I Became the Youngest Sister-in-law of the Ruined Reverse Harem’s Male Leads - Chapter 63

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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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#.63

In truth, Marius was quite lenient with the Duchess Ecroyd.

She was related to the Imperial Family through marriage, and she was the aunt grandmother of Edgar, whom he cherished like a son, and Leopold, his only friend.

Knowing this fact well, the Duchess boldly went to find Edith with the Ladies’ Association’s petition in hand.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Thanks to you, I slept very soundly.”

Even at the openly sarcastic tone, Edith’s expression didn’t change one bit.

“How enviable. I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.”

“Oh my.”

“You called that child an unstable woman in front of Regina’s family. You were terribly rude to me.”

“That was…”

“My sister was also rude to you.”

“Yes. Very much so.”

“And you also acted insultingly toward my sister.”

Even as a duchess, she wasn’t unaware that she had been rude.

Her desire to drive Regina away from Leopold, even through humiliation, had been overwhelming.

“I apologize for the rudeness shown to Your Majesty the Empress. I misspoke.”

“I’ll accept it. Just this once.”

“And please make sure to tell Miss Regina this: international marriage is absolutely unacceptable.”

“Then would it be acceptable if Regina changed her nationality?”

“Even so, only the letters on her identification would change—the fact that Miss Regina is Trobancha wouldn’t change.”

“Hmm…”

Edith, who had been conversing coldly, stroked her chin with her fingertips.

“Actually, if you were fine with it, I was going to arrange a meeting between you and Regina, but I suppose that won’t work. I think my sister would be deeply hurt.”

“Ha! Miss Regina? She didn’t even blink when she offered me money!”

“Isn’t it good that she has backbone? I was proud of her.”

Only the Duchess trembled with rage at the Empress’s consistently composed attitude.

She thrust forward the petition as if throwing it down.

“I’m planning to file a lawsuit against His Majesty and Leopold to obtain custody of Edgar. And this is the signature of the Ladies’ Association participants.”

“There are still people who believe this rumor.”

“If Your Majesty the Empress doesn’t clarify this matter, we intend to take action.”

While the men cowered, afraid of losing power, the noble ladies were different.

“We will formally raise an objection to the temple, saying we cannot recognize Your Majesty the Empress as the Empire’s Empress.”

Edith read through the document.

This time it wasn’t raising suspicions that Lilliana might be her daughter.

It was demanding she provide evidence that Lilliana was not her daughter.

At this behavior that stirred up memories she didn’t want to recall, Edith squeezed her eyes shut.

* * *

It was a month ago, when full summer was beginning.

“If you don’t have money, why don’t you extort it from the Emperor instead of making me do it?”

“Stop grumbling. Can’t you do this much for a coworker?”

“Since we’re coworkers, I should only see you at the Magic Tower. Why should I see your face on this perfectly good weekend?”

After entering the Magic Tower, she had been leaving work almost every day at dawn.

There was a dormitory within the Magic Tower, but it had long been packed full with materials and research equipment.

Cramming her body between luggage to catch brief naps was fine for a day or two, so she decided to become independent.

‘There might be explosions, so I can’t go back into the Imperial Palace.’

So she found a house in a quiet, secluded neighborhood with few neighbors.

It was a modest two-story house with a yard, and the rent was cheap.

After paying the deposit and scheduling the move, she enlisted Francois as a porter.

“Using a genius like me as just a porter—you’re really not in your right mind either.”

“There are hazardous chemicals, so it’s safest if you move them.”

“If it weren’t for you, I’d be at a party having fun right now.”

When Emilia shut her mouth because she didn’t want to deal with him anymore, Francois deliberately got on her nerves.

“I was even supposed to be introduced to an actress famous for being pretty. And here I am doing this with you instead of being with that woman.”

“Will the sky fall if you can’t date for one day? Stop grumbling and be quiet.”

What an insufferable bastard.

Emilia clenched her fists.

She was twice as angry because Francois wasn’t even pretending to listen and was looking at the scenery outside the carriage.

Though they’d known each other for quite some time, the two still growled and fought whenever they saw each other.

“But this neighborhood… it’s where I live.”

“Really? If the Mage Tower Master lives here, it must be a decent neighborhood.”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

Just then, the carriage stopped.

Francois frowned as he checked the building and turned to look at Emilia.

Emilia was unloading luggage from the carriage.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and move this stuff so I can get to the party.”

“This is your house?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t need to unload the luggage.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Go back to the dormitory. You won’t be able to live here.”

He must really find helping with the move bothersome.

Emilia ignored Francois’s warning and continued unloading luggage from the carriage.

“Ah. If you don’t like the dormitory, I’ll give you money, so look for a different neighborhood.”

“What’s the problem? What’s wrong with it?”

Then Francois jerked his chin toward the neighboring house.

“That’s my house.”

“We’re neighbors? Let’s pretend we don’t know each other even if we run into each other on the street.”

“It’ll be difficult in many ways, so I recommend finding another house before finishing the move.”

