SMC 10

Chapter 10

(10) The Great Clash Between Mother and Son

“Don’t tell me the butler is embezzling the allowance that’s supposed to go to you?”

At those words, Roan almost choked while eating boiled pork. She glared at Alexis.

“As if that could happen! That butler doesn’t have two or three lives to spare!”

“Then what?”

Alexis asked back, still unable to understand. His face was full of confusion.

“Why else? It’s because your family gives me too little living money!”

At that, Alexis fell into shock and quietly put down his spoon. His mouth hung open.

“Our family… I mean……”

He couldn’t even finish his sentence. Roan, who was eating her soup, shot him a look.

What, did his mouth freeze or something? Then she realized—so he didn’t know.

“They just give enough for me to barely get by, right?”

“Ah, yes… well, something like that.”

Thinking about it, she wasn’t even the “real Roan,” and technically she was freeloading. Maybe she had spoken too openly about money. Feeling a bit embarrassed, her tone turned blunt.

“Not even enough to buy a single new piece of clothing?”

“Enough that I have to sell things here one by one just to survive!”

At Alexis’s stunned reaction, Roan snapped back loudly. Since it had already come this far, there was no point holding back now. And honestly—

“Since you don’t even treat me like your wife and are always out, do you think your family sees me as a daughter-in-law? I’m basically just an unwelcome guest!”

Wasn’t it all because of how he treated her?

If he had at least pretended to get along with her, she wouldn’t have been pushed out to a separate annex like this. Still, to be honest, she preferred it here. It was remote enough that if she ever had to leave, she could run away overnight without anyone knowing.

“…!”

Bang—Alexis suddenly stood up. Roan, who was about to pick up her spoon again, jumped in surprise.

“That scared me!”

she exclaimed.

“They say you shouldn’t bother even a dog while it’s eating!”

But Alexis had already turned his back and left. His footsteps echoed as he walked away and slammed the door behind him. Roan blinked in surprise, then slowly muttered,

“What kind of person throws all their manners into their food like that…?”

At that moment, Leah waved her hands, trying to calm her.

“That’s enough, Lady Roan. This is the first time I’ve seen Lord Alexis hold back that much even when someone talks back to him like that. He has a very fiery temper. He’s also quite prickly. You should consider it fortunate that he just left.”

“So what, being handsome makes everything okay? Does that mean he can live like a jerk just because of his face?”

“Ahem.”

Leah coughed awkwardly as Roan grumbled while eating.

“If this is how it’s going to be, why did he suddenly come in while I was eating? Ugh, my mood is ruined. Leah, remember the wine we bought at the market last time? Let’s have a glass now. I can’t swallow this without some alcohol.”

“Ah, I was just thinking the same thing.”

Soon, they resumed eating while drinking wine.

‘Ah, I’m full, and it smells so nice.’

But what was that strange aura she felt earlier when he was sitting next to her? Every time she encountered him, there was something unusual. That unsettling feeling that made her dizzy—

‘Let’s not think too deeply about it. Maybe extremely handsome men just give off that kind of aura.’

And today as well, Roan was happy. Compared to the drunken troublemakers she dealt with in her past life, Alexis was nothing.

When Alexis entered the Glester mansion, a terrifying aura radiated from him. He glared coldly at the butler who greeted him. The butler flinched and immediately stepped back. With heavy steps, Alexis headed straight to the Countess’s room.

“What brings you here? Looking for me of all people?”

The Countess greeted him lazily while reclining on a sofa as maids tended to her hair. Her voice was dry, completely devoid of warmth.

“No matter how much you dislike me, this is going too far, Mother.”

Alexis spoke. One of the Countess’s eyebrows rose.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Her expression quickly hardened.

“I always think this, but you are truly rude, Alexis.”

“I have nothing to say about that. You contributed quite a bit to it.”

At his words, the Countess could no longer hold back and sat upright. The maids tending her hair stepped back in surprise. She waved them out of the room and stared at Alexis coldly.

“Are you saying your problems are my fault? As expected of you.”

“No matter what anyone says, I am the biological child of Father and you. I can’t do anything about you hating me, but shouldn’t you at least fulfill your duty as a mother?”

“What have I failed to do as a mother?”

“Fine. There’s no point in talking about that, so let’s stop.”

Alexis clenched his fists tightly. It was always like this. Conversations with his mother were like throwing invisible spears at each other, hurting one another.

That was why he had always avoided staying in the mansion. But this time, he couldn’t ignore it.

“No matter how this marriage happened—like attaching animals together—she is still my lawful wife. You cannot treat my wife like this.”

“How dare you say that!”

The Countess sprang to her feet, glaring at him fiercely. There was no trace of maternal affection in her eyes.

“You are truly vulgar, Alexis!”

She pointed at him.

“You are the one who treated your wife like she didn’t exist! And when she was pushed out to the eastern annex, you just watched!”

“I tolerated sending her to the eastern annex. But that doesn’t mean you can force her to live in poverty!”

Alexis shouted back just as fiercely.

“This is a clear insult to me. Regardless of the circumstances, she is officially my wife. Making her live worse than a maid—what kind of intention is that? Isn’t that the same as spitting on my face?”

He showed no intention of backing down.

“Whether I neglect or ignore my wife—that’s a matter between us as a couple. Wasn’t this marriage forced by both families? Don’t interfere in our marital issues, and give her the rights she deserves as the wife of a noble heir. If you continue to ignore her—and in doing so, ignore me as well—then remember this clearly, Mother.”

Alexis stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous, like a growl.

“I will disgrace you properly under the name of Glester.”

With that, he turned and left without another word. The door slammed shut behind him with such force it seemed to shake.

“You unfilial child!”

The Countess, who had momentarily been frightened into silence, finally exploded in rage and threw a vase. It shattered loudly on the floor. The maids hurried in, trembling, to clean it up.

The Countess trembled with anger, ruining the hair the maids had just carefully arranged. Alexis’s words echoed in her mind.

—I am your and Father’s biological child.

It was true. He was undoubtedly her son, born from her own body. Yet she could never feel that way.

To her, Alexis felt like a different kind of monster that had borrowed her womb.

‘Because he looks like that woman!’

Her son did not resemble her at all. The child she carried for ten months had been born looking exactly like the woman she hated the most.

After giving birth, she fainted once. When she woke and saw the baby the maids brought her, she fainted again.

Silver hair, and bluish-purple eyes. Not a single feature resembled her. He looked exactly like that woman—as if mocking her. It felt like that woman’s embodiment had used her body to be born.

‘I can never love him!’

Even though he was her own son, she felt no affection. And just now, he had confronted her over a wife he didn’t even care much about.

To her, his very existence was an act of defiance.

‘That wretched child!’

But now, she had no choice but to grant his demands.