She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 143

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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 143. The Schemes of Those with Nothing to Lose (2)
The carriage hurtled forward like a wild beast.
Cecilia gripped the seat, barely managing to pull herself upright.
Thud! Thud!
She pounded hard against the wall.
“What on earth is happening? Who are you!”
She cried out repeatedly.
But no answer came.
Instead—
Crash!
The carriage lurched violently.
“Ugh!”
Thrown against the wall by the impact, Cecilia let out a pained gasp.
The landscape outside the window blurred past in a dizzying rush.
‘I have to escape from here.’
The speed made it nearly impossible to maintain balance.
Yet Cecilia gritted her teeth and reached toward the door.
She couldn’t allow herself to be dragged away like this.
The moment her hand barely grasped the door handle—
Crack!
“Ah—!”
The sound of a wheel shattering beneath her feet echoed through the carriage.
The lurching carriage tilted sharply to one side.
And then—
Crash!
The carriage toppled sideways with a deafening roar.
Cecilia’s body was hurled into the air.
There was no time to grab anything.
Her vision flashed white.
Then a dull, searing impact struck her head.
Her body slammed hard against the inner wall before falling limp.
Her mind went blank, and a long, hollow ringing filled her ears.
‘No, I have to get up…’
She struggled desperately to rise.
But her strength had abandoned her.
Click.
Then the dented door creaked open, and sunlight poured into the darkened interior.
A dark shadow loomed through the opening, its head thrust forward.
‘Who…’
Even through the dizziness, Cecilia squinted her eyes.
I needed to see who had opened the door.
But the backlighting obscured their face.
I could only guess from the silhouette of long hair that it was a woman.
In my wavering vision, the shattered carriage and the figure’s shadow twisted together into a grotesque blur.
With that memory as the last thing I perceived,
my consciousness abruptly severed, and my body went limp and powerless.
* * *
“Huff…”
Rosena, who had opened the door, breathed heavily and roughly.
In truth, this was her first time driving a carriage.
Because of that, navigating the rough forest path had been difficult.
And in the end, it had overturned like this.
At least the destination wasn’t far away—that much was fortunate.
“Ptooey.”
Rosena spat out the blood pooling in her mouth without care.
Her clothes were torn in places, and her limbs were scraped and bleeding.
A drop of blood trickling from her forehead collected at the tip of her chin before falling away.
But none of that mattered now.
The moment I saw Cecilia collapsed inside the carriage,
all the pain in my body seemed to wash away.
Rosena’s eyes gleamed.
“Haha. You foolish thing.”
A dry laugh escaped between her twisted lips.
She wiped the blood away roughly with the back of her hand and jumped down.
“Are you already dead?”
Rosena grabbed the unconscious Cecilia by the hair and lifted her head to examine her carefully.
Fortunately, a faint breath still clung to her.
Rosena’s lips curled upward slowly.
“Yes, you mustn’t die yet.”
To repay her for the suffering she had endured, it would be inconvenient if she died now.
Crack! Crunch!
Rosena raised the axe she had brought from the coachman’s seat and brought it down hard against the rear wall.
She couldn’t carry the collapsed Cecilia upward.
Her plan was to break through here and drag her out.
With each swing of the axe, the carriage crumbled bit by bit, sending splinters flying.
For a woman’s body, it was no easy task.
Yet Rosena’s face showed no sign of strain.
Rather, as the hole grew larger, her face gleamed with a mixture of madness and ecstasy.
“Just wait a little longer, Cecilia.”
Rosena spoke in an excited voice.
Like a child excited about an outing, her voice was brimming with delight.
Crash!
“Everything you held dear.”
Crunch!
“I’ll destroy it all with my own hands.”
You’ll watch helplessly as everything crumbles before your eyes.
You’ll cling to my feet and beg me not to.
As I imagined that scene, a twisted smile spread across Rosena’s lips.
‘Yes, this is how it should be.’
Cecilia’s rightful place was beneath Rosena’s feet, at the very bottom.
Today, I would make sure she understood that clearly.
Of course, she would die right after.
‘At least she’ll grasp her place before she dies, so she should be grateful to me.’
