She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 154

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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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Epilogue 1. Revenge in Another Time (1)
And this was a story unknown to those living their lives in the present.
* * *
The Outer Cemetery, where few souls ventured.
In one corner stood a small gravestone.
「Cecilia Hays, rests here. (Imperial Calendar 540~567)」
Merely twenty-seven years old.
From an orphaned young lady who lost her parents early, she became the wife of Evan Machi, a commoner entrepreneur.
And with her husband’s rise in status, she ascended to become a Duchess.
Her life had been tumultuous.
Yet it withered far too quickly.
But no one mourned her death.
Save for one.
“Young Lady….”
Wendy carefully wiped the gravestone with her handkerchief.
Her nose was red and her eyes swollen.
“If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone home….”
She regretted leaving Cecilia to care for her ailing father.
Had she been by her side.
Cecilia would not have suffered that accident falling down the Staircase.
‘But was it truly an accident?’
Wendy bit her lip hard.
The moment Cecilia died, Evan immediately announced his remarriage to Rosena.
His reason was that the position of Duchess could not remain vacant.
Yet anyone could discern the improper relationship between the two.
Only because the Dowager Duchess stood behind him did no one dare speak of it aloud.
“How could there be such an unjust death….”
The wicked lived their lives with swagger.
And only poor Cecilia lay alone beneath this cold earth.
Wendy wept again at the injustice of it all.
Thud.
Then, she heard footsteps approaching.
Wendy slowly lifted her head.
In the distance, a man in a black coat drew near.
In his hand was a bouquet of white lilies.
‘Wow, how grand….’
He appeared quite young.
Had he come to mourn a family member?
But the man stopped directly before Cecilia’s gravestone.
“…?”
Without sparing a glance at the bewildered Wendy.
The man set down the bouquet in silence.
Then he stood gazing at the tombstone for a long while.
“Excuse me….”
Wendy ventured to speak carefully.
“Do you know our Young Lady?”
No answer came.
“Our Young Lady passed away most unjustly.”
Yet Wendy pressed on undeterred.
She wanted to make Cecilia’s tragedy known to anyone who would listen.
“The world believes she fell down the Staircase by accident… but I cannot accept that.”
“….”
“You see, the Duchess has passed, and no one bothered to investigate properly….”
They must have simply swept it away because it was inconvenient.
Wendy spoke in a trembling voice, her words tumbling out in disarray.
By the time she finished, tears were streaming down her face.
“….”
While Wendy buried her face in her hands and wept.
The man remained utterly silent.
A brief silence fell, and wind swept across the cemetery.
“Those who commit sin.”
Then the man slowly spoke.
“Must face punishment befitting their crime.”
“…!”
Wendy lifted her head.
The man’s gaze remained fixed upon the tombstone.
His expression was calm.
Yet veins stood out prominently across his clenched fist.
He then turned and walked away without hesitation.
“Wait, please!”
Wendy cried out urgently.
“What is your connection to our Young Lady? Your name―!”
But the man did not stop at her questions.
Upon reaching the Carriage standing in the distance, the Spectacled Man approached and opened the door for him.
The Carriage departed at once.
Wendy stood motionless, watching the Carriage disappear into the distance.
‘…Who on earth was he, leaving flowers at the Young Lady’s grave?’
From his attire and Carriage, he was clearly nobility.
Yet surely all the nobles these days were watching the Dowager Duchess’s expression.
“What a strange person.”
She murmured softly to herself.
Yet strangely enough.
I felt certain that I could resolve the Young Lady’s grievance.
* * *
A few days later.
Hays Duchy Mansion.
“Stop! What is the meaning of this!”
Evan’s roar echoed through the Corridor.
The Imperial Guard was dragging him away, gripping both his arms.
“Do you know who I am? The one and only Duke of this realm!”
Behind him, Rosena was also being dragged out.
“Release me! You lowborn wretches! How dare you lay hands upon the body of the future Duchess!”
