🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 31
By those standards, a son was a useful existence to Carlota.
Because he could inherit the throne.
The thing she herself had never been able to obtain simply because she had been born a woman, a daughter—above all, a second child…!
To make her son the emperor of the Croiton Empire, then absorb the Principality of Venetia as well.
And to become the owner of absolute power, pulling the strings behind such a son.
That was the once-in-a-lifetime goal she held.
“Come to think of it, where is our son?”
Having already forgotten her daughter who cried at the drop of a hat, the Empress asked an attendant about the Crown Prince’s whereabouts.
At that sight, Seirian sniffled and tugged at her mother’s hem.
“M-Mother… you were listening to Seirian just now.”
She deliberately put on an even more childlike voice to draw her mother’s attention.
Her beautiful mother.
The one she had admired endlessly since childhood.
Her mother’s selective indifference, and the coldness she occasionally showed, had turned Seirian into someone obsessively clinging to affection.
“There, there, my dear. There’s no need to cry just because you were set up on a meeting.”
The Empress soothed her in a hollow tone.
“That cold man would never fall head over heels for someone at first sight, anyway. More importantly, where is His Highness the Crown Prince?!”
“Th-That is, Your Majesty…”
At the sharp demand, the imperial knight who had been checking on the Crown Prince through a communication magic device hurriedly bowed.
“It appears His Highness has gone to watch the Chimera Race being held at the Mage Tower…!”
I hurried my steps after leaving the attic.
The Chimera Race was scheduled for two in the afternoon.
The dress fitting took longer than I expected. I need to hurry.
Still, there was something I had to do before heading to the arena.
Leaving my room, I headed not toward the main gate, but toward the mansion’s kitchen.
Just as I reached the corridor near the kitchen, two people in gorgeous dresses appeared from the other end of the hallway.
It was Sophia and Makaila.
Judging by their outfits, they were probably heading out shopping again.
Sophia spotted me in my old outing clothes and immediately raised an eyebrow.
“You! Where do you think you’re going? A married woman should stay quietly inside the house instead of wandering around!”
As if she herself didn’t go out every single day?
All dressed up extravagantly just to satisfy her vanity.
“Then may I ask what business the two of you have, going out instead of staying in the house?”
I asked as though I were genuinely curious.
At that, the two women—pouch in hand, clad in flashy dresses—looked flustered.
“W-We…! We have something important to take care of!”
Since when did luxury shopping count as important business?
But instead of saying that, I replied calmly.
“I’m not going out for no reason either. I have something urgent to do.”
“What business could you possibly have? It’s obviously nothing important! If you’re not going to that high-and-mighty Airington estate, then stay inside!”
“Why, Mother?”
I widened my clear eyes and asked as if I truly didn’t understand.
“Is there some reason I’m not allowed to go out?”
“W-What?”
Sophia pressed her lips together, like someone who’d been hit where it hurt.
Then her eyes gleamed slyly as she spoke.
“…There is, actually!”
With that, she dragged me straight to the kitchen.
“For dinner tonight, we’re making a stew with beans.”
Sophia proudly pointed at a sack full of green peas.
“So before that, as the daughter-in-law, you’ll shell all of these.”
Wow—this is truly classic in-law bullying!
I couldn’t help admiring the age-old, painfully obvious trick.
From Kongjwi and Patjwi to the fairy tale Cinderella.
Whether stepmothers or mothers-in-law, people who want to torment others with housework all seem to think the same way, regardless of era or world.
When I quietly admired it instead of shrinking back or apologizing, Sophia burst out angrily.
“What’s with that expression?! After visiting the Airington count’s estate, do you think our household is beneath you now?!”
Honestly, such an inferiority complex.
Makaila, standing beside her, quickly tried to calm Sophia down.
“Oh, Mother. Don’t be like that.”
Then she turned to me with a bright, sugary smile and added,
“Big Sister will definitely be able to shell all of these beans by herself before dinner, right?”
Ah.
So this is that situation where they say the sister-in-law who ‘steps in’ is more annoying than the mother-in-law who hits you.
Once again, I found myself impressed by the wisdom embedded in old proverbs as I replied,
“Yes, I understand.”
“…?”
“I’ll shell all of these by myself, so don’t worry and enjoy your shopping.”
Sophia’s angry expression softened slightly.
“…Good. You’ve been acting strangely lately, but it seems you’ve finally come to your senses.”
“Wow, then we can have a delicious green pea stew for dinner tonight, thanks to you, Big Sister!”
With Makaila’s words, still needling me to the very end, the two of them left the kitchen in high spirits.
“…I was going to the kitchen anyway, and now this happened?”
Should I say this worked out for the best?
I was muttering to myself when—
Snicker.
Giggle.
I heard mocking laughter around me.
Lifting my head with a blank expression, I saw the kitchen maids snickering at me.
“This was supposed to be our job. What should we do now?”
“I’d love to help, but Madam gave us very strict instructions.”
The maids spoke in an affectedly apologetic tone, dripping with malice.
“She said we absolutely must leave you to do it alone.”
“That’s right. If we help and get caught, we’ll be in serious trouble!”
Snicker, snicker.
Their laughter echoed through the basement kitchen.
I stood there silently, looking them over.
Right.
Since Sophia gave the order, it would be hard for the maids to disobey.
There weren’t many jobs a commoner woman could get in this empire.
Being a maid at a noble household was a pretty good position, so they were probably afraid of losing it.
As a former salaried worker myself, I could understand that.
But the problem is their attitude.
I didn’t expect them to help me.
But openly siding with the bullying and mocking me like that was clearly a matter of their character.
The maids laughed among themselves and dispersed back to their posts.
What must the original Eileen, born a noble yet despised by the entire household, have been thinking all that time?
The thought left a dull ache in my chest.
That was when—
Someone cautiously approached me as I stood blankly in the corner.
“…You.”
A short maid with long black hair.
She was someone from Eileen’s memories.
A maid who had come to the Morgans estate about three years ago.
Her name was… Benny, wasn’t it?
Even while being treated like this, Eileen had remembered the names of every maid in the house.
Benny glanced around at the others and then plopped down beside me in the corner.
Reaching for the sack of peas, she said,
“I’ll help you. It’d be too much alone, but if it’s the two of us, we can finish by dinner.”
After staring at her for a moment, I suddenly asked,
“…Why?”
“Huh?”
Startled by the unexpected question, Benny looked up at me, pea shell still in hand.
With an expressionless face, I asked again.
“Why are you helping me? I’m a bullied daughter-in-law, and siding with me won’t benefit you at all.”
In my memories, she had never bullied Eileen—but she had never stepped in to help either.
If even one person had done so, Eileen probably wouldn’t have suffered so much.
After hesitating briefly, Benny answered with a faint smile.
“…Actually, my older sister got married recently.”
And what does that have to do with— I wondered, when Benny lowered her gaze sadly and continued.
“She’s a commoner like me, but her in-laws look down on her terribly because we’re orphans.”
“……”
“Watching you, young madam… it keeps reminding me of my sister.”
Sniffling softly, Benny busied herself shelling peas.
She really was kind by nature.
Up until now, she must have simply been too conscious of Sophia and the other maids to step in and help Eileen.
It was an understandable situation.
That’s why I smiled gently at Benny and said,
“Alright. Then, since you’re helping anyway—how about this…”
“Yes, young madam?”
“Why don’t you shell these by yourself for a bit?”
“…Excuse me?”
