Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 48

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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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Life at the villa was satisfying.
Without Duke Icard and Evan around, I had no one to worry about, and the days were wonderfully peaceful.
From my room, I could see the Olta Forest at a glance, and the view was magnificent. The Olta Forest was a broad deciduous woodland distributed across the southwestern region of the continent.
Deep within the Olta Forest, where human hands had never touched, mysterious plants thrived, and they were said to keep the air in this region clean and pure.
“Rest was just something I threw out carelessly, but the air really is wonderful here.”
Serena, after spending a few days here, spoke as though she’d completely fallen in love with the place.
“The Olta Forest must be quite remarkable. I’ve heard that even people from here who leave for distant lands eventually return to their homeland.”
There were five estates that bordered the Olta Forest, and two of them were Hanua and Borotna. Hanua and Borotna were located at a distance that was neither very close nor very far.
Among them, Hanua was the farthest from the Capital and still maintained traditional ways of living.
There was a reason why the lord Simor had purchased the relatively unknown Hanua Estate. The discovery of iron ore was like a distant future jackpot, something even Simor didn’t know about. It was what could be called a stroke of luck granted by fate.
Simor had purchased the Hanua Estate for a different reason.
“I’ve had the guild members handle everything you mentioned….”
Serena held out a paper bag as she spoke.
“I bought this out of curiosity too.”
“Really?”
I accepted the paper bag.
A delicious aroma wafted out immediately.
“Should I call Lisa so we can eat together?”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
The relationship between Lisa and Serena was somewhat peculiar. Lisa was wary of Serena and seemed to burn with an odd competitive spirit.
Serena, by contrast, bickered with Lisa but was surprisingly cool about it.
“Hey, Serena.”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t things between you and Lisa going well?”
“Rather than things not going well….”
Serena, twisting up her red hair, answered matter-of-factly.
“The truth is, I don’t really pay much attention to Lisa. Of course, she annoys me sometimes, but I forget about it right away.”
“Really?”
“I barely have enough attention to spare for the men….”
I was at a loss for words. I knew Serena maintained subtle relationships with all sorts of men at the Count’s Manor, but when I thought about what had happened since we came to Borotna, I was astounded.
The servants who couldn’t come to Borotna were in tears on their end, and the servants who did come were engaged in fierce mind games among themselves….
“Serena, but dating so many men is a bit….”
“Dating?”
Serena spoke firmly.
“I’m just getting to know them.”
….
“I need to get to know them first before I decide whether to date them or not, right? And if I’m not certain, it’s only natural to get to know different people.”
It was oddly difficult to refute.
“Right, well… who am I to say anything? That’s a matter of personal freedom. I was being narrow-minded.”
“Speaking of which….”
Serena’s eyes gleamed as she clung to me.
“Shouldn’t you also find out what kind of man suits Laria?”
“Huh? I’m not particularly interested. Besides, I don’t want to do anything like infidelity.”
“It’s not infidelity… just exploring, that’s all. You and Evan are going to separate anyway. Do you plan to remain chaste for the rest of your life after you leave?”
“Well… I’m still young, and I don’t have any particular interest in men yet.”
“Getting to know many different men is also a way for Laria to understand yourself.”
Serena, who had seemed endlessly frivolous, continued with utmost seriousness.
“You can only know what you like and dislike through experience. You need to accumulate many experiences to truly choose the right person. For example….”
Serena gestured toward the envelope she’d handed me with a knowing smile.
“You have to taste this madeleine to know whether I like it or dislike it, right?”
Inside the envelope was a madeleine, something deeply connected to what I was about to undertake.
“Rather, you could say you’re learning Laria’s taste through knowing that Laria likes madeleine.”
“Hmm.”
“So Laria, let’s explore more. I’m not telling you to do anything specific, just to explore your own preferences. Your marriage with Evan isn’t a normal one anyway, and separation is already planned….”
Regardless of what Serena said, I had absolutely no intention of flirting with any man other than Evan, even if he was a husband I’d eventually separate from.
Perhaps because I’d often witnessed noble families bound by political marriages enjoying secret meetings with other partners, Serena’s values differed somewhat from mine.
“Never mind, let’s just eat already.”
The envelope Serena had brought and placed in my hand contained madeleines—quite unusual ones sold only in the Hanua region.
I called Lisa over, and the three of us had tea time together. The flavor was certainly different from madeleines from other places. Even Lisa’s eyes widened as she asked Serena where she’d bought them.
‘This must be the male lead buff….’
I felt certain that money would definitely come in.
“It’s so sweet and really delicious.”
I grabbed another madeleine and muttered to myself.
“Evan will come to the banquet, so I should buy some more then.”
Imagining Evan’s sulky expression as he’d complain that he wasn’t a child while I finished off an entire bag, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.
* * *
The Hanua Estate had been neglected for a long time. The lord of Hanua was not only incompetent but also addicted to gambling.
So when word came that Hanua had been sold to a new owner, the estate’s residents weren’t particularly surprised.
However, the fact that ownership changed at the midpoint where the Molpwe River ran through Hanua was somewhat disheartening.
A baron named Kail Dart Labonis purchased the right side of the Molpwe River, while a baron named Simor Gold Litshia purchased the left side.
“So we… are now under a different estate?”
Because the owners were different, the estate residents called them Kail-Hanua and Simor-Hanua for convenience of distinction.
However, it wasn’t long before the residents realized their lives hadn’t changed much. Both Kail and Simor remained in the Capital and simply appointed representatives, showing no particular involvement in estate affairs.
Various policies, including the most important matter of taxation, were implemented identically to before. And not long after, Simor Gold Litshia came down to the estate.
Since the mansion where Hanua’s original lord had lived was in Simor-Hanua, Simor took up residence there immediately. Then he said something very strange.
“I will purchase all the Hanyua Wheat Flour.”
Because there had been an abundant wheat harvest the previous year, every household had wheat piled high in storage.
Simor bought all that accumulated wheat at fair market prices. While everyone was bewildered, not understanding the new estate lord’s strange behavior.
Tourists began flooding into Hanua, which was geographically isolated and not well-known to the outside world. Since Hanua had never been famous for travel, all the estate residents were shocked.
Even accounting for summer being travel season, this was unprecedented… and moreover, the tourists all flocked indiscriminately to the bakeries in Hanua, searching for ‘madeleines’.
“I came because I wanted to eat Hanyua Madeleines!”
“Pardon?”
As outsiders suddenly flooded in seeking madeleines, every bakery in town rapidly depleted their flour supplies. With demand continuing to surge, bakery owners found themselves forced to repurchase flour from Simor at three to four times the price they’d originally sold it to him for.
Yet despite this, their profits continued to mount, making the repurchase from Simor advantageous for them as well.
What madness was this? The people of Hanua, especially the bakery owners, found themselves in a daze day after day.
Of course, there were those in Kail-Hanua who profited alongside this chaos…
And that was me.

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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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