“Do you know who my grandmother is? She will personally petition His Majesty the Emperor for your executions!”
Their shouts were so loud that those nearby had to cover their ears.
Then the man who had led the knights stepped forward.
“Evan Hays.”
“…Tch!”
Evan looked up at the man before him, his lips twisting into a sneer.
Rainer Hays.
At first, he had addressed him respectfully as his uncle.
But ever since learning he was a bastard, he had treated him with open contempt.
“I should have known from the moment Grandmother called you a thief.”
“….”
“Is this some pathetic frame-up to seize the Duke’s seat? How laughable!”
Evan let out a scornful laugh.
“As long as Grandmother stands with me, you’ll never claim that position! Understand?”
His shout reverberated through the mansion.
Yet Rainer’s expression remained utterly unmoved.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
Unintimidated by Evan’s fury.
Rainer tilted his head slightly.
“Isn’t it strange that your grandmother, the one who supports you, hasn’t shown her face despite all this chaos?”
“What did you say?”
Evan faltered.
Now that he thought about it, the entire mansion had been turned upside down.
And with Rainer orchestrating all this.
Elise, who should have emerged long ago to scold them, was nowhere to be seen.
“That’s… she must be out! Yes! She definitely said she was going to the Imperial Palace today―!”
“How naive.”
Rainer let out a brief, mocking laugh.
Then he withdrew something from his pocket.
Parchment edged in gold leaf.
An imperial decree.
“The Dowager Duchess was arrested several hours ago on suspicion of murdering my mother.”
“What… what did you say?”
Evan’s mouth fell open in shock.
Unaware that members of the Imperial family were concealed beyond the mirror.
That Elise had confessed to all her crimes with her own lips.
The words echoed distantly in Evan’s ears.
“And as for you two―”
A contemptuous gaze swept across Evan and Rosena.
At the cold stare, Rosena’s shoulders flinched.
“You’re being taken into custody on suspicion of murdering Cecilia Hays.”
“No, no way!”
“That’s impossible!”
At the mention of that name, Rosena let out a sharp cry.
“She died in an accident! Or rather, her circumstances became so wretched that she abandoned life of her own accord!”
“Y-yes, that’s right! She was so weak that she simply died because her husband looked at another woman!”
“In any case, we didn’t kill her! We’re innocent!”
The two’s excuses grew increasingly despicable.
Having already secured testimony from the servants of the Duke’s Mansion.
Their words held no meaning whatsoever.
But at their attitude devoid of any remorse, Rainer’s eyes narrowed.
“They’re not worth engaging further. Take them away.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Rainer nodded.
The Imperial Bodyguard seized the criminals once more.
“Let go! We won’t forgive any of you!”
“What’s all this fuss over some girl who threw her own life away!”
Evan and Rosena thrashed about shamefully until the very end.
But no one remained to listen to them any longer.
* * *
“I hereby sentence Evan Hays and Rosena Osburn to death on charges of murdering Cecilia Hays.”
Days later.
The trial concluded with anticlimactic swiftness.
Testimony from the servants had already been secured.
And whispers of suspicion, though hushed, had already spread through High Society.
With Rainer, who maintained close ties to the Crown Prince, coming forward as the prosecutor himself.
The verdict had been predetermined from the start.
“You’ve endured much hardship, Duke of Hays.”
Harry approached Rainer as he exited the Courthouse.
“Duke, you say? Nothing’s been decided yet.”
“Well, it’s only a matter of time now, isn’t it? You’ve yearned for it long enough.”
Harry shrugged his shoulders.
True to his words, Rainer had endured countless arduous years to claim the Ducal Title.
As a result, Elise was now imprisoned in the Imperial Tower.
And Evan and Rosena would soon ascend the Guillotine Platform.
“…Is it finally over?”
Rainer stopped in his tracks.
Then slowly, he lifted his gaze upward.
A sky stretched out pristine and cloudless.
His eyes deepened as he gazed upon it.

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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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