I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 126

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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 126

 

After arriving at the castle, I suddenly raised my gaze.

 

In the high spire overlooking the castle gate, Helene’s office was located.

 

Though I couldn’t confirm it due to the sunlight, I had the feeling she was surely watching us.

 

While exchanging correspondence with the Emperor, I learned about Helene’s circumstances from Rohan, who was well-informed about imperial news.

 

‘An Imperial Princess so outstanding that she was once considered as a successor.’

 

In my memory, Helene was an exceptional Imperial Princess and an existence revered as the ideal of noble ladies.

 

Even I, who had little interest in social circles, had heard enough of her reputation.

 

That same woman had become the mistress of a ducal house.

 

Between becoming Emperor and becoming the mistress of a ducal house, I couldn’t know which future would be a happier ending.

 

But I could be certain of one thing.

 

‘Helene wouldn’t have wanted to give up.’

 

How would she, who had to give up the throne, view Chloe?

 

And what would she think of me, who helped Chloe?

 

I couldn’t dare to presume her feelings.

 

Chloe and I walked toward the annex building.

 

Even after walking for a long time, the spire didn’t disappear from view.

 

* * *

 

“You are under arrest.”

 

Kenneth bound Edwin and loaded him into his carriage.

 

Originally, he should have been confined to the noble detention center until trial, but Kenneth took custody of him on his own authority.

 

The nobles of the provincial court who witnessed Edwin’s behavior tacitly approved of Kenneth’s choice.

 

They thought there was no telling what he might do if left alone like this.

 

“Ugh, urgh…”

 

Kenneth handed a towel to Edwin, whose mouth was torn and continuously bleeding.

 

“Cover your mouth. The imperial carriage mustn’t get dirty.”

 

Edwin glared with an aggrieved look, but lowered his head under Kenneth’s contemptuous gaze.

 

“Am I… going to the capital?”

 

“Yes, the investigation will continue there.”

 

“For, for just something like this…”

 

Edwin thought that while he had committed a crime, it wasn’t serious enough for the Captain of the Imperial Guard Knights to step in.

 

Wouldn’t this make it seem like he had committed treason or something?

 

‘This is all because of that reading club.’

 

His resentment toward Chloe quickly faded.

 

Fear arose that he shouldn’t rebel against her.

 

On the other hand, his anger toward the reading club that had incited her grew stronger.

 

Especially his feelings toward Wilhelmina intensified.

 

Perhaps because he had once felt attracted to her, he now felt betrayed as well.

 

As he was dwelling on his anger, the carriage slowly began to depart.

 

‘…What? Why are there two coachmen?’

 

There had definitely been only one coachman until just a moment ago, but now there were somehow two.

 

Just as Edwin was puzzled by the silhouette of a sturdy man visible through the blurry window, Kenneth spoke up.

 

“You’d better prepare a defense. In a noble trial, there won’t be any witnesses on your side.”

 

“Is there… no possibility of a reduced sentence?”

 

“That’s not for me to decide.”

 

“I’m a victim too! Being forced to deal with Black Hand, entering Count Tilim’s house – it was all someone else’s conspiracy!”

 

“…Oh?”

 

The excuse he had prepared seemed quite interesting, as Kenneth’s eyes lit up.

 

When he nodded his chin as if to say ‘tell me more’, Edwin began explaining his past with some exaggeration mixed in.

 

Meeting an advisor one day, the circumstances that led him to handle deals with Black Hand, the method by which he became Count Tilim’s son-in-law… the timeline of his story gradually approached the present.

 

“Even so, it was definitely thanks to me that we got to deal with the ducal house. I was so sincere about the wool business, stockpiling wool by having conversations with many families… conversations…”

 

Just then, he found a contradiction in his memories.

 

‘That’s right, I had conversations with many families. I gave and received investments, showed the count’s power.’

 

And he had been humiliated too.

 

He had been found with his pants down at a viscount family’s banquet hall, and had even gotten injured because of it.

 

Thinking about it now, that was when everything started to go wrong.

 

Baron Romd starting to spout nonsense, the reason he couldn’t show his face in social circles – it all stemmed from that banquet.

 

For some reason, memories from that time came flooding back now.

 

‘People said I was too drunk to remember anything.’

 

Those memories that should have disappeared suddenly took shape.

 

Like wind blowing against a sand-covered window, the outline became dimly visible.

 

The starting point was none other than his anger toward Wilhelmina.

 

The deeper his anger grew, the more the hidden memories surfaced.

 

Wilhelmina… she had been there.

 

‘You have a listening device in your ear.’

 

The woman with lake-colored eyes who had approached him, saying incomprehensible, strange words.

 

‘Why, why had I forgotten? I wasn’t drunk enough to not remember. Why did I forget my encounter with her?’

 

At that time, he had tried to lay hands on Wilhelmina.

 

He had approached her with vulgar desires.

 

Then suddenly, a large hand appeared from somewhere and grabbed his throat.

 

That hand that emerged through thin air had deleted his memories.

 

That was the only way he could describe it.

