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Chapter : 07
Rachel tidied up the book she had been reading and slowly walked alone through the hall.
Berengela stood at the entrance of the mansion with an arrogant expression, scanning the hall. When she spotted Rachel coming down the stairs, she covered her face with a fan and snapped at her.
“Your household management is a mess. Countess Rachel, why can’t you manage even a relatively small mansion properly like this?”
Rachel ignored Berengela’s words and greeted her politely. Whatever someone who would soon no longer be family said didn’t matter to her.
“Mother, you’ve arrived.”
“Countess, it’s been a long time.”
Within the courteous honorifics lay contempt, and every movement was flawlessly elegant and dignified.
Beauty crafted solely for display—that was Berengela’s defining trait.
Berengela was a typical noble matriarch who valued dignity, honor, discipline, and titles above all else.
Theodore worked in the capital and the imperial palace largely because of Berengela’s ambition. She constantly nagged that in order to succeed, one had to make an impression on the great figures of the imperial palace.
Theodore had started working at the palace both because he could freely meet Jane and because it allowed him to distance himself from Berengela.
When Berengela heard that Theodore had been assigned to prepare the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, she was overjoyed. She rejoiced, saying that the future of the Elosa Count family was finally bright.
A sharp light flickered in Berengela’s eyes, visible beyond her fan.
“Countess. Don’t you think the mansion’s decorations are far too rustic? If you are going to live in the capital, shouldn’t you maintain proper refinement? Honestly, what era are these curtains and ornaments from?”
“I apologize for my shortcomings and for causing you concern.”
“Good that you at least know it. Nowadays, people import heavy, old-fashioned styles from the southern regions…”
“Was your carriage journey not too exhausting? I will listen to the details slowly, so could you please wait in the reception room? I will bring tea.”
Berengela, who had been about to continue her complaints, shut her mouth.
Indeed, the carriage journey had been exhausting. The food she had eaten on the way was poor, and sitting for so long had made her back ache.
“…That’s a good idea. Then I will rest in the reception room for a while. Please prepare food and drinks—something fashionable in the capital.”
Very much like Berengela’s demands.
Just as Rachel was about to send a servant to prepare refreshments and food for Berengela in the reception room, Theodore returned to the mansion. His face was pale, as though he feared being scolded by his mother.
Rachel clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘A man nearly thirty and still afraid of his mother.’
Of course, outwardly she continued to act like a dutiful wife.
“You’re already back? You don’t look well. Did you come back too quickly?”
“Ah, no. The Crown Prince’s birthday banquet turned out to be more elaborate than expected, so I got a bit tired. I was just about to come home, and it seems Mother arrived at a good time.”
It was true that Theodore was putting a lot of effort into the Crown Prince’s banquet. The Crown Prince was the next emperor, so it was only natural to try to earn favor.
While handing his coat to Carl, Theodore began boasting.
“Do you know how big the banquet has become? Even Grand Duke Cian and the High Priest Titiyenis, who rarely appear in public, have announced they will attend!”
“Oh my, really?”
Originally, Rachel had no intention of attending a banquet prepared by Theodore, but it seemed she would have to change her mind.
It would be unacceptable to miss an official banquet attended by her future in-laws—no, Cian.
“If the banquet has become that grand, I suppose I should attend this year as well.”
“Mm, then it can’t be helped—wait, what?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Don’t you hate this kind of thing? I thought you definitely wouldn’t go.”
“That’s right. I hate crowded banquets.”
“Then…”
Theodore’s eyes sparkled with expectation, but it was pointless.
“You’re the one preparing the banquet. I should at least show my face. Everyone else will go with their partners—what would people say if only you went alone? It would also be disrespectful to Mother.”
At the mention of “Mother,” Theodore let out a groan.
“Well, that’s true, but don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes. I still have something Mother asked me to do, so I’ll go out and talk later after I finish.”
“Something? What did Mother ask you to do?”
“She said she wants to try food that’s popular in the capital.”
“Oh! I know all about that! I’ll go myself!”
He immediately put his coat back on and rushed out of the mansion.
It was ridiculous—avoiding time with the mother who raised him by voluntarily running errands meant for servants.
Rachel brought simple snacks and drinks and went to the reception room.
“Mother, the food from the capital will be brought by the Count. You must be hungry, so please try these first.”
“The Count himself went to fetch food for his mother? Even though he is so busy, to take on such a troublesome task…”
She said that, but she seemed quite pleased.
