She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 71

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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 71. Chess Piece (1)

“…What?”

Rosena gasped for a moment.

The candlelight hanging in the corridor flickered.

“The Dowager Duchess… killed someone?”

“Shh.”

Cecilia brought her finger to her lips.

Then she glanced back behind Rosena.

“This is a corridor. Even the walls have ears, so we must be careful.”

“Ha, you’re trying to deceive me right now, aren’t you?”

Rosena gritted her teeth.

The tiara sparkling above Cecilia’s head was irritating to her eyes.

Of course, she had fought with Elise.

But wasn’t Cecilia an even more untrustworthy opponent?

‘There’s no reason for her to say such things to me.’

Rosena looked up at Cecilia with distrustful eyes.

“What do you gain from teasing me with such words?”

“Teasing?”

Cecilia raised her eyebrows slightly.

“I came here out of genuine concern for you.”

“Concern? You for me?”

“Rosena.”

Cecilia shook her head as if feeling sorry instead.

“If the Dowager Duchess had wanted to, Evan would have been released long ago. But look now. Where is your husband?”

“….”

“Why did you suffer for two weeks in that labor camp, and why did the Dowager Duchess say nothing during that time?”

“That’s because you slandered the Dowager Duchess―”

“No, you still don’t understand.”

Cecilia quietly cut her off.

At those confident eyes, Rosena bristled but couldn’t argue back.

“The Dowager Duchess hired a new tutor for Jeremy yesterday. For a child who’s barely one year old. What do you think this means?”

“…What?”

“It means she’s given up on you two now and will focus only on Jeremy.”

Cecilia gently placed her hand on Rosena’s shoulder and whispered.

“I just told you. The Dowager Duchess has killed someone before.”

“Then….”

“That’s right.”

Cecilia’s voice sank coldly.

“There’s no law saying she won’t do the same thing again to take the child away.”

Rosena’s face turned pale in an instant.

Setting aside her affection for the child.

Jeremy was her last card to stand against Elise.

But if even that were taken away?

Just imagining it made her vision blur and her chest feel tight.

“Of course, believing is your choice, Rosena.”

Cecilia slowly lowered her head.

She whispered quietly near her ear.

“But my husband’s mother never imagined that a noble great aristocrat would burn her to death.”

Rosena’s eyes widened.

The person Elise killed was Rainer Hays’s mother?

Rosena suddenly remembered something from the estate.

Rainer’s terrible killing intent when he grabbed Elise’s throat.

It was resentment over his mother.

“….”

Rosena’s mouth opened and closed but no words came out.

If she had known this fact earlier.

She could have used it as her own card.

But the initiative was already in Cecilia’s hands.

“Her death is still known as an accident. Even though Rainer became duke.”

“Such….”

“So you be careful too. If the Dowager Duchess sets her mind to it, making Evan disappear from the labor camp would be nothing. Same goes for you.”

Cecilia withdrew her hand while feigning a worried expression.

“Anyway, I should go now. I think I’ve said too much.”

She turned around.

For now, the fear in Rosena’s eyes was enough.

A small hole in a dam was bound to grow larger after the night passed.

She was confident that fear like a great flood would soon swallow Rosena whole.

* * *

A few days later.

Below the clock tower in the town square was quiet.

The noon bell had just finished ringing, and people were dispersing one by one.

Among them, Rainer and Cecilia were walking side by side.

“So, did you shake up Rosena March well?”

While Cecilia stopped in front of a flower bed and looked down at the flowers.

Rainer asked naturally.

“Rosena March? When did Evan become a Hays?”

“Then Rosena Osburn?”

“Really, you.”

Cecilia chuckled at Rainer’s cheekiness.

It was a stubborn attitude that he would never acknowledge Rosena as a Hays even if he died.

That sight was amusing yet strangely pleasing.

Soon her expression became serious again.

“I’ve planted the suspicion for now. Rosena values her own safety above all else, so she definitely won’t stay still.”

She knew Rosena’s temperament better than anyone.

This time she planned to use that selfishness as a chess piece.

“Rosena will eventually come to suspect the Dowager Duchess.”

She said in a low voice.

“And she’ll do anything to protect herself.”

Wasn’t she the woman who even killed Cecilia for the sake of Evan and her own reputation?

With that kind of momentum, there would be nothing she couldn’t do.

Cecilia truly thought so.

Though she felt strangely odd.

“…Somehow it feels awkward to say with my own mouth that I trust Rosena.”

“Indeed.”

Rainer laughed quietly.

“I thought perhaps the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship had improved.”

“Haha, as if that could happen.”

Cecilia shrugged her shoulders lightly.

What person in the world could face someone who killed them with laughter and smiles?

But she couldn’t tell Rainer such a story.

Instead, Cecilia silently took Rainer’s hand.

She felt his hand hesitate.

“Cecilia?”

“It seems they’ve recognized us over there.”

Cecilia gave a slight glance.

There, several people were stealing glances in their direction.

As usual, but especially after the tiara incident, the Duke and Duchess of Hays were always at the center of attention.

At times like this, they needed to show the appearance of an affectionate couple in front of people.

“Anyway, I still can’t completely trust that woman Rosena.”

Rainer spoke as they began walking.

He clearly remembered the vicious expression on Rosena’s face.

When she had framed Cecilia with that actor last time.

For such a woman to move on Cecilia’s behalf.

“Cecilia, I think that woman might harm you again, so it would be better to keep your distance if possible—”

“Oh my, isn’t this the Duke of Hays! Your wife is here too!”

Just then, Rainer’s words were cut off by a voice that suddenly interrupted.

It was a baron they had exchanged greetings with a few times at previous banquets.

He approached with delight and quickly inserted himself between the two.

It was clear he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to converse with the ducal couple.

“My, for Your Grace to come out for a walk like this… it’s quite a rare sight!”

“It’s nothing special.”

Rainer nodded politely.

The baron looked around excitedly by himself.

Soon he pointed to a tree standing tall beside the clock tower and clapped his hands.

“Ah, speaking of which, this tree!”

Naturally, Cecilia and Rainer’s gazes turned in that direction.

In the middle of the garden stood a tree with gently drooping branches.

“It’s a lumia flower tree imported from a neighboring kingdom. Our family handles the import.”

The baron spoke with considerable pride, straightening his back.

And rightfully so.

White flower-like fruits hung in clusters between the light green leaves.

The fruit clusters glowed translucently in the sunlight.

“Oh my, is that so? How wonderful that you brought something so beautiful to the Empire.”

“Isn’t it?”

At Cecilia’s praise, the baron’s face became even more excited.

He continued as if he had been waiting for this.

“There’s a legend that lovers or married couples who share a kiss under this tree will have good fortune.”

“Good fortune?”

“Yes, so in the kingdom, people welcoming the new year or facing important events line up in front of the tree. Of course, it’s just superstition.”

The baron patted his chest, saying that this year, people of the Empire would probably line up under it as well.

Cecilia smiled silently and listened to his story.

How much time had passed?

When the bell rang announcing the half hour, the baron finally hesitated.

“Oh dear, look at me.”

He laughed, hitting his forehead.

“I was on my way to the shooting club and look at my absent-mindedness. Your Grace, would you perhaps visit our shooting club sometime?”

“I shall.”

The baron respectfully handed over the club’s business card, then bowed repeatedly before hurrying away.

Under the flower tree, only Cecilia and Rainer remained again.

“I met him for the first time today, but he’s quite talkative—”

Cecilia, who had been speaking with a smile, suddenly stopped.

On her cheek.

She felt a warm, soft touch carefully brush against her and then withdraw.

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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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