Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 26

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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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4. Each Their Own Circumstances
Serena burst into Sven’s intelligence café in a state of complete excitement.
“So far, it’s been absolutely brilliant.”
Sven, who had been organizing the enormous amount of information that had poured in just today, looked at Serena with bewildered eyes.
“Perfect score so far. I want to keep watching.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Laria. The way she schemes from within Duke Icard’s Mansion while staying hidden is extraordinary.”
While others thought all of this was mere coincidence, Serena had immediately recognized it as Laria’s machinations. She’d caught on from the moment the Knight Captain was named ‘Sven’.
“I have a feeling about this. I really like Laria.”
Serena made a slicing motion across her neck with her hand.
“She guided Duke Icard and wrapped up the situation without any room for controversy.”
Sven, listening intently to Serena’s excited rambling, smiled contentedly and settled deep into the sofa.
He stroked the black cat Neo, who had been purring while sitting on his lap.
‘Indeed, something about her caught my eye from the moment I first saw her at the racetrack.’
“She’s the person we’ve been looking for.”
Serena clasped her hands together and continued speaking.
“Completely different on the inside than the outside, skilled in schemes, brimming with acting talent.”
“Then for now, we should watch as closely as possible to see how she grows.”
Sven spoke with gleaming eyes.
“From the circumstances, she’s clearly planning to leave House of Icard, so we should do our best to help her.”
“Of course! She needs to be free. She’s too good to waste in the House.”
Sven nodded slowly.
“That’s true.”
Given that Laria had mentioned the Royal Court, the picture was becoming clear. She would escape, and Evan would be entangled with Princess Elani of the Royal House—just as everyone with any political sense had predicted.
‘It’s possible that’s Duke Icard’s intention as well.’
The exact details would only become clear once he met with Laria.
“Perhaps….”
“Perhaps what?”
“Duke Icard might be planning to kill Laria. Once his power grows enough, he could tie Evan to Princess Elani again.”
“My goodness.”
“Laria is an orphan with no one in the world. She could die without anyone knowing, and no one would care.”
“Good heavens, so he brought her in with that intention? He’s complete human garbage! No wonder he wasn’t even surprised when Laria said she had a terminal illness!”
“I didn’t realize he was capable of being that despicable. He’s truly gone too far.”
“That must be why Laria is trying to escape!”
Serena and Sven, unaware that Laria originally had a terminal illness, had successfully branded Calaudin as the worst kind of human in an instant. Serena spoke with an excited expression she couldn’t contain.
“Then we don’t owe House of Icard any loyalty!”
“What loyalty?”
“I felt sorry for Laria from the moment she married so young. She should be with a hundred men. I’ll help cultivate her eye for men step by step.”
“Laria is a married woman right now. Don’t forget that.”
“She’s going to leave him anyway, right? Besides, infidelity is common enough in political marriages, and if she runs away on top of that, it’s just over, that’s all.”
Sven completely ignored Serena’s words and pointed at the map with a wooden stick.
“Listen carefully, Serena. If Laria agrees to our cause, here’s the plan going forward.”
“Yes.”
“When Princess Elani’s marriage prospects draw near, we’ll help Laria escape. Of course, Hanua, the territory she’s already purchased, would be ideal.”
“Yes.”
“Then Duke Icard will announce that Laria has gone missing, and he’ll have Evan marry Princess Elani instead.”
“Hmm?”
Serena tilted her head with a puzzled expression as she listened to Sven’s words.
“But what if he doesn’t marry Princess Elani?”
“That won’t happen.”
“What if Prince Evan ends up developing feelings for Laria? The way he looked at her today was no joke.”
“Then it’s a disaster.”
Sven summed up the situation plainly.
“Duke Icard is already indifferent to Prince Evan—why would he care about his love life? If Prince Evan gets his hands on her, she won’t be able to escape. She’ll be killed without anyone knowing.”
“Sigh….”
“So we need to be careful. If Prince Evan resembles Duke Icard, he absolutely won’t let go of a woman he’s taken a liking to.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
“If he goes dark, it’ll be a real headache. Keep them as an indifferent couple living without a care in the world—never provoke him.”
Sven warned her with a furrowed brow.
The black cat sitting on his lap yawned languidly.
“For example, don’t do things like recommending other men to Laria under the guise of teaching her how to judge men. Don’t do that.”
“But early education is important….”
Serena pouted and grumbled.
“Absolutely, absolutely—Prince Evan must not develop feelings for Laria. If he does, all of this becomes meaningless. Understand?”
Unaware that it was already too late, Serena nodded with a determined expression.
“Oh, and Laria asked me for something. She said it’s time to earn some money….”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“She asked me to find someone and bring them here.”
* * *
“Evan, don’t you want to sleep? I’m getting sleepy.”