 

It wasn’t his consciousness slowly fading due to alcohol, nor was it mistaking it for a dream while falling asleep.

 

Like dye being washed away by lye water, that mysterious grip had erased his memories.

 

“Memory-erasing… magic?”

 

It was magic I had never heard of or seen before, but there was no other explanation for it.

 

“C-Captain. Something’s strange.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“My memory is strange. The Grand Duchess… Wilhelmina, that person must have done something!”

 

“The Grand Duchess?”

 

Kenneth frowned.

 

Edwin, in his panic, failed to realize that what was contained in those eyes wasn’t bewilderment or curiosity, but hostility and wariness.

 

He simply wanted to somehow spill this secret he had discovered.

 

“My memory of when I met her has disappeared! Why, why didn’t I notice? If I had realized it then, I would have reported that Wilhelmina was interfering with that man! I…!”

 

“Stop.”

 

Kenneth knocked on the wall with a thud, thud.

 

Edwin, startled, closed his mouth.

 

At the same time, for some reason, the carriage stopped.

 

“Really, how incomplete.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“You’re certainly right, as you said.”

 

It wasn’t something said to Edwin.

 

Just as Edwin was about to ask who he was talking to, the carriage door opened with a clatter.

 

“Did you expect this to happen?”

 

“About half of it.”

 

The man who had been next to the coachman opened the carriage door and entered inside.

 

“…Gasp!”

 

Long hair covering his eyes, a sturdy build that rivaled Kenneth’s, and…

 

‘This voice!’

 

It was the exact same voice as the owner of those hands that had erased his memory.

 

Edwin’s eyes shook violently in shock.

 

All sorts of questions swirled in his head about why he was with Kenneth, whether he had been listening to their conversation all along.

 

Kenneth asked the man in a flat voice.

 

“What will you do?”

 

“I’ll have to erase it.”

 

Erase what?

 

Before Edwin could figure out the true meaning of those words, the man’s hand grabbed his throat.

 

“Kugh!”

 

It was a familiar sensation, just like that time.

 

An unpleasant energy traveled up through the man’s hand and rummaged through his head.

 

He tried to resist by struggling, but in the narrow carriage, even swinging his arms was impossible.

 

Edwin’s limbs began trembling frantically as he let out a scream.

 

“No, stop… my, my memory…”

 

Don’t touch my brain-

 

Unable to finish his words, Edwin closed his eyes.

 

Edwin, whose memory had been violated once again, foamed at the mouth from the aftereffects and fainted.

 

The man who had been quietly watching this scene, Rohan, dropped Edwin to the floor and sat down in his place.

 

“Let’s depart.”

 

“…Are you coming with us?”

 

“Yes, I need to check once more when that fellow wakes up.”

 

Kenneth nodded with a slightly uncomfortable expression and knocked on the carriage wall.

 

The coachman began moving the carriage again.

 

“…”

 

The two sat in silence side by side.

 

Rohan was staring out the window, lost in thought, while Kenneth, annoyed by Edwin touching his feet, pushed him under the chair.

 

“Ahem, Duke… no, if Lord Rohan hadn’t come, this would have become quite troublesome. This fellow might have spouted nonsense about the Grand Duchess.”

 

“Even if I hadn’t, His Majesty would have handled it himself.”

 

“But words once spoken cannot be taken back. His Majesty would have found it bothersome and cut out his tongue. Then we couldn’t hold a trial, could we? This fellow must receive proper punishment.”

 

“…You’re still the same.”

 

Rohan let out a short laugh at Kenneth, who casually spoke of torture and justice together.

 

He realized anew that no matter how much time passed, Kenneth’s inflexibility never changed.

 

“That aside, he recalled his memory faster than expected.”

 

“Memory is elastic. It can return to its original state with just a small trigger. For that man, harboring feelings for Wilhelmina must have been that catalyst.”

 

Desire and anger were particularly dangerous.

 

Intense emotions were effective nourishment for memory.

 

“I thought it was remarkable magic, but seeing its limitations, perhaps not so much.”

 

“Magic is never perfect. It’s always twisted somewhere. To stabilize deleted memories, at least several more months would be needed.”

 

It was magic with many restrictions despite its excellent effects.

 

Not only was it difficult to use on opponents with strong mental fortitude, but if done carelessly, the memory could quickly regenerate, leaving only Rohan to suffer the penalty.

 

That’s why Rohan didn’t use this ability recklessly.

 

Only a few close associates, including the Emperor, knew the true nature of this ability.

 

Kenneth, one of those few, quietly gazed at Rohan.

 

Complex emotions arose in his eyes.

 

Realization, curiosity, and… anger.

 

“So that’s why.”

 

“What?”

 

“That’s why you kept your distance from the Grand Duchess. To prevent Lord Rohan’s memory from returning.”

 

Rohan’s expression hardened stiffly.

 

“The reason Lord Rohan came to the Western Region so late – was it because the Grand Duchess’s memory had stabilized?”

 

At that moment, the inside of the carriage filled with a murderous aura worse than hell.

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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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