Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 56

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

Chapter 56
‘Is his mother a fish cake vendor? She looks exactly like Carcel.’
The portraits had been so alike that I hadn’t noticed it then.
But Carcel seemed to resemble his mother more.
That’s when I heard someone speaking behind us.
“Your Grace, is this handkerchief perhaps your wife’s?”
At those words, I turned belatedly, rummaging through my clothes.
But no matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for a handkerchief to be missing, so I tilted my head in confusion.
“Did I drop the handkerchief?”
“I shall retrieve it.”
Carcel set Linea down again.
And while I naturally took Linea’s hand, Carcel slipped outside through the entrance.
That instant.
Bang!
The entrance door swung shut with a loud thud.
Soon after came the sound of voices from outside—Carcel’s and others’.
“I-I’m terribly sorry, Your Grace!”
“Don’t let him go! This is worse than any wild beast!”
“Your Grace, if you’ll just wait outside for a moment, it’ll be over! The lady said so! Please!”
While everyone outside was making such a fuss, my mother-in-law, seated deep within the reception room, wore a satisfied smile.
“Success.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“At last, we’re alone.”
At her calm words, so at odds with the situation, I pressed closer to Linea, trembling.
My voice came out thin and strained as I asked.
“Mother-in-law…?”
“That’s right, dear.”
“But it seems Carcel’s been caught by the people outside…?”
“Yes. I told them to do so.”
But then—why…?
Why did the reception room, flooded with bright sunlight, suddenly feel so cold?
Around my mother-in-law at the head seat, a dark aura seemed to creep and writhe.
Without meaning to, our eyes met.
A soft gasp escaped me.
But faced with this beautiful middle-aged woman who had just sent Carcel away, I had no idea what to say.
So I only hunched my shoulders in silence.
My mother-in-law tilted her head, curled her lips into a smile, and commanded me.
“Come here, dear.”
“Yes!”
I crept forward slowly, keeping Linea hidden behind my back.
Why did I find myself instinctively adopting a submissive posture before her?
Without thinking, I bowed deeply at a right angle.
“I—I’m meeting you for the first time, Mother-in-law. My name is Asha Rivandel! I’ve brought a gift since I couldn’t come empty-handed!”
“You and your gift. How wasteful.”
To my ears, it translated automatically as ‘What does a mere nobody like you think you’re doing bringing a gift?’
I immediately resolved to dispose of the gift box I was holding.
“I’ll throw it away at once!”
“Even so, you went to the trouble of preparing it with care, so hand it over.”
“Yes!”
With no Carcel to protect me, I meekly offered the gift with both hands.
“My, what is this.”
As she unwrapped the gift, my mother-in-law let out a soft laugh.
I bowed my head in apology.
“I’m terribly sorry!”
“Don’t waste money like that.”
“Yes!”
“Silly little things like you—so uselessly tiny, so uselessly cute, so uselessly beautiful—shouldn’t be squandering money.”
“Yes… eh?”
My mother-in-law gazed down at the jewelry necklace I had given her and murmured.
“Little creatures like you wouldn’t know anything. Don’t go running around on sore feet trying to buy me gifts. Just sit there and putter about. Leave all the tedious and disagreeable tasks to Carcel.”
“Oh, yes?”
“Sit.”
At her graceful command, Linea and I found ourselves sitting on the sofa beside her without resistance.
Bang! Bang!
Suddenly the entrance door shook as though it might shatter.
“Mother! Open this door at once!”
“Is the anesthetic ready yet? Bring it quickly!”
Despite the vicious tone of those words, my mother-in-law merely clicked her tongue softly, as though disappointed.
“The boy’s outlived his usefulness, yet he still tries to enter my house.”
But he’s your son…?
As I glanced at her nervously, my mother-in-law shook her head firmly.
“He brought my daughter-in-law and granddaughter. That should be enough. Why would he expect to be received as a guest?”
Her expression made it clear she genuinely did not want her son inside.
She was treating Carcel merely as a delivery service, nothing more—and wouldn’t even let him enter.
‘So it’s true, just as Carcel said—his relationship with his mother is not good at all.’
