Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 42

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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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* * *
After Laria fell asleep, Evan slipped quietly out of the room.
Spending time with Laria had left him desperately short on sword training, so he’d come out in the dead of night to condition his body for at least an hour.
He still couldn’t believe that soon he would be sending Laria away.
Just when he thought they could finally live properly together… As he headed toward the empty Training Grounds, he heard someone stifling sobs in the forest.
“Who’s there?”
At Evan’s cold question, a startled servant suddenly emerged.
“Cop?”
The man whose eyes were swollen red from crying was none other than Cop.
“What’s wrong?”
Cop sniffled and hesitated before answering, finally speaking with a twisted expression.
“It’s just… some woman… she was toying with me.”
“Toying with you?”
“Yes… I thought things were going well between us, but it turned out she was seeing several other servants from the Count’s Manor… My sincere heart was trampled on.”
“How unfortunate.”
Now that he thought about it, Cop had mentioned having a woman he was getting close to before.
“Robe who works in the Prison, Evan who works in the kitchen, Kaibun who works in the Garden—they’ve all fallen victim to her schemes…”
“That’s truly terrible.”
Evan offered hollow consolation and thought it was time to be on his way. There seemed to be quite the flirt among the servants at the Count’s Manor, but it wasn’t his concern.
He just needed to keep things as they were, hoping Laria would recover. Even if she didn’t get better, it would be fine as long as she stayed by his side, but he hated seeing Laria suffer…
“Serena… this sinful woman… I should have known that if she’s pretty in my eyes, she’d be pretty in others’ eyes too…”
Evan’s expression froze as he was about to leave.
“Yes. Serena is a good person. There’s so much to learn from her, so much to admire, she’s like the physician of my very soul!”
What was Laria learning from her right now?
* * *
From some point on, Evan began acting increasingly strange.
“Laria, have you ever thought about seeing a different doctor?”
He asked several times a day, subtly suggesting he’d assign her a different physician instead of Serena.
“Why?”
“… It’s just something doesn’t sit right with me.”
Evan’s expression was very serious.
‘How unexpected—the son has better instincts than the mastermind…’
Of course, I could easily brush off his question.
“There’s been no doctor like Serena who could cure my illness. Even when I was at the Countess’s Manor, my condition never improved, but since meeting Serena, I can feel it gradually getting better.”
“But…”
“Do you… not want me to get better?”
As I asked weakly with my shoulders drooping, Evan finally couldn’t say anything more about Serena.
“… Sigh.”
He only began running his hand through his hair more frequently and muttering to himself.
“I should have gone to the Medical Academy.”
“Huh?”
“If he’d skipped grades like a madman, he might have his license by now.”
“….”
“He definitely could have graduated at the top of his class….”
The Medical Academy is where commoners go, so what is he talking about….
Once I realized I couldn’t separate Serena from myself, he began pressuring me in another way.
“I’ve learned something from what happened with Ludba.”
That was a welcome thing to hear. I desperately hoped he’d finally realized that everything Ludba said was nonsense!
“Yeah? What is it?”
Evan answered my hopeful question seriously.
“A man who’s set his eyes on another man’s wife can’t be left alone.”
“…What?”
“They cause problems that span generations.”
“Well… that’s true, but….”
“You absolutely cannot let it slide mercifully.”
It seemed the Ludba incident had left another strange mark on him. He’d become excessively wary of other men approaching his wife.
‘Could it be that I was unnecessarily harsh with Redian the painter before because of this?’
I tilted my head. When he looks at me, does he really think of Matilda?
‘Well… that’s common among people here. Even my great-aunt thought of Matilda when she saw me.’
Evan’s crimson eyes gleamed ominously, as if I were looking at Duke Icard himself. Serena was right. The best answer was to keep anything too intense at a distance.
“Laria.”
“Hm?”
“I’ve placed additional orders for the finest bedding and furnishings for your villa. I wanted to fill it with good things. I even managed to procure Oclasian wood, though it’s difficult to obtain.”
He said it in passing, but he remembered it. Why is he like this? He’s really completely wonderful.
“Oh my, thank you.”
“I’ll visit often.”
There’s no need for him to come that often….
“Never be kind to another man. Don’t smile at him, don’t say you want to get along with him. You understand?”
“I understand.”
“Don’t read fairy tales to him either. Don’t stroke his hair. Don’t buy him ganache.”
“Why?”
“Because even if a woman has a husband, she could still capture a man’s heart like Ludba did with such things.”
“Evan.”
I let out a deep sigh. The influence of the Ludba incident was indeed profound.
True, it wasn’t the kind of incident one could easily shake off. But this was bordering on delusion, so severe that I needed to correct it somewhat.
“Don’t associate such things with Ludba. Unless a man is exceptionally easy-going, he won’t give his heart away over a few such gestures.”
“Hm?”
“Isn’t that right? How light-hearted would a man’s feelings have to be to fall head over heels for a few actions? So don’t worry.”
“….”
