I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 221

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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 221

Wilhelmina headed to the Academy.

After telling Helene to wait near the entrance, she walked to the garden where she had spent time with Rohan.

The garden was still untraveled, overgrown with weeds to the point where it was difficult to step foot.

‘In the past, Rohan would occasionally tidy up the surroundings… Now it can’t even be called a garden.’

At least the area around the large tree where they used to sit side by side and rest was clean.

Not only that, but there were traces left as if someone had sat there.

“Could it be…?”

Wilhelmina slowly looked around.

Since she wasn’t a knight, she couldn’t sense any presence, but somehow she had an intuition that someone might be hiding.

She smiled faintly and put her hand into the base of the tree.

It was their secret hiding place where they used to hide tea and refreshments and such.

The refreshments had no traces left, probably eaten by animals, but the small box that had been attached to the wall was still there.

Wilhelmina took it out, blew on it to dust it off, and sat leaning against the tree as she used to.

‘If Anna had seen this, she would have told me to lay down a handkerchief before sitting.’

With such trivial thoughts, she looked up at the sky.

As dawn was just beginning to break, the darkness of the sky was slowly receding.

“It’s been a while since I watched the sunrise at the Academy. …Isn’t that right?”

Then, rustling sounds came from beyond the bushes.

Wilhelmina continued speaking without lowering her gaze.

“Was it summer when we first spent the night here? The dormitory was leaking water and everyone went home, but you and I made a sleeping place here. We slept with a worn tent as our roof.”

“…”

“Even though it was the Academy, camping out was quite dangerous when I think about it now, but it was quite enjoyable then. Maybe I felt at ease because you were by my side.”

“Do you remember everything?”

“Yes, Rohan. I remember it all.”

Pushing through the bushes, Rohan walked over.

His shadowed face showed faint traces of fatigue.

“Aftereffects?”

“…Yes.”

The aftereffects of showing Wilhelmina his memories were tormenting Rohan.

Having experienced the pain of having her memories rifled through at Windsor Mansion, Wilhelmina nodded as if no more words were needed.

“You were sitting here until I came, weren’t you?”

“I just stopped by for a moment.”

“Did you want to reminisce about our memories together?”

There was no answer.

Wondering if it was a bit of a mischievous joke, Wilhelmina rolled her eyes with an awkward expression.

“First, sit here. My neck hurts from looking up.”

Rohan slowly approached and sat down a little distance away from Wilhelmina.

Glancing at him leaning weakly against the tree, Wilhelmina caressed the box hidden in her arms.

“How long have you been here?”

“…After confirming you were heading to the Capital, I came here first.”

“Then I unnecessarily asked His Imperial Majesty for a favor. I asked him to pass along word for you to come here.”

“I received the message. Though I didn’t know you’d use the Emperor as a messenger.”

“He was being kind.”

“Since it was you asking, he had no choice but to be kind.”

Wilhelmina giggled at his tone, as if dealing with a troublemaker.

“His Majesty owes me a debt, so he won’t be angry.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then?”

“That guy has feelings for you, so he’ll grant most reasonable requests.”

Wilhelmina’s eyes widened in surprise at Rohan’s calm words.

Seeing her reaction, Rohan frowned.

“Why are you surprised?”

“I didn’t know you had that much perception. You’ve grown too.”

Wilhelmina thought no one would have noticed that the Emperor was interested in her.

At this absurd misunderstanding, Rohan grumbled in dissatisfaction.

“…Sometimes, you seem to see me as too much of a child.”

“The you in my memory is a child, so I can’t help it.”

Even though their last parting was only a few years ago, the events that followed had led them down different paths.

Rohan had experienced war and become the Duke of the Eastern Region, while Wilhelmina had come to live as a Grand Duchess.

The hundreds and thousands of days of memories they shared in their youth at the Academy were now just distant past.

Knowing this but unwilling to accept it, Rohan closed his mouth.

“Come to think of it, something came to mind while recalling memories – why didn’t you come find me after the war ended?”

“That’s…”

“I’m not trying to blame you. It’s purely out of curiosity.”

After the war ended, Rohan’s return to the Capital was more than a month later.

Though he often took leaves of absence due to succession struggles after becoming an upperclassman, that time there wasn’t even any contact.

Rohan, who had been mulling over the past, moved his lips several times before giving up and answering.

“I was looking for a ring.”

“A ring?”