Rosena’s expression twisted into something utterly malevolent.
* * *
In front of the Manor at Hays Estate, Servants stood in a line.
And at the center of them stood Rainer.
He had come out early to welcome Cecilia.
“Duke, isn’t this a bit much?”
Harry, who was holding Jeremy beside him, pouted his lips.
“Be honest with me.”
“…What?”
“You felt embarrassed coming alone, so you brought all the Servants along, didn’t you?”
“Nonsense.”
Hit where it hurt, Rainer answered coldly.
He knew it himself.
That he didn’t look particularly impressive right now.
But that hardly mattered.
What mattered to him was when the Carriage would appear at the end of that road.
Rainer’s gaze was fixed solely beyond that path.
“….”
His posture remained perfectly upright.
But his hands repeatedly loosened and retightened his cravat.
“That’s distracting. Stop it already.”
Harry clicked his tongue.
They had only been apart for a week.
Could he really be this eager?
It had been a long time since they married.
The sight of his lovesick master was still unfamiliar to him.
“Kyaa! Harry!”
“Right? Even the young master doesn’t quite understand, does he?”
Jeremy nestled in my arms simply laughed with pure delight.
It was then that Harry, speaking as if addressing the child, began airing his grievances about Rainer.
“Huh? Who is that?”
At a maid’s cry, all eyes turned sharply toward the road beyond.
An unfamiliar man on horseback was approaching rapidly.
“I’ve never seen him before.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed.
Surely the Duchess wasn’t sending word that she couldn’t come today?
If so, I’d have to endure a full day of Rainer’s temperament.
‘That’s asking me to die!’
Praying it wasn’t so, I adjusted Jeremy in my arms.
“Neigh―!”
With the loud cry of the horse.
A man dismounted awkwardly to the ground.
He was a small, thin man with an unremarkable appearance.
The surrounding servants murmured softly among themselves.
Rainer’s eyes narrowed.
“…Who are you?”
“Well, I’ve brought a letter for the Duke, but….”
The diminutive man trailed off.
He already looked timid by nature.
But seeing Rainer before him, he was clearly even more intimidated.
“A letter?”
At news other than the expected arrival of his wife, Rainer’s brow twitched with displeasure.
The man withdrew a letter from his breast with trembling hands and offered it.
“Yes, I work as a messenger in the Capital. I was asked to deliver this in exchange for payment….”
“Whose request?”
“Well, that much I…. In any case, my role ends with delivery. So if you’ll excuse me….”
The man hastily mounted his horse, fearing further questions.
And without giving anyone time to ask anything more, he drove the horse away and disappeared.
‘Wait, something about this feels off.’
Harry tilted his head in confusion.
If Cecilia were sending someone, she would have simply dispatched them from the Count’s Family.
There was no reason to employ a strange messenger doing odd jobs on the street.
Rainer too, faced with an incomprehensible situation, felt his gaze turn cold and sharp.
Slowly opening the envelope, inside was a single small sheet of paper.
And the moment I withdrew it.
“…!”
Time seemed to stop.
The letter was written in hurried, hastily scrawled handwriting.
“I have the Duchess. If you want her alive, come alone.”
Below the threat, the perpetrator had indicated where they were holding Cecilia.
A simple explanation and a crude map were sketched beneath.
It was the Old Cabin in the Forest—a place I had often seen during my visits to the Estate.
“….”
“My Lord? What on earth is―Gasp!”
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Harry leaned forward to peer at the letter.
He nearly dropped Jeremy in shock as well.
“Wh―what is this―!”
Harry cried out, hastily steadying the child in his arms.
“My Lord, please wait! This could be a trap. Let me send someone to the Capital Residence at once to verify―”
“Bring me a horse.”
“Pardon?”
“Now!”
At Rainer’s shout, the Servants scattered in panic toward the stables.
A horse was readied in moments.
“M―My Lord, wait!”
Harry, having entrusted Jeremy to a nearby Maid, rushed forward urgently.
“You don’t even know who it is―you’re going alone?”
“It’s Rosena.”
“This is far too reckless―What?”
At the unexpected name, Harry blinked rapidly.
“H―how could you possibly know that?”

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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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