I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 8

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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 8

For reference, Helene also agreed to me coming here. So my intentions are the same as Helene’s.

“I’ll see you again later.”

I’ll check later, so handle things accordingly.

I supported Ilina again without checking their reactions.

Fortunately, throughout our exit from the corridor, no voices could be heard this time.

* * *

Ilina couldn’t lift her head.

In the Ladies’ Rest Room of the Banquet Hall, which was several times more luxurious than her own room, she had just finished vomiting stomach acid.

She didn’t have the confidence to look at Wilhelmina sitting across from her.

‘What have I done!’

If she could turn back time, she felt like she would even sell her soul to the devil.

At a banquet her fiancé was attending, and even in front of the Duke’s Family, she had botched her greeting and nearly vomited.

If Wilhelmina hadn’t handled things at the end, by now the protagonist of the banquet would have been Ilina, not the Margrave.

‘Grand Duchess.’

Only then did Ilina lift her head and glance at Wilhelmina, who sat silently with her legs crossed, chin resting on her hand.

From a distance, she had seemed sharp-featured, but up close, her atmosphere was quite different.

‘She’s incredibly… young.’

The recent rumors about Wilhelmina circulating in High Society were too numerous to count on both hands.

The Late Duke’s fifth wife, a woman who became a widow before even holding the ceremony.

Despite her unclear status, a fortunate person who received the title of ‘Grand Duchess’ through the generous consideration of the Ducal House.

Naturally, most of the rumors were negative. Rumors thoroughly woven with content favorable to the Ducal House and unfavorable to Wilhelmina.

Perceptive people would have quickly noticed the source of these rumors, but High Society was always more enthusiastic about stimulating topics than unclear evidence.

So Ilina hadn’t had high expectations for Wilhelmina either.

Her parents had cursed Wilhelmina as ‘someone who would soon be stuck in a Small Room anyway.’

‘But she doesn’t seem like that kind of person.’

She didn’t look like someone who would quietly be stuck in a Small Room, nor like someone who would live bowing her head after luckily clinging to the Ducal House.

Rather, the appearance she showed just before leaving the Banquet Hall was worthy of being called a true member of the Duke’s Family.

“Are you done?”

“Ah!”

Wilhelmina, who had turned her head toward Ilina at some point, spoke in a low voice.

“You can at least drink some milk, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

As soon as Wilhelmina arrived at the Rest Room, she had put honey into the warm milk that the Attendants brought.

She poured honey into the Teapot without restraint, enough to worry about gaining weight.

“Here.”

Then she stirred it roughly with a Teaspoon, poured the milk into a Teacup until it was nearly full, and offered it to Ilina.

“Th-thank you.”

Ilina received the precariously full teacup, glanced around nervously, then brought the teacup to her lips.

‘It’s delicious!’

“It’s good, right? We use quality milk here.”

Ilina couldn’t help but marvel at the rich flavor of milk spreading in her mouth.

The milk fat moistening her palate, the honey’s sweetness flooding mercilessly over her tongue, and the fragrant milk aroma tickling her nose.

Her already hungry stomach rejoiced enthusiastically from just one sip.

‘But… I should stop drinking.’

After taking one large sip, Ilina reluctantly put down the teacup. Seeing this, Wilhelmina frowned.

“Why did you stop drinking? Don’t you like it?”

“Oh, no. It’s delicious. I’m overwhelmed by the Grand Duchess’s hospitality…”

“Then drink more.”

“This is enough for me.”

Just as she was about to say that, a loud rumbling sound came from her stomach.

At her stomach’s declaration that one sip wasn’t nearly enough, Ilina’s face turned bright red.

“Enough, my foot.”

“…”

Wilhelmina sighed as she looked at Ilina, who seemed ready to cry at any moment, then stood up from her seat. She then approached behind the chair where Ilina was sitting.

“G-Grand Duchess?”

“Hold still.”

She reached her hand toward Ilina’s back. Without hesitation, she untied the knots on the back of the dress and inserted her hand inside.

“Eek!”

Startled by Wilhelmina’s fingers touching her bare skin, Ilina tried to pull her waist away, but Wilhelmina didn’t let go. Instead, she gripped her waist even more firmly.

“Grand Duchess! Y-you can’t do this!”

Could it be that the Grand Duchess has some unspeakable hobby?

Ignoring Ilina’s screams as she began having bizarre delusions, Wilhelmina’s hand moved from her back to her sides, then to the front.

