MHYFMAMD Ch 30
by rosey“About the ledger you’ve been keeping. I noticed a few numbers were intentionally written wrong.”
“…!”
“Sometimes you asked me to handle household chores. Telling me not to just lie in bed, but to at least pay for my food.”
A soft, lingering voice flowed into Baroness Blanchette’s ear.
“At that time, I thought something was off, so I made sure to record the figures separately.”
“You… you didn’t…!?”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t told anyone yet.”
After finishing her sentence, Tenesia turned back to her original position. She still had a smile on her face as she tilted her head slightly.
“But if you continue to insist, I can’t promise I’ll keep quiet. My mouth isn’t exactly that heavy.”
The sound of Baroness Blanchette gritting her teeth echoed clearly.
“I’ll leave now, so let go of me!”
Baroness Blanchette swung her arm furiously, pushing away the knight who had been holding her. She adjusted her clothes with a displeased expression and turned her head away quickly.
It was a stark contrast from her earlier demeanor.
The concern she had shown for Tenesia was nowhere to be found on her cold back.
“…”
Strangely, her chest ached.
She knew that this woman wasn’t her real mother, but her body felt a sharp, piercing pain, as if her flesh itself was being crushed.
It felt almost as if she were grieving for her true face. Tenesia rubbed her arm with her palm, but even the slightest movement sent stinging pain through her body, and she turned her head away.
She was exhausted.
“Madam!”
As Tenesia staggered, Helle quickly stepped forward and supported her.
“I want to go back to the bedroom. I think I need to get some rest.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll help you.”
The sudden weakness Tenesia had shown, after acting so firm moments ago, caused the servants to look at her with sympathy.
Moreover, the way she had once protected them had fostered a different kind of fondness.
“Did you see that? How did she protect us?”
“She might actually be a better person than I thought…”
As the servants whispered quietly, Tenesia stopped halfway up the stairs and glanced behind her. For a moment, she thought she saw Baroness Blanchette still standing in the empty hall.
But Tenesia quickly turned her head away.
She hoped she wouldn’t have to face her again.
***********************
Bang!
She slammed the carriage door shut and stamped her foot.
“Hurry up and start moving!”
“Yes!”
With the signal given, the carriage wheels smoothly rolled across the ground. Baroness Blanchette clicked her tongue as she looked out at the desolate scenery beyond the window.
“How did I raise her like this?! I didn’t even have money to hire a wet nurse, so I nursed her myself until my breasts sagged!”
Baroness Blanchette seemed to be venting her anger, flailing her dress in frustration. Her gnawing, unresolved bitterness was constantly bubbling up in her.
“Madam, didn’t things go well?”
The man, who had been sitting quietly across from her, finally spoke. Unlike his disheveled beard, his chest was well-built, with his shirt undone in a careless display.
“She wouldn’t cooperate, so I couldn’t get anything! How did that sweet girl turn into this?!”
Baroness Blanchette shuddered at the thought, disgusted.
“I’m sure that the Margrave of Haberfeld has been filling her head with strange ideas. There’s no way she’d act like that otherwise.”
“Oh Madam, if you keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles on that beautiful forehead of yours.”
The man reached out and gently placed his hand on her, calming her down. She stopped her frantic movements and, instead of stamping her feet, sat herself on his lap.
The man took advantage of this moment to pull her into a close embrace. All of his movements were so natural that it felt as though this was something that happened often.
“I was planning to use that girl to get some money, but it’s not going to be easy.”
“You shouldn’t give up.”
“But I almost got caught with the money I’ve been spending on you!”
That clever girl! Baroness Blanchette trembled.
“She always seemed like she had nothing to do with reading books. Who knew she’d go and do something like this?” Her fingers nervously tapped against each other.
“What if we get caught? What about my husband?”
“I have a plan.”
Baroness Blanchette turned to the man in surprise.
“…What plan?”
The man smiled slyly and leaned in close to her ear. His breath, heavy with his whispered words, made Baroness Blanchette smile slightly.
“Can you really do it?”
“Have you ever seen me fail?”
If the plan works as he says, she would not only get revenge on the Margrave of Haberfeld, who had humiliated her, but also successfully marry Tenesia off to Count Weigelin.
At the thought of this, Baroness Blanchette’s expression shifted to one of satisfaction, her confidence restored by the man’s assured smile.