She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 118

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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 118. Silent Resentment
Margaret had been forced to leave the Hays Ducal House.
She had entered with Elise when she married into Listea.
The Duke’s Mansion had been where she spent most of her life.
Yet its conclusion was hollow.
“Y-you cannot do this to me! I who have served House of Hays all my life―!”
“Served? You laid hands directly upon the Duchess’s person and even threatened her, yet you speak of loyalty?”
“That is―!”
“Your loyalty was never to House of Hays, but to the Dowager Duchess. I tolerated you only because of my mother. Now even that reason has vanished.”
Cecilia held Margaret accountable for the previous incident and expelled her from the Duke’s Mansion in disgrace.
For Margaret, who had believed she would spend her life at Elise’s side and that of her descendants, the world had crumbled.
“Please, just let me tend to the Dowager Duchess’s tomb! My lady! Duchess!”
Even her pitiful pleas fell on deaf ears.
Cast out, Margaret had no choice but to take refuge in a shabby, damp rental room.
Water dripped from the rotting wooden ceiling.
Stains spread across the floor.
It was an entirely different world from the days of comfort at Elise’s side.
Margaret gnashed her teeth.
“This cannot be… this cannot be….”
Margaret paced the room, a tattered blanket draped across her shoulders.
Without this movement, the burning rage in her chest would suffocate her.
She sometimes pounded her chest with her fists.
She sometimes rolled violently on the floor.
Thud! Thud!
“Keep it down, will you! I just got back from working all night and need to sleep!”
A shout erupted from beyond the thin wall.
The poor conditions meant every word carried through the walls.
“Heard she went mad working for some noble house and got kicked out. Why’d the landlord even rent to someone like that?”
Muttering followed by the sound of a door slamming shut.
Margaret stood frozen, trembling.
The neighbor’s words stung like a slap across her cheek.
“How dare you speak to―!”
Unable to contain her fury, Margaret wrenched her door open.
In that moment.
“…Hmm?”
A newspaper lay before the door of the room across from hers.
《Brisen Tribune》
Was this not the newspaper that delivered news from the Capital fastest?
Despite their poverty, the neighbors seemed to subscribe without fail.
Margaret quickly glanced around the corridor.
After confirming there wasn’t a single soul in sight, she hurriedly grabbed the newspaper and rushed back to her room.
“Huff….”
She leaned her back against the door and breathed heavily for a long moment.
Then slowly, with trembling hands, she unfolded the newspaper.
Could it be that wretched woman Rosena had been caught?
Margaret’s eyes scanned urgently across the printed text.
「Count Devlin and Countess Rumored to Be Separated」
「Madam Sabina’s Bold New Fashion Proposals for the Coming Season!」
「The Imperial Palace’s Prolonged Deliberation Over Count Cloud Osburn’s Execution. When Will It Finally Occur?」
Margaret’s gaze stopped at the last headline.
Her lips twisted.
“Tch, vermin like that should be disposed of quickly—that’s only natural.”
She mimicked Elise’s manner of speaking and clicked her tongue.
And when she turned to the next page.
「Wanted Criminal Rosena Hays, Her Whereabouts Still Unknown」
「Young Lord Evan Hays Spotted in Secret Meeting with New Lover, Despite Murder Accusations Against His Wife!」
The moment Margaret saw this, her pupils gleamed.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
“Ha, and the Dowager Duchess fell like that….”
Elise Hays.
A noble name, dignified bearing, a stern voice.
All of it shattered and vanished at the bottom of the staircase.
“And yet you all still draw breath.”
The world continued turning as though nothing had happened.
People laughed merrily, carriages moved through the streets, shops opened their doors.
The newspapers printed fresh gossip as always, and the nobility prepared yet another ball.
Margaret’s lips trembled faintly.
“That woman fled….”
Rosena.
The murderer who vanished without a trace, stained with the Dowager Duchess’s blood.
“And that wretch found himself a new woman….”
