She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 117. Katarina (2)
“The Duchess of Hays?”
Katarina nearly stopped breathing.
Cecilia Hays.
The Duchess she’d only heard rumors about stood before her eyes.
“To recognize me so readily—it seems you’ve conducted quite the investigation into House of Hays.”
“Ah!”
Katarina hastily covered her mouth.
“An investigation? That’s not… that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Her heart raced violently.
I couldn’t fall apart here.
Not after preparing so diligently for this moment.
“Actually, I’m in a serious relationship with the Young Lord of Hays. It’s hardly wrong to learn about the family of someone you’re considering marriage with.”
Katarina spoke as calmly as she could manage.
Yet her fingertips trembled ever so slightly.
Cecilia didn’t miss it.
“A serious relationship, you say.”
Tension hung in the air between them.
Cecilia settled onto the sofa, looking up at the frozen Katarina.
“That’s not why I came today, though.”
“…Pardon?”
“You see, I was the one who conducted an investigation. On you.”
“On… on me?”
“Yes. The Imperial Palace’s peridot tiara incident. The jeweler who crafted the counterfeit gems back then.”
Cecilia’s gaze remained unwavering as she studied her.
“That’s your father, isn’t it?”
Katarina’s heart plummeted.
Her mouth went dry, and no words would come.
‘How could she possibly know?’
Cecilia was right.
The jeweler who’d crafted counterfeit gems on Evan’s commission.
That man was Katarina’s father.
But after becoming entangled in the Imperial Palace jewelry scandal, her father had suffered a cruel punishment.
Beaten until his limbs were shattered, he was taken to the Public Medical Center.
Unable to accept that he would live as a permanent cripple, he eventually took his own life.
‘Evan Hays… I will kill you with my own hands.’
From that moment on, Katarina had sworn vengeance.
She’d spent her entire fortune purchasing forged Herdwin documents on the black market.
And she’d successfully approached Evan.
Yet to be exposed so completely, so suddenly…
“You have quite the expressive face.”
Katarina’s shoulders flinched as her thoughts were laid bare once more.
Cecilia let out a low laugh.
“The information broker I employ is rather competent, you see.”
Simon and his associates had performed their duties admirably once again.
“…So, why did you seek me out?”
Katarina took a step backward.
Now that everything had been exposed.
There was nothing left to hide, nothing left to excuse.
Her face laid bare the sharp vigilance she felt.
“Are you here to remove the woman who approached your son with your own hands? Even a man like that is still of House Hays, after all?”
Of course, Evan wasn’t Cecilia’s biological son.
But nobles prioritized their family’s reputation above all else.
“Hmm.”
Cecilia showed no particular reaction to the sarcasm.
Katarina could have thought that way.
But I felt no need to clarify it.
Once I got to the main point, the misunderstanding would dissolve on its own.
“I’ll help you with that revenge.”
“No matter what, I have no intention of backing down… What? What did you say?”
“If you’re going to do it, do it properly.”
Katarina doubted her own ears for a moment.
This was an unexpected turn of events.
“You… would help me, Duchess?”
“Yes.”
Cecilia nodded calmly.
“Whether what you want from Evan is money or his ruin, I’ll make it happen faster and more certainly.”
“…Why?”
“Because Evan is my enemy as well.”
It was a short and straightforward answer.
Katarina was momentarily at a loss for words.
Rumors from the past flashed through her mind.
The Duchess and the Young Duke’s former relationship.
What had happened at the wedding hall.
And the conflicts, large and small, that had erupted within the Duke’s Mansion.
“…Do you still harbor resentment toward your former fiancé who ran off with your friend?”
“Well, let’s say that for now.”
Technically, he was my ex-husband, and there were far worse things that happened.
But that was something only I knew.
“One of them has already become a murderer and fled. Now only Evan remains.”
She spoke it as a joke, but her eyes held no trace of amusement.
Cecilia leaned forward, drawing closer.
Katarina swallowed involuntarily.
“Soon, the Dowager Duchess’s inheritance will pass to Evan.”
