I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 140

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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 140

Once my permission was granted, the retainers began preparing for the journey to the capital.

It seemed to be a more serious matter than expected, as not only Richt but other retainers also helped with the preparations.

They made three dresses embroidered with the emblems of the Peon Empire and House Layton, along with jewelry symbolizing the Duke’s Estate, shoes, and so on… The cost easily exceeded the annex building’s annual budget.

I gave hints to keep it moderate, but Richt firmly pushed forward with the work, saying “These are His Grace the Duke’s orders.”

I was also busy in my own way.

I moved around busily, learning imperial etiquette from the Baroness, and receiving contact information for scholarly nobles in the capital I could rely on if needed from Baron Metokan.

Eventually, the day of departure approached.

Even though it was only a schedule of less than a month, the people of the annex building saw me off with tears as if I were going abroad to study.

“When Grand Madam returns, I’ll definitely have researched new desserts.”

“Researching is fine, but I can’t give you more budget.”

“I, I’ll knit a winter sweater!”

“Rose, you said you’d knit this spring too, but you only made socks.”

After the not-so-tearful farewell ended, I headed to the main castle.

Mikhail and Helene were also waiting to see me off.

‘His complexion doesn’t look bad.’

Mikhail still greeted me with a smiling face.

His appearance seemed healthy, but since the retainers were worried enough, he probably wasn’t completely fine.

Helene also greeted me with her usual respectful attitude befitting a daughter-in-law.

“I’m sorry I can’t accompany you, Mother.”

“…No, it’s fine, it’s for the family. I heard Helene is busy too.”

“It’s alright, it’s the lady of the house’s responsibility. If you encounter any inconveniences in the capital, please contact the Duke’s Estate mansion in the capital anytime.”

There was a mansion in the capital where the Duke and his wife could stay.

Though it hadn’t been used for a long time, attendants from the Duke’s Estate were still working there.

‘That aside… Helene doesn’t seem to be in the mood for conversation.’

Her tone was polite but lacked warmth.

Since the Chloe incident, I hadn’t had a proper opportunity to talk with her.

I would have liked to at least share some conversation about how Zeonil and Minerva were doing…

‘Looking at Mikhail’s expression, that’s not happening.’

Mikhail smiled bitterly and shook his head briefly.

Today didn’t seem to be the right day.

“I heard Mikhail also caught a summer cold, don’t overdo it.”

“Haha, I’ll keep that in mind. Ah, Mother, someone came from the imperial palace to meet you, shall we go see?”

“To meet me?”

“Yes, they sent guards.”

At his words, we all headed to the castle gate together.

In front of the castle gate, ten horses and armed knights were gathered, each emanating an extraordinary aura.

Feeling like I was looking at the Margrave’s subordinates, I unconsciously looked for Nata.

Just then, Nata was carefully observing one of the knights.

“These are guards sent by His Imperial Majesty.”

“But we already have guards?”

Several of Mikhail’s knights, including Nata, had accompanied us.

According to Nata, they had enough strength that even a hundred bandits couldn’t defeat them.

Yet in the midst of this, the Imperial Palace was sending knights too, and judging by the numbers, there were almost as many knights as servants.

“During travel, there are also soldiers scouting, so I think there’s no problem with guard duty… but His Majesty seems to be looking forward to Mother’s visit. When I contacted him, he dispatched knights like this.”

Would it be treason to say this was unwelcome attention?

When I turned my head so the knights couldn’t see me frowning, Mikhail let out a laugh.

“Of course, if Mother refuses, it’s fine to send them back as they are. Well, if that happens, they just won’t join us, but they’ll end up following from the front or back…”

“Fine, let’s go together.”

No matter how unwanted this kindness was, the other party was the Emperor.

If I refused without reason, I’d worry about the future, so with a sigh, I decided to travel with them.

Then Nata approached cautiously.

“Grand Madam.”

“What is it?”

“May I have a conversation with them? I think we need to divide roles regarding guard duty.”

“Go ahead.”

After sending Nata away, naturally only the three of us remained.

The servants were busy moving luggage or checking the carriage.

As I was watching them quietly, Helene beside me spoke.

“…I heard the summer camp concluded successfully.”

“Ah, that’s right. Minerva had the best results.”

“That’s only natural.”

I hadn’t seen it that way, but her pride in her child seemed tremendous.

“I congratulate you on the success.”

“Congratulations are hardly necessary…”

“Dozens of thank-you letters arrived saying they definitely want to participate again next time.”

“…”

It seemed the retreat strategy had indeed failed. When I became dejected, she narrowed her eyes as if puzzled.

“So… please take good care of Zeonil and Minerva next year too. They said it was very enjoyable.”

Even though the camp success story couldn’t have sounded pleasant to her, she politely asked for her children’s sake.

‘Really, what an unpredictable daughter-in-law.’

It would be easier to deal with her if she came at me hostilely, but at times like this, it was difficult to distinguish between public and private matters.

She was emotional about Chloe, but when it came to family matters, she swallowed her pride.

‘…No, is it the opposite? Rather than distinguishing between public and private, has she never made such distinctions?’

I felt like I had grasped a clue to Helene’s way of thinking.

Just as I was about to ask her about other matters, one of the Imperial knights approached me and greeted us.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Duke Layton. And Duchess and Grand Duchess.”

It wasn’t a greeting commonly used in the Western Region, but it was a stiff and polite salute befitting a knight.

“I am Thistle, the knight who will safely escort the Grand Duchess to the Imperial Palace. Please take care of me.”

