She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 159

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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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Side Story 1. What Happened in Peloux (4)
“Are you serious? Your target is the Duchess, and you really intend to kill her?”
“Yes. I’ve come this far—I can’t turn back now.”
“But how on earth would you do it?”
Penelope did not answer, instead tapping her fingers against the window frame.
In the distance, she could see the carriage of House of Hays, which had arrived that day.
‘…Hmph.’
Penelope’s eyes narrowed.
Aside from the inheritance, she had never liked Cecilia from the start.
She herself had clawed her way upward her entire life and now stood on the threshold of nobility.
Yet here was a girl barely the age of her own daughter Sosie, already seated as the Duchess.
Jealousy and inferiority welled up within her.
‘If she’s the Duchess, she should enjoy her comfortable life in her own country. How dare she crawl all the way to Peloux to steal what’s mine?’
She could not yield even a single coin to such a reckless woman.
Suddenly, she recalled something the Marquise Martaine had said days ago.
‘I’m thinking of taking the Duchess of Hays on a boat ride to the lake.’
This was it.
A boat ride, no less.
Could there be a better place to dispose of someone while disguising it as an accident?
Noblewomen’s dresses were heavy, after all.
If one fell into the water, it would be difficult to escape alive.
‘I really am clever, aren’t I?’
Penelope, having swiftly formulated her plan, smiled with satisfaction.
Then, beaming widely, she turned to her daughter.
“Listen here, Sosie. Pay attention to what your mother is thinking.”
Penelope laid out her plan to her daughter.
At first, Sosie listened halfheartedly, but gradually her eyes began to gleam as she focused intently.
“…So you’re going to disguise it as her drowning in the lake?”
Sosie asked, adjusting her posture.
Penelope nodded with a sinister smile.
“Yes, and after that, it’s simple.”
While High Society’s attention was fixed on the Duchess’s death,
she would simply swap out the Baron’s will and be done with it.
“Isn’t it a truly perfect plan?”
Penelope’s lips curled upward.
Sosie followed suit with a malicious smile, but then let out a deep sigh.
“Oh dear, but what shall we do, Mother?”
“What do you mean?”
“About the Duke. He’ll be terribly grief-stricken if he loses his wife.”
At the thought of Rainer, Sosie’s eyes took on a different light.
“To think that such a handsome man’s side would be left vacant… just imagining it makes my heart race.”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
Penelope’s reflection in the mirror took on a dreamy expression as well.
The image of Rainer from earlier in the day remained vivid in her mind.
“He’s far more useful than I expected.”
“Useful doesn’t even begin to cover it. Any woman would lose her senses over him.”
Penelope didn’t deny her daughter’s words.
Instead, she nodded slowly.
“True. He’s desirable enough for everyone to covet.”
And Penelope was no exception.
She studied her own reflection in the mirror.
Born and raised in Peloux, where beauties were abundant, she herself possessed striking looks.
Having maintained herself meticulously with the Baron’s wealth all these years, she appeared younger than her age.
She felt confident she could seduce the Duke.
“I hear the Duke and Duchess have been married for quite some time now, yet they still have no children.”
“My goodness, truly?”
“Yes. They pretend to be affectionate on the surface, but it’s clear evidence they’re actually distant from each other.”
Penelope’s voice was filled with certainty.
“Of course, he’ll be awkward at first, but if I comfort him from his side, he’ll naturally come around.”
“Then…”
Sosie’s eyes narrowed with interest.
But then she suddenly turned to her mother as if something felt wrong.
“Wait a moment, Mother.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to seduce the Duke too?”
“And what would be wrong with that?”
“Pardon?”
Sosie’s jaw dropped at Penelope’s casual response.
“Mother, are you in your right mind? The age difference between you and the Duke―”
“Age is merely a number, Sosie.”
Penelope’s eyebrows twitched with displeasure.
“Good heavens.”
Sosie shook her head in disbelief.
She would have to compete with her own mother over the same man.
But she had no intention of backing down.
Wasn’t she obviously younger and prettier, making her far more suited to the Duke?
“No matter what, I will never yield to you, Mother.”
“That’s exactly what I intend to say.”
Penelope matched her daughter’s brazen declaration without hesitation.
For a while, the deluded mother and daughter continued their bickering.
