I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 42

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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 42

Modern politics divided between ruling and opposition parties was petty and complicated, but this side was troublesome due to the absolute influence of social status.

Anyway, just as I was about to nod in agreement with Mikhail’s plan, Helene spoke up.

“That won’t do.”

“Helene?”

“We must follow His Imperial Majesty’s command… the imperial decree.”

‘An imperial decree?’

This was a request or suggestion, not an imperial decree. If it were a real imperial decree, an edict stamped with the Imperial Seal would have been issued.

But Helene continued in a firm tone as if refusal wasn’t an option.

“This year-end party attendance is His Imperial Majesty’s first external schedule. We shouldn’t underestimate its significance.”

“That…”

While she had a point, it wasn’t strong enough evidence to overturn Mikhail’s plan.

Mikhail also seemed flustered, looking at Helene with wavering eyes.

“Helene, this isn’t that kind of issue.”

“No, His Majesty is already wary of our House Layton. If we button the first button wrong, irreversible consequences will follow.”

‘Something’s strange.’

The Helene I knew wasn’t someone who would give this kind of answer.

If anything, it would make sense for Mikhail to say such things, but I expected Helene to provide a more rational solution.

‘Why? Did the Emperor do something?’

There was no way Helene had any favorable feelings toward the Emperor.

There must be a reason why she, who took pride in being the mistress of the ducal house, gave such an answer.

“Helene, but this would be a burden on Mother…”

“It’s fine. The congratulatory speech already has a prepared script, so you just need to memorize…”

I quietly watched the conversation where Mikhail tried to persuade and Helene refused, lost in thought.

In fact, I was in a position where I just had to follow whatever the two of them decided.

But more than that, I was curious about why Helene had changed so much.

Rather than pure curiosity, it was an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. I felt like I’d seen this pattern somewhere before…

‘Right, it’s similar to when she decided not to kick me out. But that choice was because of the Late Duke.’

Keeping me as Grand Duchess was because of the Late Duke’s evil deeds.

To clean up the traces of the demon who killed four wives, Layton accepted me. It would have been perfect justification for the Emperor.

But this time was different. The Emperor had no clear justification.

Unless he had given Helene some message or even threatened her…

‘No, wait. Could it really be blackmail?’

What if the Emperor was holding Helene’s secret or House Layton’s weakness?

That would solve the mystery simply. Since Mikhail seemed unaware, it was likely Helene’s personal problem. Moreover, Helene and the Emperor were both Imperial Family members, so there were many ways they could be connected.

‘I said troublesome things would happen, and sure enough.’

I let out a small sigh.

Anyway, now that I knew Helene had something weighing on her, it became difficult to follow Mikhail’s opinion.

“Alright, then let’s propose a compromise.”

“Pardon?”

“A compromise?”

“Yes, for example… we could split the congratulatory speech in two.”

Just then, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

What came to mind wasn’t the complicated affairs of noble houses or high society… but a school dinner party I’d experienced in my previous life.

‘Now then, we’ll have a few words from the principal-!’

I just needed to take charge of the congratulatory speech.

That meant we could decide how to handle that speech however we wanted.

I smiled faintly and began explaining a bad habit of modern society… namely, ‘drinking party toasts.’

After the discussion ended, I returned to the Annex Building. As soon as I arrived, I called Nata and Anna to my bedroom.

“…So that’s how it turned out. Which means I’ll be busy for a while.”

“Y-yes, yes.”

Anna nodded awkwardly, as if she hadn’t expected busy work to actually come up as I’d predicted.

She even looked flustered, as if unsure whether to be happy or not about giving a congratulatory speech before the Emperor.

Nata, who had been listening carefully, asked cautiously.

“…Are His Imperial Majesty and House Layton on bad terms?”

“Hm? Sir Nata doesn’t know about His Majesty?”

“No, I apologize.”

“No, there’s nothing to apologize for.”

Since Nata had been on the battlefield, it made sense he wouldn’t know about recent political situations. The inner workings of succession rights weren’t really relevant to battlefield knights.

“The Previous Emperor had two empresses. The first empress bore two children – the First Prince and Helene. But she passed away after giving birth to Helene.”

