She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 66
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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 66. Fake Jewels (3)
Elise couldn’t take her eyes off the tiara in Cecilia’s hands.
The large peridot stone had clear scratch marks on it.
In Cecilia’s other hand was a hairpin.
It wasn’t difficult to guess what had happened.
Without even having time to assess the situation.
Elise strode forward and raised her hand.
‘…Ah!’
Though she had prepared herself for this situation.
Cecilia reflexively squeezed her eyes shut.
Smack!
“Oh my!”
A sharp sound rang out followed by screams from the surroundings.
However, there was no pain on Cecilia’s face.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Rainer’s back blocking between the two of them.
His cheek, which had taken the blow meant for his wife, was already swollen red.
“Ra, Rainer!”
The tiara slipped from the startled Cecilia’s hands.
The jewel fell straight to the floor.
At that sound, Elise paused for a moment.
But soon her eyes turned red with fury as she shouted.
“You two are in cahoots! How dare such vulgar things damage the Imperial jewels?”
Elise, filled with rage, grabbed Rainer by the collar and shook him roughly.
Even the Emperor couldn’t easily step forward against such momentum.
Elise turned to look at the Imperial couple standing behind her.
Today, she was determined to crush these two eyesores.
“Your Majesty! These ones who have carelessly handled the Imperial jewels must immediately—”
“Wa, wait a moment!”
Just then, Mary, who had been watching the whole time, shouted with a pale face.
“Everyone look over there! The jewel is broken!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to the floor at once.
From the tiara that had fallen on the marble floor, the peridot stone had come loose.
It was due to being deeply scratched by the sharp pin plus the shock of falling on the hard floor.
The loose peridot was split in half.
Everyone gasped at the unbelievable sight.
“…Huh?”
Doubt crossed the faces of people who had been examining the jewel for a moment.
“The cross-section… isn’t it too transparent?”
“Ri, right? It looks like glass?”
The cross-section of the split peridot was excessively clear and transparent.
The center of the jewel lacked the unique color that should have been there.
“Oh, my goodness.”
Silence fell over the banquet hall.
No one could readily understand this situation, only swallowing nervously.
Meanwhile, Nicholas stepped forward.
He picked up the split jewel and examined it coldly.
“…It’s glass. Just colored coating on the surface. A shallow deception.”
Nicholas’s voice, which had been playful just moments before, was now icy.
His face was completely expressionless.
He turned to look at Elise accusingly.
“What is the meaning of this, Dowager Duchess? This is not great-aunt’s jewel.”
“Th, that’s impossible. This can’t be….”
Elise’s lips trembled violently.
The color quickly drained from her face that had been red with anger.
Her mind was in chaos.
What she had given to Rosena was definitely the real thing.
Why had it become a fake jewel?
‘Wh, where did my jewel go?’
Elise turned to look toward Evan and Rosena.
Both of them were also pale and couldn’t say anything.
“Where is the real jewel?”
The Emperor’s voice rumbled low.
He was a monarch with stronger pride in the Imperial family than anyone else.
No matter how much it was the Hays family, the crime of deceiving the Imperial family could not be forgiven.
His gaze swept over Elise, Evan, and Rosena in turn.
“I asked where Princess Glenda’s jewel is.”
At those words, the three people’s shoulders flinched and trembled.
Then, Cecilia stepped forward again.
“Your Majesty, please be at ease. The Imperial jewel is still at the Hays Ducal House.”
When Cecilia gestured, Wendy came in carefully carrying a box.
The moment the lid was opened, the deep and beautiful light unique to jewels illuminated the banquet hall.
“Why is that… there….”
Rosena muttered with a dazed expression.
She couldn’t even distinguish whether the scene before her eyes was a dream or reality.
She could only stare blankly at Cecilia presenting the box to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, I apologize for causing you concern.”
Cecilia bent her knees slightly.
“I confirmed that the Young Duke took out a loan from the bank using this jewel as collateral. I recovered it immediately, but I didn’t expect he would even create a replica….”
“What? Collateral?”
Elise tried to interrupt from the side, but Cecilia didn’t give her an opening.
She turned to look at Elise.
