I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 212

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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 212

“Nonsense. You say that, but you’ve never touched my memories even once since then.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. Even when I leaned against him, his body didn’t move an inch.

Rather, I could feel his arms becoming even more rigid.

“The most efficient method for you would have been to erase my memories every time I recalled the past. Then this unstable situation wouldn’t have arisen.”

Of course, I would have noticed the gaps in my memory under any circumstances, but Rohan had the ability to eliminate even that possibility.

But he didn’t lay a hand on me until I discovered the family’s secret.

The reason goes without saying.

“Because you want me not to forget you.”

“I am…”

“You want to stop this precarious tightrope walking, but at the same time, part of your heart hopes I’ll remember you again.”

“…That’s not true.”

“Liar. Every time you suspect I’m recalling memories, you make an expectant expression.”

He was acting expressionless, but as time passed, his emotions became increasingly obvious.

Every time he asked if memories had returned to me, he waited with hopeful eyes, yet when I denied it, he showed both relief and disappointment simultaneously.

The desire for me to remember him coexisted with the guilt that he should erase those memories.

The one walking the precarious tightrope wasn’t me, but Rohan, who was conflicted within such contradictions.

‘He’s quite cute though.’

Calling a human like a giant leopard cute would make others sneer if they heard it.

But what could I do? Even a beast becomes lovable when it becomes mine.

“But Rohan, there’s one thing you’re misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“Just because all my memories return doesn’t guarantee that the current me will confess.”

Rohan frowned as if he couldn’t understand.

Well, since I had said with my own mouth that I would confess if clear evidence emerged, it wasn’t a story he could readily believe.

“First, you didn’t witness the scene of me killing Father. Right?”

“Right, when I found you, the incident had already occurred.”

“Was there physical evidence?”

“No. …Nothing except bloodstains and the corpse.”

I thought so.

If Rohan had been at the crime scene, he wouldn’t have left Lord Windsor, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, alone.

Rohan didn’t witness the beginning and end of the incident. All he saw were the remains after the incident was over.

“Well then, your and my conditions are the same. Neither of us has memories of the incident. In other words… we don’t know the motive or circumstances.”

Until now, we had been obsessed with the result that I killed Father, but why it happened and what the situation was remained unclear.

Most importantly, I had no grudge against Father severe enough to kill him.

Considering that I had memories of being with Father right up until just before the incident occurred, it wasn’t even a case of family discord.

Then there was only one remaining possibility.

“That incident might have actually been an accident.”

It was a very convenient and coincidental assumption, but one that couldn’t be entirely dismissed.

I didn’t know the exact circumstances, but if I had accidentally killed Father and Lord Windsor discovered it later and fled, the story would roughly fit together.

Perhaps my deduction was plausible, as Rohan, who had been frowning, spoke in a slightly more relaxed voice.

“That makes sense. But what does this have to do with your confession? You’re not the type to plead innocence claiming you accidentally killed someone.”

“You know me well. If it really was an accident, it would have gone as you said.”

“What?”

Even with his expressionless face, it was amusing how he reacted to each of my words.

I placed my index finger on the bridge of his nose and let out a laugh.

“It’s a new deduction that emerged thanks to Lord Windsor’s actions you mentioned. Think carefully – Lord Windsor said he witnessed a murder, right? That means he was at Windsor Mansion at the time.”

“…That’s right.”

“Then I’m not the only suspect who could have committed murder in the mansion, am I? What if it was disguised as an ‘unexpected accident’?”

“…!”

Rohan’s eyes widened as he finally understood what I meant.

He probably never imagined expanding the list of suspects.

It was elementary deduction that might appear in novels, but that made it all the more convincing.

After all, deduction that targets obvious gaps tends to work well.

“There’s a possibility I was deceived by Lord Windsor. In the end, my eyewitness account from that time is testimony, not evidence. You can’t punish someone based on suspicion alone.”

“A confession doesn’t need evidence. Just a confession is enough…”

“That’s exactly why I need my memory to refute that confession.”

I opened my palm and gently caressed both his cheeks.

“Do you understand, Rohan? Back then, I had no information about Lord Windsor. I wouldn’t have suspected him, and would have simply believed that what happened before my eyes was the truth. But now it’s different. I can examine the incident from a different perspective.”

There was a clear flaw in this case.

To dig into that, I needed my memory.

Only by recalling the truth of the incident that I alone remembered could I approach the conclusion.