Evan.
The vulgar creature who wept crocodile tears at Elise’s funeral.
Margaret wrapped both hands around her face.
Her nails scraped her forehead until blood seeped through, but she paid it no mind.
“This cannot stand.”
Margaret slowly withdrew a comb from her bosom.
It was the comb she had once used to carefully brush Elise’s hair with her own hands.
Even as poverty gnawed at her, she could not bring herself to sell this.
She held it reverently in both hands, as though in prayer.
“…Dowager Duchess.”
Margaret’s eyes deepened with intensity.
A hollow yet persistent gleam flickered across them.
“Do not worry. I am here, am I not?”
The corners of her mouth slowly rose.
A silent smile spread across her face.
“This loyal Margaret shall repay all of the Dowager Duchess’s resentment.”
* * *
“Ahem.”
Evan cleared his throat unnecessarily outside Rainer’s Study.
He adjusted his cravat and fastened his cuffs once more.
The last time he’d faced Rainer, he’d been beaten and forced to retreat.
Seeing that face again was hardly pleasant.
‘Well, it’s not as if I did anything wrong, is it?’
Evan rationalized this to himself with shameless conviction.
Today, he was determined to claim his rightful inheritance.
He pressed his lips firmly together and knocked on the door.
“Father, it’s Evan. I’ve come because there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“…Come in.”
Before those words had even finished, Evan strode boldly inside.
Rainer, who had been standing by the window, slowly turned around.
Sunlight streamed in from behind him, casting a long shadow across the floor.
The backlighting obscured his expression.
Yet his cold gaze was unmistakably felt.
As those eyes turned toward him, Evan’s shoulders stiffened imperceptibly.
“You’ve come. Have a seat.”
“Eh? Ah, yes.”
At Rainer’s gesture inviting him to sit, Evan flinched unnecessarily.
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
‘Why am I nervous?’
When you thought about it, wasn’t the aggressor the other party?
He was the one who’d been beaten and even received compensation.
Evan sat down with his chin raised defiantly.
Yet his gaze unconsciously followed Rainer’s movements intently.
Rainer sat across from him with his legs crossed, both hands resting upon them.
His unwavering posture contrasted sharply with Evan’s restlessness.
Rainer’s gaze calmly assessed Evan.
“So then, what did you wish to say?”
“Ah, yes. That is….”
Speak confidently. Speak with confidence.
Evan straightened his shoulders and opened his mouth.
“It’s about the inheritance matter I mentioned before.”
“Ah, the inheritance.”
Rainer repeated the words with indifference.
His demeanor suggested he had already forgotten the commotion from last time.
Evan nodded, keeping his expression as composed as possible.
“Yes, my share is absolutely necessary.”
….
“Father officially registered me into the family, and I am the legitimate heir to Grandmother’s estate. There are no procedural issues, are there?”
A brief silence fell at Evan’s brazen response.
Rainer spoke calmly.
“No issues. I’ve already prepared it.”
Rainer answered simply and turned to Harry.
Harry looked displeased, but rose from his seat without a word.
A moment later.
Harry set a leather bag down on the low table between the two of them.
Thud.
The dull sound of gold coins clinking against each other echoed from within.
Rainer nodded lightly.
“That’s your share. You seemed pressed for time, so I prepared it in cash right away.”
“Oh…”
Evan’s body leaned forward without his realizing it.
As golden light glimmered through the gaps in the bag, he caught his breath.
For a moment, it felt as though the world had stopped.
‘This is perfect. This is enough!’
Whether it was business or new connections, I could start everything anew!
Evan’s lips trembled.
A cheer threatened to burst forth, so he covered his mouth with his hand.
Rainer, who had been silently observing, gestured to Harry once more.
Harry handed over another document.
“Check this as well.”
“What is this?”
Could it be a deed transfer document?
Evan’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
He looked back and forth between the paper and Rainer.
Rainer spoke quietly.
“A disownment notice.”

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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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