Episode 4: A Private Meeting with Prospective Daughter-in-Law Liliana, Who Came in Frightened
The central drawing room on the first floor of the Duke of Castillo. In the middle of the spacious room, adorned with opulent gold leaf decorations and the finest velvet sofas, a small, frail figure sat huddled low. It was Liliana von Werner, the daughter of the fallen Count Werner family and the bride-to-be to marry Claude, the Young Duke of Castillo, in a month.
"Hmph..."
Liliana bit her pale lips tightly, her hands resting on her knees, trembling. The faded pale pink dress she wore stood out against the opulent scene of the drawing room, making her plight look even more wretched. Her father, buried in debt, had married her off as if selling her off in exchange for financial support from the Castillo family.
"What am I to do? His Excellency the Young Duke didn't even come out to greet me, and I've heard that the mistress, Eleanor, is a terrifying woman without a heart or soul."
Tears of fear welled up in Liliana's pale green eyes. In the capital's social circles, rumors about Eleanor, the mistress of Castillo, were notorious. A ruthless witch who beheads people with a smile, a heart of ice whom even the Emperor dares not treat lightly. On top of that, hadn't the terrible sounds of the Duke and the Young Duke screaming and fleeing from the hallway outside the drawing room just moments ago been heard?
Whether aware of her anxiety or not, the maids standing in the corner of the drawing room were glancing at Liliana and whispering amongst themselves.
"Tsk tsk, how pitiful. Her husband is so infatuated with his mistress that he hasn't even shown his face."
"I know, right. Since she is of fallen nobility, you can imagine how harshly the Madam will treat her. She even served tea brewed haphazardly with leftover tea leaves. She won't last a few days anyway and will be kicked out."
The maids' rude whispering pierced Liliana's ears. However, unable to even protest, Liliana simply bowed her head low. She was merely fiddling with the teacup containing the cold, cheap black tea. Just then. Click, the heavy drawing room door opened, and a chilling, overwhelming energy of mana surged into the room.
"M-Madam!"
The maids, who had been chatting in the corner, turned pale and prostrated themselves on the floor in unison. Guided by the head butler, Hans, the person who entered was Eleanor, the ruler of Castillo, clad in a blood-red velvet dress.
'Hick...!'
Liliana gasped and sprang to her feet. Eleanor, whom she had only heard about in rumors, was in person more alluring and intimidating than she had ever imagined. In particular, the moment her red eyes met hers, Liliana's legs gave way, and she nearly collapsed onto the spot.
"L-Liliana of the Count Werner family, I-1 greet the Mistress of Castillo...!"
Liliana offered an awkward bow, clutching the hem of her skirt with a trembling voice. Squeezing her eyes shut in terror, she thought her mother-in-law might approach her and slap her or throw the hot tea she was holding in her face. After all, it was a common tactic used by vicious mothers-in-law in high society to assert dominance. However, contrary to Liliana's expectations, what landed on the crown of her head was a soft sigh.
"Haa."
Eleanor let out a small sigh as she approached Liliana. The pitiful face that had called out to her while spitting blood at the threshold of death before the regression overlapped before her eyes.
With what courage had this timid and cowardly little girl pushed away the Imperial Guard's spears with her bare hands and run toward me?
Eleanor's red eyes flickered with tenderness. Her gaze turned toward Liliana's faded dress, the cold teacup, and the maids crouching in the corner.
"Butler Hans."
Eleanor's voice froze as cold as the freezing weather.
"Yes, yes, Madam!"
"I clearly told you to attend to my distinguished guest. To serve such cheap tea made from leftovers to the girl who is to become my daughter-in-law, and leave her neglected in a freezing room with no proper heating. Did Castillo's servants learn to treat their master's guests like this?"
"M-M-Madam! Th-that..."
The maids trembled like aspen leaves and tried to make excuses, but as a massive curtain of mana flickered behind Eleanor, everyone froze with their mouths agape.
"Brew a fresh cup of the finest chamomile tea immediately, and bring the softest blanket and brazier in the estate. Those rude maids are dismissed from the Duke's mansion as of today. You scoundrel! Hans, for establishing such discipline in the inner court, will also be punished with a three-month pay cut."
