I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 169

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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 169

‘She must be quite drunk.’

Helene was absolutely not the type of person to look at me with such eyes.

Her speech and voice seemed fine, but the rich emotions were clearly changes that came from being drunk.

‘She’s not the type to drink this much.’

It was rare to see Helene this drunk, when she would usually just have one drink for appearances at banquets and stop there.

She wouldn’t have drunk like this in front of others, so perhaps her claim about drinking with the Imperial Family was also a lie.

‘Was there something upsetting enough to make her drink excessively?’

If so, the cause seemed to be that temple in front of us.

“I cannot do that.”

Helene, who had been silent for a while, slowly opened her mouth.

“The Imperial Family must be a model for the nobles. In the Empire, ancestors, fathers are like the sun itself. To prioritize personal emotions…”

“That sounds like your duty as Imperial Family and your emotions are in opposition.”

Helene stopped speaking as if I had hit the mark.

As expected, seeing how easily she showed her weakness, she was definitely completely drunk.

But thanks to that, it was easy to engage her in conversation.

I had wanted to uncover the reason behind Helene’s stubbornness at least once, and this seemed like an opportunity.

Listening to my daughter-in-law’s worries was also a mother-in-law’s duty.

“As someone who isn’t Imperial Family, I can’t understand how great your pride is. Honestly, I can’t really relate to talking about noble attitudes over mere memorial services. But there’s one thing I can guarantee as family.”

“One thing…?”

“That Mikhail truly loves you.”

At the sudden mention of Mikhail, Helene’s face flushed even redder.

I heard they had known each other for a good ten years, but seeing this reaction, it was like watching young lovers.

“What does that… have to do with anything?”

“It means Mikhail loves you regardless of such customs.”

Both Mikhail and Helene were hard to read, but their love for each other was genuine.

Though my experience in High Society wasn’t long, I had never seen a couple who loved each other as much as these two.

That’s why I couldn’t even imagine a future where Mikhail would be disappointed in Helene.

“Helene, what’s most important to you right now? Being Imperial Family? Or the Layton Family, your family?”

“…Of course, family.”

“Also, Mikhail’s words would be more important than gossip from loose-tongued nobles, right?”

“Well…”

“Then what would Mikhail have said to you if he were here? Would he tell you to still fulfill your filial duty and go pay your respects?”

Using the words of someone she loved – it was quite a underhanded logic.

But it was also something only I could say.

‘What’s wrong with a mother using her son’s opinion?’

I was certain that Mikhail would also smile and praise me for doing well.

Helene frowned with her flushed face.

“That’s ultimately just avoidance. Duty isn’t something that can be postponed by family trust.”

“From the moment personal feelings oppose duty, isn’t that already avoidance? Can imperial duty be satisfied by merely imitating appearances?”

“….”

Seeing Helene lose her words again, I let out a short sigh.

“Helene. The righteous imperial you desire is a fictional existence. People cannot be that perfect. There is no human who can tailor their heart into whatever form they want.”

Through this conversation, I realized that Helene’s attitude and stubbornness weren’t created by her own will.

The culprit was obvious.

It must be the Previous Emperor sleeping beyond there.

“I can’t stop your anxiety. But remember this. There’s no such thing as a perfect person. Just because you wish for it doesn’t mean you, Helene, will disappear.”

It was advice more suited to the modern world than this place.

There, countless children acted like Helene.

Children who act as someone their parents, school, environment, and friends want them to be. That child wanders lost even after becoming an adult, unable to find themselves.

They forget what they like and dislike, mistaking living as a cog in the machine for the right thing to do.

Perhaps Helene was a child closer to being a modern person than anyone I’d ever seen.

The weaker a person is, the more they tend to pursue perfection.

Those who cannot love themselves desperately try to meet others’ expectations.

I don’t dislike that pitiful struggle, but one must know when to run away when it starts strangling oneself.

“Mourning is still your freedom. Forgiving or not forgiving is the same. Just, before worrying about others’ gazes, don’t forget Mikhail who worries about you. …A mother-in-law’s heart is the same.”

It felt strange to call myself a mother-in-law with my own mouth.

However, Helene didn’t deny that expression.

“Why… do you go that far?”

“What?”

“I don’t understand your concern. I have… never once thought of you as family.”

Hearing it directly in words was quite hurtful.

I smiled bitterly and looked into Helene’s clear eyes, from which the intoxication had somehow disappeared.

“…Some people find stability in family that exists only in form.”

Though I was proudly giving advice to others, in truth, family wasn’t an existence that gave me good memories.

Family as Wilhelmina went without saying, and it was similar when I was Kim Hana.

Just as people deprived of affection have fantasies about love, family was such a subject for me too.

“That’s all I have to say. If you want my opinion, come see me anytime.”

