I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 57

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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 57

I heard that Chloe is about 2-3 years older than Ilina, so she would be quite a senior to Jace.

‘I didn’t expect her to be married already at that age.’

I recalled the long letter that Chloe had sent. It started with an apology for not being able to attend the Reading Club, and to summarize, it said she would have difficulty going out for a while due to issues with her spouse.

According to what I heard from Ilina, Chloe had been married for just over a year.

Since Ilina called her Miss Chloe instead of Mrs., I naturally assumed she wasn’t married.

‘There must be circumstances.’

If she were a noblewoman, she would typically be introduced as the lady of which family house first. The fact that she deliberately hid it meant there were some circumstances.

Anyway, Chloe was absent because of her husband, and Jane was absent because she was busy with work.

That man called Rohan who accompanies her also happened to get New Year’s leave.

Thanks to that, even the porter who carried food ingredients to the Annex Building was replaced with someone else.

‘It’s only the third meeting, maybe it would be better to just fold it. Or maybe I should go somewhere instead…’

While I was lost in various thoughts, the Baroness who had been chatting pleasantly with Ilina suddenly asked me as if something had occurred to her.

“Come to think of it, will Miss Jane’s guard continue to participate in the Reading Club?”

“No, I’ll have to find someone else.”

Even so, it would be somewhat inappropriate to include a man of unknown origin in a women’s gathering.

I had invited him because of the special nature of it being the first meeting, but for regular meetings, it would be better to invite other women. There would be nothing good about unnecessary rumors spreading.

However, the Baroness seemed regretful, placing her hand on her chin and muttering.

“That’s a pity.”

“…Baroness, do you want him to continue coming to the Reading Club?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…Oh my!”

Upon hearing the Baroness’s answer, Ilina blushed and covered her mouth with both hands.

It was the face of a teenager who had discovered gossip material. Worried that unnecessary misunderstandings might arise, I tried to clarify things.

“He was indeed very learned. He fit well with the Reading Club too.”

It wasn’t empty words – Rohan’s cultural knowledge was excellent.

He seemed to know well both the artistic knowledge that the Baroness possessed and the history I had superficially learned at the Academy.

Seeing how skillfully he responded to any question, I wondered if his true identity might actually be a scholar.

“Yes, exactly. The phrase ‘accomplished in both literary and martial arts’ suits him well.”

“…Literary accomplishments aside, how do you know about his martial arts?”

“It’s a guess. He’s probably handsome too.”

I was bewildered by the Baroness’s baseless confidence.

‘Does the Baroness know who Rohan is?’

She couldn’t be so confident without knowing.

Then, Ilina, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, nodded vigorously in agreement.

“That’s right, he must be handsome.”

“…Miss Ilina, what’s your basis for that?”

“Actors who cover their eyes like that are usually handsome. I saw it in plays.”

…Could it be that you also have insight into romance novel clichés?

For some reason, I was reminded of that student I had seen at the Academy.

After the meeting ended with just idle chatter and no real progress, I headed to the kitchen.

I wanted to thank the Pastry Chef who had prepared various tea and refreshments for us today.

‘Though it doesn’t seem like it was done for my sake.’

From what I heard, the Pastry Chef eagerly awaited guests coming to the Annex Building.

When guests came, the Main House would provide funding for ingredients, which he could use generously.

Since I had a small appetite, he probably couldn’t make much otherwise. And he couldn’t freely give food to the servants without permission.

That’s why Ilina was an especially popular guest among the kitchen staff.

She had great reactions and a big appetite, making it worthwhile to cook for her.

This time too, Ilina had highly praised the tart he had made as his signature dish, so I was on my way to relay that compliment to him.

“Hm?”

But I realized the kitchen was unusually noisy.

Instead of the usual sounds of knives and cooking equipment, loud voices were coming from a place where conversation should be minimal.

Peeking inside, I saw not only the Pastry Chef but also the Cooks gathered together in discussion.

“So first, we go out and….”

“But it’s urgent right now!”

“Let’s first explain the situation to Grand Madam.”

“Still, today’s menu….”

It didn’t seem like a problem that would be easily resolved. Since it didn’t appear to be unrelated to me either, I quietly entered the kitchen.

“What’s going on?”

“…Gasp! Grand Madam!”

Only then noticing me, they hurriedly tried to bow, so I waved my hand to indicate it was fine.

