She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 139

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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 139. The Final Days of Osburn (3)
The next day.
Deep within a solitary cell in the Imperial Palace Prison.
Rosena huddled against the wall, gnawing at her fingernails with desperate intensity.
“I can’t end it like this. Not like this….”
Her anxious gaze darted frantically in all directions.
Unlike Trisha, she didn’t even have an opponent to fight.
So she spent most of her time muttering to herself while staring into empty space.
Anyone watching would think she’d lost her mind.
In truth, she was nearly there.
Her thoughts never fell silent, not even for a moment.
What tormented her now
was the memory of the day Father received his death sentence.
‘What is this! Death? They’re insane! All of them are insane!’
‘Rosie! Save Mother! Mother is innocent!’
Whenever she recalled that day, her hands trembled uncontrollably.
The image of Count Osburn and his wife being dragged away remained vivid.
And the contemptuous stares and mockery directed at them.
For the House of Osburn, bound together by the pride of nobility, it was an unbearable humiliation.
Yet now Rosena faced another trial.
This time, there was no room to claim innocence.
Only the severity of the sentence remained in question.
Guilt was already as good as confirmed.
‘That murderous bitch!’
‘Send her to the Guillotine Platform at once! She’s not worth keeping alive for a moment!’
The people’s condemnations echoed in her ears like phantom voices.
Rosena’s breathing quickened.
“No…. I can’t let it end this way.”
Rosena felt genuinely wronged.
She questioned whether she had truly done something worthy of such scorn and execution.
She truly wondered.
“That old fox simply stumbled on her own feet and fell. And Count Panning—Father killed him, not me….”
Rosena muttered while gnawing at her thumbnail.
Blood beaded at the nail’s edge, but she paid it no mind.
“Yes, I’m a noblewoman. A person of distinction. They can’t kill me like this. It shouldn’t happen.”
As if reciting an incantation,
she repeated the same words over and over in a whisper.
Then came a metallic click from the doorway.
“Well, did you sleep well?”
The Guard entered.
Every time he saw Rosena, he cast a look of disdain in her direction.
Visitation was forbidden, and she was confined to a solitary cell.
In the end, the only person I encountered was that Guard.
But the man who brought meals three times a day was far from welcome.
“Put it down and get out.”
“My, still as foul-tempered as ever.”
The Guard sneered and set down the meal.
‘What a despicable creature.’
Rosena cursed inwardly.
‘Why doesn’t he just leave?’
Normally, he would have chuckled and departed by now.
But this time, he did not.
Instead, he cast a malicious glance deeper into the cell.
Rosena’s gaze sharpened.
“…What are you staring at?”
“Hmm, it seems you still don’t know.”
“Know what?”
What nonsense was this?
Rosena’s face twisted in confusion.
The Guard’s lips curled slightly as he took a step closer.
“About yesterday.”
“…?”
“In the Town Square…”
The Guard deliberately drew out the suspense.
Seeing Rosena stare at him with bated breath, his lips slowly curved upward.
His lips rose in a slow, deliberate smile.
He, who had been idly examining his fingernails, opened his mouth with deliberate slowness.
“Your father’s head was cut off.”
“…!”
In that instant, Rosena’s expression froze.
Time itself seemed to stop.
“What… what did you say…?”
“Count Osburn, I mean. He’s dead.”
Lest she had somehow misunderstood.
The Guard added helpfully.
“And another thing. He sent a threatening letter to the Duchess, didn’t he?”
He chuckled wickedly.
“The newspapers were all talking about it. That threatening letter played a huge role in His Majesty the Emperor making his decision, or so they say.”
“…!”
Rosena’s eyes flew wide open.
The Guard leaned against the bars with his arms crossed, speaking at a leisurely pace.
“The criminal’s daughter threatened the victim’s household—no wonder the people are so furious.”
“I….”
“Everyone was demanding Osburn’s execution. But our Young Lady Rosena was locked away in the depths, so you didn’t know, did you?”
“I, I….”
