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Chapter 6. The Beginning of Change
When I opened the door to the sitting room, my father-in-law and mother-in-law were sitting side by side on the sofa.
A middle-aged man who had been tilting his teacup looked at me and spoke coldly.
“Come in.”
I quietly closed the door and stepped inside, stopping in front of him.
A man with tightly slicked-back brown hair streaked with gray, his expression sharp and severe.
Count Hopsin Morgans.
According to Aileen’s memories, he was cold and calculating, but among this family, he was the closest thing to a normal person.
He firmly believed that household matters should be left entirely to his wife, while a man should concern himself only with affairs outside the home—a thoroughly patriarchal mindset.
The type who believes a man loses his dignity the moment he steps into the kitchen.
In Aileen’s memories, she had seen that man flipping over his desk in a rage.
“Still, isn’t your mother-in-law the elder of this household? You should be more understanding.”
“But, Father—”
‘But?’ How dare you talk back to me!”
This was from early in their marriage, when Aileen, unable to endure her mother-in-law’s near-abusive harassment any longer, had cautiously asked him for help.
At first, Hopsin seemed willing to listen, but the moment Aileen tried to respond to his words, he overturned his desk in fury.
After that day, Aileen never spoke to her father-in-law first again.
Aileen simply didn’t know how to deal with people like him.
And sure enough—
Even today, Hopsin looked furious.
Seeing Sophia beside him wearing a smug, “Serves you right” expression, it was obvious she had already told him about yesterday’s events.
No doubt she had embellished it heavily, claiming I had dared to talk back to my mother-in-law.
Emma, who had been standing behind me, scurried over to Sophia and stood at her side.
She, too, wore an expression that seemed to say, Let’s see how you like this.
Ignoring those two completely, I bowed deeply to Hopsin first.
“Good morning, Father. You must be working hard again today for the sake of our family.”
Then I smiled warmly.
Well? This is the service smile of a café employee with ten years of experience.
As if my greeting were unexpected, one of Hopsin’s eyebrows shot up.
“Hmm. Well, well. For once, you’re greeting me so politely, daughter-in-law.”
Judging by his face, my greeting pleased him greatly.
Men like that—thoroughly patriarchal types—have a strong need for recognition.
If you just stroke that part of their ego, they become easier to handle than anyone else.
As if proving my prediction right, his expression softened and he spoke again.
“…Yes. I heard about yesterday’s disturbance. Were you upset about your hair being cut?”
So Sophia had told him that much in advance.
With such obvious evidence of my hair being cut, she must have thought it better to bring it up herself.
Yet despite hearing that his wife had cut his daughter-in-law’s hair, the harsh scolding was directed squarely at me.
“Hair grows back. How can the hierarchy of this household stand firm if you dare to talk back to your mother-in-law?”
And who exactly is the victim here?
No wonder Aileen never managed to hold her head high throughout her marriage.
In plain terms, she had been gaslighted by her in-laws.
Everything was always her fault.
They constantly forced her to believe that if only she behaved kindly and obediently, the household wouldn’t be in turmoil.
Aileen had been only seventeen when she married into this wretched family.
What could a young girl who had lost her parents—and even her memories—in an accident have known?
For ten years, under relentless gaslighting, her self-esteem had been crushed beyond repair.
But that good, obedient daughter-in-law named Aileen no longer existed.
I stood silently for a moment, then slowly opened my mouth.
“…Yes. You’re absolutely right, Father.”
Hopsin raised an eyebrow again, clearly taken aback by my response.
With men like him, it’s crucial to start by acknowledging them—You’re completely right.
They can’t stand anyone contradicting them.
And sure enough.
Looking somewhat satisfied, he turned his reproach not toward me, but toward Sophia.
“Yes. Sophia, you should also exercise some restraint. And what on earth is that hairstyle?”
“T-That is, dear…”
Sophia instinctively tried to explain herself.
But that was the wrong move.
“Ahem!”
Hopsin’s thunderous shout came down at once.
Sophia snapped her mouth shut, her expression shrinking.
Good. At this timing…
Feigning helplessness, I lowered my eyes and murmured softly.
“I’m sorry, Father. Even if I was in pain, I should have endured it better…”
At my words, Hopsin’s gaze immediately went to the bandage wrapped around my head.
“In pain…? Then could it be that injury…?”
Sophia and Emma both went pale.
As expected.
It seemed they hadn’t dared to tell him that someone had actually struck my head.
I looked at their faces and slowly continued.
“I’m fine, Father.”
Answering like the ever-obedient daughter-in-law, Sophia openly looked relieved.
Her expression seemed to say, I knew it.
Meeting her gaze squarely, I added calmly,
“…It must have been an accident on Emma’s part, after all.”
“……!”
Emma’s face turned deathly pale.
Seeing that, I barely managed to swallow my triumphant smile.
If I accused Sophia directly, the two of them would surely deny it.
And even if I were telling the truth, Hopsin would never easily take my side.
So for today, I would start by crushing the maid.
“….”
At my words, Sophia stood there, flustered, unable to speak.
She neither refuted me nor defended Emma.
Unable to hold back any longer, Emma finally shouted,
“I didn’t do it! The young madam is lying, sir!”
Tsk. You shouldn’t have said that.
Sure enough—
Hopsin’s face twisted in fury as he leapt to his feet, roaring.
“How dare a mere maid talk back to the daughter-in-law of the Morgans family!”
He looked ready to flip over the side table at any moment.
To him, the fact that a subordinate had defied the household hierarchy mattered far more than the fact that his daughter-in-law had been injured.
Only then did Sophia hurriedly step in to protect her maid.
“D-Dear, please calm down. Surely a maid wouldn’t be insane enough to strike a noblewoman?”
She approached her husband, soothing him gently.
“The daughter-in-law must be mistaken. You know how she is—her mind has always been…”
She was referring to the incident ten years ago when Aileen had lost her memories due to the shock of an accident.
Good grief. They really never get tired of dragging up something from ten years ago.
Might as well boil it into bone broth at this point.
But it wasn’t as though I had orchestrated this without a plan.
“S-Sob… Mother must find it hard to believe. But it’s really true…”
Still pretending to know nothing, I spoke with a pitiful, innocent face.
“There should be shards of a vase under that sofa, Father—ones that haven’t been cleaned up yet.”
“T-That can’t be!”
Emma immediately cried out, her face drained of color.
Sophia reached out desperately to stop her, but it was too late.
“I already cleaned up all the pieces! On the madam’s orders— Ah.”
Only then did Emma hurriedly clamp her mouth shut.
But the water had already been spilled.
Silence.
An awkward stillness filled the sitting room.
How long did it last?
At this point, even Hopsin couldn’t pretend not to notice.
Sensing that the situation had spiraled beyond control, Sophia finally chose to cut off the tail.
“I—I don’t know anything about this.”
Emma screamed, her face contorted in shock.
“Madam! How could you do this to me?!”
“So it seems you cherish me more than your daughter-in-law, Madam!”
Oh dear. Did she really believe that?
That Sophia would protect her—a mere maid—until the very end?
But Sophia was thoroughly ignoring Emma’s desperate gaze.
Watching that almost comical scene, I curled my lips into a satisfied smile.
You chose the wrong person to be loyal to, Emma.
Hopsin, who had been watching everything with a troubled expression, finally spoke slowly.
“…A maid laying hands on the daughter-in-law of the Morgans family. Absolutely unacceptable.”
