She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 161

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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 (6)
Where Harry pointed, a woman stood.
As if drenched by the downpour, her white dress clung to her body, soaked through and through.
Her limp hair matted against her pale cheeks.
“Isn’t that… Della?”
Rainer’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight of her trembling with her arms wrapped around herself.
The carriage came to a slow halt before her.
Harry descended, umbrella in hand.
“Young Lady, why are you standing in this rain?”
“Oh…!”
Sosie lifted her head with a startled expression.
Tears welled in her eyes as she recognized Rainer.
“I was trying to return home, but my carriage broke down. The coachman went to fetch help, but he hasn’t returned yet…”
“My, what a predicament.”
Harry turned to Rainer with an awkward expression.
Rainer gave a brief nod, and Sosie eventually boarded the carriage.
“I’m terribly sorry for the trouble.”
She settled into her seat with care.
Across from Rainer, beside Harry.
Her wet dress clung to her body, revealing her silhouette.
Harry averted his gaze and cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I’ll… fetch you something to cover yourself with.”
“No, please. I’m quite all right. I’ve already imposed enough!”
Sosie waved her hand in apparent alarm.
Though her demeanor appeared modest on the surface.
She deliberately adjusted her posture, allowing her dress to cling even more provocatively.
Harry, flustered by the exchange, turned his gaze away once more.
Observing this in silence, Rainer simply retrieved a blanket and tossed it onto Sosie’s lap.
“Cover yourself.”
“Oh…”
Sosie’s eyes widened.
Her cheeks flushed crimson.
“Thank you. You’re truly kind, Duke.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear, casting a subtle glance his way.
But Rainer had already turned his attention to the window.
“…”
An awkward silence settled within the carriage.
‘I need to do something.’
Sosie fidgeted anxiously with her fingertips.
She couldn’t let this precious opportunity to speak with the Duke slip away.
After rolling her eyes for a moment, she carefully opened her mouth.
“Um, Your Grace.”
“Go ahead.”
Rainer answered while keeping his gaze fixed on the window.
Yet even in that indifferent tone, Sosie felt her heart sink.
For a moment, she nearly spilled out words in her excitement.
But she gritted her teeth and suppressed her emotions.
‘Calm yourself. Compose yourself, Sosie.’
The Duke would soon become her husband.
This was not the time to make a fuss.
After steadying her breath, Sosie carefully opened her mouth.
“I’m speaking to you now precisely because I have the honor of seeing Your Grace like this….”
Sosie arranged her expression to appear as pitiful as possible.
“Does the Duchess perhaps find my mother and me quite burdensome?”
At those words, Rainer’s gaze turned toward her.
Sosie offered a weak smile.
“She hasn’t said anything to us directly. It’s just a feeling. My mother worries constantly that we might be cast out soon.”
“….”
“Of course, we have no intention of imposing on you for long. It’s simply that not much time has passed since the Baron’s death, and my mother has nowhere else to turn.”
Sosie’s eyes grew moist.
“If only the Duchess could understand our plight—that we are homeless and have nowhere to go….”
“Understand.”
Rainer murmured quietly.
His voice carried a chill unlike his usual tone.
Harry immediately sensed something and shifted his gaze.
But Sosie had not yet noticed.
“Yes. My mother thinks of the Duchess as family as well. If Your Grace would only consider us―”
“How strange.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“I believe the two of you should have found new lodgings long ago.”
Rainer spoke with an expressionless face.
His cold, blunt words made Sosie’s expression stiffen.
“Your Grace?”
“Before my wife arrived here, wasn’t there ample time?”
“That is….”
At Rainer’s sharp observation, Sosie’s lips trembled.
Indeed, more than a month had passed since the Baron’s death was announced.
Yet Della and her mother had done nothing.
“My wife has no reason to bear responsibility for both of you.”
Rainer pointed out this fact with cutting precision.
“If my wife finds your presence disagreeable, you and your mother should make haste in finding new accommodations. After all, it is you two who must leave.”
He concluded his words like driving a wedge, then turned his gaze back toward the window.
The atmosphere inside the carriage grew frigid in an instant.
Harry turned his head away, feigning ignorance.