When I saw that look of utter disdain, all I could do was try to redirect her attention.
“Um, Mother-in-law? But since we came to introduce ourselves now that we’re married, wouldn’t it be better if Carcel were present…?”
“Surely you don’t want that either?”
My mother-in-law shook her head.
“Don’t worry. Anticipating this, I had the entrance door remade a few days ago from a material that even a demonic beast couldn’t destroy.”
“I beg your pardon?!”
Why would you do that?!
My mother-in-law rolled her eyes at the trembling door.
“Won’t you introduce me to my granddaughter, dear?”
Bang-bang! Bang!
“We’ve failed! Is there any anesthetic?!”
“Asha! Daughter! Are you all right?”
While my mother-in-law addressed me peacefully, outside was utter chaos.
Unlike me, who couldn’t concentrate through the screams of the people outside, my mother-in-law remained unruffled.
She turned her gaze to Linea and continued in a captivating voice.
“So your name is Linea?”
“…Hic, yes, Mother-in-law!”
Perhaps because Linea had learned the word “mother-in-law” from watching me, my mother-in-law curved her crimson lips into a smile.
“Such a clever little thing.”
I had thought Carcel’s expression had grown indifferent.
But the original source of that terrifying look was someone else entirely.
Each time my mother-in-law smiled, my spine went cold.
Linea was no different. The child trembled far more than when she’d first seen Carcel’s Death Smile.
I squeezed Linea’s hand reassuringly.
In a voice that somehow felt sinister, my mother-in-law spoke coolly.
“What should I do with such an overly clever child?”
Her tone was as though she meant to inflict punishment.
At that, Linea too lowered her head and apologized urgently.
“I—I’m sorry! I can b—become stupid right now!”
“Did I ask for that?”
Linea’s eyes glistened as though she might cry at any moment.
Still, the child shook her head desperately, as if determined to show proper respect.
Even I, an adult, found her frightening—how much worse it must be for a child.
I quickly stepped between Linea and my mother-in-law and pressed on.
“Um, Mother-in-law? Couldn’t you let Carcel come in as well?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But why…?”
“Hasn’t my son deceived you at least once? Given his nature, I’m sure he used every trick in the book before marrying you, didn’t he?”
She had that knowing look about her.
In fact, there was something Carcel had lied to me about before we married.
Sensing my hesitation, my mother-in-law’s eyes lit up with triumph.
“My son he may be, but look at his face—he looks like a common criminal. Isn’t it hard living with him?”
“N-No?”
Mother-in-law, have you looked in a mirror?
Faced with such words from a woman of equally harsh features, I had nothing to say.
And then, at last, my mother-in-law subtly coaxed me.
“Just stay at the Duke’s Residence.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
My mind filled with a cascade of question marks as though something had crashed.
At my mother-in-law’s bold ambition to abduct her daughter-in-law and granddaughter without Carcel, even I lost my words for a moment.
Then it happened.
Crash! Shatter!
With the sound of something bursting apart, one of the windows outside the reception room exploded into fragments.
“Mother!”
Carcel had arrived.
He broke through the glass window and entered the reception room with sharp grace, not a scratch on him.
At that, my mother-in-law rolled her eyes and let out an obvious sigh.
Seeing his mother’s reaction, Carcel’s brow furrowed and he smiled aggressively.
“Now, return Asha and my daughter to me.”
As Carcel hurried toward us, my mother-in-law opened her mouth softly to call him back.
“My son.”
“…Yes.”
My mother-in-law lifted her gaze and looked up at Carcel, asking.
“Have I ever told you that I wanted to have a proper conversation with you someday?”
Hearing those words, I finally understood the entire situation.
Yes—even if she had to use a strange daughter-in-law and granddaughter as intermediaries, she wanted to speak with her son.
Carcel answered coldly.
“No. You have never said such a thing, Mother.”
“Then why are you speaking to me now? I don’t wish to converse with you.”

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