I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 100

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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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I’m a Mother-in-Law, But I Don’t Want Family Conflicts Episode 100

 

Whether Milliona was flustered or not, Wilhelmina dragged over a chair that had been placed in the corner of the research laboratory.

 

She dusted off the dusty cushion and sat down on it.

 

And as if this were her own home, she handed the bottle she was holding to the waiting butler and said.

 

“Change it to cold water.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

The butler bowed his head and left at her natural attitude.

 

‘What is this…’

 

She wanted to kick her out immediately, but her opponent was the Grand Duchess of the ducal house.

 

Thinking it was priority to hear the circumstances first, Milliona leaned her back against the bookshelf and asked.

 

“When did you come in? I didn’t even receive notice that you were coming.”

 

“It was late, so I was just dropping Mabel off. And I happened to have something to say to the Baron, so I asked the butler for guidance… but it seems the Baron didn’t hear.”

 

Only then did she recall the butler’s face, who had tried to say something before handing over the alcohol.

 

Since it was Milliona who hadn’t listened because her mind was urgent, she cleared her throat and changed the subject.

 

“Ahem, well, thank you for that… but wait, Mabel should have gone to Western Sun?”

 

Watching Milliona give thanks then ask back, Wilhelmina let out a short sigh.

 

Whether her judgment was clouded by the alcohol, the order of questions was all mixed up.

 

“There was an incident at Western Sun. Do you know Yufina Anette?”

 

“Anette’s youngest daughter? I know her, she’s Mabel’s close cousin.”

 

Close, Wilhelmina narrowed her eyes as if she didn’t like that word.

 

“It seems there was a quarrel with that child. It’s been resolved, but she seemed uncomfortable about it. Thankfully, she requested consultation from me, so we were just having a conversation until now.”

 

“I see.”

 

“…”

 

And then a moment of silence.

 

Wilhelmina asked in a low voice.

 

“Aren’t you curious?”

 

“About what?”

 

“What happened at Western Sun, how it was resolved… and also why Mabel came to me. Doesn’t it bother you? An outsider interfered in family matters without permission.”

 

Milliona frowned and tilted her head.

 

“What does it matter to me that Mabel trusts the Grand Duchess? Besides, if it’s already a resolved problem, there would be no reason for me to interfere.”

 

It was unexpected that there had been conflict with Yufina, but she wasn’t displeased that consultation about it had been requested from Wilhelmina.

 

Rather, Mabel’s choice was excellent.

 

Anyway, even if she consulted her about things like children’s quarrels…

 

‘Why would she feel sympathy for someone who tormented her?’

 

Wilhelmina answered that question.

 

“It would be because of a future with no choices. Yufina couldn’t have her own happiness. Seeing Yufina like that, Mabel thought of her mother.”

 

“…What do you mean?”

 

“It means she pitied Yufina, who could only become an adult by marrying, and her mother, who had no choice but to become an inventor.”

 

“…!”

 

A memory flashed through her mind.

 

Shortly after her husband left, words she had said to Mabel who came to show her an invention.

 

‘Mabel, you don’t need to do this.’

 

‘What kind of expression did Mabel make then.’

 

Just as Milliona was feeling confused, the butler arrived.

 

Wilhelmina received cold water from him, filled a glass to the brim, and offered it to Milliona.

 

“Here, please drink this.”

 

“That’s fine. More importantly, about Mabel….”

 

“Drink first. We’ll talk after that.”

 

There was a strange power in Wilhelmina’s words that couldn’t be refused.

 

Milliona slowly lifted the glass to her lips.

 

Wilhelmina, who had been waiting for her to finish drinking the water, slowly opened her mouth.

 

“When I heard Yufina’s story, I thought Mabel was requesting consultation because she was worried about her own future. Like she actually didn’t want to become an inventor, or had other dreams….”

 

But it would have been the opposite.

 

Milliona easily guessed what words would follow.

 

Mabel wanted to become an inventor.

 

No matter how much Milliona tried to dissuade her, Mabel wouldn’t give up her dream.

 

“And Baron, I thought you also wanted a successor. So I understood that you were treating Mabel coldly and making unreasonable demands. But when I learned that participating in Western Sun was your order….”

 

“Do you think I was urging Mabel to quit being an inventor?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

At Wilhelmina’s quiet answer, Milliona silently took another sip of cold water.

 

‘How perceptive. It’s almost regrettable that she’s bound by her status.’

 

Thanks to the alcohol beginning to wear off, she was now able to follow Wilhelmina’s thinking.

 

The clues she had unintentionally revealed to her came to mind.

 

The fact that Milliona had been favorable toward participating in the reading club.