“I could hear voices from outside. Were you arguing?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just….”

The Pastry Chef glanced at the Head Chef.

The Head Chef glared at him with displeasure, then stepped forward.

“I apologize, Grand Madam. This is all my oversight. The truth is….”

He began slowly explaining the incident that had occurred in the kitchen.

Though his words were lengthy due to mixed apologies, to summarize simply: ‘The dinner food ingredients haven’t arrived.’

The food ingredient merchant who should have come at dawn still hadn’t arrived.

With no word from them, the Cooks were just stamping their feet in frustration. They had sent a Page Boy to urge the merchant, and if that didn’t work, planned to go directly to the market to buy ingredients, but….

“That fellow used up all the emergency funds.”

The Head Chef glared at the Pastry Chef again.

The Pastry Chef feigned ignorance and looked away.

From what I heard, the kitchen had a practice of keeping some emergency funds for such mishaps, but the Pastry Chef, carried away by excitement over the Reading Club, had gradually used up those emergency funds.

Though it was money managed internally by the kitchen that the Main House didn’t interfere with, even the Head Chef hadn’t known it would be completely depleted.

“The Head Chef is responsible for the kitchen, but the Pastry Chef made the mistake.”

“B-but it was for Grand Madam and the guests….”

“In the kitchen, the Head Chef’s orders are the same as my orders. Reflect on this.”

“…Yes.”

After hinting to the Head Chef to give the Pastry Chef an appropriate punishment, I looked toward the kitchen storage room where they had been gathered.

“What ingredients are supposed to come?”

“A week’s worth of flour and butter, and mushrooms.”

“Mushrooms?”

“Yes. …The ones Grand Madam liked.”

“…Ah.”

I could see the cooks subtly avoiding eye contact, perhaps out of embarrassment.

‘Come to think of it, I did enjoy the mushroom stew last time.’

Around the time just before the New Year banquet, I had eaten a stew made with special winter mushrooms that only grow in the Western Region.

I had praised it for its umami flavor that reminded me of shiitake mushrooms from Korea, and it seemed that was what was supposed to arrive today.

“Once spring comes, we won’t be able to eat these ingredients anymore, so we were planning to serve them one last time today.”

‘…So that’s why they couldn’t tell me.’

I roughly understood what kind of situation this was.

They thought I liked mushroom stew, so they couldn’t bring themselves to report it. They must have known I would be disappointed.

But since the merchant’s disappearance wasn’t their fault either, it didn’t really matter if the menu changed a bit.

Since they were skilled, they would have made excellent dishes with the remaining ingredients.

‘I’m grateful they’re doing this for me, though.’

I wondered if I deserved to receive such kindness. I cleared my throat unnecessarily and tried to lighten the apologetic atmosphere.

“It’s not your fault. There will be opportunities next winter too, so I’ll look forward to that. And…”

I was about to finish with some words of praise when suddenly the kitchen door opened with a clatter and someone entered.

It was Anna, who had been cleaning up after the reading club.

She entered with an urgent expression, and upon spotting me, she approached with quick steps.

“Anna? What’s wrong?”

“Grand Madam. Well… something terrible seems to have happened to Miss Jane.”

“Jane?”

I thought of Jane, who hadn’t attended because she said she was busy with work.

‘…Come to think of it, wasn’t Jane the one who delivered flour?’

I had been so concerned about the cooks that I forgot to ask about the identity of the missing merchant.

When I looked at the cooks with suspicion, they too widened their eyes as if it was a familiar name.

“Well, Johan just came asking for help… He says thieves broke into Miss Jane’s shop.”

Thieves? No matter how small the shop, thieves broke into a Goldrail Trading Company branch? Even in this Layton Territory known for good security?

“And those thieves seem to be employees of Goldrail Trading Company…”

What kind of nonsense is this?

It seemed like something serious had happened.

* * *

On Market Street, in a corner of the food ingredient market that wasn’t in a great location but was frequently visited by commoners, was Jane’s shop.

It had a fancy sign reading ‘Goldrail Layton Eastern Branch’, but the interior was a shabby store that was no different from a warehouse.

The sophisticated price tags Jane had prepared and the neat, clean condition were at least the presentable aspects.

However, compared to the building, Jane’s shop was quite well-established on the inside.

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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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