* * *
I went out to the garden and looked up at the clear night sky for the first time in a while.
I was mesmerized by the bright fluorescent aurora when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Good evening, Princess Cynthia.”
An old woman with graying hair smiled kindly at me.
Who is this? I didn’t see her at the banquet…
The noblewoman was wearing a rather worn-out, high-quality dress. I stared intently at the frayed threads on her sleeve.
“Good evening. It’s nice to meet you.”
As I greeted her politely, she suddenly clasped my hands.
“I heard the news of your marriage a while ago, and I can’t tell you how much I wanted to meet you.”
She even had tears in her eyes as she gave me a sorrowful smile.
“But who are you…”
“I am Countess Eleanor Vicente, and am like a mother to the Brigadier General.”
That Vicentes who gave up their title to repay their debts to Masera?
The moonlight filtering through her smile felt foreign, and goosebumps rose on my arms.
Lady Eleanor said,
“So, I suppose I’m your mother-in-law.”
“Excuse me? You’re like a mother, so you’re considering yourself my mother-in-law?”
…What is this really? I wore a bewildered expression.
“I’ve never heard of any mother-in-law-like figure.”
Wait, could it be that House Vicente was the one he was adopted into and left due to some scandal?
Lady Eleanor sighed and wore a pitiful expression.
“I suppose so. We had a misunderstanding with him and ended up completely estranged. No matter how much we tried to contact him or meet him, he refused, so I attended today’s gathering to meet the Princess. I hope you can help us.”
“What is your relationship with the Duke’s family?”
“Let’s see, in-laws of distant relatives…”
Isn’t that basically a stranger?
She folded her fingers, trying to find a connection, and said,
“We lost our young son in a bombing a long time ago. So we adopted Masera, who resembled our dead son.”
Lady Eleanor began to tell the story of Masera.
“We were so happy while we were together. But my husband couldn’t get over the shock of losing his son. He wasn’t in a position to take care of Masera, so eventually…”
Her eyes turned red, and she took out a handkerchief and dabbed at them.
“I think he felt betrayed, thinking we abandoned him. I want to meet him at least once and clear up the misunderstanding.”
“Oh dear… Stay strong.”
I wore a sympathetic expression and patted her back as she cried.
“I can only imagine how hard and lonely it must have been for him. I want to give him the love of a family, even if it’s late. You want Masera to have a family too, don’t you, Princess?”
“Well, his own thoughts are what’s important.”
“If the Princess speaks to him kindly, won’t Masera change his mind?”
I still looked at her with a kind face.
“Why would I?”
At my gentle voice, Lady Eleanor, who had been pouring out her grievances, opened her eyes wide and wore a dumbfounded expression.
If she thought of him as her own child, she didn’t act like that.
A real mother would ask first if her child is doing well, if anything hurts.
With this, it became clear that the Vicente family was the one Masera was adopted into and left due to some scandal.
* * *
Count Vicente had incurred a large debt to the massive organization, ‘Commedia dell’arte.’
His wife, Eleanor, tried to ignore it, saying, ‘It’s her husband’s responsibility,’ but she soon realized that wouldn’t work.
“We don’t kill people nicely.”
She also realized how scary those words were.
Those who owed money to the organization had to do hard labor until they paid off the debt, and when they got older and couldn’t work, they had to beg.
It meant living a life of livestock that was worse than death.
“A famous war hero is our adopted son. We don’t contact him before, but…”
She desperately revealed Masera’s existence in order to live.
“Then get the money by the deadline. If you come back empty-handed, run away, or miss the deadline, I’ll show you what hell is like.”
This was the whole story of why Lady Eleanor came to find Cynthia.
Cynthia, who had been listening to her story, showed a lukewarm reaction and left with a smile, saying that she had been away from her seat for too long.
‘Masera couldn’t have told her about what happened with us.’
Before coming here, she thought Cynthia was a naive princess who had grown up in a greenhouse.
She expected that she would naturally be respectful and listen to her story since she was like a mother-in-law.
But for the young one to rudely leave her seat first.
‘If she had come in as my daughter-in-law, I would have properly educated her, princess or not.’
But since she was in a desperate situation, she couldn’t bring herself to get angry.
“It would be good to ask Princess Cynthia’s sister, the Duchess, for help.”
Lady Eleanor recalled the advice of a man who seemed to be a higher-up in the organization.
‘She granted our request to be invited, so she might help.’
She immediately decided to go and find Helene.
* * *
Helene entered the lounge with a pale face.
“No way, that can’t be. She was just a maid.”
She didn’t stand out at the time, and it wasn’t an environment where she could secretly study while working as a maid.
‘Could it be that she heard about the other royal inheritance as well?’
The inheritance passed down to the last direct royal descendant, Margarita, was not only Nox and Diem.
However, because she passed away without saying anything, no one knew what it was.
At that moment, there was a knock, and a woman in a worn dress entered.
“I heard you were here… May I have a word with you?”
“Of course. May I call you Aunt?”
Helene, who recognized Lady Eleanor, wore a delighted expression and acted friendly.
Lady Eleanor took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.
“I’m sorry to ask for help again, even though you kindly invited me.”
“I heard that Count Vicente has recently incurred a large debt. I’m worried.”
Lady Eleanor, relieved by Helene’s favorable tone, told her about her difficult situation.
Helene, who had been listening attentively, offered her tea and sighed.
“Still, to ignore their difficulties when they are adoptive parents.”
If she left Cynthia alone, who wasn’t intimidated by her opponent who held her weakness, it would become a problem in the future.
Suddenly, Helene’s lips slowly curved as she came up with a brilliant idea.
“Aunt, the adoption records of Brigadier General Vicente are still there, right? Legally, family members have an obligation to pay off debts together. He took the title, so he should at least do that much.”
It was a world where the system of guilt by association still remained, like the situation of the royal descendants who were hated for the past faults of the royal family.
Adoptive parents who owed money to the organization due to gambling, and a war hero who ignored such adoptive parents.
Wasn’t it a good topic to tear apart in many ways?
If he didn’t pay off the money and ignored them, he would eventually become a target of the organization and be harassed until he paid off the debt.
“Duchess, may I ask for your opinion? I’ve been ignored no matter how much I’ve tried to contact him.”
At her request for help, Helene smiled, hiding her sinister intentions.
‘That man Capitano is very skilled at ruining others.’
She was grateful to him for telling her such an evil method.