“Ah…”

“The second wife he took after that was the current Emperor’s mother, Empress Chersil. She was the eldest daughter of Dafone Marquis House.”

Nata, who had been listening quietly, nodded.

“Then Lady Helene and His Imperial Majesty are…”

“Half-siblings. When Helene married into House Layton, House Layton unofficially supported the First Prince. Since he was the crown prince at the time. But they lost. The Second Prince – that is, the current His Majesty – ascended to the throne.”

This was such a shocking event that even I, who had been fooling around at the Academy, heard about it.

From what I heard, the Second Prince used the power of the Eastern Region to become Emperor immediately after the previous Emperor died.

Thanks to that, the crown prince renounced his succession rights and disappeared, and House Layton ended up completely isolated.

There were rumors going around like – isn’t it obvious who killed the previous Emperor and made the crown prince disappear?

But gossip about those in power tends to disappear without a trace.

“Anyway, the Imperial Family and House Layton have an uncomfortable relationship. So both sides want to conclude this year-end party well, as it’s the first external event and will be a battle of nerves.”

Nata nodded with understanding, as if he finally grasped everything. But Anna still looked uncomfortable.

“Um… I understand the situation, but should I really be hearing this story? I’m just a maid…”

“Hm? Anna, are you going to go somewhere else and tell this story?”

“N-no! Of course not!”

“Then it’s fine. I trust Anna, you know.”

“Grand Madam…”

Anna covered her mouth with both hands as if deeply moved.

‘If I can’t trust Anna and Nata in the first place, I have no allies anyway.’

If Anna betrays me, that would be due to my poor judgment.

I already had few people I could call my subordinates, so if I doubted Anna too, there would be nothing I could do.

“So the plan I told Mikhail and Helene is this. First, we’ll divide the congratulatory speech into the main content and a toast.”

“By toast, you mean…”

“The kind of toast you know. The kind done at company dinners.”

The two simultaneously looked at each other. Then they muttered as if they couldn’t believe it.

“…Is that acceptable in front of His Majesty?”

“The nobles don’t really drink beer…”

It was interesting that they were worried about different things.

“Of course I plan to maintain noble etiquette. The point here is dividing the congratulatory speech in two. The congratulatory speech that covers greetings and well-wishes, and the toast that signals the start of the banquet. I’ll handle the latter.”

They never said I had to give the entire congratulatory speech alone, right? So it’s a simple plan where I handle the light and simple part, while Mikhail gives the real congratulatory speech.

Of course, if I just divided it superficially, who knows what people would say, so I planned to make even the toast perfect so no one could complain.

“But I haven’t participated in many company dinners, so I wanted to get some advice. Do you both like alcohol?”

“Yes.”

“I, I enjoy it in moderation…”

“But the rumor that Anna is the biggest drinker in the annex building is widespread.”

“…Who said that? Was it the gardener?”

It was scary how a suspect immediately popped up. I averted my gaze from Anna’s lifeless eyes.

The fact that Nata liked alcohol was something I learned as we became closer. She said she’d tried all the fine wines in the Western Region.

On the other hand, Anna was a heavy drinker who could empty five bottles of wine and still show up to work fine the next day. I wanted to ask them if they knew any good words for a toast.

“I’ve rarely participated in company dinners either. Unless it was mandatory, I drank alone…”

Well, considering Nata’s past, it might have been unavoidable.

“Are soldiers’ company dinners different somehow?”

“Hmm… We didn’t call it a toast, but ‘Captain Herald’s Words.’ Named after a great figure who was once a herald, when Captain Herald would lead the chant, everyone would follow along.”

Captain Herald. Since it was unfamiliar even when I searched my memory, it seemed to be military language. Like Korea’s ‘The company commander is disappointed’ sort of thing?

When I turned my gaze to Anna this time, she clasped her hands together and hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Our toasts are… more like praise. Loudly praising the person who worked hardest today? Umm… it feels like shouting.”

“Like ‘Oliver- happy birthday!’ that sort of thing?”

“…So it was Oliver after all, wasn’t it?”

Leaving behind Anna whose eyes had turned fierce again, I imagined the servants’ toasts.

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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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