✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Translated by: Sienna
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Medelin sat in the parlor, her brow furrowed.
‘Why did Cornelia call me here?’
Well, it was good to be at the ducal residence. Neither Erich nor even the matriarch bothered to reply to her letters.
But on the other hand, she was worried that this might also be a trap.
‘Surely she didn’t call me here just to mess with me again like last time?’
Medelin had become the subject of gossip due to the incident at the jewelry store.
<Lady Arzen. I can’t believe she set her eyes on someone else’s man…… It was even her cousin’s man.>
<Exactly. She was subtly gossiping about the princess. Is she jealous, perhaps?>
Among them, the worst rumor was…
<I heard that Lady Arzen has a taste for men with power. Many women, including noble ladies, have shared similar experiences.>
After such rumors spread, letters written in disguise began to arrive at Marquis Arzen’s mansion.
Letters filled with vulgar words.
And when Medelin’s father, the Marquis of Arzen, became aware of this, he was furious.
<How did you conduct yourself to earn such rumors!>
Medelin was trying her best to stay out of sight and avoid adding fuel to the fire.
‘In my heart, I want to tear that wicked raven to pieces right now, but if I do, I might be misunderstood.’
If nothing else, it was almost a given by now that Medelin disliked Cornelia.
So she hoped to use this tea time to put some of the rumors to rest.
‘First, I need to shift people’s perceptions. Make it seem like Cornelia and I don’t have a bad relationship, and that I treat her well. Then, later, I’ll turn it around to make it seem like she’s plotting against me.’
As Medelin was pondering, the door opened, and someone entered.
Medelin, who had been expecting Cornelia, widened her eyes.
‘Oh my goodness, calling Grand Madam to join me…’
The Matriarch had shown her displeasure by ignoring Medelin’s letters for the past few days.
But Medelin wasn’t exactly pleased with the matriarch’s behavior.
If she’d just corrected it by saying she liked the Ruby Necklace, blamed Cornelia for the mistake, and claimed he acted out of anger, she might have gotten some sympathy, and the rumors wouldn’t have spread this wide.
‘If that woman hadn’t been so focused on her pride, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.’
Honestly, Medelin despised the foolishness of the matriarch, who couldn’t even grasp the situation.
‘If only Erich’s mother hadn’t been such an overbearing old woman.’
But instead of showing her resentment towards the matriarch, Medelin chose to smile.
After all…
‘That woman must also feel the urge to bury the raven because of that damn rumor.’
As they say, your enemy’s enemy is your friend.
In Medelin’s mind, the matriarch was a comrade who sailed in the same boat.
She greeted her warmly.
“It’s been a while, Grand Madam! Have you been well?”
The matriarch frowned at Medelin’s gentle greeting.
‘This malicious woman ignored me for so long and used me, but now that she needs me, she acts all friendly!’
In her heart, she wanted to slap Medelin across the face.
But…….
‘Indeed, I was planning to use this woman too, but if she comes to me so gently, it’s actually easier.’
The matriarch replied immediately.
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
Gradually, a shadow fell over the matriarch’s face.
“I haven’t been doing well lately because of my headaches. How about you?”
At that, Madelin nodded her head.
“I’m the same. I acted thinking of Cornelia’s well-being, but misunderstandings arose…”
The matriarch inwardly chuckled.
‘Misunderstandings? You did that on purpose.’
However, outwardly, she maintained a sympathetic expression and responded to Medelin’s words.
“Yes, I’ve been very troubled by the misunderstandings myself. So, since we’ve met like this, shouldn’t we clear up that child’s misunderstanding?”
Understanding the implication, Medelin smirked.
‘Oh my, so she was thinking the same thing as me?’
She nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes, of course, I was thinking the same thing!”
As the expected positive response came, the matriarch nodded along. At that moment, Medelin smiled and said,
“That’s why I think it would be so nice if we could be there for Cornelia when she’s having a hard time.”
The matriarch’s smile deepened.
