She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 124

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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 124. A Man Who Lost Everything (3)
The study was silent.
Only the ragged breathing of Evan, sprawled face-down on the floor, echoed through the room.
“You seem to think all your misfortunes are someone else’s fault, don’t you?”
Cecilia spoke in a frigid voice.
Evan’s head snapped up.
“Y-yes! If it weren’t for that wretched woman Katarina―”
“Don’t delude yourself.”
Cecilia cut him off decisively.
“Everything that has happened until now was born from your own greed.”
“…What?”
“Engaging in an inappropriate relationship with Rosena before your marriage.”
Evan’s mouth snapped shut as he tried to protest.
Cecilia continued coldly.
“Creating a fake tiara. Abandoning your sick child and meeting with another woman. Even when your grandmother passed away, you thought only of the inheritance and handed it over entirely to your mistress.”
Each word pierced his chest like a thorn.
Evan could offer no rebuttal, only gripping the carpet beneath him.
Cecilia’s icy words descended upon him.
“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t been so consumed by greed.”
She was right.
Looking back, all of his misfortunes had stemmed from his own choices.
Had he not coveted the tiara, he would never have purchased servitude.
Had he properly cared for Jeremy, Rosena would never have staged her deception, nor would Elise have died.
Had he not greedily rushed to claim the inheritance, he would still be in Hays by now.
Evan knew this as well.
His hands trembled violently.
“You should have just lived like a decent person.”
At Cecilia’s final words, Evan felt as though he’d been struck hard on the back of his head.
His eyes shook uncontrollably.
“Aaahhhhh!”
Finally, Evan pressed his face to the floor and began to weep convulsively.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, dampening the carpet beneath him.
Yet the gazes of Cecilia and Rainer looking down upon him were utterly devoid of warmth.
‘It’s already too late.’
Evan had been given many opportunities.
Far more than he deserved given his character.
He too must have known this, which is why he wept so.
“Take him out.”
At Rainer’s cold command, Harry nodded.
Servants entered the room at Harry’s summons.
“Wait, hold on! Just a moment!”
Evan’s head snapped up.
But just as it had been at the Seymour Hotel.
The Servants seized his limbs once more.
“Lia! Lia! Don’t abandon me! Please!”
Evan cried out pitifully.
“Don’t you dare speak my wife’s name with that filthy mouth of yours.”
Rainer’s voice turned glacial as he wrapped an arm around Cecilia’s shoulders.
Cecilia said nothing, merely crossing her arms as she looked down at Evan.
In that resolute gaze.
I could sense that everything had come to an end.
“No, please!”
With Evan’s final scream.
The door to Rainer’s Study slammed shut with a thunderous bang.
“Let me go! Let go! I still have things to say!”
Evan thrashed about.
But the Servants dragged him through the Corridor and down the Staircase.
“Wait, please!”
Just then, someone called out to the Servants to stop.
When I turned to look, Wendy was rushing toward us.
“Please, let that man go for a moment!”
At Wendy’s words, the Servants released Evan’s arms and stepped back.
A faint glimmer of hope flickered across Evan’s face.
‘Could it be…?’
Had Cecilia called for him again?
He gazed at Wendy with hopeful eyes.
In that instant.
A torrent of ice-cold water cascaded down upon his head.
“Gasp!”
Evan’s breath caught sharply in his throat.
He wiped his face and opened his eyes.
Standing before him was Wendy, holding an empty bucket.
Evan’s face contorted.
“What—what are you doing?!”
“This is your punishment for tormenting our Young Lady all this time, you wretch!”
“What…?”
“Be grateful it wasn’t boiling oil!”
Wendy didn’t yield an inch.
Evan was utterly dumbfounded.
Evan was full of himself.
The maid who had only bowed her head before me.
Now she stared directly at me with eyes wide open, defying me.
And her gaze was filled with mockery.
“Y-you insolent maid―!”
I ground my teeth and raised my hand to strike.
But the servants seized my arm once more.
“Quickly, throw this vagrant out!”
“What? A v-vagrant?”
My face flushed crimson with rage.
Yet the servants dragged me roughly away.
Thud!
