One Day, I Picked Up a Mom - Chapter 49

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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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One Day I Picked Up a Mother – Episode 49

“Ah….”

When I let out a small sigh upon encountering an unexpected figure.

“It’s this difficult to find you alone in this estate.”

Words flowed from the Countess’s mouth as she looked me up and down, spitting them out as if chewing.

“Follow me.”

And before I could even give any response, she began walking ahead.

As if I had no choice from the beginning.

‘It must be because of what she heard in the garden.’

Ludrio disliked me being with the Previous Count and Countess when he wasn’t present, but there was no way to ignore the Countess who had come looking for me directly.

Still, when I hesitated for a moment as Ludrio’s request came to mind.

“Mother.”

“Iban, stay here. I’ll be back.”

I hurriedly closed the door to stop Iban, who had already gotten down from the bed and was approaching as if about to come out of the room.

It seemed the Countess was only looking for me, so there was no reason for Iban to come along.

“Tsk, can’t you understand a simple instruction to follow?”

And just as I was about to quicken my pace, the Countess turned around and continued her scolding.

“Or do you think it’s fine to treat my words lightly?”

In an instant, the Countess’s voice became even sharper and more irritated.

“No, right now….”

“If you were awake, you should have come to greet your elders first, but you didn’t show even a trace of yourself.”

However, it seemed she didn’t particularly want my answer as the scolding continued.

“Even if Count Roderich excluded us from breakfast, if you were a child who knew proper manners, you wouldn’t have dared to think of sitting at the dining table. But I hear you had breakfast quite brazenly.”

The Countess paused for a moment and caught her breath, her shoulders heaving.

“Moreover, I clearly said we would have tea time after breakfast, yet you didn’t show your face.”

My confusion at her agitated breathing and sharp words was brief.

I realized that Ludrio’s statement about eating separately was his independent decision, made regardless of the Previous Count and Countess’s wishes.

Excluding them even from breakfast was thorough disregard and neglect toward the previous generation.

And I belatedly realized that taking a seat at that breakfast meant I was also agreeing with that treatment.

“Yesterday you pretended to be well-mannered, spouting nonsense about wanting to see us off. I suppose that was also fabricated to catch Count Roderich’s eye rather than ours?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“I was short-sighted and missed many things. But it was never because I found the Countess’s words amusing.”

I hurriedly opened my mouth to clear up the Countess’s misunderstanding, but after that brief excuse, I didn’t know what else to say.

The easiest way would be to say that all of this was Ludrio’s unilateral decision, but strangely, I didn’t want to place the blame on him.

‘After meeting them just a few times, you won’t have to encounter them again after that.’

Along with the words about formal greetings, I recalled what Ludrio had said.

The formal greeting he mentioned must have meant that we would have to clash at least once in the beginning.

And in the encounters he envisioned, occasions like breakfast were never included from the start.

Ludrio never intended to seat the previous couple and us at the same dining table.

That’s why he was consistently rude from the moment we first met, thinking that the two people, wounded in their pride, would leave soon.

Just a few encounters at first.

Ludrio was planning to drive away the previous generation like that.

At first, I thought he was trying to use me and Iban to provoke the previous generation’s anger.

But thinking about it now, that wasn’t it.

Ludrio was inexcusably rude to the previous generation, and thanks to that, Iban and I could be protected.

He was drawing a line so that Iban and I wouldn’t clash with the previous generation as much as possible.

After realizing that fact, I didn’t want to use him as an excuse.

“Is that all your excuse amounts to?”

The Countess’s brow furrowed even more, as if she found it absurd that I was closing my mouth without proper explanation.

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

The Countess, who clicked her tongue as if annoyed, looked over my shoulder.

The Countess, who seemed to be looking somewhere down the corridor, clicked her tongue softly and began walking again.

* * *

Whether scolding or criticism, I thought she would have a lot to say to me.

But the Countess quietly drank her tea with her mouth closed for a long time.

In fact, compared to the beginning, the tea in the cup had barely decreased, but the Countess lifted the cup again and moistened her lips.

After a long wait, the Countess’s mouth slowly opened as she set down her cup.

“Count Roderich seems quite smitten with you. Isn’t that right?”

When I let out an awkward sigh at words that were difficult to answer, she continued once more.

“As you saw, Count Roderich seems intent on proceeding with the marriage despite our opposition.”

The Countess’s voice had changed to be quite calm, unlike before. Though it still felt cold enough to seem chilly.

“We still don’t like you and your son. If it comes to it, we’ll have to petition the Imperial Family.”

Petition. The same story Ludrio had told before breakfast flowed from her mouth.

“To think you can enter the pinnacle of noble society with just one marriage. That child’s love may be an unprecedented opportunity for you, but Count Roderich will have a very difficult time ahead.”

“…You’re saying Count Roderich will have difficulties?”

“Not to mention the family’s reputation, that child’s authority will be greatly shaken. And you’ll become the woman who ruined the family and be pointed at with fingers. Since it’s a social circle that values reputation highly, no one will treat you as a proper Countess.”

The Countess’s threats continued quietly.

Ludrio’s reputation that I would destroy and the contempt and finger-pointing I would receive because of it.

As the Countess detailed the future that lay ahead, I finally realized what the purpose of this meeting was.

Since she couldn’t control Ludrio as she wished, she was trying to frighten me away.

“When Count Roderich’s love ends, what will happen to you and your child? Will Count Roderich still try to protect you like he does now? As you know, he’s a child with many women. His feelings for you will soon fade anyway.”

As the Countess continued listing the gloomy future that awaited me, I glanced around and quietly nodded.

Unfortunately for the Countess, none of those words frightened me at all.

We weren’t a couple who promised marriage out of love, and though it was brief, I had clearly experienced how dangerous the life of a lower-class woman could be.

Having had my safety threatened in much more direct ways, being ignored in social circles was nothing to me.

And as for Ludrio’s reputation….

It wasn’t that good to begin with, so I don’t need to feel sorry.

“Sigh, I’ll provide enough support so you won’t lack money to raise the child.”

The Countess, who had sunk deep into her chair, sighed and began trying to persuade me.

“Rather than greedily coveting an unsuitable position only to get hurt and driven away, wouldn’t this be better for you and your child?”

“….”

The Countess looked at me quietly, as if telling me to answer.

With the sudden right to speak, the Countess’s brow narrowed as I hesitated for a moment.

“Don’t tell me you dislike this proposal too?”

Though there was tea within arm’s reach to wet my throat, I could only swallow dry saliva and hurriedly opened my mouth.

“…Count Roderich told me to just endure a little.”

“What?”

“You two might petition the Imperial Family, and you might interfere to prevent me from entering social circles, but he told me to just endure a little.”

The words I blurted out before I could even organize my thoughts were quite provocative.

However, my mouth, which had been tightly closed due to tension and then opened, began to chatter beyond my control.

“He said that eventually I’ll become the Countess, and then such threats will mean nothing.”

At words that sounded bold no matter how you heard them, the Countess’s face contorted with anger.

“Count Roderich had already considered even the worst-case scenario when he accepted me and Iban.”

“….”

“I’m not afraid of a future with Count Roderich.”

Only after my long, rambling speech ended did I realize what I had wanted to say to the Countess.

“I want to stay by Count Roderich’s side.”

I was no longer afraid of a future with Ludrio.

Perhaps the safest place in this nameless novel might be by his side.

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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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