Liliana had always expected this day to come when she decided to marry Count Winder.
She looked at the person in front of her with a slightly nervous expression.
'This person is the one that the rumors are about...'
A woman adorned with dozens of jewels all over her body, dazzlingly.
Her purple hair and voluminous dress were extremely flashy, but they all just faded away before her face.
Anyone who saw the woman wouId have been amazed by her captivating beauty and exclaimed in amazement, but Liliana had to hold back.
Because Vanessa Winder was the one who would become her mother-in-law and no one else.
"Thank you for inviting me to the mansion, Mother. This is Liliana Locke."
Liliana, who was very nervous, greeted Vanessa cautiously and then looked at her expression excessively.
She couldn't help it.
It wasn't just because it was the first time she was meeting her future husband's parents.
Rather, it was because her future mother-in-law was famous in high society as a wicked woman who committed many evil deeds.
Liliana, who was carefully observing Vanessa's expression, suddenly felt bitter.
She never expected to be welcomed, but she didn't expect to be hated this much either.
Looking at Vanessa's furrowed brow, it seemed like she had already been firmly set on something.
"Hey, Mom."
"..."
"I should have come to greet you first, I apologize for being late."
Liliana mustered up the courage to speak to Vanessa again, hoping that her future mother-in-law's expression would soften even a little.
But unfortunately, all her efforts went in vain.
"You seem to be seriously mistaken about something."
Vanessa, who had been glaring at Liliana with her legs crossed provocatively, finally opened her mouth.
Liliana swallowed dryly at the uneasy line.
"... Yes?"
"Why do you think I called you here today?"
"That's it. I..."
Liliana had been worried ever since the day she received the letter from Vanessa asking her to visit the mansion.
[Come to Winder Manor, It would be best to keep this a secret from my son.]
A letter that doesn't even reveal the recipient.
But that short sentence contained a lot of meaning.
An additional note not to tell her son. Even just looking at that, it was obvious that it wasn't a good intention, but Liliana tried hard to ignore it.
'Surely...You're telling me to break up...'
That was something she couldn't accept. Liliana had to marry Jermione at any cost.
Otherwise, there would be no way to repay the huge debt that suddenly arose.
Liliana prayed fervently in her heart that her prediction was wrong but unfortunately, God was not on her side.
"Do you really think that you and my son are a good match?"
A shrill voice fell over her head. Liliana squeezed her eyes shut and made an excuse that wasn't an excuse.
"I know that Count Winder is more than enough for me. But..."
"I don't want to hear it, I won't say more."
As Vanessa snapped her fingers together, the maid waiting behind her placed an envelope as thick as an encyclopedia on the table.
The envelope was so heavy that she thought she could hear a thud.
Vanessa placed her hand on the envelope and pushed it in front of Liliana.
Finally, Vanessa finally blurted out the words she hated to hear the most.
"Leave my son alone. This amount of money will be enough."
Liliana clenched her jaw in shame and pushed the envelope full of checks back out.
"Mother. I can't accept this kind of money. I can't break up with that person."
However...
"Who is your mother! You poor thing!"
With an ear-piercing scream, Vanessa slapped Liliana across the face with a wad of checks.
Crack!
The envelope tore open with a loud bang, and the checks that had been tied around it scattered everywhere.
Checks poured down from the sky like rain.
Amidst the flurry of fluttering checks, Liliana collapsed to the floor in shock.
The ball that was hit turned bright red.
But despite her pitiful appearance, Vanessa remained steadfast and cold-hearted.
"I thought you were breaking up."
She turned around after spitting out a sharp and cruel word like a thorn.
Again, again, again.
The sound of footsteps grew distant and the door closed. Vanessa had left Liliana alone in the reception room.
"..."
Liliana, who was blankly staring at the spot where her future mother-in-law had disappeared, covered her sore cheek with one hand.
The hot flush reminded her of her miserable situation.
'Just because I'm married doesn't mean this marriage is good.'
Jermione Winder was certainly a wonderful man, but Liliana didn't love him, and neither did Jermione.
Liliana, a Princess with a huge debt to shoulder, and Jermione, a rich man without honor. The two simply needed each other's background.
