I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 211

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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 211

“At first, I thought you knew everything. So I judged that if I could hear your true feelings, all secrets would be revealed.”

However, there were too many unnecessary moves for someone who supposedly knew everything.

He ran around frantically to eliminate clues to my memory.

He erased memories from people connected to the Windsor Family to Academy students and professors.

But he ended up missing Lord Windsor, who was the most important witness and clue.

I don’t think Lord Windsor’s escape skills were particularly excellent.

He was clumsy enough in his activities that even Jane could catch his trail.

Considering the time Rohan spent in the Western Region and his abilities, Lord Windsor should have been caught long ago.

Yet the reason Lord Windsor could remain active for so long was…

“You probably weren’t certain about Lord Windsor either.”

The unwelcome intruder between me and Father, he couldn’t carelessly lay hands on Lord Windsor because he didn’t know the man’s true identity.

‘Of course, it’s insufficient to deduce based on circumstantial evidence alone… but facing the twins helped the outline of my memories take shape.’

Me, who tried not to think of the word twins, the cause of the Windsor Family’s downfall, Father who loved his family and the missing seal, another family member who didn’t exist in the records, and a man whose identity even Rohan couldn’t fathom.

When all the clues connected, Lord Windsor’s identity was easily revealed.

“Lord Windsor and our Father were twins. The reason this fact wasn’t known is because one side was deleted from the records. The reason was… probably succession rights, wasn’t it?”

Succession rights naturally go to the person born first.

The only means to overturn that would be the Family Head’s whim or a succession struggle, and either way, blood always flows in such conflicts.

If you kill the brother with succession rights, the next Family Head would be yourself.

It was a conflict unsuited for the small-scale Windsor Family. So giving succession rights to the elder brother was the safest choice.

‘…But what if anyone could see the younger brother was superior?’

If the twin elder brother was so inadequate that succession rights couldn’t be given to him, and the younger brother had to become Family Head, the story changes.

Though the conditions were different, it was a similar case to Count Zormon Family.

Just as they made Isobel act as Sophia, the Windsor Family demanded the twin younger brother take on the eldest son’s role.

And to ensure the twin elder brother could never covet succession rights again, they deleted him from the records and demoted him to commoner status.

The evidence for this was the blank form found at Windsor Mansion, the family register cancellation application.

‘Father, who was the twin younger brother, became the eldest son, while Lord Windsor, who was the elder brother, was expelled from the family.’

The reason Lord Windsor’s name wasn’t in the records, the circumstances of Father giving him the seal, and the fundamental cause of the family’s downfall – everything became clear.

To Father, who was timid and indecisive but would do anything for family, if his former brother who became a commoner due to succession rights appeared demanding money…

‘Father would definitely have lent it to him.’

Not only that, he would have readily given him the family seal as well.

No matter how I think about it, coming to Count Zormon Family was incredibly fortunate.

Thanks to Isobel acting as Sophia and the Count Couple manipulating records, I resolved most of the secrets.

“Have your memories returned?”

“I can see the outline. But the memory of that day you want to hide hasn’t returned.”

The moment I resolved Lord Windsor’s secret, I felt vague childhood memories returning.

Memories of Nanny evacuating me to the garden whenever certain guests came, or the past when I studied Empire forms because I found Father’s family history strange, came back clearly.

But no matter how much I stimulated my memory, I couldn’t recall that moment when Rohan erased my memories.

‘Do I need a stronger stimulus, or… am I instinctively trying to forget?’

Part of Wilhelmina Windsor’s heart was refusing to recall the memories.

It meant that not only Rohan’s magic, but my past self was also an obstacle.

But I had no intention of stopping.

For me to be myself, all of Wilhelmina Windsor’s memories had to become mine.

“I’ll ask again, Rohan. The real reason you pursued Lord Windsor was because you hoped he was my father, wasn’t it?”

Rohan didn’t answer.

I thought I was the one who killed Father.

When I heard Rohan’s false confession in the capital, I considered it one possibility, but now it had become certainty.

‘Rohan must have discovered the clue that Father and Lord Windsor were twins belatedly. Unlike me who recalled memories, he had no proper clues.’