“I’ll be counting on you too.”

He said he would begin the escort once I boarded the carriage.

Since someone was listening, I also ended the conversation and headed to the carriage.

Someday we’ll have another conversation on this topic.

“Well then, I’ll be going and coming back.”

“Have a safe trip, Mother.”

Receiving farewells from both of them, I boarded the carriage.

The servants also got into their respective carriages or on horses, and the soldier who had been guarding the castle gate for my departure gave a sharp salute.

I slightly poked my head out of the carriage window to look at my son and daughter-in-law.

Helene stood quietly watching me, while Mikhail cheerfully waved his hand.

Though it was a rather plain farewell, it felt strange because it seemed like I truly had a family now.

‘It’s different from when I left the capital.’

Compared to those days when I was sold off to the Western Region, it was a surprisingly remarkable change.

* * *

It was a long distance to the capital, taking about a week.

Since we planned to stop at cities and villages along the way to rest, it seemed like it would take even longer.

‘We could just go straight to the capital though.’

I didn’t think camping was such a big deal, but since this was a noble’s journey, I was advised that sleeping outside should be avoided as much as possible.

Thanks to that, we would only camp once during this trip. The rest of the time, we decided to stay at the Duke’s villas or hotels in cities.

Half a day had passed since we left the Duke’s Castle.

All I could see were vast plains and mountains, so I quickly grew tired of sightseeing.

‘In a world with magic, isn’t there something like teleportation?’

That thought suddenly occurred to me, so I asked Nata, who was riding his horse on the left side of the carriage, about teleportation.

He pondered for a moment, then shook his head as if it were impossible.

“I’ve heard legends about treasures that can enable transportation magic, but I’ve never seen one. Of course, it’s impossible for humans too.”

“What’s the legend about?”

“During the war with the foreign tribes long ago, I heard about a treasure that could travel a thousand li back and forth, but it’s probably an exaggerated story.”

Nata added that if such an item existed, the war would have ended long ago with the foreign tribes’ victory.

“Hmm, I see. That’s disappointing.”

Perhaps noticing that I was bored, Nata brought his horse closer to the window and struck up a conversation.

“If such magic existed, where would Grand Madam use it?”

“Well, I’d probably travel to the Eastern Region first. I’ve never seen a desert before.”

Unlike the Western Region, which had mountains, plains, and rivers in harmony, I heard the Eastern Region was flat land where deserts and plains blended together.

Though I wasn’t particularly interested in travel, I was curious since I had never been abroad even in my previous life.

“What about you, Sir Nata?”

“Hmm, I would… like to go on a training journey. There must be excellent swordsmen in other regions too.”

“For example, like Sir Kenneth?”

Neigh-!

The moment I called Kenneth’s name, I heard the sound of a horse getting startled from the opposite window side.

It happened to be a horse right next to the carriage, and the knight riding it hurriedly adjusted his helmet.

“…That’s right, if it’s Sir Kenneth, he should be able to provide good training.”

“Then this is an opportunity. We don’t need to use magic since he’s nearby.”

I moved to a different spot, opened the opposite window, and spoke to the knight who was pressing down on his helmet.

“What’s wrong, Sir Kenneth? Your horse seems quite startled.”

“…”

“There’s no point pretending not to know. Even if you hide like an ordinary knight, you’ve already been found out.”

Eventually, Kenneth removed his helmet and showed me his face.

He approached with a flustered expression and asked.

“How did you know? I thought I was hiding well…”

“My knight has keen observation skills.”

When I pointed to Nata, he formally nodded his head in greeting.

Kenneth let out a sigh and muttered.

“I knew he was skilled, but I didn’t expect to this extent…”

Although the knight named Thistle acted like he was the leader of the group, Nata had secretly whispered to me after getting close.

That there was a separate leader among them, and it seemed to be Kenneth.

I was quite surprised that the captain of His Majesty’s Imperial Guard had come as my escort.

“Seeing that he even sent you, His Majesty must be very pleased about House Layton’s visit.”

“Yes, well… I suppose so.”

“Was hiding your identity His Majesty’s idea?”

Kenneth remained silent, but that was an affirmative response.

I let out a short sigh and leaned back against my chair.

I didn’t know what the Emperor meant by ordering such a pointless act, but I understood well that he was concerned about me.

‘This is somewhat unsettling.’

Provoking me with letters was something I could accept reasonably well.

But this time the situation was different.

‘If it was to show goodwill toward me, he wouldn’t have told you to hide your identity.’

He would have openly shown off that he sent Kenneth as a guard knight for my sake.

‘Since that’s not the case, it means there was a reason it had to be hidden. …Assassins, perhaps.’

Kenneth, a knight second to none in the capital, if he was hiding his identity while providing escort, the reason was obvious.

It meant I was facing that level of danger.

‘This won’t just end as a simple trip.’

I let out a big sigh.

As expected, I shouldn’t have carelessly left home.

With a hopeful heart, I asked Kenneth again.

I put as much worry and concern as possible on my face.

“Sir Kenneth.”

“Yes?”

“Am I perhaps going to die on the way to the Imperial Palace?”

Kenneth, who had been flustered, checked my face and then hardened his expression as he answered.

“Absolutely! I won’t let that happen. I’ll stay by your side at all times until we reach the Imperial Palace.”

“So there really is that level of danger coming.”

“…Huh?”

I had just been testing him casually, and he spilled the secret this easily.

Though he might be strong, he seemed to be a Knight who didn’t know Poker Face.

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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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