She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 163

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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. What Happened in Peloux (8)
In that instant, the room froze.
Within the silence where even breath seemed to cease, only Sosie’s ragged breathing echoed.
Everyone stared at her as though they could not believe what they were hearing.
Penelope’s face had already turned ashen.
“…There is no need to hear more.”
It was the Marquise Martaine who broke the silence.
Her cold gaze fixed upon Della and her daughter.
“M-Madam!”
Penelope fell to her knees in panic.
She seized Sosie’s arm and dragged her down to the floor beside her.
Forcing her head down in submission.
“Please forgive us! I was not myself for a moment!”
Penelope pressed her forehead to the ground and begged desperately.
But the Marquise did not move an inch.
She had never cared for this mother and daughter from the beginning.
Their reputation was poor as well.
Yet she had maintained at least the bare minimum of propriety for their sake, only because they were relatives.
But that goodwill ended today.
“The both of you—do not set foot in my house again.”
At the Marquise’s cold command, both their shoulders trembled.
“M-Madam!”
“I shall have no further dealings with you.”
Before everyone present, the Marquise drew a firm line between herself and Della’s family.
Penelope’s face turned to ash.
Sosie’s lips quivered uncontrollably.
The two crawled toward the Marquise on their hands and knees.
Yet she stepped back as though recoiling from something unclean.
“Madam! It is all a misunderstanding! Let me explain everything!”
Penelope clung to her desperately.
But the Marquise turned her head away.
“Please leave now.”
Her manner made clear she wished to engage with them no further.
Then the Marquise turned toward Cecilia and bowed respectfully.
“Duchess, I am deeply sorry you had to endure such an ordeal.”
“Not at all. You must have been quite shocked yourself, Madam.”
Cecilia shook her head gently.
She offered the Marquise a faint smile to put her at ease.
“You two.”
Yet as she turned her gaze back upon Della and her daughter, her eyes grew cold once more.
“I’ll give you two days. You must vacate the Baron’s Residence within that time.”
“I… I beg your pardon?”
Penelope and Sosie felt their hearts plummet.
Merely two days.
For those with nowhere to go, it was tantamount to being cast into the streets.
“P-please, Madam! Show us mercy!”
“I was wrong! I was momentarily mad!”
The two women prostrated themselves, their foreheads nearly touching the floor.
Tearful pleas followed in succession.
Yet not a soul in that room took pity on them.
“How repugnant.”
Rainer murmured softly.
Cecilia shared his sentiment entirely.
“My husband already informed Della of this matter. You had ample time to secure alternative lodgings.”
As Cecilia reopened the wound of their previous humiliation, Sosie’s shoulders trembled visibly.
Yet she could mount no defense.
“…We shall do as you say, Madam.”
In the end, both women bowed their heads in submission.
Cecilia exchanged a brief glance with Rainer as she gazed down upon them.
Having driven these two into such a corner.
‘Now they’ll move toward what they believe is their lifeline.’
Cecilia’s eyes gleamed with quiet intensity.
* * *
That night.
In the deep hours after the day’s turmoil had settled and all had fallen asleep.
A figure slipped quietly from the Baron’s Residence.
It was Penelope.
“….”
Penelope paused briefly, her eyes darting cautiously about her surroundings.
She pulled her hood deeper over her head, then without hesitation, crossed through the darkness.
Beneath the pale moonlight, her gaze burned with sinister intent.
‘Did you think I would simply retreat?’
All the time and effort she had invested to become a baroness.
Had she intended to abandon it all, she would never have resorted to murder in the first place.
‘That’s right. Having come this far, someone must die for this to end.’
Penelope’s lips twisted into a cruel smile.
The one who would perish was that arrogant Duchess.
And so her footsteps led her to.
An illegal apothecary nestled deep within the Black Market Alley.
Standing before the decrepit shop, Penelope pushed open the door.
Creak.
As the door swung open, the damp interior was revealed.
A musty stench wafted through sharply.
“It’s been a while, madam.”
The Merchant behind the counter flashed yellowed teeth in a snickering grin.
“Didn’t you say you’d never come back after the Baron was dead? Has another target appeared?”
“Shut your mouth.”
Penelope shot back coldly.
She had no intention of exchanging pointless banter in this filthy, suffocating place.
“Show me the goods. Something that kills instantly with just one drop.”
“Ah, you want something reliable.”
The Merchant opened a small drawer beneath the counter.
From it, he withdrew a tiny vial.
Inside was a transparent liquid.
To the eye, it appeared no different from water.
“One dose and it’s over. Colorless and odorless—no one will suspect a thing.”
“You’re certain?”
Penelope asked, her tone skeptical.
The Merchant shrugged and uncorked the glass vial.
Then he let a single drop fall onto a potted plant beside him.
….
Penelope watched the large crimson flower blooming in the pot.
Within moments, the red petals withered and blackened, curling grotesquely.
Penelope’s eyes narrowed as she confirmed its efficacy.
“Excellent. I’m satisfied.”
She withdrew a purse of gold coins and tossed it onto the counter.
At the jingling sound, the Merchant’s lips stretched into a wide grin.
“Nobles truly are generous. Do visit again anytime.”
“Disappear. This is the last time.”
“Of course, of course.”
The Merchant waved after Penelope’s departing figure, chuckling to himself.
As the door closed, he immediately snatched up the purse of coins.
“Oh, this is magnificent.”
His mouth opened wider at the substantial weight.
Creak—
Then the door opened again.
The Merchant, his gaze still fixed on the purse of coins, continued to snicker.
“Madam, did you drop something? Perhaps your affection for me?”
….
But no sharp retort came back as it usually would.
The moment he turned his head, wondering if he’d offended someone—
Click.
Cold metal pressed against his temple.
The Merchant’s face went rigid as he realized it was a gun barrel.
“W-what is this?!”
Then, the instant he saw the man wielding the gun.
His eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
A face so devastatingly handsome that even other men would take notice.
Combined with a towering height that demanded one look up.
Under normal circumstances, flattery would have poured from his lips.
But now, standing before a gun barrel.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
“W-who… who are you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The man answered curtly, pressing the gun barrel closer still.
The frigid touch against his skin made it difficult to breathe.
And then.
Tap tap.
A woman entered from behind.
Upon seeing her face, the Merchant’s jaw dropped.
‘What… who are these people?!’
The woman possessed beauty equally otherworldly as the man’s.
Despite his long years in Peloux, he had never encountered two individuals as striking as these.
The thought crossed his mind that they might not be human at all.
The Merchant blinked several times.
In that moment, the woman who had slowly approached locked eyes with him directly.
“It’s nice to meet you. This is our first time, isn’t it?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct, but…”
Unable to continue, the Merchant swallowed hard.
Unlike him, who was visibly tense, the woman remained composed.
“I’m Cecilia Hays. I’ve come from Listea.”
“What? Then you must be… the Duchess of Hays?”
Only then did the Merchant’s eyes widen as he grasped their identities.
He was well aware of the Imperial Duke and Duchess who had come to Peloux.
After all, the entire Capital had been abuzz about them for some time.
“That’s right.”
Cecilia nodded with a smile.
Displeased by this, Rainer pressed the gun barrel deeper against the Merchant’s head.
“H-hiii…!”
As the Merchant drew a sharp breath of terror.
Cecilia stepped closer.
“And I am also the niece of Baron Barmeo.”
The color drained from the Merchant’s face at those words.
His expression alone revealed what he feared.
The smile vanished from her face in an instant.
“You…”
Cecilia’s voice turned glacial as she pressed him.
“You conspired with that woman who just left to harm my Uncle’s family, didn’t 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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