Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 178

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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All eyes snapped toward the commotion in an instant.
Soon, the viscounts scattered throughout the hall, cursing “What in blazes is this Ebinart dress?” as they began wreaking havoc everywhere. Some of them overturned tables and shattered bottles of wine.
The Banquet Hall descended into chaos in moments. The sound of breaking objects and falling furniture mixed with screams as people scrambled to avoid the destruction.
Everyone was looking around in shock when it happened.
“Hello, and thank you for coming. But what should we do?”
Matilda suddenly noticed Laria standing before her and gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth.
Despite the pandemonium, Laria remained perfectly composed. The way her cute dimples deepened suggested she was actually enjoying herself.
Laria examined the Respian Duchess and those around her, then spoke with a concerned tone.
“Looking at the lace, it seems you’re all wearing dresses from the Ebinart Atelier… but that place is currently entangled with the Card House, causing quite a scandal. The viscounts who lost money there have completely lost their minds. I think you should leave this place immediately.”
With the manor descending into chaos behind her, Laria smiled and drove the point home.
“I’ve watched gamblers for a long time, so I know… when they get excited, there’s no reasoning with them. I’d suggest you keep a low profile for a while.”
“H-how did this happen, Laria?”
Matilda asked in a trembling voice.
Laria smiled and explained calmly.
“The Ebinart Atelier commissioned something from the Magic Tower. It was… cards that could be used for cheating.”
“Oh my.”
“And a few days ago, new cards arrived at the Card House, and many viscounts lost a lot of money using them. They just found out about it, which is why everyone’s going mad.”
As Laria’s explanation continued, the viscounts who had lost heavily at gambling began causing increasingly severe destruction.
Laria shrugged and spoke.
“They seem to think everyone wearing clothes from the Ebinart Atelier is complicit. I told them that wasn’t the case, but do you think they can hear anything right now?”
“Good heavens…”
“I had no choice but to reveal the Ebinart Atelier’s signature lace technique to avoid ruining my Debut Tante, but they’re already destroying it anyway. Sigh, how frustrating.”
Though Laria spoke of frustration, her expression was almost mischievous. The Respian Duchess’s circle surrounding Matilda flinched and tried to hide their lace, but it was futile.
Laria opened her eyes wide and spoke urgently.
“Escape through the back entrance right now, quickly! Everyone’s had too much strong liquor and they’re not thinking straight!”
This was true. All the alcohol prepared for Laria’s Debut Tante had high alcohol content.
Eventually, the Respian Duchess’s circle began frantically running toward where Laria pointed. As Laria stepped closer to Matilda, she accidentally stepped on a fan the Respian Duchess had dropped.
“Oh dear.”
Laria picked up the fan herself, showing no surprise whatsoever. Then she called over a passing servant and handed it to him.
“Send this to the Respian Duchess’s residence. It seems a bit damaged, but since the Duchess dropped it herself, she should be understanding about that much.”
“Laria…”
“Well then, Matilda, shall we go see my mother? She must be quite panicked right now—please stay with her!”
Laria cheerfully linked her arm through Matilda’s.
Matilda was kind, but she wasn’t foolish, so she gave Laria a bewildered look and whispered to her.
“Laria, is this perhaps… surely not…?”
“Did you enjoy yourself, Matilda?”
Laria smiled and looked at Matilda.
“I wanted the people I care about to have fun at my Debut Tante. Not people like them.”
Matilda’s expression went blank for a moment before she finally smiled slightly and pulled Laria into a tight embrace.
“Really, Laria… I’m so grateful. Truly. But what about your Debut Tante now that it’s come to this?”
The Manor had already descended into chaos.
Drunk noblemen had ransacked the Manor searching for people wearing clothes from the Ebinart Atelier, and now they were rushing out into the Garden, seizing carriages and flooding toward the Atelier in droves.
“What do you mean? I’m delighted, Fred’s delighted, and well, Mother will probably be delighted too. I made sure to include a note on the invitation stating that any damage to property requires tenfold compensation.”
In truth, I was quite enjoying myself. This entire scheme suited my temperament perfectly.
From the moment I heard about the embezzlement at the Ebinart Atelier, I sensed something was amiss.
The money gained from merely defrauding customers about fabric quality wouldn’t be substantial. Moreover, conducting business that way would inevitably drive away customers in the long run. So I suspected the Ebinart Atelier was accumulating small sums now to invest in something far more lucrative—
After investigating the Atelier’s activities, I was able to deduce their connection to the Magic Tower and the Card House.
From that point on, it was simple. I merely encouraged the rougher-natured noblemen who frequented the Card House to wager large sums.
I had cultivated extensive connections in high society and understood people’s weaknesses and temperaments well, so orchestrating such schemes was effortless. Manipulating events from behind the scenes for those I cared about was my greatest pleasure.
Moreover, I had eliminated the noblemen who had been pestering me in one fell swoop, so Fred would surely be in excellent spirits.