That night, I asked him cheerfully on purpose.
Evan no longer said things he didn’t mean. Of course, that didn’t mean he said things he did mean either.
“Yeah…. I should sleep.”
Evan fidgeted with the fairy tale book, starting to say something before stopping himself, opening his mouth before closing it again.
Sigh, the poor thing must have been stressed lately. I’ll look after him.
“Should I read you a fairy tale? Until you fall asleep.”
“That’s something only children do….”
“You don’t want to?”
“Well, we are children, aren’t we?”
Evan’s usual stoicism was endearing—especially how his neck would flush red whenever I showed him a little kindness.
“Come here, I’ll read it to you.”
I patted the space beside me enthusiastically. Evan handed me a fairy tale book and settled down next to me, then gently rested his head against my shoulder.
‘Wait? I said I’d read to him, not that he could lean on me.’
Still, he’d been through so much lately that I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. My son’s mind had been shattered by that mad Knight Captain, and Duke Icard—his own father—wasn’t even attempting to help him recover. So I had to do my part.
I stroked the hair of Evan’s head resting against my shoulder and began reading the fairy tale. The book’s cover featured an adorably cute baby bear.
“The baby bear loved to watch the stars in the night sky.”
Evan listened contentedly, leaning against me as he heard my voice.
“But one day, that star fell as a shooting star.”
Honestly, I’d bought it because the illustrations were pretty—I didn’t really know what the story was about.
“The baby bear crossed mountains and fields to bring the star back.”
I was thinking, did it really need to cross mountains just to catch a star?
“And it searched frantically, eyes rolling back in obsession.”
‘What kind of fairy tale is this?’
The cute baby bear seemed far too obsessive, didn’t it? There was quite a gap between this and the pretty picture on the cover.
“When the baby bear finally reached the sea, it embraced the starfish that the star had become.”
What kind of fairy tale is this? Shouldn’t we consider the starfish’s perspective—the one living peacefully in the sea?
Evan slowly shared his thoughts.
“It’s a good story, isn’t it?”
“Uh? Um…”
Since I’d bought it, I couldn’t very well say it was strange. I closed the fairy tale book with a lukewarm feeling.
“Now let’s sleep.”
“Wait, Evan. Why are you sleeping like this?”
Evan pulled me close and patted my back gently.
“You always cling to me when you sleep.”
That’s because I was trying to check your wounds. Is this the disaster I brought upon myself?
“I’m sorry about everything. That’s why I want to do the things you like beforehand.”
Well, sleeping while embracing Evan isn’t exactly a disaster…
“Don’t worry. As long as we don’t hold hands while sleeping, we won’t have a baby.”
“That’s… right?”
Evan spoke calmly, but something felt off to me.
“Actually, I almost held hands by accident while half-asleep once…”
But looking at Evan’s serious expression, I thought, ‘He’s just a child at heart, despite his size.’
“I’ll be careful, so trust me.”
“Okay…”
I could only nod slowly.
Evan was a year younger than me, but his frame was so much larger than his peers that he looked fifteen or sixteen. My build, on the other hand, was smaller than average, so I fit snugly in his embrace.
Yet somehow, I felt the need to care for him. Especially on nights like this when he lay silent for so long without sleep. I sighed softly and spoke first.
“Evan.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t take what Ludba says to heart.”
“I don’t mind.”
He answered quietly.
“You said I shouldn’t get along well with you, but I won’t be swayed by such words anymore. I really need to get along with you.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
That wasn’t the point right now.
Frustrated, I lifted my head and met his crimson eyes.
“Those ridiculous things people say—that you’ve made everyone unhappy because of you….”
“It’s true, Laria.”
“…What?”
“Can’t you feel it? Father and everyone in the Duke’s Mansion—they all miss Mother.”
I couldn’t deny that. Even composed Lisa sometimes wore an expression of helpless longing for Matilda. And Duke Icard, whose entire demeanor had transformed, was beyond mention….
“As long as Mother doesn’t return alive, it’s a darkness I’ll have to carry with me for the rest of my life.”
“But it’s not your fault. You know that. And if you don’t overcome that darkness, you’ll continue to be unhappy.”
“That’s something I can’t help, Laria.”
Evan smiled carefully. After all, having arrived at the Duke’s Mansion only recently, there was no way I could resolve such a long-standing trauma in one go.
“Still, when I look at you, Laria….”
He murmured softly.
“I catch myself thinking that this is what family is really supposed to be like.”
“….”
“The Racetrack was our first family outing together. Back then, we really did feel like an ordinary family.”
I didn’t answer, instead burying my face in Evan’s embrace. For some reason, it made me melancholy to realize that Evan and I had been thinking exactly the same thing that day.

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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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