I could imagine how flustered he must have been when he encountered Lord Windsor.

A man with the exact same face as Father was going around impersonating the Windsor family.

At the same time, he must have harbored this hope.

“If he were my father, then what I killed was Lord Windsor, meaning I didn’t commit patricide.”

Helene said this form template was discarded because of patricide.

‘It was a case about a family head who made his wife a commoner. The enraged wife killed the family head, and it went to court over whether this was patricide or noble desecration and murder.’

It was a case that fit my situation remarkably well.

If what I killed was Lord Windsor, a commoner, then I, as the Grand Duchess of a ducal house, wouldn’t receive severe punishment.

Rohan hoped for that and tried to reveal Lord Windsor’s identity.

‘Though I am angry that he secretly harbored such a secret.’

The fact that I killed someone hadn’t changed.

But rather than discussing that, I needed to know the truth that only Rohan knew first.

“In the end, Lord Windsor wasn’t Father. Right?”

“….”

“He couldn’t have been Father. That timid man would never commit the crime of human trafficking. In the first place, it was Lord Windsor who sold me to the ducal house.”

Thinking of Emily and Gideon’s testimony, I could guess what kind of human he was.

Violent attitude and speech like a thug, immorality of committing crimes without hesitation… a personality opposite to Father’s.

“But what’s strange is the fact that you, who realized Lord Windsor wasn’t Father, killed him.”

The Rohan I knew wouldn’t shed blood without sufficient reason.

Even during Chloe’s incident, his actions had convincing grounds.

But Lord Windsor’s case was different.

Unlike the assassins, Lord Windsor should have stood trial to reveal his crimes and receive punishment.

He wasn’t someone who should have ended with just death.

“If you had kept him alive and used him, you could have prevented the Zormon family incident beforehand.”

Killing him was the worst strategy, premature.

“So I want to hear why you killed Lord Windsor. Why didn’t you keep him alive?”

“He deserved to die.”

“You know I’m not blaming you for killing him.”

At my persistent questioning, Rohan let out a small sigh. Then he slowly approached and stood in front of me.

“Because he intended to harm you. Lord Windsor knew your secret.”

“Secret, you mean….”

“He said he witnessed a murder case. If cornered, he was planning to testify without hesitation that you were the perpetrator.”

He really was trash with no room for sympathy. To think he would sell out his own niece in the midst of all that.

However, it seemed insufficient as a motive for murder.

“But regardless of the motive, the testimony itself is true. Just for that, to kill him….”

“Just for that alone, there’s sufficient reason to kill.”

Rohan slowly bent down to face me.

“Wilhelmina, do you know what punishment is given to those who commit patricide?”

“…Death penalty?”

“That’s only the beginning. The murderer’s corpse cannot even be placed in the temple, and the bone ash is scattered in the plaza for all people to trample. The murderer’s name is cursed and cannot be entered in the registry for decades.”

I looked into his coldly frozen red eyes.

Firm killing intent flickered in his eyes, showing not the slightest hint of regret.

“Even knowing the outcome, that guy was planning to accuse you. Even the option of keeping him alive to use him was too generous.”

“…If clear evidence emerges, I’m planning to confess anyway.”

“Do you think I’d just stand by and watch that happen?”

Rohan grabbed both my arms and spoke in a voice filled with anger.

I felt as if I had been caught by a massive beast, unable to take my eyes off his face.

“If you say you’ll pay for your crimes, I’ll erase your memory as many times as it takes. I don’t care if you don’t love me again. Even if you resent me, even if you hate me, even if you subject yourself to hardship to regain your memories… my choice won’t change.”

Should this be called affection? Or is it selfishness born from obsession?

To him, my decision was nothing but an obstacle.

“What if I had uncovered all the evidence with this opportunity?”

“I would erase your memory right here and now. And start over from the beginning.”

“Even if it means forgetting memories of you as well?”

“As long as I can prevent your confession, I’ll do it as many times as necessary.”

“Ha….”

Laughter escaped me without my knowing.

The fact that I felt pity rather than anger toward him probably means I’m just like him.

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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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