“The Western Region has high-quality jewelry mines. Though the Foreign Tribes had occupied them, after winning the war, they were absorbed into the Empire’s territory. I heard that the jewelry from there symbolizes eternal love.”

“Ah… I remember. It was a Border Region specialty.”

“I wanted to make a ring with that.”

From the land stained with the blood of knights and soldiers, rumors of jewelry that could enable eternal love were widespread even in the Capital.

‘It was this world’s version of diamonds. They actually contain magic power too.’

Since crafting them required tremendous time and effort, they were precious stones that commanded whatever price was asked.

Even the Layton Family had to make reservations to purchase them, so it was impossible for someone like Rohan, whose status was unclear at the time, to obtain one.

“You wanted to give it to me?”

“Yeah.”

Just as she was about to ask why he had suddenly tried to obtain such a thing, Wilhelmina recalled the conversation she had with Rohan.

It was not long after they had started dating each other.

‘Right, it was during the banquet. I was embarrassed because I lacked a proper dress and jewelry.’

There’s no such thing as a uniform dress for banquets.

Most students attending the banquet hall were nobles or wealthy, so it was natural to dress elegantly.

But the poor Windsor Family couldn’t possibly have such a dress.

Though she had an invitation, there was no need to attend a banquet when she had nothing proper to wear…

‘They’re giving free alcohol and meals, so of course I should attend.’

She attended for such an absurd reason.

Wilhelmina back then had a much more aggressive personality than now.

‘I also wanted to give a blow to those guys who were sneering that I wouldn’t be able to attend.’

At that banquet she forcibly attended, she was humiliated.

Students picked fights with her for not even wearing proper jewelry.

Though she fought back and returned the humiliation to those guys, that incident seemed to weigh on Rohan’s mind, as he said this on the way back to the dormitory.

‘…I’ll give you treasure that no one can look down on.’

‘He remembered that?’

Even pure-hearted guys have their limits, she didn’t expect him to carry that for years.

Moreover, choosing diamonds as that gift was impressive.

To make a ring for his girlfriend with jewelry that even high nobles couldn’t easily obtain.

“…What a kid.”

“…”

Rohan frowned at Wilhelmina’s words mixed with laughter.

Seeing his cheeks turn slightly red, Wilhelmina’s smile deepened.

“And I’m a kid too. Since we think similarly.”

“What do you…”

“Before explaining that… first, I need to tell you about the incident that happened while you were obtaining the ring.”

At the mention of an incident, Rohan’s face hardened coldly.

It was time to talk about the murder that occurred while Rohan was away, the cause of the Windsor Family’s downfall.

Wilhelmina slowly began explaining what had happened then and what she had deduced.

The trial she had been preparing for, Father’s family relationships, the conversation with Lord Windsor that day, the secret passage… When all explanations were finished, the morning sun had already revealed itself.

Wilhelmina, shielding her eyes from the bright light, spoke quietly.

“Rohan, Lord Windsor definitely had the exact same face as our father, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“The fact that he’s alive means I didn’t kill anyone.”

“…”

“So there’s nothing for you to worry about. I won’t disappear.”

She only gazed at the sun slowly illuminating the surroundings, not turning her gaze toward Rohan.

It was the same for Rohan.

The two simply faced the sun quietly.

“…I’m sorry.”

After a long silence, it was Rohan who spoke first.

“No matter what justification there might be, the fact that I touched your memory is clear. If you can’t trust me for trying to manipulate your memory, even now I could….”

“Do you know why I called you to this place?”

“What?”

She interrupted Rohan’s words and spoke with a voice mixed with laughter.

“Earlier, this connects to the reason I said you and I are similar. You remember how I used to put all sorts of things under this tree, right?”

Since Wilhelmina used to spend half her days in the garden, she had hidden all kinds of items here.

Not only food, but also books, clothes, and even pillows were stored here.

This place was both a secret space and her treasure box.

“When you didn’t come back, I secretly hid this. I was going to give it to you when you returned.”

Only then did Rohan recall the conversation they had shared before parting with Wilhelmina.

‘If you come back alive, come find me first. I have something to give you.’

She took out a box that had been hidden in her embrace and held it out to him. At her gesture that seemed to tell him to open it, Rohan slowly took the box.

“This is….”

“It’s a ring. It belonged to my parents.”

It was a ring set with a navy blue sapphire similar in color to Wilhelmina’s eyes.

“Since you confessed to me asking me to date you, I wanted to be the one to give you an answer about marriage.”

She said with a refreshing smile.

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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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