She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 53. The Hidden Truth

 

“That actor seems more stubborn than he looks. Is there any progress?”

 

“Ah.”

 

Cecilia, whose mind had been complicated until then, came back to her senses.

 

She slowly shook her head.

 

“No. I think we need to change our approach.”

 

“How?”

 

“I need to think about it.”

 

Cecilia turned her gaze toward the window.

 

Chasing after him blindly was useless.

 

She could have used the Duke’s Mansion’s power to forcibly drag him out, but that would only cause greater damage.

 

She wanted to somehow open his heart and make him cooperate voluntarily.

 

To do that…

 

‘Brother?’

 

‘Sandy! I told you not to come out!’

 

Suddenly, what had happened at Michel’s house came to mind.

 

The girl with a body that seemed ready to break at any moment, constantly coughing weakly.

 

And Michel’s sensitive reaction as he tried to hide that child.

 

When she thought about it carefully, there were quite a few strange points.

 

‘It was also unexpected that Brisen’s current top star was living in such a house.’

 

After the salon, Michel had been cast in a new work.

 

His contract fee must have been much higher than before.

 

And as far as she knew, actors’ fees were quite decent.

 

It was enough to get a reasonably proper house in the capital.

 

‘Perhaps all that money is entirely…’

 

Cecilia’s eyes deepened.

 

‘I should investigate those two people more first.’

 

Perhaps the way to move Michel’s heart might be found there.

 

* * *

 

“Sandy? Sandy! Are you okay?”

 

“Cough, cough! Hack! Gasp…”

 

At that moment, at Michel’s house.

 

As Sandy’s coughing worsened, Michel’s face turned pale.

 

Even patting her back and giving her water didn’t stop the coughing.

 

“Gasp, I’m, I’m fine… Brother…”

 

Only after coughing violently for a while did Sandy finally catch her breath.

 

Her frail body was already completely drained of energy.

 

“What do you mean you’re fine! Get up. Let’s go to the hospital right now!”

 

“No, no. I’m really fine now…”

 

Sandy shook her head while coughing softly.

 

And she lay down weakly, pulling the blanket up to her neck.

 

In this house without a bed, wherever she lay down was her sleeping place.

 

“Sigh…”

 

Looking at his sister’s face, which had become more gaunt than yesterday, Michel rubbed his face dry.

 

Looking around, the narrow and dirty small room came into view.

 

No matter how much he cleaned, dirty dust filled the air.

 

‘Damn it, living in a house like this, how can even a healthy body not get sick?’

 

But without this house, he couldn’t afford Sandy’s medicine costs.

 

If it were just Michel alone, he could sleep on the streets.

 

But Sandy needed at least a space with a roof and walls.

 

‘Everyone avoids tuberculosis patients, so I can’t impose on the theater either…’

 

He had thought about closing his eyes and entering a wealthy noble’s bedroom just for money.

 

In that case, he would have to leave Sandy alone.

 

It wouldn’t be easy to find a caregiver to look after a tuberculosis patient either.

 

In the end, he was in a situation where he could neither do this nor that, just stamping his feet.

 

“Brother…?”

 

“Yes, rest. Brother will do some cleaning.”

 

Michel got up.

 

If he couldn’t choose anything anyway, he had to do what he could.

 

‘If I reduce the dust, Sandy will cough less too.’

 

His hands began busily organizing the room.

 

As he organized, old items that had been buried for a long time revealed themselves.

 

‘Is there anything worth selling…’

 

Michel examined the items one by one with a hopeful heart.

 

But they were all useless junk.

 

‘Let’s throw them all away. Keeping them will only gather dust.’

 

As he grumbled and collected the items.

 

‘…Wait.’

 

His gaze stopped at one box.

 

A box covered with dust. It was Father’s belongings.

 

Even calling them belongings, they were just a few old items from his days as a coachman.

 

Michel’s face contorted.

 

‘How unlucky, I was still keeping something like this?’

 

He thought he had erased all traces of Father after the incident.

 

It seemed he had shoved it in a corner and forgotten about it.

 

Michel opened the box, planning to burn everything inside.

 

Inside were old gloves and rings for hanging on horse reins.

 

‘Tsk, how shabby…’

 

He clicked his tongue and picked up the gloves.

 

“Huh?”

 

He had picked them up just to throw them away.

 

But something was felt inside the gloves.