“Yes, mother-in-law. I’m sorry for not keeping the tiara you gave me safe. I never thought Evan would steal this from my bedroom—”
“That’s a lie!”
Evan reflexively shouted.
“I, I didn’t steal it from the Duchess’s bedroom! I simply took what grandmother had clearly given to my wife—”
Evan, who had been earnestly protesting, opened his eyes wide and shut his mouth.
Wasn’t he essentially admitting that he had caused trouble with the Imperial jewel anyway?
He covered his mouth with both hands and trembled violently.
“Oh, no….”
“Dowager Duchess!”
When Elise groaned lowly and swayed, Margaret panicked and supported her.
“Ha, living this long, I get to see all sorts of spectacles. Interesting. Very interesting.”
The Emperor laughed as if he found it absurd.
The Empress was frowning beside him.
Even they couldn’t side with Elise at this moment.
There were already too many watching eyes.
“The crime of deceiving the Imperial family, creating replicas, and even flaunting them before the Crown Prince and his wife. It is by no means light.”
People held their breath at the Emperor’s judgment.
“First, find the jeweler who created the replica, have him flogged, and banish him from the capital.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“And.”
The Emperor looked sternly at Evan and Rosena.
“I sentence Young Duke Evan Hays to two months of hard labor, and Young Duchess Rosena Hays to two weeks of hard labor. After both have completed their sentences, they shall remain confined to their residence until further orders.”
“Your, Your Majesty!”
Rosena let out a piercing scream.
Hard labor!
Wasn’t that endless suffering in dirty, damp mines!
For her, with her strong aristocratic pride, it was a punishment equivalent to death.
Rosena pathetically fell to her knees before the Emperor.
“I, I truly didn’t know! I did it unknowingly! Please have mercy…!”
“Silence!”
The Emperor cut her off decisively.
“How dare you wear a fake and deceive the Crown Prince and his wife. This too cannot be taken lightly.”
Evan, who had been watching all this commotion, finally collapsed to the floor.
Rosena’s screaming and crying, and the murmuring erupting from all directions seemed to come from far away.
As if submerged underwater, all sounds felt distant.
Soon the guards, following the Emperor’s command, rushed over and dragged Evan and Rosena away.
“Grandmother! Please help us! Please save us!”
Rosena shouted with her tear-stained face.
But there was not a trace of mercy in the guards’ hands.
And so the Young Duke and his wife were dragged outside.
“And the Dowager Duchess…”
The Emperor turned to look at Elise.
Her usually impeccable appearance was nowhere to be seen.
With her bangs disheveled, Elise was breathing heavily.
The Emperor ultimately couldn’t continue his words and let out a troubled groan through his teeth.
While he could punish the Young Duke and his wife since they had openly caused trouble.
Punishing Elise, who had foreign royal blood flowing through her veins, was an uncomfortable matter even for the Emperor.
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, Rainer, who had been silently observing the situation, stepped forward.
“I will apologize on behalf of my mother’s actions.”
“Duke.”
Rainer paused as if choosing his words carefully.
He added calmly.
“Actually… the Dowager Duchess has been frequently experiencing memory lapses lately.”
“What, what did you say?”
Elise’s eyes widened as she caught her breath.
Rainer cast a brief sneer in her direction, then looked back at the Emperor.
“Didn’t you just witness it, Your Majesty? The Dowager Duchess completely failed to remember giving the jewelry to the Duchess. Moreover, she has recently been showing impulsive speech and violent tendencies.”
“You, you…”
Elise’s voice cracked.
Her face was a mixture of anger, bewilderment, and fear.
“Mother did not intentionally deceive the Royal Court. So may I humbly request your merciful consideration?”
Rainer’s words certainly seemed to be defending Elise.
However, each and every word was pushing her deeper into the mire.
He was telling everyone present that she was no longer in her right mind.
Even the Emperor and Empress looked convinced.
“I wasn’t aware that the Dowager Duchess had such circumstances.”
“Had we known earlier, we would have looked into it sooner.”
“Your, Your Majesty! No! I am—!”
“Mother.”
Rainer turned and firmly grasped Elise’s arm.
And he whispered in a voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.
“Do you still not understand the situation?”
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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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