“If he does fall for such things, that’s also ridiculous. Unless he’s a philanderer who loves every woman he meets.”
“….”
“Isn’t that so?”
“…Well, I suppose that’s true.”
Evan nodded reluctantly, though something about him seemed unsettled. Was it because I was leaving that he felt as though he were saying goodbye to his mother? He appeared almost abnormally anxious and restless.
Evan gnawed at his fingernails while muttering to himself.
“I’m going mad with worry.”
I reached a conclusion. Evan, whose mental state had been shattered by Ludba, seemed to have developed some form of attachment to me for having comforted him in that moment.
‘Well, he’s still young, after all.’
But for safety’s sake, keeping my distance was certainly the right choice.
Out of sight, out of mind—and once I was gone, he would spend time with Duke Icard and gradually return to his true nature.
I had briefly considered seriously manipulating Evan to avoid death, but since he harbored guilt toward Duke Icard, I suspected he would side with his father when it truly mattered.
And more than anything… such melodramatic family entanglements were not my style. Trashy dramas were entertaining to watch, but when it became my own story, they became exhausting.
“Hmm, hmm.”
Of course, Duke Icard was also behaving oddly. When I went to his office after being summoned, what he said right away was quite something.
“Do you need pocket money?”
“Pardon?”
“When you go there, you might find yourself in need of cash at some point, and since neither Evan nor I have any, it would be awkward to suddenly ask for money.”
Father… did you forget that you won a considerable sum at the horse races?
But since more money was always better, I was contemplating how to extract even more when the Duke suddenly thrust a sketchbook and colored pencils into my hands.
‘A sketchbook….’
Ah, I see. I understand now.
‘Really, it’s not as if I’m truly without funds.’
Accepting money from someone who could kill me and drawing heartwarming pictures in return was something only shameless children would do.
“Father!”
And I was precisely that kind of shameless child when money was involved.
“That’s right! You said you’d give me pocket money if I drew pictures for you, didn’t you?”
I clapped my hands and eagerly accepted the sketchbook and colored pencils. As I began drawing right then and there, Duke Icard stroked his chin and furrowed his brow.
“You seem to have quite a talent for art… Perhaps I should hire you a tutor….”
“Really?”
I pointed to one of my drawings and grinned widely.
“What do you think this one is?”
“Judging by the grotesque way it sprawls about… a torch from hell?”
“It was a tree, Father. And this one?”
“With that menacing expression and wielding a scythe… the Grim Reaper?”
“…It’s you, Father, with your sword.”
Well, since he held the strings to my life, his assessment wasn’t entirely wrong when you thought about it.
Thus my supposed artistic genius was quickly dismissed. As I filled the sketchbook, silently chanting “quantity over quality,” Duke Icard suddenly spoke.
“When you go to Borotna.”
“Yes.”
“We must hold a gathering to introduce your presence in that region.”
“Y-yes.”
“Even if you’re not feeling well, there’s nothing to be done about it. Since you plan to stay there for a long time, you’ll need to make an impression on the local social circle.”
The social circle! From what I’d read, it was a battlefield without gunfire where factions formed and gossip ran rampant—a place where idle nobles with nothing better to do engaged in petty power struggles over trivial matters!
‘Somehow, this feels perfectly suited to my temperament.’
Even the brief lessons Olivia had given me were quite enjoyable.
‘The local social circle might be smaller in scale, but why not try to conquer it as a hobby?’
“You’re gentle and delicate, so I’m not sure how well you’ll adapt… If it becomes too difficult, just make a brief appearance and then claim you’re unwell and stay confined to your room.”
“Pardon?”
“As long as you bear the name of House Icard, no one will dare say anything to you.”
Duke Icard continued in his blunt manner.
“These insignificant children might try to exploit your weaknesses, so don’t take it too much to heart.”
They’d come to exploit weaknesses? That’s completely amateur.
“I’ll likely be too busy to attend the banquet… but I’ll send Evan. Even if your birth family is in ruins, having Evan there should give you some support.”
I didn’t really need Evan to be sent either.
“I… I don’t want to become a burden to Evan just because I’m ill.”
I lowered my eyelashes and spoke in a pitiful voice.
“At first, I was happy just to become part of Father’s and Evan’s family, but now I’m so worried that my illness might be a burden to House Icard. Evan is already busy enough with his lessons as the heir…”
So please don’t send him often except in special circumstances.
Duke Icard fell silent for a moment, then murmured to himself.
“…How kind.”
And then he said nothing for a very long time.
He looked at me with distant eyes, sighed, and then gazed out the window at something far away, repeating this pattern. Eventually, he even took out a sacred object from a drawer and fiddled with it absently.
But he did not ask about or mention my condition. The fact that he continued to hide the truth of my limited time meant he was acting according to the original story.
‘I don’t know what it is yet, but it seems he doesn’t cherish me enough to abandon whatever goal he desires…’
I quietly finished the painting, received a pouch of gold coins, and left the study.

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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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