“Ah, what’s this. The hook is in the front.”

“Hik!”

As she moved her fingers a bit more, there was a click, and the clasp opened. The corset that had been tightly constricting her waist was instantly loosened.

Along with the feeling of her chest and stomach being liberated, the belly fat she had been hiding all along popped out. Ilina frantically covered her stomach with her hands.

“N-no!”

Since she was wearing the dress sized for when it was cinched with the corset, the front panel also bulged up as if it might burst.

“I can just loosen this too.”

Then Wilhelmina pulled out the dress pins and untied the knots.

“Ah!”

As her sides and back became half-exposed in an instant, Ilina bent over to cover her body.

“Here, put this on.”

Wilhelmina brought over a large overcoat that was hanging on the coat rack in the rest room, so big that even a man wouldn’t wear it.

It was so fluffy that if not for its appearance, one might mistake it for a feather comforter.

After wrapping the overcoat around Ilina’s body, Wilhelmina returned to her own seat.

Ilina felt like she had been caught in an unexpected storm. Her dress and corset were half-loosened, yet her body was warm thanks to the overcoat draped over her shoulders.

“Wh-what is this…?”

“No one’s coming, so don’t worry. Go ahead and finish the rest of your milk. It’s more comfortable now that your waist is loosened, isn’t it?”

It was comfortable. Thanks to the removal of the corset she had been wearing even while sleeping, her chest no longer hurt when she breathed a little deeper, and the suffocating abdominal pressure had disappeared. Even her aching back felt relieved.

“B-but I shouldn’t loosen my corset. I need to keep it on until I get married, so my waist will become slender.”

“Loosening it for a moment won’t change anything. Don’t worry.”

“And if I drink this, I’ll gain weight…”

“You won’t.”

She wanted to deny it, but there was a strange power in Wilhelmina’s words.

Without providing any evidence, she spoke with more conviction than the dress shops that sold corsets.

Moreover, though she had forgotten due to the sudden incident, regardless of the rumors, she was a Grand Duchess. Ilina was in no position to refuse her orders.

Ilina couldn’t hide her anxious expression as she picked up the teacup.

‘…It’s delicious.’

The negative thoughts were only momentary; as the milk entered her stomach, she was swept away by a blissful feeling. Thanks to her more relaxed abdomen, she could drink the milk more smoothly than before.

Ilina’s face relaxed as the warm liquid flowed down her throat and warmed her stomach.

“I wasn’t going to give unnecessary advice considering the times, but you should change to a larger corset.”

“But this is the most fashionable one…”

When Ilina muttered quietly, Wilhelmina clicked her tongue loudly for her to hear.

“Does following what others do make everyone pretty? You need to have your own principles.”

It was a statement that completely denied the trends of high society.

Ilina rolled her eyes as if she couldn’t understand.

“I’m not trying to debate standards of beauty. First, you need to be healthy for beauty to matter. Do you know what you look like right now?”

“Do I look strange?”

She had tried her best to dress up, but was there something wrong?

Ilina put down her teacup and looked down at herself. Looking closely, she could see that the powder on her chest had smudged.

“Oh, I need to reapply this…”

“Being pale isn’t the problem.”

Recently, among the younger generation, snow-white skin untouched by sunlight was a symbol of beauty.

Wilhelmina sighed and pointed to Ilina’s abdomen.

“Doesn’t your stomach hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt…”

“Liar. If you wear that every day, you must have constipation too, right?”

At the word constipation, Ilina’s face turned red again.

“Grand Duchess!”

“Why, are you embarrassed? But almost vomiting in front of everyone at the banquet hall isn’t embarrassing?”

“Th-that’s…”

Ilina’s voice became tearful. Her mistake, which she had momentarily forgotten, came flooding back.

Wilhelmina let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair.

“I understand wanting to be prettier than others. But you can’t sacrifice your health for that.”

“But Father also said I need to be thinner…”

“Are you going to marry your father?”

“I’m going to marry my fiancé!”

“Then your fiancé would dislike it if you weren’t a thin woman?”

“Hans doesn’t say things like that!”

Ilina shouted angrily while recalling her kind fiancé’s face. Wilhelmina’s eyebrows twitched at the sharp tone.

“That’s good then. At least your fiancé seems to have his head on straight. Anyway, the person you’ll be living with from now on is your fiancé, so if he’s fine with it, there’s no need to push yourself.”

“That’s… true, but it’s ugly.”

“Ugly? What is?”

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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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