She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 7

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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 7. Verification (1)

Having finished speaking, Cecilia picked up her teacup and quietly sipped her tea.

Rainer watched her with sharp eyes.

These were stories too elaborate for a woman living as a dependent in a baron’s house to fabricate alone.

“If you still find it hard to believe, please first check whether Duke Hays is truly dead. You’ll soon know whether my words are true or nonsense.”

Here she was even confidently instructing him on what he should do.

Rainer had no idea how to deal with this woman.

“That’s all I have to say.”

Cecilia slowly rose to her feet, showing a leisurely smile.

It was the expression of someone holding the winning hand.

“When it’s confirmed that my words are correct, let’s discuss our deal again then. I’m staying at the Seymour Hotel, so feel free to visit anytime you feel like talking.”

* * *

“Whew…”

Leaving the Duke’s Mansion, Cecilia finally took a deep breath.

She could barely remember what she had said.

To speak so challengingly in front of that Rainer.

It was behavior the her from her previous life could never have imagined.

‘By now Rainer must be deep in thought.’

Rainer hadn’t risen from his seat even until Cecilia left the room.

Whether that silence meant he would accept Cecilia’s proposal was still unknown.

‘…It’ll work out. It’s a gamble I’ve already started anyway. Let me trust my instincts.’

Cecilia nodded with a determined expression and turned away without any lingering regrets.

* * *

And the next day.

Rainer Hays’s carriage headed toward the Hays Estate once again.

“Seeing your lowly face too often makes me feel like my dignity is declining.”

Elise, whom he met again at the Hays Estate, greeted Rainer with a cold face.

She didn’t bother to hide her displeasure at Rainer’s visit.

Elise had always been like this from the beginning.

Though she had brought her husband’s illegitimate child home out of concern for public opinion, she never showed him any affection.

Rather, she revealed her most ugly aspects without restraint.

‘You’re just like your mother! This shameless, dirty blood!’

The words he heard from her were always abuse and criticism.

Rainer suddenly recalled memories from the past and pressed his eyes firmly with his hand.

Everything about this moment was unpleasant.

But even so, he had to confirm it.

If Cecilia Panning’s words were true, it would be an important key to overturning the future situation.

“Today I came to see my brother.”

“…What?”

For a moment, an unusual tremor crossed Elise’s eyes.

Rainer didn’t miss this.

“As his younger brother, I’m troubled that I haven’t properly visited him during his illness. I’ll just see his face and leave immediately, so please don’t worry about it, Dowager Duchess—”

“Th-there’s no need for that!”

As Rainer rose from his seat, Elise blocked his way.

Her expression tried to appear calm, but her clenched hands were trembling slightly.

“Gilbert absolutely needs to rest. A vulgar person like you wouldn’t be of any help at all.”

“Ah, I see.”

Rainer looked at Elise for a moment, then chuckled.

Gilbert was a man who closely resembled his mother.

He was always anxious about being unable to keep his half-brother, who was more than ten years younger, in check, and when Elise abused Rainer, he would often giggle and encourage her from the side.

As that Rainer grew up and gradually distinguished himself in the Imperial court and social circles, Gilbert’s eyes would roll with jealousy.

Rainer had no disagreement with the statement that he wouldn’t be helpful for Gilbert’s condition.

Of course, if he were still alive, that is.

“Who knows? Maybe seeing me would make him so angry that a dead corpse would suddenly sit up.”

“…Wh-what?”

Elise’s expression hardened at Rainer’s sarcasm.

“A c-corpse? Watch your words. Gilbert is—”

“Yes, he must be sleeping due to illness.”

With words carrying a double meaning, Rainer slowly rose from his seat.

There was no need to deliberately go into Gilbert’s bedroom.

Elise’s reaction was telling him everything.

‘If Gilbert were alive, she would have triumphantly shown him off, telling me not to harbor false hopes.’

He too would have mocked Rainer even while lying in bed.

But now Elise couldn’t give any answer and was only breathing heavily.