 

When he shook them, a tightly folded paper popped out.

 

‘What is this?’

 

Michel’s eyes widened as he unfolded it.

 

The single sheet of paper contained completely unexpected content.

 

「Count Osburn came to visit. He said directly that the carriage accident was his work. He also said he forged the handwriting on the will. I felt my head turning white.」

 

「He says if I testify that the accident was all my doing, he will guarantee my family’s livelihood.」

 

「My mind changes dozens of times a day. When I think of the Young Lady, I shouldn’t do this, but our children…」

 

Michel’s hands trembled as he read through page by page.

 

He had believed until now that Father was the real culprit.

 

But there was a real culprit elsewhere.

 

He breathed roughly and picked up the last page.

 

「I decided to confess in the end. But I wanted to let at least our family know the truth, so I asked Count Osburn for evidence. I buried the promissory note with the Count’s signature and the horseshoe under the prison…」

 

‘…Evidence?’

 

At that moment, one memory came to mind.

 

Right after Father died.

 

When intruders broke into the house and it caught fire.

 

It was the incident that became the trigger for Mother to finally leave Michel and his sister, unable to endure anymore.

 

Until now, he had thought it was just venting anger about the murderer.

 

‘The Count did this to destroy evidence.’

 

It felt like his eyes were finally opening to the truth.

 

The Count thought Michel’s family had taken the captain’s belongings.

 

So he must have tried to eliminate the entire family at once.

 

From the beginning, he never cared about any promise to the captain.

 

‘Damn it all.’

 

Michel crumpled the letter tightly in his fist.

 

He couldn’t just sit still like this.

 

“Sandy, I’m going out for a bit, so don’t move and stay lying down!”

 

“Brother? Where are you going? Cough, cough!”

 

Sandy coughed softly behind him, but Michel hurriedly left the house.

 

His mind was in chaos.

 

Without time to think things through, his steps headed toward Count Osburn’s estate.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, at Count Osburn’s estate.

 

The Count and Countess were sitting outside in the garden, acting pompous.

 

Others were seated around them.

 

“Count, I hear the Young Duchess has been getting close to the Dowager Duchess lately?”

 

Ever since Rosena and Elise started spending time together.

 

Gathering people to boast about their daughter’s affairs had become the Count couple’s recent pleasure.

 

Especially the people they gathered were mostly commoners who were ignorant of high society gossip.

 

They simply saw the name Hays and regarded Count Osburn and his wife as remarkable.

 

“Well, it’s true.”

 

Count Osburn said smugly.

 

“The Dowager Duchess is very fond of our Rosena. There’s even talk that she’ll hand over one of the ducal family’s mines directly.”

 

Of course, it was all bluster.

 

But people who had no way of knowing the truth simply gasped in amazement.

 

“How impressive indeed. I always said the Young Duchess was extraordinary.”

 

“Perhaps the day when the Young Duke becomes Duke isn’t far off?”

 

As agreement poured in from all around, the Count couple raised the corners of their mouths in satisfaction.

 

“Of course. The current Duke of Hays? The Duchess?”

 

Count Osburn snorted.

 

“Aligning with that side wouldn’t be a wise choice.”

 

“That’s right, soon our Rosena will be at the center of Hays. Ho ho ho.”

 

The Countess chimed in from the side.

 

The two went on for a while about the prestige of the Hays Ducal House and the influence they would wield there.

 

Most of it was exaggeration.

 

But at this moment, no one doubted their words.

 

And the same was true for someone watching this scene from a distance.

 

“….”

 

Michel stood beyond the wall.

 

Their voices were so loud they echoed clearly beyond the wall.

 

“Haha! Osburn will go forward with Hays from now on! We’ll rise to the ranks of great nobility!”

 

At those words, the strength slowly drained from Michel’s hands.

 

When he had discovered his father’s will, he had planned to immediately confront Osburn about it.

 

But the reality he actually faced was overwhelming.

 

‘Would they even budge if I charged at them?’

 

Michel bit his lip and turned away.

 

He swallowed curse after curse about this rotten world.

 

But once ignited, his anger wouldn’t easily subside.

 

Maybe he should go find Cecilia instead.

 

Perhaps she could do something about this.

 

As he walked along dejectedly, lost in thought.

 

“Hey, Michel!”

 

Someone called out to stop him from behind.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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