I Became the Youngest Sister-in-law of the Ruined Reverse Harem’s Male Leads - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#.58

Does everyone become as mature as Edgar when they turn seven?

Though it had been nearly three months since coming to the Empire, Edith had never seen Edgar cry.

He was quick-witted and used words that children his age wouldn’t normally use.

Because Edgar was like that, his terrified appearance over Cookie weighed on her mind.

“Your Majesty the Empress. We searched every place Lord Edgar visited that day, but the rabbit doll was nowhere to be found.”

At the maid’s report, Edith felt genuinely sorry.

Regina would surely comfort him well, but as an adult, she went to find Edgar to at least buy him another doll…

“A hearing?”

“Yes! They say Lady Regina was dragged to a hearing!”

Knowing that a hearing targeting her was being prepared behind the scenes, she thought what was coming had finally come.

She immediately gathered her documents and departed for the parliament.

‘I hope Regina wasn’t hurt too badly…’

When she arrived at the parliament, the meeting hall doors opened and Leopold emerged carrying Regina in his arms.

Leopold, who met her gaze, bowed his head deeply as if ashamed.

“I’m sorry. This is my oversight.”

“She overused her ability. Lay her on a bed, and when she wakes up, give her one headache pill.”

Her vision flashed. Anger flowed through her blood vessels.

Huuuuu.

Edith took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Bang!

She roughly pushed the door open. Seeing the blood remaining on the table, her head went cold.

“What brings Your Majesty the Empress here?”

“Since this is a meeting for me and my sister, I had to come see for myself.”

“Ahem. Hmm. Today’s incident was caused by a misunderstanding.”

“Separate from that, the parliament convened this afternoon was about suspicions that I’m Lilliana’s birth mother, wasn’t it?”

“H-how did you know…!”

One step. Two steps.

As she moved forward, the distance between her and Count Ruman grew closer.

Count Ruman’s complexion grew increasingly pale.

Even without using her ability, the aura emanating from Edith was not something to ignore.

‘Just a little rat.’

Marius was her equal. So it was fine to threaten him by showing force.

But these people were different. A lion doesn’t need to bare its claws to hunt a mouse.

Just raise a front paw and press down. With weight behind it.

“I’m thinking of formally addressing this issue through my home country.”

“P-pardon? You’re involving Trobancha over a private matter?”

“It’s not a private matter, which is why parliament was convened.”

“It’s just a r-rumor anyway.”

“If you really thought it was just a rumor, you wouldn’t have gathered like this.”

Count Ruman’s breathing became rough.

The other council members were no different.

“Trobancha signed a peace treaty with us!”

“To maintain the peace treaty, we must clearly resolve issues that interfere with the friendship between the Empire and Trobancha. And there was blood.”

“B-blood?”

“How much did you torment Regina, an ordinary Trobancha citizen, that she was carried away bleeding from overusing her ability? This could be seen as disrespect toward Trobancha or political retaliation.”

Count Ruman’s mind went blank.

He hadn’t expected the Empress to try to escalate the incident beyond the Empire.

Not only was this not a matter worth viewing as a national issue, but his own dignity was at stake.

If this problem became a fight between nations, the Emperor would eliminate him. Even the mighty Duke Berg couldn’t protect him from the Emperor.

‘I need to handle this somehow right now, or my head will roll!’

His body trembled and cold sweat flowed.

The person who ordered the parliament convening was Count Ruman himself.

And he was also the one who used Hans Obitz to escalate the matter.

‘I must prostrate myself completely!’

Being loyal to Duke Berg and receiving scraps was no longer important.

Baron Gresli, who was in another seat, watched this side in terror.

Count Ruman suppressed his desire to kneel immediately.

“Actually… Your Majesty the Empress is misunderstanding something. I convened parliament today to suppress the rumors about Your Majesty!”

A sigh came from somewhere.

He could feel someone thinking he was pathetic.

And someone else breathed a sigh of relief.

“We tried to handle it quietly on our end. However, if we had known you already knew, we would have moved faster.”

Pfft.

Edith let out a sneer.

Count Ruman wanted to cry from shame.

If he actually cried, he’d have to move to the countryside from embarrassment.

“Is that so?”

“Y-yes… Coming all the way from a distant foreign country must be difficult…”

“Then what about Regina? What’s your reason for cornering that innocent child like that? Why don’t you try making an excuse.”

Count Ruman, with his head deeply bowed, bit his cheek hard.

It was all because of that damned Hans Obitz.

That bastard escalated things with lies, bringing the Empress all the way to the parliament hall.

If only it had been confirmed that Regina Berchio used her ability, he could have argued with the Emperor with some confidence…

Crack.

Count Ruman ground his teeth audibly. Then with that force, he grabbed Hans Obitz by the collar and made him kneel.

