IWPU 22

Chapter 22

“Who’s really the one running wild without knowing their place?”

I approached the old man who appeared to be the leader among them. He was trembling while gripping his cane. How many times in his life had he been humiliated like this? Most likely, he had lived arrogantly under the name of Pisson. That must be why he had dared to speak so disrespectfully to the Countess.

“You have no title and no middle name. On what grounds should I treat you as an elder of the family?”

“Lady!”

“You’d better watch your mouth. From the looks of it, you don’t even carry a noble surname. Am I wrong?”

The man who had tried to block my path flinched and stepped back. Several others also visibly shrank. Just as I suspected. When I mentioned my family name and middle name, a few people had become visibly uneasy. Their expressions were like those of people sitting on pins and needles.

These people didn’t even have a noble family name, let alone a middle name. That meant their children were all legally commoners. Even the eldest among them was a noble without a middle name. There were not just older or middle-aged people here, but also a fair number of young ones. The likelihood that they carried on a noble family name was low. I wouldn’t be surprised if about one-fifth of them were commoners not continuing any noble line.

If they hadn’t caused such a commotion, I might have let it slide quietly. In fact, my grandfather must have knowingly kept them in the family.

“But you yourself haven’t inherited the family name either!”

At the words of a young man, the old man beside him tightly shut his eyes. I turned my gaze from the old man to the younger one. He resembled the old man quite a lot. Too young to be his son, he was likely his grandson.

I gave him a bright smile. When our eyes met, the young man blushed slightly.

The Marchioness was one of the most beautiful women in high society. I resembled her quite closely, except for the hair color. Moreover, my body was in full bloom, just reaching the prime of youth. I curved the corners of my lips upward.

“Well, well. Someone who doesn’t even have the most basic knowledge a noble should possess dares to claim to be a member of the Count’s family. Who should be held responsible for this?”

The faces of the older men, including the elder, turned dark. The younger ones seemed not to understand and just looked around nervously.

“You’re not answering and spouting nonsense instead—”

“Enough!”

The old man cut off the younger man’s words. He looked at me with a face full of indignation.

“Will it suffice if we acknowledge that man?”

He pointed at Evan as he spoke. His attitude, as if they were conceding something out of generosity, disgusted me. If this was all they intended from the beginning, they shouldn’t have started this at all. These people were bound to hold El back later. I had every intention of driving them all out this time.

“And who gave you the right?”

“Young lady!”

The old man shouted, his face filled with rage. I scoffed in response to his yelling.

“Bionne Rossa Ellient. Do you understand what that name means?”

The old man trembled more violently than ever. Some of the older ones couldn’t even stay on their feet and collapsed to the ground.

In my name, Rossa is not only a middle name but also a separate family name. Normally, noble women take their husband’s family name upon marriage. Naturally, their children also follow the father’s name. They are not allowed to use their maternal family name, even until death. But there are exceptions.

When a noble family has no male heir, or when the family head explicitly designates a daughter as heir, succession can transfer to her. According to imperial law, a daughter cannot directly inherit a title, so the inheritance is passed to her husband or children.

If the husband’s rank is lower than the inherited title, he naturally assumes the wife’s family name. If it’s the other way around, one of their children inherits it. The problem arises when there’s only one child. One person cannot inherit two family lines. But neither line can be abandoned. In that case, the child takes the father’s surname and incorporates the mother’s inheritance into their middle name. That middle name includes the name of the founder of the maternal family. Having the name of the family’s founder as a middle name means that person is essentially the heir.

My middle name is Rossa. Rossa is the feminine form of Rossat. The founder of the Pisson family was Rossat Liddle Pisson. I, being a woman, cannot be the official heir, but I can wield the authority of succession.

“By the right of my name, I hereby expel you all from the family. You should also prepare yourselves to face charges for impersonating nobility.”

Finally, even the younger ones who hadn’t grasped the situation earlier had their faces drained of color—but it was no more than what they deserved.