I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 194

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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 194

“Mother?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Helene called out to me cautiously.

I couldn’t cause unnecessary worry for my son and his wife, so I smiled as if nothing was wrong and retrieved the book.

“That’s enough information. Thank you, both of you.”

“We didn’t really do much. But Mother, if you need any help, I could…”

“It’s fine. Mikhail is busy too. It’s not that important anyway.”

When I showed that I didn’t want to continue this conversation, Mikhail pressed his lips together with a complicated expression.

I felt a little sorry seeing him like that, but it was an unavoidable choice.

‘It seems like this would be a sensitive topic for Mikhail and Helene.’

It was gradually time to return.

I stood up from my seat, saying that the meal was delicious.

Mikhail tried to stop me, saying to stay a little longer, but retainers were already waiting outside the dining hall for work.

They probably delayed breakfast time for me, so work must have piled up.

After consoling Mikhail, I headed not to the annex building but to the office floor where the retainers were gathered.

“Grand Duchess?”

And I went straight to find Jane. Unlike usual, she was buried in documents with a haggard complexion.

As if she couldn’t tell whether seeing me was a dream or reality, she kept rubbing her eyes.

She looked like a modern person who had been working overtime for days.

‘Should I give her a tonic as a gift?’

Thinking I shouldn’t bother her unnecessarily and should leave quickly, I briefly asked how she was, then got straight to the point.

“I want to meet Rohan. Do you have a way to contact him?”

“Ah…”

Jane stammered with a troubled expression.

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to harm him. We already promised to meet next time, but he hasn’t appeared, so I came here.”

“Hmm, I see. But I don’t have a way to contact him either. We just meet at a predetermined place…”

“Then can you tell me that place?”

Jane fell into thought for a moment. I was about to back down, thinking it might be a place she couldn’t tell me about, when she stood up from her seat.

“Let’s go together. I’ll guide you.”

“No, you look tired. I’ll be fine going alone.”

“I have to wait until a reply comes anyway, so I have time. It’s not far, so I’ll guide you while taking a breather. And…”

Jane continued with a drowsy smile.

“I’d like to tell you about how I came to meet Rohan. I’ve been feeling bad about hiding it from you, Grand Duchess. Also, there’s other information I want to share.”

Since she said that much, I had no reason to refuse.

Jane and I left the main castle and headed to the nearby commercial district.

Nata and Anna followed from a little distance behind.

The commercial district of Layton Territory was a bit less glamorous, but its scale rivaled that of the capital. We walked slowly.

“I met Mr. Rohan not long after the Grand Duchess arrived in Layton.”

Jane, who was walking beside me, carefully began her story.

“At that time, I was going around farms to establish new trading partnerships. My main product was wheat, after all. But it wasn’t as easy to establish trade as I thought. They didn’t trust a branch office run by a woman alone, and I lacked sufficient funds.”

When I first met Jane, she was a small merchant who caught attention with her fresh marketing.

It was a harsh world for female merchants, so she must have grown up enduring hardships I couldn’t even imagine. It didn’t seem like Yulkes would have supported her either.

“While I was struggling to run my shop, a group of thugs began targeting me.”

“…Yulkes?”

“No. If it were Father, he would have come directly. It was probably at the instigation of merchants in this area. In their eyes, it must have seemed like the Trading Company Owner’s daughter was opening a shop as a hobby and interfering with them.”

The thugs consistently interfered with Jane’s business, she said.

They agitated customers, damaged goods, and found all sorts of faults to prevent her from opening.

Such indirect interference was only temporary – when Jane continued to endure, they finally resorted to violence.

“One night, they came wearing masks. They intended to completely destroy all the market stalls in my shop.”

“…They went that far?”

“Unlike the nobles’ commercial district, the market is a place where all sorts of barbaric methods are employed. There’s even a saying that when a bundle merchant is murdered, the culprit is a fellow merchant. Anyway, they launched a surprise attack in the middle of the night to destroy my shop…”

That’s when Rohan appeared.

‘I need a place to stay. I should be able to receive compensation for saving you, right?’

Rohan, who defeated the thugs in an instant, demanded a new identity in exchange for that favor.

That was how the position of ‘Jane’s worker’ came to be.

“As for me, I needed a worker anyway, so I had no reason to refuse. Of course, I couldn’t easily trust him since I didn’t know his purpose for wanting a false identity. If I had known that Mr. Rohan was targeting the Grand Duchess… I would have refused.”

Jane continued in a voice that grew smaller, as if apologetic.

