She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 135

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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 135. The Duke of Hays’s Confession (1)
A few days prior, at the Brisen Tribune Office.
“…Did you just say that?”
Editor-in-Chief Aaron’s hand, which had been holding a quill pen, froze mid-motion.
His face bore unmistakable disbelief.
His gaze slowly turned toward the figure across from him.
“Did I hear you correctly just now, Duke of Hays?”
Seated across from him were Rainer Hays and his wife Cecilia.
His expression remained composed.
“Yes, I said I would tell you about my origins.”
The story Rainer shared was shocking.
That he was actually the illegitimate son of a duke from generations past.
That the Dowager Duchess had abused him while hiding from public view.
That his biological mother had been murdered by the Dowager Duchess herself.
Aaron’s mouth fell open at such staggering revelations.
‘This is strange… I thought something was off when he suddenly requested an interview.’
Of course, as a journalist, a scoop was always welcome.
But this pumpkin that had rolled in so suddenly was far too large.
Aaron unconsciously scratched his nose with the tip of his pen.
“Do you truly wish for this to be published as an article? You could be harmed, Your Grace.”
He added cautiously.
“Does the Duchess also consent to this?”
If they published the article without good reason and the Ducal Family changed their stance,
the Brisen Tribune could find itself in considerable trouble as well.
“….”
For a moment, Cecilia and Rainer exchanged glances with each other.
She squeezed his hand firmly.
Rainer nodded quietly in response.
*Rustle.*
Cecilia withdrew a single sheet of paper from her bosom and extended it toward him.
“This is why we’ve decided to speak.”
“This is…?”
Aaron accepted it with a puzzled expression.
But as he read further, his expression grew increasingly rigid.
“This is blackmail, isn’t it? Who on earth sent such a letter?”
“Rosena Osburn.”
“What?”
Aaron’s eyes widened considerably.
Rosena Osburn—
wasn’t that the very name that had set all of Brisen ablaze!
Moreover, for Aaron, who had been at the forefront of handling High Society gossip.
The bitter history between Cecilia and Rosena was already a familiar tale.
“I judged it better to speak directly myself than to let it spread distorted through others’ mouths.”
Rainer’s voice was calm and measured.
There was no trace of someone being coerced.
Rather, he seemed at ease, as though he held all the cards.
From the moment he had sworn vengeance against Elise.
He had already steeled himself for mud of this magnitude.
It had simply begun a little later than expected.
“Neither I nor my husband intend to be swayed by such ridiculous threats.”
Cecilia was equally resolute.
‘Hmm….’
It was Aaron who appeared tense instead.
He swallowed hard.
If this were true.
‘This article will shake all of Brisen.’
He, too, understood the power of the pen better than most.
But this matter was of a different scale.
He could not even fathom how great the repercussions would be.
Yet as a journalist, he could not ignore the truth.
“…Very well.”
Aaron straightened in his seat and adjusted his quill pen.
His eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.
“Then, would you elaborate further?”
About the truth of the Hays Ducal House.
Scratch.
The quill began to cut across the paper.
And that very night.
The Brisen Tribune Office remained lit throughout the darkness.
* * *
And so, back to the Underground Prison.
“Ha….”
Rosena’s hand trembled violently as she clutched the crumpled newspaper.
The investigators’ sneers poured down upon her.
“The outside world is in absolute chaos because of that article.”
“You should have known better than to run your mouth. Tsk, tsk.”
The investigators clicked their tongues.
But Rosena heard nothing.
Only a numbing shock remained, as though she had been struck across the face.
‘…He confessed everything? The Duke? With his own mouth?’
This won’t do.
Her fingertips trembled more violently.
This was her last card to play.
She couldn’t let it crumble away so pathetically.
But the shock didn’t end there.
「…This publication has confirmed that Rosena Osburn, currently under investigation for the murder of Elise Hays, conspired with Nancy Devlin to extort the Hays Ducal Family. The Ducal House intends to request further investigation into this matter…」
At the end of the article.
The original text of the extortion letter she had written with Nancy was printed in full.
