She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 130

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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 130. The Empire’s Blessing (2)
Cecilia remembered her past life with perfect clarity.
What kind of man the Young Marquess Rummel had been.
After he went to study abroad in Tarand, once freed from his parents’ control, he indulged in a dissolute lifestyle.
Eventually, he even laid hands on the daughter of a high-ranking nobleman, nearly causing a diplomatic incident.
In the end, he had to send compensation by liquidating half of the family’s assets.
The countless misdeeds of the Young Marquess that came to light during that process drew the scorn of society.
‘How much of a scandal it had been back then.’
Of course, the noblewomen in this room could not possibly know of such matters.
“What, what utter nonsense!”
As expected, the completely oblivious Marquess Rummel’s Wife shot to her feet.
The fan clutched in her hand trembled violently.
“How dare you insult the heir of a Marquessate! Even if you are a Duchess, I won’t let this slide!”
“Is speaking the truth considered an insult?”
Cecilia tilted her head with perfect composure.
At her demeanor, the Marquess’s wife’s face flushed crimson.
“Duchess! Surely your words are going too far, are they not?”
Nancy rose from her seat beside her to join in.
“I shall report to the Imperial Court that you’ve spread baseless rumors and insulted the Marquess’s wife here!”
“Baseless rumors, you say?”
“Baseless rumors indeed! My son is studying diligently at Tarand Royal Academy!”
The Marquess Rummel’s Wife shrieked as though possessed by fury.
The noblewomen in the room exchanged glances and murmured amongst themselves.
“No matter how angry one is, how could she say such things….”
“Exactly. The Duchess truly lacks sense.”
The Marquess’s wife grew even more emboldened.
“Did you hear that! To insult someone’s precious son with mere conjecture. This shall not pass!”
She pointed sharply at the floor with her finger.
“Kneel this instant and apologize!”
But Cecilia did not even blink.
“Tarand Royal Academy, you say….”
She murmured quietly to herself.
Then, as though genuinely curious, she tilted her head.
“Is the Young Marquess truly studying there?”
“What are you saying!”
Had she lost her mind!
The Marquess’s wife’s eyes widened in fury.
Yet Cecilia calmly withdrew a small envelope from her bosom.
“From what I can see… it appears he is far more diligent at other pursuits than his studies.”
She withdrew a single sheet of paper from the envelope and placed it upon the table.
It was a newspaper article published in Tarand.
Several Noblewomen leaned forward with curiosity, peering at it.
Soon, someone drew a sharp breath.
“Oh my….”
The newspaper article featured a satirical illustration of a man, drunk and turning a Tavern into chaos.
And beside it was written:
「Foreign noble exchange students racing toward the end of debauchery—is this acceptable? ― Young Marquess Rummel of Listea, causing another uproar at a Tavern!」
Cecilia held up the article so that the Marquess Rummel’s Wife could see it clearly.
“According to this, it says the Young Marquess caused problems almost every other day.”
She kindly pointed to the relevant sentence with her finger.
“Every other day—doesn’t that mean he practically lives at the Tavern?”
Several Noblewomen exchanged glances with one another.
Marquess Rummel’s Wife’s face flushed crimson with shame, the color rising all the way to her neck.
“That, that can’t possibly be true….”
Her son’s letters flooded her mind.
Academy classes were difficult, exams were challenging.
And each time, he requested substantial sums under the guise of living expenses.
Every time, the Marquess’s Wife sent the money without a single doubt.
But instead of studying, he was frequenting Taverns as if they were his own home!
‘This, this wretch! Deceiving his own parents!’
The Marquess’s Wife’s fingertips turned cold.
Then Cecilia spoke again.
“If I were you, I would go to Tarand immediately.”
“…!”
“You should verify directly where all the money you’ve sent has gone.”
At Cecilia’s sharp observation, as if she had read her very thoughts,
the Marquess’s Wife’s face turned pale.
But Cecilia did not stop.
“…And Countess Devlin as well.”
The next arrow was aimed at Nancy.
Nancy flinched.
“Me, why me?”
“I believe I distinctly told you before to keep a close watch on your husband.”
Cecilia continued in a low voice.
“Surely he’s not still gambling on 62nd Street―”
“Your, Your Grace!”
Nancy hastily cut her off.
Just as Cecilia said, Count Devlin was still there at this very moment.
With her weakness exposed, Nancy became visibly flustered.
“Let, let’s not do this here. Let’s go outside and talk. Yes?”