Sosie sat frozen, her face flushed crimson, unable to utter a single word.
‘How could he say such a thing? It’s too cruel.’
Her lips protruded in a pout, and tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.
Sosie’s fingers clenched the hem of her dress with white-knuckled intensity.
They said that despite years of marriage, their relationship was so distant they had not a single child.
‘Were we mistaken all along?’
Even at Rainer’s cutting observation, she showed not the slightest remorse.
Instead, her gaze grew even more venomous.
‘The Duchess of Hays… I must eliminate her.’
Cecilia Hays.
If only that woman would disappear.
Then the Baron’s Residence, the inheritance, and that man—all of it would become hers.
She still clung to such delusional hopes.
* * *
Two days later.
The Marquise Martaine, the center of Peloux High Society, invited the noblewomen and young ladies to a gathering.
It was to welcome the Duchess of Hays and enjoy a boat excursion on the lake.
Led by Cecilia and the Marquise, the party proceeded in formation toward the lakeside.
“It truly is beautiful.”
“The Marquise Martaine’s taste is indeed remarkable.”
The noblewomen exclaimed in admiration, fanning themselves with their fans.
Beneath the clear sky, sunlight scattered in fine fragments across the lake’s surface.
Ornately decorated boats drifted slowly upon the gentle ripples.
Cecilia too gazed upon the scene with a smile.
Then her gaze naturally drifted toward the end of the procession.
‘There they are.’
Penelope and Sosie stood together.
The two untitled nobles occupied the very rear of the formation.
Moreover, they were carrying the picnic supplies.
‘I am a distant relative of the Marquise Martaine, and she shows me particular favor.’
‘That’s right. Mother can meet with the Marquise whenever she wishes.’
It was entirely different from the boasts they had made upon their first meeting.
To secure their place in this gathering, they were volunteering to do the servants’ work.
‘How can they tell such transparent lies?’
Cecilia shook her head inwardly.
Considering how they had treated Wendy with such disrespect.
Even the time she’d attempted to sow discord between Rainer and me.
Every single action was grating.
And most of all―
‘It seems like she’s plotting something even now.’
I caught sight of the two of them glancing furtively and whispering to each other.
Perhaps it was because I’d encountered such extraordinarily wicked villains as Rosena and Evan.
A familiar and ominous premonition washed over me.
In times like these, maintaining distance might be the safer course.
‘That woman frequents the Back Alley Black Market and collects poisons, they say.’
‘So there’s talk that she’s connected to the successive deaths in the Baron’s household….’
My gaze grew quiet and composed.
If the public suspicions were true, I would be a thorn in their side as well.
Then they would surely make their move at this very gathering.
‘…Let me test them once.’
My eyes settled with calm determination.
* * *
Penelope and Sosie’s eyes burned with malice.
Each had been humiliated by Cecilia and Rainer respectively.
They were resolved to sink that insufferable Duchess beneath the lake today.
“Mother, I’ll board the boat with the Duchess.”
“Yes. I’ll remove anything that might be needed for a rescue beforehand.”
Penelope departed with a sinister smile.
Sosie approached me with a bright smile.
People were chatting and laughing about who would board which boat with whom.
“Madam, might I board the boat with you?”
Sosie grasped my hand firmly.
“I so desperately wish to ride with you. Please grant me such an honor.”
“….”
I glanced down at her hand for a moment.
Then I smiled quietly and nodded.
“Of course.”
In that instant, Sosie’s eyes flashed briefly with triumph.
The two of us boarded the boat side by side.
The boatman rowed toward the center of the lake.
Gentle ripples spread across the water.
“….”
I quietly admired the scenery.
A soft breeze brushed against my hair.
Sosie’s gaze, fixed upon me, grew increasingly dark.
Her fingertips slowly gripped the edge of the boat.
I adjusted my posture slightly, ready to spring to my feet at any moment.
“Madam.”
As Cecilia’s gaze turned toward me.
Sosie pointed to one side.
“Look over there. The way the flowering trees reflect in the water is truly beautiful.”
“Is it?”
Cecilia turned her head.
In that instant.
Sosie extended both hands toward the Duchess’s back.
‘This greedy woman! Drop dead!’

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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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