I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 181
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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 181
‘I can’t tell who the villain is here.’
The pitch-black hand easily crushed the chair.
With my hands and feet now free, I glared at Oberon, the owner of that hand who had transformed into an unexpected figure.
“What’s with that appearance?”
“Your greeting is quite rough for someone I haven’t seen in a while. I appeared in the form of someone you wanted to see.”
He had Rohan’s face.
But it was slightly different from the Rohan I knew.
Only after confirming the short hair, slightly pale skin, mysteriously small stature, and Academy uniform did I realize it was Rohan’s past appearance.
Thinking that Oberon was playing another trivial prank, I pointed at the giant arms attached to his shoulders before commenting on his appearance.
“Put those away. They look like demon wings and it’s disgusting.”
“These are props I brought to make a proper entrance as the former Evil God, but you’re so heartless.”
Oberon grumbled and made the hands disappear.
The fairies that had been swarming like a swarm of bees until just moments ago had also vanished without a trace.
Sighing at his frivolous attitude that didn’t match the serious situation, I turned my gaze to look for Richt.
“…He’s unconscious.”
Richt was lying unconscious with his eyes rolled back.
Seeing him sprawled out like that, I wondered if the scene just now had been that shocking.
Then Oberon, reading my thoughts, spoke with laughter in his voice.
“That’s the normal reaction for ordinary people. Few people can maintain their sanity when facing fairies all at once.”
“I was fine though.”
“Well, that’s because you’ve already met me and gotten used to it.”
Since he had Rohan’s face, his smile felt quite unfamiliar.
Oberon brought over a chair from the corner of the reception room and sat down frivolously with his legs crossed.
“Anyway, you summoned me in this way again. I thought I warned you last time.”
“I had no choice. It was a situation I couldn’t resolve on my own.”
“That determination could have strangled you. You might have lived the rest of your life tormented by nightmares?”
I crossed my arms and frowned.
“It’s cheap as the price for saving my daughter-in-law’s life.”
“…Good grief.”
Oberon sighed and shook his head.
“The misfortune gained from fairies strikes randomly. Even if you were lucky enough to avoid it last time, you can’t escape this time. You’ll face danger in the near future.”
“I’m prepared for it, so it’s fine. It would be hard for things to get worse than this anyway.”
“You’re not listening to reason.”
He shrugged as if to say ‘suit yourself.’
“I like you, so I want to see you for a long time. I don’t want to hear rumors that you died from fairy mischief. The Fairy King’s image is already bad enough.”
“Wouldn’t that be solved if you had behaved yourself normally?”
“Sharp observation. You can’t even show gratitude to the fairy who helped you. Anyway, think of this as the last time.”
At this rate, it seemed like he would grumble endlessly, so I steered the conversation back to the main point.
“You must have already seen it, but Helene is in danger right now. Can you help?”
“Hmm, since it’s Wilhelmina asking for help, I’d like to lend a hand, but… it’s difficult. I’m already at my limit.”
“At your limit?”
“I’ve already become too deeply involved in the human world. When fairies get too involved, the ending is usually not good.”
The fairies of this world are different creatures from the fairies in cartoons and fairy tales.
They’re a race far from peaceful, one that puts people in danger as pranks or extorts souls according to contracts.
Oberon added that the more humans seek help from fairies, the more their fate falls into an abyss.
“…They’re just like demons.”
“They’re similar beings. Originally, transcendent life forms aren’t meant to be easily trusted.”
He nonchalantly disparaged his own subjects.
I wanted to tell him to ignore such intuition, but there were indeed many legends of people being betrayed after relying on fairies.
Especially when human conflict was the theme like now, misunderstandings and tragedies always occurred.
‘Don’t be greedy, saving me is already enough.’
I forced myself to shake off my hesitation and straighten my mind.
I couldn’t ignore Oberon’s warning.
“Ah, but I can give you one piece of information. This isn’t unrelated to me, after all.”
“What is it?”
“It’s probably the information you’ve been most curious about. I was pondering about it until I was rescued.”
He erased his smile and continued with a serious expression.
“The magic Raymond used. That is… the means to make Mikhail kill Helene.”