"I will keep that in mind, Madam! I will take immediate action!"
Hans turned pale and dragged the maids out of the drawing room as if chasing them away. As the situation was resolved in an instant, Liliana looked up at Eleanor with wide eyes. She could not believe that her fearsome mother-in-law had sternly reprimanded the servants on her behalf.
"Liliana."
The voice, which had been as cold as ice just moments ago, changed to a gentle and affectionate tone like a spring breeze, as if nothing had happened. Eleanor sat down on the sofa herself and tapped the seat next to her.
"Come sit here. Your legs will hurt if you just stand there trembling."
"Ah, ah, ah... Yes, Madam..."
Startled like a rabbit, Liliana hurriedly sat down beside Eleanor. However, she remained frozen, keeping her distance. Watching Liliana like that, Eleanor felt a pang in her heart. Before her regression, she had been too sensitive, guarding the estate and cleaning up after her trashy husband and son. So, unable to offer a single kind word to her daughter-in-law, who was so intimidated, she had instead coldly pushed her, saying, 'To become the mistress of Castillo, you must become ruthless.'
How much must that coldness have gnawed away at this child? Eleanor slowly reached out and gently wrapped Liliana's frozen hands around her own warm ones.
"M-Madam?"
Liliana flinched at the unfamiliar yet affectionate warmth embracing her hands.
"You were very scared, my dear."
"I..."
Liliana's eyes trembled violently at the gentle comfort that came from Eleanor's lips. 'My dear.' She never dreamed that a Grand Noble, the true power behind the Empire, would send such a warm gaze toward her, a woman sold out to debt.
"You must have had a hard time traveling such a long distance, and I apologize for my rough welcome. There was a bit of a commotion in the office just now as we were sorting out some useless trash."
"T-Trash... you mean?"
"Yes. The people behind that terrible scream you just heard. One of them is my wretched son, who didn't come out to greet you today and was instead out fooling around with a vulgar woman."
Liliana gasped at Eleanor's bluntness. A mother-in-law apologizing while calling her own son trash.
"You must have heard the rumors, too. That my son Claude has a mistress named Vivian."
"Ah... that, that is."
"There is nothing to hide. I, your mother, apologize on his behalf for Claude's rudeness in leaving you, his bride-to-be, alone in the mansion while he fooled around with that woman. And I guarantee you, from now on, you will never shed a tear in my mansion because of those vulgar things."
Eleanor squeezed Liliana's hand a little tighter. Her red eyes held a firm resolve devoid of a single lie.
"I will make it so. You just need to fully enjoy the rights you deserve here in Castillo."
At that moment, the tears that had been welling up in Liliana's eyes suddenly fell. Having lost her mother early, she had spent her entire life living on mere scraps under a stepmother and a debt-ridden father. Even when she came to Castillo, she had resigned herself to the fact that she would have to live like an invisible person for the rest of her life, enduring her husband's coldness and her mother-in-law's abuse.
Yet, the very mother-in-law she feared most was holding her hand and saying she would be her shield.
"Hmph. M-Madam..."
Released from her tension, Liliana finally bowed her head and burst into tears. Eleanor silently took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the child's cheek. The fragrant scent of chamomile tea filled the drawing room warmly. After crying for quite a while, Liliana lifted her head, her nose turning red.
"I-I am sorry, Madam. I made such a fool of myself."
"No. Knowing how to cry without holding it back is also a form of courage."
Eleanor brushed back Liliana's disheveled pink hair and smiled slowly. It was now time to bring out her hidden talents.
"Liliana. You are a truly smart and talented child."
"Huh...? Me-me? I know nothing, and I'm just a cowardly fool."
"No, you are more brilliant than anyone I have ever seen."
Eleanor snapped her fingers in the air, retrieving three thick leather ledgers and a bundle of parchment containing complex calculations from the subspace, and placed them on the table.
Thump.
Liliana's eyes widened at the sound of the heavy stack of documents settling.
"I did not summon you to this mansion merely to fill the wife of my foolish son."
Eleanor's cool yet alluring red eyes stared straight at Liliana.
"Instead of the shell of being my son's wife... wouldn't you like to become the true heir of Castillo?"
It was the moment the wheel of destiny began to turn, perfectly meshing around the two women.
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