I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 179

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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 179

Inside the dark cabin, a boy entered holding a candle.

‘No one… here, right?’

Recently, soldiers had visited this cabin countless times.

Though he didn’t know what they had done here, the nearby residents viewed their behavior unfavorably.

The owner of this cabin was a pharmacist who had always performed good deeds.

He was a person of character who treated the illnesses of those without money for free and cared for slum children who struggled without work.

There was no way they could view favorably the soldiers who had barged into such a person’s home.

Some people even said it was fortunate that the pharmacist was away.

The boy who had secretly entered the cabin was one of them.

The boy had come in to check, worried that the soldiers might have damaged the herbs.

Looking around, the boy let out a sigh of relief. Though the furniture had been moved around and things were messy, the dried herbs were mostly intact.

‘Then why did those soldiers come in?’

If herbs weren’t their purpose, what business did they have coming to this empty house?

Moreover, it had already been two months since the pharmacist had left home. It was too late if they had wanted to meet with the pharmacist.

“…Could they be chasing the pharmacist?”

The boy muttered with a frightened face as the worst-case scenario occurred to him.

Being chased by nobles – just thinking about it was terrifying.

‘So that’s why the pharmacist asked us to act like he was home.’

The pharmacist had asked them to light fires to make it seem like someone was home even when he wasn’t, in case thieves might break in.

So the children who had received help from the pharmacist had secretly visited the cabin every night to light candles.

The clever boy quickly interpreted that the real reason for the request wasn’t thieves, but nobles chasing after him.

“He needs to be safe…”

Now that soldiers had come, they could no longer fulfill the pharmacist’s request.

Just as the boy was about to go back outside, praying for the pharmacist’s safety.

“Oh my, it’s Johan. What brings you here?”

A kind old man’s voice came from inside the cabin.

“Pharmacist!”

The boy, Johan, ran toward where the voice came from with a bright expression.

The old man’s appearance revealed in the candlelight had a somewhat stern impression, unlike his voice.

“It’s been a while, have you been well? How is your younger sister’s health?”

“Yes! She got much better after taking the medicine you gave her. Now she can even take walks during the day.”

“That’s fortunate. Keep encouraging her to take walks on sunny days. She needs to get plenty of sunlight to stay healthy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind! But… are you alright, Pharmacist?”

“Hmm?”

“Well…”

Johan quickly explained what had happened so far.

At the story that Layton Family soldiers had been coming and going from this cabin and interrogating people in the area about the pharmacist, the pharmacist’s lips twisted.

“…Indeed, you resemble your father with such good decisiveness.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing, anyway- so Johan secretly entered the cabin because he was worried about me?”

“Ah, yes! And I also wanted to check the herbs. The pharmacist said so, didn’t he, that before autumn comes, we need to check if the dried herbs have grown moldy.”

“Yes, I did say that. Johan really is smart. I only mentioned it once, but you remember everything.”

The pharmacist patted Johan’s head affectionately, saying he was proud of him.

Though his face was scary, his hands were still as gentle as a grandfather’s, making Johan smile brightly.

Just then, he suddenly noticed something strange about the clothes the pharmacist was wearing.

The pharmacist was wearing his usual robe that carried the scent of herbs, but underneath, a glimpse of pure white collar could be seen.

Johan pulled at the collar as if entranced.

“…Huh?”

The identity of the clothes worn under the robe was a splendid uniform that looked like something a noble would wear.

Johan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“These clothes… are they yours, pharmacist?”

At Johan’s question, the pharmacist smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Johan, you’ve always been interested in herbs.”

“Uh…”

Instead of answering, the pharmacist started talking about something completely different and walked past Johan toward the cabin door.

When he opened the door wide, the dim light from the sky filled with gray clouds illuminated them.

The uniform under the robe wasn’t the only strange thing.

He was holding a single woman’s shoe in one hand. It was a right foot shoe without its pair.

‘I’ve seen that before. It was in the pharmacist’s room.’