Nancy tried hard to turn Cecilia away.
“Madam, you should have heeded my advice long ago.”
Cecilia didn’t budge an inch.
Instead, she gently grasped Nancy’s shoulder with a sympathetic expression.
“What can I do? His Majesty was greatly displeased upon hearing that illegal gambling thrives even on a day like today.”
“W-what did you say…?”
“By now, the Guard Corps should have raided 62nd Street.”
Nancy’s face drained of all color in an instant.
Cecilia smiled inwardly.
Earlier, she had casually mentioned to Mary that it would be wise to clean up illegal gambling before the Crown Prince’s birth.
Mary had promptly relayed those words to the Emperor.
At the words of his precious daughter-in-law, the Emperor immediately mobilized the Guard Corps.
And since Count Devlin still frequented 62nd Street as though it were his own home,
he was surely arrested by now.
“Excuse me, I must leave at once!”
“I’m coming with you!”
The Duchess hurried toward the door.
Nancy scurried after her.
Bang!
As the door closed, silence fell over the room.
Cecilia turned to face the noblewomen as though nothing had happened.
These were the very women who had just been participating in her slander.
All of them shrank back nervously, their shoulders hunched.
Cecilia smiled brilliantly.
“Then I shall return to the Banquet Hall as well. Do enjoy yourselves.”
* * *
In one corner of the Prison.
Count Osburn sat leisurely with his back against the wall behind the iron bars.
He tapped his protruding belly thoughtfully.
‘This place is quite bearable, actually.’
When he was first dragged here, it had been difficult to accept the reality.
The cold stone floor and the damp air.
Even the rough breathing of prisoners echoing beyond the iron bars.
He had thought it absurd that a nobleman like himself could be confined in such a place.
But as time passed, his thoughts shifted somewhat.
They say humans are creatures of adaptation.
It was certainly uncomfortable, but he no longer felt as though he might die like he had at first.
Meals came regularly, and there was a place to lie down.
Most importantly, he was still alive.
The fear of execution that had weighed on him for so long had now grown considerably duller.
“Here, a special meal.”
The Guard stopped before the iron bars and slid a bowl through the opening.
Count Osburn’s eyebrows shot upward.
“A special meal?”
“Yes, the Crown Princess is pregnant with her second child.”
The Guard spoke in a flat tone.
“So they ordered us to give the prisoners some meat today.”
Cheers erupted from the other cells at those words.
Count Osburn’s eyes gleamed with sudden brightness.
The Guard clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Tsk, your daughter’s become a murderer on the run, and here you are getting excited over a bit of meat.”
But Count Osburn’s ears caught none of it.
He rushed over and seized the bowl.
The moment he saw the glistening meat, he shoved it into his mouth.
‘Wait….’
As I chewed eagerly, something suddenly occurred to me.
If the Crown Princess was pregnant.
‘They wouldn’t want bloodshed when the precious Crown Prince is born, would they?’
A faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
My execution was as good as cancelled.
Then.
There seemed to be a glimmer of hope that I might leave this prison alive.
‘Yes, the world works in mysterious ways.’
I rummaged through the bowl and took another piece of meat.
If I could only get out.
There was something I wanted to do first.
‘My Cecilia, that wretched girl….’
Count Osburn’s eyes narrowed to slits.
Ungrateful for all I raised her.
That girl who threw me into prison and destroyed my house.
I would feel satisfied only if I dealt with her as I did with her father.
‘Rosena, don’t let them catch you under any circumstances.’
I muttered to myself.
‘Not until your father gets out.’
But the Count did not know.
A massive wave was quietly approaching, soon to strangle the very breath from him.
* * *
“Ah….”
The empty Devlin Estate.
Nancy sat dejected in the center of the spacious Drawing Room.
Cecilia’s words had proven true.
The Imperial Guard Corps had indeed raided 62nd Street.
Her husband was arrested on the spot.
Marquess Rummel’s Wife, the family matriarch, had hastily fled to Tarand.
The Devlin Estate crumbled in an instant.
“How am I supposed to live from now on…?”
Nancy murmured vacantly.
Not even tears would come.
That was when it happened.
“It has been a while, Nancy.”
At the sudden voice, Nancy’s shoulders flinched violently.
‘It cannot be.’
My heart sank.
That voice could not possibly be heard in this place, at this moment.
But the instant I slowly turned my head.
Nancy’s eyes widened in shock.
“R-Rosena?”

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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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