Butler Milchenko’s roar startled Lady Eleanor, but she quickly regained her composure.
“He was a gardener who used to work at our house. I gave a job to a retired soldier that no one else would hire, only to be repaid with such ingratitude.”
“They deserve to be thrown into a minefield! Get out, now!”
Everyone was taken aback, as Butler Milchenko always had a smiling face and had never been seen angry before.
Count Vicente stroked his wrinkled chin.
“In the old days, that kind of guy would have lost his head. Are you hoping that word will spread that we were not only stripped of our title as legal parents, but also completely ignored after losing our home?”
Milchenko glared at them with a fierce expression.
However, he couldn’t publicly reveal their misdeeds. There are many in this world who exploit the misfortunes of others as weaknesses.
Just then, Cynthia tapped Milchenko’s arm and smiled.
“Butler, leave it to me.”
Cynthia already had a plan in mind.
She wanted to kick them out right away, but that wasn’t the only solution.
They would continue to be persistent and gather reporters to give tearful interviews as if they were the victims.
Above all, the Dowager Duchess’s letter asking for their favor was also a problem. She was probably deceived.
‘Then I have to create a justification.’
“I’ll show you to your rooms. Please make yourselves ‘comfortable’.”
At Cynthia’s kind words, Count Vicente brazenly raised his chin and said,
“Since it’s the room for the parents of the groom, shouldn’t you give us the master bedroom?”
Dahlia, standing next to Cynthia, warned with a stern face.
“Asking for the bedroom used by the married couple? That’s quite rude. Show some respect in front of the Princess.”
But they ignored her and began to make even more demands of Cynthia.
“I heard that you only brought a wasteland when you got married, so you must have prepared some gifts for your in-laws, right?”
“I don’t have any in-laws to take care of.”
Cynthia shrugged, seemingly unaffected.
Lady Eleanor, who had been watching her husband and brother-in-law’s antics, asked Cynthia for a conversation.
“Princess, can we talk in private?”
Cynthia nodded and led her into the study.
“Before that, you need to sign a confidentiality agreement to stay in the official residence, which is a military facility. Please read it carefully and sign.”
Lady Eleanor frowned slightly at the thick stack of papers Cynthia handed her.
“Shouldn’t we do this later…?”
“Otherwise, you can’t stay in the official residence. Even if you are the ‘biological parents’. It’s about not disclosing military secrets to the outside.”
Seeing Cynthia’s innocent smile, she skimmed through it and signed. She was in a hurry.
‘Persuading the Princess comes first.’
Lady Eleanor launched into a long introduction about how much they loved Masera and how much guilt they had suffered.
“We don’t resent him, even though he burdened us with a huge debt and took away our title.”
“Isn’t it a situation where you can’t resent him?”
At Cynthia’s question, Lady Eleanor’s eyes sharpened slightly before returning to their gentle state.
“We think of him as our son. Parents don’t resent their children. So I hope you can help us reconcile.”
“Do parents let their young son roll around on the battlefield? That’s amazing.”
Her eyes began to heat up as she looked at Cynthia’s bright face.
“So, it’s because of a misunderstanding.”
“If a misunderstanding with a child hasn’t been resolved for over a decade, maybe it’s no longer a misunderstanding… You should think about it.”
It’s obvious. Now that Masera has succeeded as a war hero, they’re trying to be treated like parents. The Masera I’ve seen wasn’t a man who harmed others without a reason.
Cynthia sighed softly and asked.
“But how did you borrow money in such a huge misunderstanding? I really want to learn.”
There were too many things that didn’t add up, no matter how much she thought about it, to lump it all together as a simple misunderstanding.
At Cynthia’s clueless, flowery response, which was one of her specialties, Lady Eleanor finally snapped.
“Stay still if you don’t know anything! How hard have we had it!”
“I only said what I learned through conversation, what’s the problem?”
“So! Your mother-in-law is begging like this, but your attitude is to talk back…”
But Cynthia was still smiling brightly.
“Shouldn’t the person asking for help be mindful of their attitude, Mrs. Pretending-to-be-Mother-in-Law?”
“Haven’t you heard that we are Masera’s legal parents? I thought we could talk to you since you’re a Princess.”
“It’s not that we can’t talk, it’s just that you can’t get the answer you want.”
Lady Eleanor’s eyes turned vicious.
“Could it be that you don’t want Masera to have a family? Considering that your royalty ruined his life, you should actively help him reconcile. He’s a lonely child who needs a family.”
Cynthia’s face grew tired as the shameless words continued.
“And it’s better for the Princess to have an adopted son from a noble family than a war orphan as her husband, right?”
That made Cynthia’s anger flare up. She didn’t know the details of what had happened between them, but one thing was certain.
“You just need the wealth and fame of a war hero, right? You didn’t come for the Brigadier General who wants a family.”
She probably thought I’d be easier to talk to than Masera. Did she think I’d be caught up in a fit of angelic behavior and push them together, saying, ‘It’d be nice to have a family! Let’s reconcile!’?
Lady Eleanor, seeing Cynthia’s cold eyes, shrank back slightly and spoke in a weak voice.
“We’re on the verge of death right now.”
“Then you should go to the hospital. Why did you come here?”
“It’s not that we’re sick, but my husband owes a huge debt to an underworld organization. If we don’t pay it back in time, he and I won’t die peacefully.”
So it’s all about the money? She couldn’t bear the bitter taste in her mouth.
“And I thought it would be better to resolve it in advance, as it would cause trouble for the Princess and Masera as well, so I’m asking for help.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“The organization knows that Masera is our adopted son. They’ll definitely come to ask him to pay off the debt instead. If the Princess can take care of it, there won’t be any uncomfortable situations for anyone.”
They probably didn’t just know, they were probably told. Cynthia slowly closed her eyes and opened them.
“Tell them to come.”
“Pardon?”
“I told you, this is a military facility. Isn’t that why you’re trying to stay here?”
Lady Eleanor was startled by the unexpected reaction and widened her eyes.
“If we leave it like this, the war hero’s reputation…”
“How much power do you think the title of war hero has?”
At Cynthia’s question, she closed her mouth and stared at Cynthia.
She saw slender, gloved fingers picking up a sugar cube.
“It means you can do a lot of things behind the scenes without anyone knowing.”
Lady Eleanor’s pupils followed the sugar cube as it fell into the black tea.
Cynthia smiled brightly at her as she watched the sugar cube disappear without a trace.
“Instead of expecting help from others, repent and ask for forgiveness to be saved.”
Lady Eleanor stood up abruptly. Her bloodshot eyes flashed with resentment and anger.
“How can you be so heartless even when I’m begging like this! Birds of a feather flock together!”
Lady Eleanor shouted, making it clear that she was very angry.
“Just in case, we have no intention of leaving! Because we are the ‘legal parents’!”
With those last words, she left the study, creating a gust of cold air.
“Legally unable to leave, that is.”
A sly smile spread across Cynthia’s face as she looked at the confidentiality agreement that Lady Eleanor had skimmed through and signed.
As expected, kindness is the best strategy to make the other person lower their guard.
Did she get the others to sign, too? Or is that still to come?