It was the shoe the pharmacist had treasured like a precious item.

It wasn’t embedded with jewels, nor was it made of fine material, but he had kept it so preciously that despite seeming like a shoe from decades ago, it gleamed with polish.

Holding a shoe in one hand and wearing a tattered robe over a splendid uniform – it was a strange sight.

“When I leave this place, Johan, you shall have this herb shop.”

“What?”

Johan, who was about to ask why he wouldn’t answer his question, gaped in shock at this stunning statement.

No matter how small the herb shop was, for Johan it was a home that would be difficult to obtain even if he worked his entire life.

“Why, why? It’s your home, pharmacist. If you give this to me, what will you do?”

“I probably won’t be able to return here ever again, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Where… are you going?”

The pharmacist smiled brightly and said.

“Think about it slowly. Johan, you’re smart, so you’ll understand what I mean soon enough.”

Then he slowly walked out of the cabin.

“There are notes I wrote in the inner room, so you can study slowly by looking at those. You’ll become a good pharmacist who takes care of the people in the slums. If you have questions, go to the library. If you mention my name, they’ll secretly lend you books.”

“W-wait a moment, pharmacist! You’re not going to the nobles… are you?”

Again, the pharmacist didn’t answer Johan’s question.

He straightened his hunched back, threw the robe he was wearing onto the floor, and walked toward Layton Duchy Castle.

The kind pharmacist grandfather who lived in the slums had instantly transformed into an elderly noble.

Johan tried to stop him, but couldn’t bring himself to step outside the door.

He instinctively realized that great danger was approaching the Pharmacist. If he followed, his own life might be in danger too.

‘This feeling… I’ve experienced it before.’

He recalled the memory of witnessing a Page Boy being brutally kicked by the Late Duke in front of the Duke’s Annex.

The feeling of watching someone facing death. The unpleasant sensation of his entire body freezing up at the thought that even though he knew he should intervene, moving would mean his own death.

Johan could only watch helplessly as the Pharmacist, Raymond, departed.

“…Ah, it’s raining.”

As if blessing his final journey, or perhaps consoling him, autumn rain began to slowly soak the Ducal Territory.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I did was check how much time had passed.

I slowly raised my head and looked around.

The location was the same Reception Room as before I fell asleep. First, I turned my gaze to the Grandfather Clock in the corner of the Reception Room.

‘The second hand has stopped. There are no Windows either, so I can’t even check what time it is. How thorough.’

The Duke’s Castle wouldn’t have neglected the Clockwork maintenance, so it must have been stopped deliberately.

For a trap made just for me, it was quite well-prepared.

‘My body is tied to the Chair. Did they tie me with a Towel to avoid injuring me?’

I tried putting in effort, but it didn’t budge at all. The Chair I was sitting on was a heavy Chair I couldn’t lift.

Even when I twisted my body this way and that, I couldn’t move my feet, let alone the armrests.

While looking around for other clues, the Reception Room Door opened.

“You’re awake.”

“…Officer Richt.”

When I glared at him fiercely, Richt sighed and brought a Chair in front of me.

Unlike the one I was sitting on, it was a light and shabby Chair. He plopped down on it and spoke as if lamenting.

“Why didn’t you just go to the Annex Building when the Butler told you to? If you had, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“As expected, the Butler was in on it too. If I had gone to the Annex Building, you were planning to target Helene?”

Richt frowned with a complicated expression. His eyes showed he didn’t want to affirm or deny it.

“First, there’s something to correct. Grand Duchess, I’m not trying to harm Duchess Layton. I’m merely trying to make a proposal.”

“A financial officer playing word games? What person in the world would call threats made with arms and legs tied up a proposal?”

“Duchess Layton is not tied up. Rather, we’re treating her very courteously.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Grand Duchess, you seem unaware of Duchess Layton’s reputation. If she set her mind to it, taking down a Knight or two would be easy. If we had tried to detain her by force, there would have been bloodshed.”