“And?”
“You’ll take all of it.”
“…What?”
Katarina’s eyes widened in shock.
“That’s… surely not a small sum.”
“Exactly. It’s more than enough to cover all of Evan’s failures.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Besides, my husband and I have no interest in that money. You can think of it as compensation for your father’s suffering.”
Cecilia’s words carried absolute sincerity.
The fortune Elise left behind felt nothing but burdensome.
She and Rainer were already abundantly wealthy.
“Huh….”
Katarina stared blankly at Cecilia.
If this was an inheritance left by the Dowager Duchess of the Duke’s Mansion…
Wasn’t it enough to casually purchase a grand manor in the Capital?
And yet she would hand such wealth to a complete stranger.
What kind of family was House of Hays, truly!
“Of course, it’s not free.”
Cecilia rose from her seat.
“The condition is that you push Evan to the very edge with your own hands.”
“The very… edge?”
“Yes.”
A faint smile played at the corners of Cecilia’s lips.
After composing herself briefly, she added in a low voice.
“Keep encouraging him from beside him so he becomes obsessed with the inheritance. And then….”
* * *
“…na.”
“….”
“Hey, Katarina!”
“Oh, yes?”
Katarina snapped back to awareness, having been lost in thought.
Before her eyes, Evan gazed at her with a bewildered expression.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Nothing.”
Katarina smiled as though nothing were amiss and rested her head against his shoulder.
“I was just thinking of my father.”
“Father?”
“Yes, he passed away not long ago.”
“Oh, how unfortunate.”
Evan clicked his tongue lightly.
“He must have gone to a better place, so don’t grieve too much.”
It was a perfunctory condolence.
Katarina scoffed inwardly.
As if he would ever know who her father truly was.
‘Just wait, Evan Hays. I won’t let you off so easily.’
If he ever learned the truth, Evan would surely fall backward in shock.
For now, it was time to lower my guard.
Katarina erased the cold glint from her eyes.
Then she looked up at Evan again with a lovely smile.
“Evan, since the matter of inheritance came up, there’s something I wanted to discuss.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“It’s about the Listea branch of our clothing shop. The construction costs are turning out to be much higher than expected.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, the material prices have risen considerably.”
Katarina let out a deep sigh.
“To match the standards of the noblewomen in Listea, it needs to be lavish from the start. But the budget is falling short.”
“How much do you need?”
“At least 100,000 crowns, I’d say.”
“O-one hundred thousand?”
Evan’s hand froze.
100,000 crowns.
It was a sum that an ordinary person could spend their entire life idling away and still have left over.
“Why does opening a single clothing shop cost so much? And didn’t you plan your finances from the beginning?”
“Of course we did.”
Despite Evan’s sharp criticism,
Katarina’s expression didn’t waver in the slightest.
“The funds were already secured in Herdwin. It’s just that the procedures in Listea are cumbersome. If I could just get some breathing room for a moment….”
She glanced up at Evan.
Now it was time to cast the bait.
“So, Evan, would you help me out?”
“What? Me?”
“Once the money is freed up, I’ll pay you back with 30% interest.”
“30%?”
Evan’s eyes gleamed.
Typical bank interest didn’t even reach 10%.
Yet she was offering 30%.
‘Isn’t that just sitting around and earning 30,000 crowns?’
Evan rubbed his chin.
100,000 crowns, she said.
The inheritance would arrive soon anyway, roughly that amount.
‘Besides, this woman will marry me.’
Then Katarina’s money would essentially become my own.
And if her business succeeded?
There would be no need to labor at all.
A leisurely life beside a wife who earned well.
That wasn’t so bad either.
With his calculations complete, Evan’s lips curved upward.
“Fine, why not? Can’t I spend 100,000 crowns for my woman?”
“Really? Oh, thank you so much.”
Katarina smiled brilliantly.
But beneath the table, her hands were clenched into tight fists.
Cecilia’s parting words echoed in her mind.
‘I will take everything from Evan—his money, his honor, the name Hays itself. You can look forward to it.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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