“You might be satisfied with the reality where I didn’t confess, but I’m not. I cannot tolerate gaps in my memory. If I stay like this, I’ll be nothing but a suspect for life.”

“The case has already been closed. You’re not a criminal.”

“That might be true legally, but it’s not over in my heart.”

As long as the fact that I might have killed family remained in my heart, I couldn’t escape this persistent guilt.

What I needed was perfect innocence that could convince myself.

“So Rohan, this is the last chance.”

I brought his face even closer.

“The me who’s here now is the last Wilhelmina you desire. All the clues have gathered, so I’m going to leave to recover my memory. Your last chance to stop me is right now.”

Then I took his hand and placed it on my forehead.

I rested my head against his long, firm fingers and looked straight into his eyes.

“I know you’ve always helped me from behind the scenes. The Jane and Chloe incident, protection in the capital, and even killing Lord Windsor in my place… I’m grateful for everything. So I’ll give you a gift.”

A last chance to start everything over from the beginning.

If he wanted a Wilhelmina who could live without being bound by the past, he could erase all my memories right here and now.

The case would forever remain unsolved, and I would live peaceful days in the annex building.

“If you want it, erase them right now.”

Ironically, it was Rohan who had brought me the final puzzle piece of memory.

I will take that puzzle and move toward the conclusion.

Whether to overturn the board or approach the truth together with me was Rohan’s choice.

“…What are the chances that you’re innocent?”

“I don’t know. I can’t rule out the possibility that it was truly an unexpected accident.”

“If you can’t prove your innocence even after recovering your memories, what will you do?”

“I don’t know that either. If the guilt is greater, I might turn myself in, otherwise I might continue the investigation.”

“Ha, nothing is certain.”

Rohan let out a laugh and slowly removed his hand.

The corners of his mouth were faintly raised, but guilt could be glimpsed in his eyes.

“You said with your own mouth why you can’t erase my memories, yet you’re being cruel.”

“That’s why it’s an opportunity. A chance for you to give up on me.”

I leaned my head against his calloused fingers and continued speaking.

“Erase your memories and leave me. Think of it as a brief fever, and forget me too. Then you won’t have to suffer this troublesome heartache anymore.”

“Do you mean we should forget each other?”

“I wanted to let you know that an easy path exists. Rohan, love is an emotion that only seems big when it’s close. The farther apart we become, the more time passes, you’ll be able to let it flow away as a memory of the past.”

Unlike revenge that grows the more you dwell on it, the emotion called love quickly cools the moment its catalyst disappears.

Oblivion might become the fever reducer that could cool our burning passion.

“Rohan, do you think your current state is normal? An imperial duke killing people because of just one Noble Lady, traveling across the continent to investigate a fallen noble house’s case. What’s important for you isn’t chasing after me…!”

At that moment, his hand that had been covering my forehead came down and grabbed my chin. Then he pulled me in at once.

Our lips overlapped fiercely.

Before my startled breath could escape, Rohan wrapped my lips with his tongue.

At his fierce movement as if trying to silence my mouth, I instinctively tried to step back.

But he caught my stiffly tensed waist.

“Haah…”

“Do you think emotions can be blurred by momentary oblivion? That they can be let go like memories of the past?”

“Rohan, wait…”

“That’s not like you, Mina. If I could easily forget you, I wouldn’t have chased after you like this.”

His arms gradually tightened around my body.

He pressed against me with exquisite force, as if anticipating that I wouldn’t push him away.

In his movement that was both tender and forceful, I could feel an impatience like that of a snake before its prey.

“From the moment we first met, I’ve never once erased you from my mind. When I went to war at Theorne’s request, when I took the succession rights from my brothers, you were always at the end of my path.”

His lips slowly descended and tickled my chin.

Like a beast before sweet fruit, heat flowed from the tip of his tongue that was desperate to devour me in one bite.

“For you, to stand before you, I walked that long path. And now you’re telling me to choose the easy way?”

Rohan laughed lowly. The anger contained in that laughter sent chills down my spine.

“I can endure erasing my memories to protect you. I even anticipated that you might hate me. …But that doesn’t mean I’m denying our relationship. I will never forget you or push you away.”

His head slowly moved away.

Finally able to breathe, I exhaled heavily, and Rohan with his chillingly cold expression kissed my lips once more.

“If you’re going to use oblivion as an excuse… Fine, I’ll show you what kind of magical season you and I spent together. You need to know how brilliant those memories you tried to discard were to 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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