Watching the old fox’s frustration, Rainer smiled with a sense of victory.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave now.”

He lightly bowed his head to Elise and walked toward the door.

Standing before the door, he grasped the handle and looked back at Elise.

“By the way, Dowager Duchess.”

Elise was grinding her teeth hard and glaring at him.

“With your hands shaking like that, can you properly drink your tea?”

“You…!”

Elise tried to stand up abruptly, but Rainer smiled coldly and went outside.

* * *

“Lord Rainer.”

As he left the mansion, Harry was waiting for him.

He had just returned from the Public Medical Center on Rainer’s orders.

“I confirmed the birth records of a woman named Cella. Just as Lady Panning said, she gave birth to a son 22 years ago.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, she talked about the child’s father being a nobleman at the time, but everyone thought she was just talking nonsense in her delirium.”

Harry handed over a document envelope.

Rainer narrowed his eyes as he looked at the birth certificate with the name ‘Evan’ written on it.

“Does Elise’s side know about this?”

“They don’t seem to know yet. I made sure the medical center staff keep their mouths shut. The document I just gave you is the original, and I confirmed that all copies were burned before coming here.”

Rainer nodded at Harry’s meticulous work.

He had almost been defeated by Elise, making all his years of patience meaningless.

He couldn’t help but acknowledge that it was all thanks to Cecilia Panning.

“…”

Rainer, who had boarded the carriage, fell into thought as he watched the Hays Estate receding into the distance.

Now his mind was filled with curiosity about one woman.

‘Cecilia Panning… What kind of woman is she really?’

* * *

Two days later, Rainer visited the Seymour Hotel.

Meeting him in the lounge, Cecilia inwardly cheered.

‘He came faster than I thought.’

The fact that he came personally meant he had confirmed everything.

Rainer’s ability to finish the job in just two days was astounding.

But Cecilia didn’t show it and asked with just a light smile on her face.

“What brings you here, my lord? Surely you didn’t come just to have tea with me.”

“…”

Even though she knew why he had come, Cecilia feigned ignorance.

Rainer looked at Cecilia with cold eyes.

“How do you know?”

“Pardon? Know what?”

“About me, Elise Hays, and Gilbert.”

Rainer watched Cecilia sharply.

“The Dowager Duchess would have thoroughly silenced everyone. I can’t even begin to guess how you obtained that information.”

‘Ah, so that’s what he was curious about?’

Well, of course.

The information she possessed far exceeded the level of simple rumors.

Cecilia shook her head with a secretive smile.

“I cannot tell you that. You haven’t given me anything yet, my lord.”

Cecilia pursed her lips slightly as she picked up her teacup.

It was a polite gesture of refusal, indicating she would answer no further.

‘It’s not like I could explain it anyway.’

Who would believe her if she said she had returned to the past after being murdered by Rosena?

If she said such things, she would surely be branded a madwoman and dragged off to an asylum.

“Hah, then let me ask just this one thing.”

Faced with Cecilia’s resolute attitude, Rainer sighed and loosened his cravat slightly.

“Why did you give me that information? If you had just pretended not to know about Evan Machi’s affair and stayed quiet, you would have become a duchess.”

Rainer was curious about this woman’s intentions.

Why had she made such a choice when there was an easier path available?

For someone supposedly angry about her fiancé’s affair, what Cecilia had given up was far too significant.

To begin with, it was rare in Brisen’s noble society to publicly cause a commotion over a husband’s mistress.

Unless it was a case like Elise, who vented her anger in secret.

“A duchess…”

Cecilia set down her teacup with a bitter expression.

As Rainer said, when she first became a duchess in her previous life, she too had wanted for nothing.

But reality was different.

Exhausted by her husband’s increasingly cold attitude and Elise’s persistent pressure for children, she had grown thinner by the day.

And in the end, she had even been murdered by Rosena.

The position of duchess had been nothing more than a glamorous shell.

“That’s not what I need.”

Cecilia straightened her back as she spoke.

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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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