“We were all deceived by these men’s lies! We will take responsibility and punish them!”

Of course, he had been half-believing Hans’s claims, but the truth wasn’t important.

What mattered was what could be gained through lies, and now it was important for him to survive by punishing Hans.

Hans’s group, realizing the situation, knelt and begged Edith for forgiveness.

“Y-Y-Your Majesty the Empress. I was foolish. I beg your forgiveness!”

They had been abandoned by Count Ruman.

Even the fathers who attended the parliament remained silent without saying a word.

They even turned their gazes away, avoiding eye contact.

‘They’re going to abandon us!’

They intended to cut off their sons to save their families.

Drip. Drop.

Hans’s tears fell onto the marble floor.

“Please have mercy! We made a grave mistake. Please forgive us!”

Edith looked down at them with cold eyes.

“Your apology shouldn’t be to me.”

“W-we’ll kneel directly before Miss Regina and beg for forgiveness. Please, just once… just once…”

“I don’t know if Regina will forgive you. And I’m not a judge. All I have is the authority to appoint and punish court officials. Above all.”

As she moved forward, her shoe appeared in front of Hans’s head, which was almost touching the floor.

Edith suppressed the urge to place her foot on Hans’s head and smash it into the ground.

This was why she hated arguing with those above. There were too many courtesies and rules to observe.

She was a rough seafarer.

A warrior of the sea who crossed waves to eliminate pirates and caught and punished smuggled drugs.

‘Endure it.’

If she really acted on her impulses, she’d truly be called a barbarian.

In fact, what she wanted to do was quite problematic even by Trowance standards.

So Edith lowered herself and quietly grabbed Hans’s arm.

Crack.

The cold that seeped through his clothes froze Hans’s skin.

As sensation disappeared from his arm, Hans froze in terror like a mouse before a lion.

“Edgar’s protector is His Majesty.”

“Ah, ah… th-that’s…”

Hans trembled violently.

“Marius. What do you think? Will you forgive these people?”

Whoosh.

Following the nobles’ gazes, the heads of everyone present turned.

At some point, Marius had entered and was standing by the door, watching Edith.

Gasp!

Hans’s group swallowed their breath.

Having no political experience, they belatedly realized that their choice to drag this to a hearing with lies had been a failed gamble from the start.

“Haha. Miss Edith. You’re asking a foolish question too.”

“I was just asking out of courtesy.”

“What do you think you would have done?”

“Well. Trowance has strict laws about this sort of thing. Child abuse alone would mean imprisonment. Social burial is a given.”

“Really? The Empire can’t lose to Trowance.”

At Marius’s nod, Leopold’s subordinate knights appeared and seized Hans’s group.

“Huuuuk! Please spare us! Please…”

“Father! It’s me, Patrick!”

The sight of grown adults crying in terror was utterly pathetic.

When Marius frowned, the knights dragged them out of the meeting hall.

Edith didn’t ask separately about their punishment. The choice someone like Marius would make was obvious.

Marius spoke sarcastically to Count Ruman.

“Count Ruman. I didn’t know you were working so hard for the Empress.”

“It was something I had to do.”

“Indeed. Don’t lose that spirit in the future.”

Count Ruman bowed to Marius and Edith before fleeing the meeting hall.

The other nobles were no different.

Soon only Marius and Edith remained in the meeting hall.

“Embarrassed?”

“Enough to want to kill them all.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, just be sorry.”

“I’m a person with dignity too.”

“You play ridiculous pranks with Lilliana every day, so I didn’t know you had such a thing.”

“Lilliana is cute. By the way, how did you know there would be a hearing targeting you?”

Even though Edith was rapidly taking control of the Imperial Palace, she hadn’t managed to place her people in the Council yet.

To plant people in the Council, one needed to build thick relationships with nobles of some standing.

“Ah, that.”

“I’m curious. Answer quickly.”

“Lilliana asked me.”

“Lilliana did?”

Recently, when she was braiding her hair, Lilliana had asked.

“Big sister. What’s a hearing?”

“A hearing? Where did you hear that word?”

“From Chris.”

“Chris Ruman?”

“Yeah. We were playing house earlier and Chris said he was going to hold a hearing. But Chris doesn’t know what it is either.”

The subject of the Council’s hearing was obvious.

The rumors circulating about her had been obtained through the ladies by Regina long ago.

“So that’s how it was.”

“How is Edgar doing?”

“He seems fine. Maybe because he found Cookie, he’s playing happily.”

“Where was it?”

“Well, about that…”

Marius chuckled and explained Cookie’s whereabouts to Edith.

When Max’s brilliant sewing story was mentioned, the embarrassment Regina felt from being caught up in ridiculous slander subsided.

During the time the two were enthusiastically talking about the children, Regina came to her senses.

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