“Hah….”
Rosena’s vision turned white.
Was it truly over?
Could she no longer take her revenge on Cecilia?
“…No.”
She slowly shook her head.
This couldn’t be how it ended.
It wasn’t she who should fall in disgrace—it was Cecilia.
Looking down at her from on high.
She had to repay everything she had suffered until now.
She had to!
“Aaaaaahhhhh!”
A scream tore from her throat.
Rosena clamped her hands over her ears.
It seemed she could hear Cecilia’s laughter echoing from somewhere.
“This woman is completely insane.”
The investigators clicked their tongues as they watched Rosena convulse with screams.
There was nothing more to see.
A madwoman like this.
Bang bang!
They rapped roughly on the door.
Soldiers entered immediately.
“Take her to the prison. There’s nothing more to investigate.”
“Yes, sir.”
The soldiers seized Rosena’s arms roughly as she screamed.
“Let go! Cecilia! Cecilia, I’ll do it with my own hands!”
“Stay still! You deranged woman!”
Rosena thrashed about, but it was futile.
Gripped by powerful hands, she was dragged away.
Soon, she was thrown into a solitary cell, separated from the other prisoners.
“Ugh!”
The impact of striking the hard stone floor knocked the breath from her lungs.
But the soldiers paid no mind.
Click.
They simply locked the door firmly and left.
“Keeping her with the other prisoners will only cause more trouble.”
“Let her wait quietly for the next trial in there.”
“What a waste. Her face is still intact.”
One soldier smacked his lips while staring down at me.
I glared at him fiercely, repulsed by the look in his eyes.
“What are you looking at? Wipe that filthy gaze away.”
“Oh my, how terrifying.”
The soldier chuckled and stepped back.
“Still, you’ll calm down soon enough. They all do eventually.”
With that final mockery, they withdrew.
Their footsteps faded into the distance.
Now I was alone in the silence.
“Hah….”
I breathed heavily and ragged.
My shoulders heaved rapidly, and my face was wet with tears.
I looked around.
Damp, musty stone walls and cold iron bars came into view.
A single faint torch barely pushed back the darkness.
Even sitting still made my vision blur.
‘Is this really… the end?’
I wanted to deny reality with my eyes shut tight.
But the rough texture of the floor dragged me back to it.
There was nowhere to escape.
“No… this can’t be happening….”
My voice cracked.
A bestial sound leaked between my lips.
Then a wretched sob burst forth.
For a long while, sorrowful cries echoed through the prison cell.
But no one looked in or cared.
* * *
“Did you all see that newspaper?”
“The Brisen Tribune is sold out everywhere now.”
Just as the investigators had said.
Rainer’s confession sent shockwaves throughout Brisen.
“That woman Elise. They said she was a great noble, but she was completely rotten inside.”
“She looked so polished on the surface, but she was utterly vile.”
People raged against Elise’s two-faced nature.
Her status, which had rivaled that of the royal family, shattered in an instant.
It was almost a mercy that she was dead.
Naturally, Rainer too became the subject of public discourse.
Yet the reaction differed somewhat from that directed at Elise.
“He must have suffered greatly to reveal it himself.”
“What’s more remarkable is that he endured in silence for all those years.”
The infidelity of the Duke from generations past was certainly shameful.
But Rainer, as the child born of it, had no choice in the matter.
Public opinion swiftly spread that the abuse he suffered was unjust.
Instead, the people’s anger and focus turned elsewhere.
The name printed at the end of the article.
Rosena Osburn.
“First the father’s infidelity, and now the daughter resorting to blackmail?”
“That entire family is rotten to the core. It’s incomprehensible that creatures like them still draw breath.”
“And they say he’s living comfortably in prison on our tax money?”
The public’s condemnation of Rosena intensified.
And the backlash extended even to Count Osburn.
People could not abide the fact that he still lived, despite having received a death sentence long ago.
“Execute the murderous father and daughter at once!”
“Carry out the sentence immediately!”
“How much longer will you drag this out!”
Soon, demands for Count Osburn’s execution spread like wildfire through the populace.

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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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