‘Though you don’t seem to have such thoughts now.’

Helene’s mask is thick now that her intoxication has completely faded.

Continuing the conversation here, I didn’t think my words would reach her.

‘There will be another opportunity someday.’

A topic once opened is bound to return in order to reach a conclusion.

It was proof that there wasn’t much time left to solve Helene’s problem.

“Well then, have a good night, Helene.”

Just as I was about to step away lightly, thinking I was satisfied with today, I heard Helene’s small voice.

“…Sleep well, Mother.”

Was it my imagination that the word “Mother” sounded different from usual?

Feeling a small joy, I slowly moved my steps.

11. Discord

The Emperor’s birthday celebration was already approaching its end.

True to the words that it was the largest celebration in history, the festive atmosphere throughout the capital had not yet cooled down.

Mikhail, Helene, and I went back and forth between banquets and events until our feet were swollen.

Helene, who had boasted such active participation that it made her previous reluctance to come to the capital seem meaningless, firmly refused when I conveyed my desire to rest.

‘She’s determined to achieve maximum efficiency.’

From nobles with past connections to merchants we needed to cooperate with in the future, all the people Helene decided she needed to meet were important figures for the family.

So I had no justification to exclude myself.

‘It looks like I’ll be running around until the last day.’

The Black Hand matter had been handed over to the Emperor, and Mikhail was investigating Raymond.

Either way, there was nothing I could interfere with.

It meant only my schedule as the Grand Duchess of the Layton Family remained… and that was the most bothersome.

Rejecting subtle advances from men, forcing myself to praise children who were so thin they looked half-dead, and pretending not to know about the malicious gossip spreading through the capital’s social circles – such frustrating schedules.

Thinking that I might develop distrust in humanity again at this rate, I eventually planned an escape.

“Just for a little while should be fine.”

“…Yes.”

My escape was just an outing where I left the banquet hall and secretly wandered around the capital.

Unable to endure the perfume-filled banquet hall any longer, I changed clothes and headed out to the capital’s shopping district.

Now that there were no assassins around, there was no danger.

Nata, who heard my excuse, nodded with a disapproving expression.

She also seemed to acknowledge that my recent schedule had been tight, as she followed me without much advice.

“Don’t worry too much, even if I wander around, it’s all within this area.”

The shopping district I visited was a place where only the upper class wandered around.

Security was also relatively safe, so there was no problem walking around.

Besides me, there were quite a few nobles wearing hats pulled down low while shopping.

It meant I wasn’t the only one who found the banquet hall stifling.

So I led Nata and roamed the shopping district.

Because I wore my hat pulled down low, no one recognized me.

I hadn’t brought money so I couldn’t buy anything, but still, it was an outing after a long time so my mood improved considerably.

…Until I met the Emperor in a back alley.

“Why is Your Majesty here? I’m sure I saw Your Majesty’s face at the banquet hall.”

The back alley of the shopping district was, in modern terms, an entertainment district full of lodging establishments.

In this place full of vulgar and chaotic shop signs unworthy of the capital, I encountered the Emperor in a strange disguise.

No matter how much he hid with clothes, I who remembered faces immediately recognized his identity.

“…Good heavens, to have my clone that I’ve hidden my whole life discovered twice.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing. That aside, why are you here?”

“I took a wrong turn. I was looking for an exit to get out.”

This street had a complex structure, so once you entered, it was difficult to find an exit.

At my words, the Emperor looked exasperated as he ran his hand over his face and muttered.

“There’s a limit to coincidences… Do people from the Layton Family have good noses?”

It seemed that having his identity discovered by me was quite a shock to him.

I glanced away and looked at a man standing beside him.

He was a man with beautiful features who had crimson hair like the Emperor.

He had a mysterious atmosphere about him, and seeing the Emperor’s troubled expression, he frowned with worry.

The way he looked at the Emperor was strangely affectionate.

Seeing that, I clapped my hands at a thought that suddenly occurred to me.

“Ah, is this perhaps a secret meeting?”

If so, it made sense why he would hide his identity and lurk around the Entertainment District.

“…What kind of reasoning leads to that conclusion?”

“It’s fine. I’m open-minded about these things.”

“Don’t use the word ‘open-minded’ carelessly! And we don’t have that kind of relationship!”

He shouted angrily.

‘If it’s not, then it’s not. Why get so angry about it.’

Seeing his slightly reddened face, he seemed genuinely angry, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Damn it, I understand that guy’s feelings. Not knowing someone’s heart and pairing them with others…”

The Emperor muttered incomprehensible words.

Then Nata, who was beside me, suddenly let out a sigh.

“…Is it another one added?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I was saying you’re a sinful person.”

Who? Me? Why?

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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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