 

The fact that she kept Kalsemo, who favored Mabel, by her side.

 

The order to participate in Western Sun… Perhaps even without Mabel’s consultation, Wilhelmina would have quickly read Milliona’s intentions.

 

“The incident at the presentation… Mabel’s wish to make friends was also something you instilled in her, wasn’t it, Baron?”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

After being ostracized at Western Sun, Mabel tried to create an opportunity to fulfill Milliona’s wish.

 

She couldn’t participate in other gatherings, and since she hadn’t had her debutante, she wasn’t invited to banquets either.

 

For such a Mabel, the opportunity of a presentation had come at just the right time.

 

And Mabel seized that opportunity to catch the big fish that was the ‘Grand Duchess of the Ducal House.’

 

What Milliona wanted from the reading club wasn’t friendship with high-ranking nobles, but a chance to escape from the Metokan Family.

 

She hoped to live as an ordinary child who made friends and had romantic relationships, rather than becoming a scholar or inventor.

 

So she wouldn’t end up like herself, who was forced to become an inventor and had her life ruined.

 

‘…So that’s why she thought of me when she saw Yufina.’

 

After hearing Wilhelmina’s words, she could finally understand Mabel’s sympathy.

 

The way she struggled against the fate imposed on her was exactly like her former self.

 

“Why? Why are you so determined to take away Mabel’s pen?”

 

“…Grand Duchess, someone like you should be able to guess the reason.”

 

She hadn’t expected Wilhelmina to ask such a question after deducing this much.

 

At Milliona’s words tinged with mockery, Wilhelmina tilted her head and replied.

 

“Estimating a situation and judging feelings are different matters. It’s unpleasant, isn’t it, having your inner thoughts exposed by someone else.”

 

It was quite a considerate attitude.

 

Milliona heavily swept her hair upward.

 

The hair that had been tied with a string was already half undone.

 

“Why should I tell you such things, Grand Duchess? Mabel would be one thing, but you and I have no relationship whatsoever.”

 

“Sometimes there are conversations you can only have because you have no relationship. Haven’t you ever needed that kind of friend, one you could tell your private matters to without consequences?”

 

“That…”

 

She couldn’t win with words.

 

Once again, it was a brilliant counterattack that seemed to read Milliona’s heart perfectly.

 

The worries she couldn’t confide to servants, other nobles, or even family lingered at her lips.

 

In the end, it was Milliona who declared defeat first.

 

“…The Metokan Family has been a family of scholars for generations. Though we’re now known for inventions, we previously studied philosophy and mathematics.”

 

She slowly began to confess the circumstances that forced her to become an inventor.

 

“I have two siblings. One of them was the eldest son, the heir. He was to inherit the family, and the other children were supposed to enter the Academy or Academic Institute. Then one day… about 20 years ago now. I invented something.”

 

“What was it?”

 

“A spring. It already existed, but I enhanced it using metallurgy. That new spring I created caught the eye of His Previous Imperial Majesty. …To be used as a weapon.”

 

After that, things that should never have happened to a baron family continued to occur.

 

The Emperor wanted to keep the inventor who had developed a revolutionary device as his subordinate.

 

But Milliona was only ten years old at the time, too young to be granted a title or made into an administrator.

 

Yet when it came to recommending her to a laboratory or weapons workshop, there was no suitable position.

 

Then, the Emperor came up with a clever solution.

 

‘I will give the Metokan Family to her.’

 

If he couldn’t grant her a title, he would take away her father’s title and give it to his daughter—a decision worthy of a tyrant.

 

Thus the Metokan Family changed from a venerable family of scholars to a family of inventors.

 

Along with gold ingots enough to fill a storage room, they were even granted the title of ‘Creative.’

 

All the siblings except Milliona left the family.

 

The eldest son, who had his heir position stolen, cursed her, and their sickly father died before he could even care for his family.

 

These were the events that occurred when Milliona had just turned fifteen.

 

From scholar to inventor. From youngest daughter to the witch who devoured her family house, it took only 5 years.

 

When she had become so wounded that she couldn’t even determine whether she was a scholar or a noble.

 

‘I understand you. You’ve done nothing wrong, have you?’

 

She met a man.

 

A man who arrogantly spouted with a smile that he understood everything about Milliona.

 

That frivolous man who had obviously approached her for her wealth… Milliona ended up relying on him.

 

That was the beginning of the tragedy.

 

“Grand Duchess, in this world, there’s nothing good about a woman being intelligent.”

 

“That’s…”

 

While Wilhelmina hesitated to respond, Milliona’s self-deprecating explanation continued.

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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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