A contractual marriage is strictly for each person's benefit.
But when she faced this situation, she couldn't help but feel aggrieved.
'But I have to hold on.'
If it weren't for this marriage, there would be no way to repay that debt right away.
'If I had a brother would things have been different?"
Her brother, who was more capable than she was, probably would have found a solution to this situation.
But for Liliana, this was the limit.
She has done everything she could to resolve the debt of 4.8 billion shillings.
She also visited nobles she was close with and asked the bank to lend her money.
But as if it had been arranged in advance, everyone rejected her mercilessly.
Only Jermione promised to help, although it was on the condition of a contractual marriage.
'I have to get Jermione's help somehow... Otherwise, my family..."
Liliana's head started spinning as she thought about the complicated family circumstances.
Liliana needed this contract marriage. No matter how shameful it was, there was nothing she could do about it.
So she sighed and crouched on the floor, picking up the fallen checks one by one.
Since she couldn't part with Jermione, she planned to save up the money and leave it on the table.
But something was strange.
"Huh, huh?"
She kept picking up checks and picking them up, but there was no end in sight.
Even though there were already over 300 sheets, there were still a lot of them piled up around.
Liliana continued to pick up money after that. She couldn't tell how many hours had passed.
Finally, when there were no more checks left lying around, she began to calculate the amount in a hurry.
She was shocked and astonished by the number of zeros, which were so numerous that it was difficult to even count them.
'Oh my God. This is 10 billion shillings.'
With a puzzled expression, Liliana stared at the bundle of checks in her hand.
Now that she looks at it, this money...
It's enough to pay off all the family's debts.
So in other words, this was too much money to turn down.
***
"What happened to Liliana?"
The servant who was setting up the table answered my question immediately.
"After collecting the bundle of checks, she left the mansion. I took her safely to the Duke of Locke's residence in case she encountered a robber on the way."
"Yeah, I like how this is being handled."
When I praised him in an unusual way, the servant seemed noticeably relieved. It seemed like he was nervous that I might misbehave again.
'How could I be so foolish on such a nice day? How foolish.'
I watched the servant quietly. The empty transparent glass was gradually filled with red wine.
"That's enough. Now go out."
When I waved my hand at the servant who was tidying up, he quickly finished his work and bowed his head.
"Rest in peace, Ma'am."
Squeak-
With the sound of the door closing, I was finally left alone in the bedroom.
In other words, it's finally time to celebrate!
"For the beautiful farewell of the female and male leads!"
I shouted happily in a small voice so that no one outside could hear. Then I clinked my glass in the air and drank the wine.
How much effort has gone into preparing for this day!
With a strange feeling, I recalled the events of the past few days.
***
So that was a week ago.
It was when I realized that I was actually a character in a novel.
If you ask me why, I have no answer. Because it was just a daily routine for me, who is known as a loser.
'Does this look like a 30-year-old thing to you? You should gouge out those useless eyes!'
I was angry at the servant who brought me the wrong wine, so I tried to throw the wine glass as I always did. Oh, of course, I was going to throw it at the wall. I may be a bad woman, but I'm not bad enough to assault someone.
But my hand slipped because of the wine that overflowed at that moment.
'Ahh!'
The glass that had been floating high in the sky hit my temporal lobe as it fell.
Puck!
A dull sound filled the dining room.
The sticky wine soaked my entire body, starting from my hair.
If it were a normal situation, I would have been even more furious and made a scene, but...
I had no choice but to sit still and gather my thoughts.
The moment I was hit in the head, I realized that I was in a novel.
"Hahahaha... That's ridiculous!"
As I let out a strange laugh with a crazy expression, the servants who had been guarding the area rushed at me.
'Ma'am, ma'am. Are you okay? Somebody, a doctor! Call a doctor!' Madam... Madam!'
'Quiet! Enough! Now be quiet!!'
When I shouted at the servants who were acting so rudely, they immediately stopped their actions.
They seemed surprised that I was somehow staying still and not causing a fuss, but I didn't have the presence of mind to pay attention to them.
Of all people, it had to be Vanessa Winder.....
It was because she wasn't an ordinary supporting character, but the female protagonist's villainous mother-in-law!
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