“Why on earth did you make such a terrible move?”
A daughter who pushed her own father off the cliff with her own hands.
The Guard shook his head and sneered mockingly.
After the news that even the Osburn Family’s title of nobility had been stripped away.
The door closed, and Rosena was alone once more.
Her hands pressed against the floor trembled with tension.
“…Did I really cause Father’s death?”
Ha.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
The Guard’s mockery echoed endlessly through her mind.
Why had she made such a terrible move threatening the Duke’s Mansion?
If she hadn’t, perhaps the execution would never have been carried out.
Rosena stared down at her own hands.
‘Did I really with these hands….’
cause Father’s death?
“Ha ha….”
A dry laugh spilled from her lips.
The laughter grew louder and louder.
“Ha ha, ha ha ha…!”
Rosena laughed so hard her body convulsed.
Her laughter echoed off the stone walls.
But tears streamed down her face.
* * *
Unlike the wretched Rosena.
Cecilia sat on the sofa in the Music Room.
Jeremy rested on her lap.
Warm sunlight filtered through the window, gently enveloping them both.
It was a peaceful moment.
“…And so the rabbit entered the Forest.”
Cecilia read a fairy tale to Jeremy in her soft voice.
The baby’s soft cheek touched hers slightly.
“And so the rabbit lived happily ever after.”
“Yay!”
As she closed the book, Jeremy waved his arms in delight.
“Again! Again!”
“Read it again? That’s already the third book.”
Even as she said this,
Cecilia smiled helplessly.
But the books she had brought were all she had.
Cecilia adjusted Jeremy in her arms and called to the Maid at the Doorway.
“Would you fetch some books from the Study for me?”
“Yes, madam…”
The Maid bowed her head and withdrew.
On the surface, she was respectful, but there was something subtly reluctant in her manner.
“…”
Cecilia did not miss the Maid’s attitude.
It was because of what Wendy had carefully told her days ago.
‘Actually, there are Maids who didn’t like Evan and Rosena. The children don’t seem to view the Young Master kindly either…’
Cecilia’s gaze grew distant.
Of course, she could not entirely dismiss the Maids’ feelings.
Rosena and Evan could hardly be called good masters, even charitably.
Some of the Maids had suffered violence at their hands directly.
So it was inevitable that Jeremy would not appear favorable in their eyes either.
“Sigh…”
Cecilia exhaled softly and stroked Jeremy’s hair.
“Hm? Ceci?”
Jeremy tilted his head and turned to look at her.
At those innocent eyes, Cecilia smiled again.
“Wait just a moment, Jeremy. The Maid will bring the books shortly.”
“Okay!”
“Such a good boy.”
A gentle hand brushed across the child’s cheek.
Jeremy had grown up neglected by the parents who gave him life.
He had even nearly been killed by his own mother.
Perhaps that was why.
The child had learned to say “Ceci” before he learned to say “mama” or “papa.”
It was how he called Cecilia.
Was it not too cruel for such a child to bear the karma of his parents?
‘I’m sorry, Jeremy. As an adult, I’m sorry.’
Growing up without enjoying the things he should naturally have as a child.
Having to grow up under the scornful gazes of others.
The child in her arms became all the more pitiful and heartbreaking.
‘I must protect Jeremy. I have to.’
I could not allow more victims of Rosena and Evan.
At the very least, I had to free Jeremy from their shadow.
Cecilia was steeling herself with unwavering resolve.
“Ah, there you are.”
Just then, Rainer entered the Music Room.
Unlike usual, he wore a casual shirt.
Beneath the fitted garment, his muscular frame was unmistakably evident.
As he drew near, he bent down to meet Jeremy’s eyes.
“Jeremy, are you enjoying the book?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
At Jeremy’s cheerful response, Rainer smiled warmly.
He gently pinched the boy’s nose and shook it playfully, then shifted his gaze to Cecilia.
“Cecilia.”
His expression grew somewhat serious.
“There is a matter I wish to discuss with you.”

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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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