Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 22

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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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“Yes. As the heir to the Duke’s household, it’s only natural that you’re caring for him with utmost dedication!”
“My, how kind of you to say. Was the Knight Captain’s name Sven?”
In truth, I had no way of knowing the Knight Captain’s actual name.
At the name ‘Sven,’ Serena’s eyes sparkled with amusement as she looked at me.
The easiest way to lower someone’s guard when gathering information was to state false information. It was the same principle as how a post titled “Who is the most beautiful person in the world?” would explode with comments saying “No,” whereas a post titled “The most beautiful person in the world is Yunajin!” would generate countless corrections.
As expected, the Guard Knight kindly corrected me.
“No, ma’am. It’s Ludba Di Karto. He was originally the Vice-Captain, but became the Captain five years ago.”
Ludba? Where had I heard that name before?
“Apparently, there was an occasion when Matilda went into the city with Ludba, the Vice-Captain of the Knight Order, and she threw quite the tantrum for days afterward.”
This was the person Sven had mentioned.
Duke Icard has a hawk’s eye, doesn’t he? He reads people quite well. Whether something happened or not, if a disreputable man and his wife went into the city together, of course he’d be angry.
“If it’s private instruction, we’ll do it in the Mansion Garden! At Rostri Manor, all private instruction has always been held in the garden. Just in case my presence becomes a distraction, I shouldn’t take my walks in that direction.”
“Ah, it’s not the Mansion Garden, but behind the Rose Garden.”
Indeed, the power of false information was remarkable. Humans, by nature, had a stronger instinct to correct what was wrong than to share what they didn’t know.
“Right. Beginners hate being watched, so I shouldn’t go there at all.”
The Rose Garden was quite a secluded place. Even when Lisa occasionally accompanied me on my walks, she strangely never guided me in that direction.
After dismissing the guards, I casually asked Lisa.
“By the way, people don’t seem to go to the Rose Garden much. The name sounds like a tourist attraction, so why does everyone avoid it?”
“Well….”
Lisa began organizing the clothes and accessories I had received as gifts, her words trailing off slightly.
Meanwhile, Serena kept adding her own commentary. This one doesn’t have enough frills, this one has too few jewels….
Lisa shot Serena a sidelong glance before answering.
“The Rose Garden is a place that the late Mistress personally tended to.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. She loved flowers.”
“…I see.”
“In fact… when we went into the city, Laria gave me flowers, and all of us—myself and the guards—found ourselves thinking of the Mistress for a moment.”
I had made them wait in line for an hour without thinking, and gave them flowers out of guilt, but I never realized they would think of her in that way.
‘No wonder she looked a bit flustered.’
I swear it was an action I took completely unaware. Yet they said it resembled Matilda, and that such a small gesture made them all reminisce about her.
As Sven had said, it was certain that Matilda was beloved by everyone in the Duke’s household.
“When I see Laria… I think of Matilda often. The atmosphere is quite similar.”
Lisa gently bit her lower lip, then sighed and continued.
“In any case, it seems the Duke’s heart aches as well, for he doesn’t set foot in the Rose Garden at all. Because of that, we’ve also stopped visiting it.”
“I see. Anyway, I should change into one of these dresses. I need to go thank Father.”
As I quickly changed the subject, Lisa began holding various dresses up to my body without further thought.
“You’ve been coughing frequently lately. Is your health still not improving?”
“Well, somewhat….”
I made a few gestures of suppressing coughs with “ahem, ahem.”
“If everyone knew how sick I am… they’d all feel burdened, wouldn’t they?”
I had to assume that everything I said would reach Duke Icard’s ears.
I let out a deep sigh while arranging my expression into the most pitiful look I could muster.
“I don’t want to be a burden to Father and Evan.”
“Pardon?”
“I have no family to support Evan, and I brought nothing but debt instead of a dowry when we married. If my body is weak on top of that, I feel terribly sorry toward Father for taking me in….”
“Please don’t think such things, Lady Laria.”
It seemed tears were welling up slightly in Lisa’s eyes. I’d always thought it would have been better if I’d possessed the body of a wealthy villainess instead.
Everyone complains when they possess a villainess, but I would have genuinely loved it, saying it suited my temperament.
‘Then I could have used everything the villainess possessed—money, family status, everything—to conquer the world.’
All I had was a frail body, a ruined family, and a lingering conscience like a vestigial organ. I had to make good use of even this….
“This is the best option, Lady Laria. The buttons are sewn on very elegantly.”
“Excuse me.”
Lisa wiped away her tears and shot a look toward Serena, who was selecting a different dress.
“Aren’t you her physician? Doesn’t this situation sadden you at all? Why don’t you pay attention to Lady Laria’s cough instead?”
Serena shrugged her shoulders and spoke with natural nonchalance.
“I’m just as sincere about grooming as I am about medicine.”
In the end, I selected a third dress—neither the one Lisa nor Serena had recommended—and quickly spoke up.
“This is pretty. Let’s go see Father in this. Oh, wait a moment. I should prepare a small gift as thanks.”
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot—now that I had gathered all the information I needed, I had to act immediately. I’d go to Father, and the person who hit my husband would go straight to hell. Right now!
* * *
“That’s right, Young Master. You must endure this level of pain.”
Ludba glared at Evan before him with cold eyes.
He had underestimated him for being merely thirteen years old, but was somewhat surprised to find his skills exceeded expectations.
He had indeed displayed tremendous swordsmanship ability when he was at the Academy, and he resembled Duke Icard, who had been famous as a prodigy of the sword since childhood.
No matter how much of an adult he was, he had no confidence he could easily win if they sparred with the same sword. So he was training with a short wooden sword for Evan and a real blade for himself.
“Ever since Lady Matilda passed away….”
Evan glared at him with defiant eyes, launching endless attacks, but whenever the name Matilda was mentioned, he would flinch and bite his lower lip.
“How many people are living in pain.”
By this point, most would have collapsed, yet Evan remained standing upright despite being covered in wounds. His appearance bore no resemblance to Matilda, seeming to take after only his father in his dark inner nature….
Ludba, who had watched over and loved Matilda from afar for so long, found such an Evan repulsive. It felt as though the two men bearing Icard’s name had taken Matilda away from him.
“You must never be happy.”
The other man he had hated, Calaudin, seemed sufficiently broken since Matilda left. Moreover, realistically, there was no way for him to torment Calaudin.
“You are the seed of misfortune, Young Master.”
So this child, who had caused Matilda to leave, he wanted to destroy with his own hands. Bit by bit, from childhood.
Evan faced Ludba with a weapon that was no match for him, breathing heavily. Now, just seeing Ludba’s blue uniform made his stomach churn.
The person occupying his thoughts was Laria. Throughout his life, she was the only one who treated him warmly.
Laria, warm as sunlight. Laria, who treated him—a seed of misfortune—so kindly.
Simply being together with her felt like it would bring happiness….
But according to Ludba’s words, so many people had become unhappy because of him that he felt he shouldn’t be happy.
Everyone was thinking such things, they just didn’t say them in front of him. He had only vaguely suspected it, but now it was certain. Someone as gloomy as him didn’t seem to suit Laria.
He adjusted his wooden sword and recalled Laria, who had sniffled days ago, saying she wanted to get along well with him.
Even as Evan endured what amounted to abuse under the guise of training, his mind was consumed entirely by thoughts of Laria, completely unaware of what she was scheming at that very moment.

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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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