He stood up from his seat and approached me. Then, as if it shouldn’t be overheard by others, he whispered the secret in a low voice.
“…!”
I widened my eyes upon hearing the unexpected truth.
I was curious about how Raymond had obtained that power, but there was another question that came to mind first.
“Wait, Oberon. You clearly said that when fairies get involved, the results aren’t good. Then Raymond too…”
Oberon smiled bitterly and patted my shoulder.
“That’s right, that human will also meet a miserable end.”
Just as I was trying to deduce why he had borrowed such power, I began to sense a strange energy from outside.
The same energy as when Nata revealed her fairy wings in front of me… that is, magic power.
“It seems like it’s about to start already. Go quickly.”
“…Right.”
Oberon opened the door for me.
I stepped over Richt sprawled on the floor and walked out the door.
Since I couldn’t get help from Oberon, it seemed I would have to call the servants or knights.
“Remember, Wilhelmina. Don’t fail this time.”
Just before I left, Oberon looked at me and spoke meaningfully.
“Remember that your own life is precious too. Don’t sacrifice yourself for the person you want to save anymore.”
“What are you talking about… Of course.”
As I walked out the door, I pursed my lips.
“I won’t fail twice. I didn’t reincarnate for nothing.”
When someone dies and comes back to life, they inevitably change somehow.
I wasn’t foolish enough to repeat the same mistakes.
Oberon let out a satisfied laugh at my answer.
As I left the reception room, I realized I had overlooked one fact.
I didn’t know which of the servants in this castle was the traitor.
Perhaps because I had been asleep for so long, time had already passed well into the night.
The number of servants working in the main castle was fewer compared to daytime, and most of those remaining were soldiers standing guard.
If there was someone among those soldiers who had joined with Raymond, I would inevitably be caught again without any chance of escape.
‘Besides, I don’t have the confidence to break through the guards and get outside.’
If the servants’ or knights’ quarters had been nearby, I might have tried screaming for help, but the reception room I had come out of was located in the deepest part of the castle.
There was no way I could break through the guards alone, no matter what I tried.
Fortunately, the place where I could feel magical power was in the complete opposite direction from the castle’s center where guards were stationed everywhere.
‘It can’t be a coincidence.’
To avoid having Raymond’s appearance discovered by other servants, they had deliberately created a gap in the security.
And I never imagined that would become my only way out.
I took off my shoes in case my footsteps made noise and walked toward the edge of the main castle where I could feel the magical power.
The location was behind the main castle garden, a place I had never visited once during all my time living at the duke’s estate.
While walking along the side path, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu from the surroundings.
Though lavishly decorated, the narrow and complicated path that seemed to reject human entry reminded me of one place.
“…It’s just like the Imperial Palace.”
Though I had never entered it, I had watched from afar with Helene before.
It was the path leading to the Temple of the Sun, to the cemetery.
That sense of déjà vu turned into certainty the moment I saw the archway engraved with sun emblems at the end of the side path.
This was the Layton Family Cemetery.
‘Why did I come to the cemetery?’
If Oberon’s words were correct, his magic wasn’t restricted by location.
I could have just quietly waited in the castle for Mikhail to return, so I couldn’t understand why I had headed to such a place.
After a moment’s contemplation, I passed through the archway and headed toward where I could sense a presence.
Inside the large temple building made of plaster that I entered, I discovered two people.
The temple interior had a structure reminiscent of a chapel.
The two people were sitting in chairs at opposite ends of the chapel, looking at the tombs installed on the opposite side.
Helene with her haggard complexion and a man wearing a pure white uniform.
As expected, the man’s identity was Raymond.
“As I thought, I knew you would come. Grand Duchess Wilhelmina.”
Raymond turned to look at me with his piercing eyes that showed firm determination, dry pupils that revealed no emotion, and an upright posture—displaying the noble bearing that could never be seen in a village pharmacist.
“How did you know I would come?”
“There’s no particular basis for it. I just had an intuition that if anyone were to interfere with my final moments, it would definitely be you.”
He let out a smile that somehow felt tender.
“I had hoped you wouldn’t come, but I suppose this is what they call fate.”
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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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