In the end, I was hurled unceremoniously beyond the gates of the Duke’s Mansion.
There was nothing left for me anymore.
* * *
Darkness descended upon the streets of Brisen.
Stars dotted the sky densely.
Those who had finished their day’s work were returning to warm homes to spend time with their families.
But.
“Ugh….”
One man wandering the streets was an exception—Evan.
He staggered along the pavement.
Passersby glanced at him and quickly averted their path.
Small wonder, as he remained caked entirely in mud.
Moreover, he had picked up an abandoned bottle and drunk from it, leaving him thoroughly intoxicated.
“Ha, ha….”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
I, who had been the heir to one of the Empire’s most distinguished families.
How had I fallen so far?
No, even without the name of Hays, my former self.
Had been quite successful as a businessman.
Yet all of that.
Slipped through my fingers like grains of sand.
“Damn it.”
I cursed under my breath and turned into 62nd Street.
The street, lined with taverns and pleasure districts, was just beginning its evening operations.
Laughter and music mingled and drifted out.
Hearing it, my throat grew parched.
I needed more alcohol.
I pushed open the nearest tavern door and stepped inside.
“Give me a drink.”
The tavern owner looked him over with a disapproving gaze.
Evan paid it no mind.
“Guest, where’s the payment?”
“I’ll pay you later.”
“We don’t extend credit here.”
“Ha! Do you know who I am right now and you’re spouting such nonsense?”
Evan snapped back with irritation in his voice.
But the owner merely scoffed.
A man caked in mud from head to toe.
No one would believe he’d return with money later.
“Listen here.”
The tavern owner crossed his arms and jutted his chin forward.
He’d seen countless troublemakers like this in his years running a tavern.
“Get out if you’ve got no money.”
“What?”
Evan’s face twisted.
Just as he was about to shout something more.
“Hey, hey, look over there.”
The patrons inside the tavern whispered and pointed at Evan.
One man narrowed his eyes as he stared at him and cried out.
“That man! That’s him! The one who was cast out from the Hays Ducal House!”
“What? Then could it be?”
“That’s right! The murderer’s husband!”
In an instant, the atmosphere inside the tavern shifted subtly.
Everyone knew of Rosena’s bounty.
The incident of a noblewoman murdering another great aristocrat had become the talk of the entire Capital.
Several burly men who had been chuckling rose from their seats.
“Well, well, a distinguished guest has graced us with his presence?”
“Where is that murderer wife of yours?”
“Are you perhaps hiding her?”
At their mocking words, Evan’s face flushed crimson.
“You bastards! What are you talking about! Shut your mouths!”
He swung his fist.
But.
Thwack!
The men easily dodged Evan’s punch.
Instead, they struck his solar plexus hard.
“Gah!”
Evan’s body staggered backward.
“What, he’s weaker than I thought?”
“Perfect. You’ll do as my punching bag today.”
Thwack! Crack!
Fists and kicks came in succession.
Evan crumpled to the ground.
After being pummeled for what felt like an eternity.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“That felt good.”
The men chuckled as they withdrew.
Evan lay on the floor, gasping for breath.
His split lip tasted of copper and blood.
“Listen, stop disrupting business and get out.”
The tavern owner prodded him with the tip of his shoe.
Evan could no longer resist.
He feared another beating if he did.
“Damn it….”
He groaned and barely managed to rise, stumbling back out into the night streets.
The world spun around him.
Cold wind brushed against his face, but he had nowhere else to go.
He simply walked on aimlessly.
How long had he been walking?
It was when he crossed the Bridge Over River.
Thud.
Someone bumped shoulders with him.
“Hey!”
The other person bumped him without apologizing.
Evan lifted his head.
“Where are your eyes―”
Just as he was about to rage.
Thump.
A heavy pressure pierced his abdomen.
“…!”
Evan’s eyes widened in shock.
Slowly, he lowered his gaze.
A blade protruded from his belly, piercing through his clothes.
“Wh…?”
Crimson blood spread across his garments.
With trembling eyes, Evan looked up at the person wielding the knife.
In that instant, his eyes opened even wider.
“Y-you… why…?”

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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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