…That was the first I’d heard of this.

‘Come to think of it, the Emperor mentioned it before. Helene won the Swordsmanship tournament twice in a row.’

Setting aside her martial prowess, if Richt’s words were true, it meant Helene was having a conversation with them even after seeing what happened to me.

I frowned at this incomprehensible situation.

‘They planned to send me to the Annex Building and make a proposal only to Helene. In other words, I’m a third party in this matter…’

Whatever the circumstances, it seemed clear who had orchestrated this.

I asked quietly.

“Is this Raymond’s doing?”

“…Everyone agreed to this.”

As expected.

This surprise rebellion was Raymond’s scheme.

But there were several points I couldn’t understand.

First, the fact that the butler deliberately guided me to the castle and then confined me.

If everyone in the castle was truly in cahoots, there would have been no need to guide me to the reception room. They could have simply captured me the moment I was separated from the knights.

‘Probably only a few close associates like Richt and the butler are involved. The annex building residents are naturally an exception… No matter what, it’s impossible to persuade everyone. If it were a rebellion of that scale, there would definitely have been noise, and there’s no way Helene wouldn’t have noticed.’

It was also hard to believe that hundreds of servants were preparing for rebellion. It was more realistic that only a few leaders were involved.

‘They prevented me from using the megaphone for similar reasons. They couldn’t let other servants find out.’

The saying “it’s darkest under the lamp” fit perfectly.

Who could have predicted that such a thing would happen inside the Impregnable Castle, supposedly the safest place in the world?

‘Then someone might come by chance to clean… No, that won’t happen.’

Just by the butler changing the servants’ duties, he could easily create blind spots.

Also, the knights standing guard outside would think we had gone to bed due to travel fatigue.

Then the next question was, ‘Why did Richt join Raymond?’

“I didn’t expect someone like you to agree to rebellion.”

“…This isn’t rebellion, it’s a process for the ducal house.”

“Process?”

Perhaps thinking I was probing, Richt closed his mouth again.

I wanted to ask why he was sitting in front of me if he wasn’t going to talk, but I soon realized his purpose was surveillance. He probably thought he wouldn’t give away any unnecessary clues.

‘A process, what kind of process?’

It seemed like something he blurted out impulsively at the word rebellion, but somehow the word “process” wouldn’t leave my mind.

Based on Jane’s testimony and my experience, Richt wasn’t someone who would easily abandon his loyalty.

He was a capable man who rose to the position of financial officer from commoner origins, and was considered the most rational retainer.

Why would someone who wouldn’t hesitate to give painful but honest advice for the family’s sake commit such rebellion?

‘…Wait.’

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.

I studied Richt’s expression.

Though still a stoic face, his eyes were filled with determination, not guilt.

Helene witnessed the scene of me collapsing.

Yet she chose dialogue instead of fighting. Considering her unwavering pride, this was absolutely impossible.

‘In other words, Helene is also seriously considering that mysterious process. Conversely, it was a story that absolutely shouldn’t be told to me.’

A matter where I would definitely oppose, but Helene would agree. And a rebellion targeting the gap when Mikhail was absent.

An extreme process for the family that would make even loyal retainers like Richt side with Raymond.

Physical evidence was lacking, but circumstantial evidence pointed to one truth.

“Don’t tell me… is it because of the curse?”

The vicious curse where Mikhail could only live if Helene died.

Perhaps unable to maintain his composure this time, Richt’s eyes widened in shock.

“How could the Grand Duchess know that…”

Seeing Richt’s reaction, I was certain.

Why are ominous premonitions never wrong?

I gritted my teeth. Finally, at the end of this long tracking, I realized Raymond’s purpose.

He wanted Helene’s death.

To be precise, he wanted an ending where Mikhail would kill Helene with his own hands.

The reason was obvious.

‘Does he mean for him to feel the same pain as the Late Duke?’

It was truly a vicious revenge.

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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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