“If you didn’t want to carry luggage, you should have said so earlier and I would have brought someone else. This guy is really no help.”

“Hmm. So you want to suffer like a dog before moving out.”

Snap.

When Francois snapped his fingers, the hazardous chemicals floated up gently and flew smoothly into the house.

The day after finishing the move with the Mage Tower Master’s help, hell began.

Because periodically, every dawn, strange sounds came from the neighboring house.

Screeeech. Creak. Cackle-crack. Thud! Bang!

Whirrrrr. Crash! Crunch. Screech.

At first, she thought Francois Cassel was picking a fight.

Even when they met at the Magic Tower, he showed no sign of remorse, but since they were research partners, she endured it.

For a whole two weeks!

“…I don’t know what you’re doing at night, but it’s too noisy for me to sleep. Please be quiet.”

By the third week, unable to bear it anymore, she asked Francois.

But Francois’s reaction was:

“That’s why I told you to move. It’s still not too late.”

“Why should I move because of you?”

“Then live like this.”

“Are you perhaps a bit crazy?”

“You’re the one who’s a sunfish.”

No manners. No courtesy. No common sense.

If only she had the strength, she’d love to beat the annoying smugness right out of him.

Though Emilia didn’t have power as strong as Edith’s, she had grit.

She was so angry she could go mad, but she gritted her teeth, determined to see who would win.

It was while she was enduring the noise through sheer rage.

“Emilia. Doesn’t the Mage Tower Lord live in the neighborhood you moved to?”

“He’s next door.”

“My goodness… How could they rent out a house like that…”

Gabriella, a colleague she’d met at the Magic Tower, stroked Emilia’s back with a face full of sympathy.

“Why, why? What’s wrong with that?”

“You really don’t know anything.”

Gabriella looked around, then gestured for Emilia to lean down.

She explained in a hushed whisper.

“The housing prices in that neighborhood are cheap because the Mage Tower Lord lives there!”

“He is an unlucky bastard.”

“No. That’s not what I mean. He’s a bit crazy, you know. Actually, not a bit – he’s completely insane.”

To the confused Emilia, Gabriella slowly explained.

“As soon as his father, the previous Marquis Cassel, died, he completely burned down the Cassel family estate.”

“What? You mean he’s an arsonist?”

“He burned everything in that house – paintings and jewels passed down through generations – turned it all to ash. It was all over the newspapers for a while. Calling him an arsonist, saying he was mentally disturbed…”

“You’re joking, right?”

“You know the Mage Tower Lord. Someone who’s sensitive about fashion and loves dating – why would he live in such suburbs? He was driven out after living in the city center.”

When the shocked Emilia was at a loss for words, Gabriella assumed she didn’t believe her.

“I swear on my doctoral thesis.”

For a researcher, swearing on one’s doctoral thesis was equivalent to staking one’s soul.

“…This is driving me crazy. An arsonist was living next door.”

Emilia clutched her head and gulped down water, her chest trembling.

Her temples throbbed painfully.

She’d just thought he had really bad character, a shitty personality, and was somewhat less than human, but he was this seriously disturbed?

Is it really okay to work with him?

…It probably is.

‘He does good work… damn it.’

As she was mentally chewing him to pieces, she saw Francois Cassel walking outside the window, chatting affectionately with a woman.

The woman was an actress she’d seen a few times in newspapers.

So he does date. But why on earth would that woman meet such a crazy bastard?

Francois, who had been smiling at the woman, made eye contact with her.

‘Ugh.’

Emilia pretended to vomit at the sight of Francois.

Francois, with his hand on the woman’s shoulder, showed her his middle finger.

They’d each given as good as they got, so what was so annoying about it?

Creak. Creeak. Clatter. Screech.

The noise was particularly severe today.

Even with earplugs and a pillow over her head, she could still hear the nerve-grating sounds.

Not noise from upstairs, but from next door… At this rate, something really bad was going to happen.

“Aaaahhh!”

Emilia screamed and got up.

It was 4 AM. It had been a month since she’d been unable to sleep.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

Emilia rushed out in her pajamas.

Whether he’s crazy or whatever, she didn’t care.

In her current state, she could become an arsonist too.

Bang! Bang!

“Hey! Open the door!”

Bang bang! Bang!

“Open the door!”

All sorts of sounds were coming from inside, but there was no sign of him coming out to open the door.

After kicking the door with her feet, Emilia went home and brought back a garden hoe.

Bang! Clang! Bang! Crash!

She banged on the metal gate and shouted.

“Let me get some sleep, you damn bastard!”

Dear God. I’m about to send someone up to you today, so please be ready.

Actually, no. This one’s going to hell, so there’s no need to pray.

Thunk!

The hoe got stuck firmly in the iron door.

At that moment, light surrounding the entire house flickered in a dome shape before disappearing.

“This is…”

Emilia blinked like an idiot.

Francois Cassel’s house had magic cast on it.

Sealing magic, no less. And even more,

“…he sealed it from the inside.”

At the highest grade, with three layers no less.

In other words, Francois Cassel had sealed himself inside.

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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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