“If you are leading such a large banquet, it must be very difficult. Please take good care of the Count as well, Countess. Make sure he eats well and rests well.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how difficult it is to protect and grow a family? Before Count Theodore was born, the Elosa family was originally small and insignificant…”
She then went on proudly describing how she and the late Count had built the Elosa Count family into what it was now.
It was a story Rachel had no interest in, so she let it go in one ear and out the other, responding with “Yes, yes.”
After a long while, Berengela finally began speaking about something Rachel was actually interested in.
“I hear that the Grand Duke and the High Priest, who are usually difficult to see in public, will also attend the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet. If they are attending personally, it must mean they approve of the banquet prepared by Count Elosa. This is a good opportunity to make an impression.”
Berengela paused and stared at Rachel.
It was obvious what she was about to say next—something like telling her to ingratiate herself with Cian.
“I heard the Grand Duke’s daughter is about Graham’s age.”
What?
Rachel frowned.
Berengela’s expression also hardened.
“What is that expression, Countess?”
“Are you planning to use Graham as a means to get close to the Grand Duke?”
“What would be wrong with that? If the Grand Duke’s daughter and Graham become friends, it will benefit the Elosa family.”
Reuniting Dolorasa and Graham was indeed Rachel’s goal. But that had to be only after Graham “abandoned the Elosa name,” and only if it was entirely “by Graham’s own will.”
Even if they were lovers in the original story, they could not be bound together through political gain.
There was a good example right in front of her—Theodore. Because he had a “political marriage,” he could not develop feelings for Rachel.
She could not turn Graham into another Theodore.
Rachel looked straight at Berengela.
The original Rachel would have been far more afraid of Berengela than Theodore ever was. She had never once met her eyes like this.
Berengela narrowed her eyes.
“Countess. Your expressions today are quite varied. Have you forgotten all etiquette after meeting a family elder for the first time in a long while?”
“I’m sorry, Mother, but I do not wish to use Graham as a means to get close to the Grand Duke.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Graham is only four years old. He is too young and delicate to be used for political or economic gain.”
“Nonsense. Four is more than enough. If you have forgotten, it was at that age that the Count first spoke about marrying me.”
“I am aware. That is precisely why I am saying this. Four is absolutely not an age where one should be used for the sake of a family.”
“…Countess.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Do you even realize what you are doing to me right now?”
“I am expressing my opinion.”
“No matter how much times have changed, to speak to the mother who gave birth to the Count in such a manner… I can hear the discipline of the Count family collapsing to the ground. Are you acting the same way toward the Count as well?”
The one truly undermining the Count family’s discipline was him.
Theodore’s affair with Jane had not yet become widely known, so many people had not realized it—but after Jane’s last visit, most servants in the mansion had begun to suspect it.
“It’s a secret, but just you know. Count Theodore Elosa has brought a woman home.”
“A woman? What kind of woman?”
“I don’t know. She wore fancy clothes, but she didn’t understand noble etiquette at all.”
“Wait, a commoner? The Count invited a commoner guest?”
“Come to think of it, I once saw the Count with a woman on the street…”
“Oh, so the rumors are true? Someone said they saw the Count kissing a woman in an alley!”
“The Count is having an affair?”
“My goodness, so he brought the woman he’s having an affair with into the mansion and introduced her to his wife?”
The rumors spreading among the servants were being passed on to other households. It was only a matter of time before it spread further—because noblewomen who enjoyed gossip were everywhere.
Berengela, unaware of all this, continued her thunderous lecture in the reception room.
“How dare you speak to me like that. Who do you think made the current Count family what it is? It is all the result of me rigorously training the Count since childhood. Do you understand?”
“That so-called rigorous training seems to have been quite useless.”
“What… Countess! How dare you utter such nonsense!”
“Mother, do you truly believe you raised your son well?”
“Of course I do!”
With such a man, how could he have been having an affair for years with a commoner woman nine years younger than me?
Rachel wondered how Berengela’s face would twist when she learned the truth. Unfortunately, this was not the time to reveal the affair.
Suppressing her laughter, Rachel pretended to fall into thought.
“My opinion is a little different, Mother.”
“Countess. How dare you speak such words?”
“Could you wait a moment?”
“Countess! Leaving in the middle of a conversation like this—!”
Ignoring Berengela’s shouting, Rachel went into the study and returned to the reception room with a freshly organized ledger.
“Here. Please read this.”
“What is this?”
“A ledger. The son you raised so well has been embezzling the Count family’s assets and evading taxes for years.”
“What… what did you say?”
It was a shocking revelation. For Berengela, who valued reputation and public perception even more than her own life, her son’s tax evasion was a disgrace.