On the surface, it sounded like the kindest thing she’d ever heard from a friend, but to her socialite ears, it sounded like this.
To make Cornelia suffer.
‘As expected, she was thinking the same as me.’
Medelin continued.
“But lately, I haven’t been able to see Cornelia, so I’m not sure how to support her. Perhaps, Grand Madam, you have some ideas?”
The matriarch furrowed her brow slightly.
The question implied whether she had any sinister plans in mind.
‘How calculating can this woman be? What made me think such behavior was attractive in the first place…’
Suppressing the urge to scoff, the matriarch finally spoke up.
“Well, after all, I am that child’s mother-in-law, right? I truly felt sorry for her suffering with her pregnant body.”
Medelin smiled wryly.
‘How amusing, twisting her words to say she couldn’t stand the raven showing off she was pregnant.’
Generally, pregnant women are treated with care.
However, the intention behind the matriarch’s words was likely the opposite.
‘So, does she intend to torment her pregnant daughter-in-law?’
There were many ways for noblewomen to torment their pregnant daughters-in-law.
They could force-feed them foods they disliked, give them tasteless tonics, or make them physically uncomfortable by making them run errands.
No matter how much she disliked her daughters-in-law, she had to torment them within reason, as she was carrying potential heirs.
‘Surely she wouldn’t stoop to such trivial actions?’
But what followed surpassed Medelin’s meager imagination.
“So, to ease her burden even slightly, I’ve specially prepared some good tea for pregnant women.”
Excitement sparkled in Medelin’s green eyes as she listened to those words.
‘Wow, is this woman really insane?’
Medelin, usually an elegant noblewoman who refrained from using profanity even in her thoughts, couldn’t help but feel the urge to curse this time.
‘How could she even think of getting rid of her own grandchild?’
Of course, this was a fabricated scheme concocted by the matriarch, who believed Erich wasn’t her son, but to Medelin, unaware of this, the Grand Madam’s madness seemed simply unbearable.
‘Yes, it’s good for me if she comes out like this. It will make it much easier for me to become the Duchess of Blant later.’
For a moment, Medelin’s lips curled downward, her expression turning cold.
‘But… there’s a catch.’
Now she looked worried.
“However, are you sure about the efficacy of this tea?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, I’m afraid it might not agree with Cornelia’s body. If that happens, misunderstandings could deepen.”
Understanding her question’s implications, the matriarch raised one corner of her lips.
‘Ah, the tea. She probably wonders how I plan to handle the aftermath if something goes wrong, whether the child doesn’t die definitively or even if it does, given the evidence of the tea.’
Although she might not know much else, the matriarch could at least answer this.
“Don’t worry about it. The alchemist who made this tea assured me it’s a specially good potion that only reacts to the fetus.”
On the surface, it would appear to be full of beneficial ingredients for the body, resembling medicine.
However, it was actually a poison that only acted on the fetus.
And if taken for about four days, even a healthy fetus would become delicate enough to miscarry from small shocks like a carriage’s vibrations.
“Furthermore, the alchemist said that the more the mother moves, the more beneficial it will be for the fetus. The effects start to appear after four days.”
Medelin’s eyes widened.
‘This means that the more the mother moves during those four days, the more dangerous it is to the fetus, right?’
That’s when Medelin understood the matriarch’s words.
“I noticed she’s been going out shopping lately. It would be nice if you could accompany Cornelia and go shopping together in the downtown area.”
Upon hearing the matriarch’s suggestion, Medelin smiled brightly.
What if she accompanied Cornelia for shopping and the child miscarried in the bustling downtown?
In the eyes of the public, it would simply look like Cornelia had lost her child while out and about.
‘With this, I can send the raven away…!’
Medelin’s thought was interrupted.
“Oh my, were you already having a discussion?”
Without any warning, Cornelia’s voice echoed in the room, causing both the matriarch and Medelin to turn their heads towards the entrance.
Dressed in an empire dress, with her hair elegantly styled, Cornelia entered the room gracefully.