All the while, the flames in the fireplace burned silently, casting a crimson glow across the walls.
* * *
After Cecilia arrived in Peloux.
Countless invitations had poured in for the Dowager Duchess of Hays in the interim.
Yet Cecilia politely declined them all.
Instead, she sought out the graves of the Baron and his family, spending quiet moments in mourning.
After several days had passed in this manner.
It was time for Cecilia to return to her duties as Duchess.
“My lady, today is the day of the banquet at the Count Monter Estate. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“No.”
Cecilia gave a light nod at Wendy’s reminder of the morning’s schedule.
Soft morning sunlight settled upon the breakfast table of the Baron’s Residence.
While the servants prepared the meal.
Cecilia sat with a composed expression, reading the newspaper.
Having been occupied visiting the graves for several days.
This morning’s leisure was a welcome respite for her.
Wendy filled a teacup with practiced movements beside her.
“My, you’ve risen early, my lady.”
“Good morning, my lady.”
Just then, Penelope and Sosie entered.
“Has the Duke not yet arrived?”
“Rainer went to the Count Monter Estate.”
At Cecilia’s words, Penelope and Sosie’s eyes widened.
“My, you’ll see him this afternoon anyway.”
“Indeed. The Count’s Estate is planning a welcome banquet for both of you.”
“There were matters to discuss beforehand, it seems.”
“I see….”
Penelope and Sosie exchanged a meaningful glance.
To leave without even sharing breakfast together.
Clearly, they were a couple merely pretending to be close on the surface.
The corners of Penelope’s mouth rose subtly.
“What an honor to take breakfast with you, my lady.”
She seated herself across from Cecilia with flattering words.
Then, glancing around, she gestured arrogantly.
“Hmm, you there.”
Wendy’s eyes widened as she realized she was being called.
“Yes? Me, me?”
“That’s right, you. Since this is a morning with the Duchess, we cannot let it pass unremarkably. Fetch the thirty-year-aged wine from the Underground Cellar.”
“…?”
Cecilia, who had been reading the newspaper until then, looked up.
A thirty-year-aged wine was the sort of treasure that would appear on an inventory of assets.
And most of this house’s wealth belonged to me, didn’t it?
Yet Penelope spoke of it so naturally as though it were her own.
And the way she treated Wendy as if she were her own maid, no less.
My eyes narrowed.
“Are you not listening to me? Go downstairs at once and―”
“Madam.”
I raised my hand to stop Penelope mid-sentence.
“The wine is unnecessary. It’s hardly a pleasant sight to see the ladies intoxicated from morning, so let us forgo it today.”
“I beg your pardon? But we do have a guest―”
“A guest, you say?”
I folded the newspaper.
My gaze fixed directly upon Penelope.
“I am my Uncle’s legitimate heir. Not a guest, but the master of this house.”
“Ah, well, I… that is―”
“Until the will is executed, I intend to refrain from touching my Uncle’s assets as much as possible.”
My tone was measured yet resolute.
“And I would appreciate it if you would exercise caution in how you treat Wendy, as she is my maid.”
“Ah…”
At my words, Penelope’s smile froze momentarily.
She then forced her lips upward.
“If I have caused offense, I do apologize. I was merely trying to be considerate toward you―”
“I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Yes, well, if that is your wish…”
Fortunately, the Maids entered with soup, allowing the conversation to conclude naturally.
Yet the atmosphere had already grown awkward, and Penelope merely stirred her soup listlessly with a sullen expression.
Over the course of the meal, a few perfunctory exchanges passed between us.
But Penelope’s wounded pride showed little sign of improvement.
‘How presumptuous. Already playing master of the house?’
Penelope cast a resentful glance across the table.
I continued my meal with composure.
Even my impeccable table manners seemed to grate upon her.
Yet for now, no effective strategy against me came to mind.
In the end, Penelope lowered her gaze to her plate and continued eating.
‘You should know your place.’
Meanwhile, watching her mother soundly defeated in this battle of wills with the Duchess, Sosie shook her head inwardly.
At least she had no intention of committing the foolishness of confronting Cecilia directly.
Sosie cut her steak into large pieces and pushed it into her mouth.
‘I’ll move according to my own methods.’
A different plan was already taking clear shape in her mind.

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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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