi understands how important they are to him. No one was allowed to doubt Maxi's ability to protect those oak barrels, including Anthea.

Maxi's gaze sharpened slightly, examining Anthea intently. She was still carefully checking the temperature of each crate, by placing her hand on the barrel. Shiny jet-black hair, neatly pulled up by Anthra. A few loose strands of hair fell from her arrogant neck, swaying slightly with every movement of her body.

It is easy to recognize Anthea as a foreigner, by the color of her hair - a characteristic of the East. And it is more important to realize this, which according to Maxi belongs only to those born and raised in the far eastern lands. That is the privacy of Anthea's mind and thoughts. She is very good at hiding her true feelings, but she is quickly exposed by a smiling man like Maxi. However, each time Anthea exposes her feelings, she behaves uncomfortably, but he finds this to be cute and attractive in her.

Because this is the first time Anthea has taken the initiative to start a conversation and worry about Maxi since they met. So he decided not to calculate with her about the taboo incident that Anthea had accidentally committed.

'Do not know, no offense'.

This justification made the smile in the corners of Maxi's eyes even darker.