“No matter what excuses I make, the fact that I deceived the Grand Duchess doesn’t change. I’m sorry, no matter how many times I apologize, it won’t be enough…”

“No, it’s fine. I also kept him by my side even though I knew Rohan had ulterior motives.”

Besides, I didn’t sense any hostility or wariness from Rohan. Jane was also perceptive, so she probably had similar thoughts to mine.

“But the fact that I deceived you in the end…”

“I said it’s fine. And from my perspective, it was a reasonable choice.”

Could Jane have even imagined back then that she would form a connection with me?

Even though it was a bit disappointing that she deceived me after we became close, it wasn’t to a degree I couldn’t understand.

‘The timing to confess would have been awkward too.’

I didn’t doubt her friendship.

“But a man saving you from thugs, it’s just like a romance novel…”

“It’s absolutely not that kind of relationship.”

When I casually made a joke to change the subject, Jane became serious and denied it.

“I don’t like people with many secrets. And I absolutely hate people who aren’t honest or are secretive.”

“Oh… I see.”

I felt sorry for somehow making her think of family matters.

When I apologized, Jane also seemed surprised that she had gotten so angry, clearing her throat with an awkward expression.

Before we knew it, we had passed through the area used by the upper class and entered the market frequented by commoners.

“…Anyway, I didn’t know Mr. Rohan’s identity all this time. I suspected he was of high status, but he never told me who or where he was from.”

“If you mean until now, do you know now?”

“Yes, while the Grand Duchess was away in the capital, I conducted an investigation.”

Jane’s expression hardened coldly.

“And I learned not only his identity, but also what he’s been secretly doing in the Western Region.”

Just then, Jane’s steps gradually slowed down. It seemed we had arrived at our destination.

‘This place…’

I widened my eyes at the familiar scenery.

Though it had been well over a year, I could see a building that remained vivid in my memory.

It was the location where Jane used to operate her shop, a branch store of Goldrail.

The building that Jane’s father, Yulkes, had turned into chaos had somehow been repaired and now had a clean exterior.

It didn’t seem to be used as a shop anymore, appearing like an ordinary residential building.

Before entering, I asked Jane.

“What did Rohan do?”

“That is…”

Jane opened the door and went inside.

I slowly followed behind her.

After passing through a short corridor, I could see a small room that appeared to be where Jane had stayed.

In the room that contained only a dust-covered bed, table, and wardrobe, papers of unusual colors were hanging from the window.

Jane stood in front of them and spoke quietly.

“Mr. Rohan was pursuing a man. That person mainly showed his face sporadically in the black market, and each time he would mention a family name. An information broker who dealt with Goldrail happened to know the name of that family.”

For a moment I thought she might be talking about Raymond, but there was no way Rohan would know about the Layton Family’s circumstances.

Before I could ask again, Jane continued with her answer.

“The family name was Windsor.”

“Windsor?”

Our family name came up from an unexpected place. My mind went blank for a moment as I stared at Jane with wide eyes.

“And Mr. Rohan had been constantly pursuing that man. …No, to be more precise, it would be correct to say he was monitoring to prevent the man from approaching the Grand Duchess.”

“…That man’s target is me?”

“Probably. It’s not exact information, but there were rumors in the black market that he was looking for ways to infiltrate the main castle. It seems like Layton dismissed it as low-level gossip and didn’t pay attention to it…”

If a man calling himself Windsor was trying to enter the castle, the reason was obvious.

Wilhelmina Windsor, I would be the target.

But a man from the Windsor Family? Our father had passed away long ago.

So the only person listed in Windsor’s registry would be me.

I had never seen any other family members since childhood…

I was the one who signed the Noble Registry marking father as deceased while holding his funeral.

Even then, only father and I were listed in the registry.

“Jane, do you know the identity of that man?”

“I don’t know. I only recently came across this information myself. But there’s one piece of certain information. That man calling himself Windsor is already….”

Just as she was about to continue speaking, the room’s window suddenly opened.

Clang- Clang-

The outside wind rushed in, violently ringing the bell that hung there.

“Dead.”

And a familiar man’s voice reached my ears.

“Wilhelmina, that man who was hovering around you is already dead.”

“…Rohan.”

With the sound of footsteps, something invisible landed in front of the window.

Rohan, who had been hiding his body with magic, slowly revealed himself.

“I killed him myself.”

Rohan appeared before me not as Jane’s worker, but in his true form as Duke Venice.

His dry red eyes turned toward me.

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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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