Though today would be somewhat distressing, Esther would undoubtedly feel quite satisfied—after flaunting the Countess’s Manor’s wealth today, she would begin issuing bills starting tomorrow.
Even the noblemen who lost money gambling would recover their losses at the Card House and might finally develop an aversion to gambling, making this beneficial for them as well.
“Well, it’s a shame Evan didn’t witness this spectacle…”
I smiled wistfully.
In truth, I had never imagined Evan wouldn’t attend my Debut Tante.
Of course, if urgent matters arose in the Duchy, he would need to accompany Calaudin as his heir—but this was my Debut Tante. And I was even wearing the jewels Evan had given me.
That was when an ornate carriage arrived at the chaotic front gate of the Countess’s Manor. It was the Duke’s carriage, bearing the Icard crest.
“My goodness? That’s…”
Matilda recognized it first, blinking and pointing.
I gasped and rose onto my toes. The person who hurriedly descended from the carriage was Evan, impeccably dressed. He appeared bewildered by all this commotion.
Without thinking, I began running toward him. From a distance, I started to shout asking why he was only arriving now, but I quickly stopped myself. After all, he had departed at dawn due to Duchy matters, so perhaps I should ask why he had come so soon instead…
As these thoughts crossed my mind, my footsteps abruptly halted. And in an incredulous voice, I murmured:
“…Father?”
The person who emerged slowly from the carriage, holding Evan’s hand, was none other than Rostri Count.
As I stood motionless, Evan approached me with a bewildered expression.
“This is… what on earth happened? I brought the Count with me.”
“Father… why did you…”
Evan gazed at me quietly for a moment, then shifted his gaze slightly. He surveyed the chaotic Garden of the Countess’s Manor and spoke.
“Simply put, you seemed upset that Father wouldn’t be attending your Debut Tante.”
“When did I ever say that!”
“…I’ll correct myself. You didn’t say it outright, but at least to my eyes, you appeared upset. And you were quite worried about how it would look to others.”
I gazed blankly at the ruined Countess’s Manor, then glanced briefly at Rostri Count standing there equally bewildered, and sighed.
Esther had already rushed over and was pestering Rostri Count about what could be done.
I abandoned acknowledging my father and grabbed Evan’s arm.
“But regardless, why did you bring my father…”
“Actually, this morning I received a report that an illegal gambling den had been established in the Duchy… and your father’s name was on that list.”
My mouth fell slightly open.
Evan continued speaking, his gaze still fixed on the Garden.
“As you know, the Icard Duchy has rather severe penalties for such matters. There was no need for everyone to learn that your father would be imprisoned on your Debut Tante. So I rushed there before the gambling could begin and… brought him here. For today, it seemed like the right thing to do.”
I was rendered speechless, my fingers clutching at my dress. Never before had I been so at a loss for words.
“Of course, it’s not just anticipation. For some reason, I have a feeling Father won’t come that day… I’ve already abandoned any hope that he’ll be devoted to family, but still, if he doesn’t show his face at such an official event, people in society will talk about it, won’t they?”
“Why does that matter?”
“It might not matter to you, but it matters to me. I’m not even asking for an escort—just that he’d come late and sit there, that would be enough. That’s what worries me the most.”
It was merely a passing remark, but Evan remembered it and brought Rostri Count here himself.
Laria’s lips were trembling slightly when Evan furrowed his brow and asked again.
“But what is this? You said you’d come as quickly as possible….”
In fact, it hadn’t been long since the Debut Tante began. From Evan’s perspective, he was only about twenty minutes late, yet it was as if the entire event had already ended.
Then Matilda approached and stood beside Evan and Laria.
“We adults will handle the rest. Evan, take Laria somewhere and get her something delicious to eat. We can’t have the protagonist of the Debut Tante doing this kind of cleanup, can we?”
“What?”
Laria’s eyes widened in question when Matilda winked at her.
“I’ll help Esther well. Even though I look like this, I have experience with these kinds of things. Organizing damaged items and finding the person who broke them to write up bills diligently. There were so many troublesome customers at the Clothing Store where I used to work. But Laria, you mustn’t get your hands dirty with this rough work today. After all, it’s your birthday.”
If Matilda had used the word “Debut Tante” instead of “birthday,” Laria would have immediately shaken her head, saying she never put much significance on it in the first place.
However, Matilda deliberately used the considerate expression “birthday,” and while pushing Laria’s back, she whispered quickly to her son.
“I really tried not to interfere… but do well today, my son. If you look at her with such desperate eyes and fail to bring Laria home as my daughter-in-law, Calaudin and I will be deeply disappointed for the first time since raising you. Hurry and go while Fred is distracted, hurry!”
In the end, Laria and Evan were pushed out by Matilda, and they got into the Count’s Manor carriage that Evan and Rostri Count had arrived in, leaving the Countess’s Manor alone together.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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