I Became The Mother Of the Male Lead Who Lives With An Adulterous Man

Berengella was silent for a moment and then spoke in a low voice.

“…Countess. Do not slander the Count with your false accusations.”

“Please check for yourself whether it is false or not.”

Rachel held out the ledger she retrieved, meant to signal Berengella to hurry up and take it.

As if her pride was hurt or she couldn’t believe it, Berengella’s face hardened and she didn’t move for a long time. Rachel motioned for her to take it.

When she finally reached out to take the ledger from Rachel…

Thud.

The ledger fell to the floor.

“Sorry. My hands were shaking without realizing it because this is a ledger that reveals my husband’s misdeeds.”

“If there’s a single falsehood… I won’t let this pass.”

“As you wish.”

“Come.”

A maid who was standing in the back, fidgeting, came running at the call. The maid picked up the ledger that had fallen on the floor and handed it to Berengella. Rachel turned around without hesitation and left the room.

Berengella sat in the parlor for a while and looked at the ledger Rachel gave her.

Theodore returned to the mansion in a huff, with both hands full of food. Unfortunately for him, he arrived after Berengella had read through the ledger.

“Oh, mother! I bought all the foods that are popular in the capital these days! I hope I’m not too late…”

“…Count. Did I raise you to be like this?”

“What?”

Whack!

At Elrosa Mansion, the sound of Berengella punishing her son continued until late into the night.

 

* * *

 

Late at night, the sound of metal striking metal could be heard in the office of the Archduke of Dicarsignac’s residence.

Cian, sitting crookedly in his office chair, snatched a small object out of the air and held it up to the moonlight. It was a beautiful cufflink studded with light pink diamonds.

Rachel asked him to prepare a gift that would be a token of her love. Pink diamond cufflinks, a hot topic in social circles these days, were a perfect fit for her request.

However, even after completing the request, Cian spent several days without reporting the results.

It was difficult to get a pink diamond of this size. It was rare and the price was not cheap by normal standards, but it wasn’t a difficult task for Cian, the only Archduke in the empire and the guild’s informant. The price of the diamond, that was equivalent to the Elrosa mansion, was nothing to him.

The problem was that this precious jewel would become Theodore’s property.

It was an unpleasant thought.

He remembered seeing Theodore’s hands carelessly touching his mistress Jane in a quiet back alley. The thought of these pink cufflinks on the end of his shirt made Cian squeamish. He didn’t want to give it to him.

Even so, there was one more reason he delayed reporting, even after preparing the item. It was because of Rachel.

He investigated her again, but found nothing.

‘No one has ever been this difficult for me to figure out.’

This was truly an unfamiliar feeling for Cian, who even knew everything about Emperor Sigar and Great Saint Tityenis.

In social circles, Rachel was known as someone who was affectionate towards her husband, indifferent to gossip, and rarely showed herself. She also had few friends. There were traces of her mistakes here and there.

‘It is unusual for someone to have links to Bishop Lylus Van of the Yenis Church… I think he had a close relationship with Rachel’s father.’

There was no evidence that Rachel Elrosa was a smart, wise, cautious woman. She had not revealed her true nature in over 20 years. Not one bit.

She’s smart enough to see through Cian’s identity and read into the elders’ doubts, but acts like a fool on the outside? He couldn’t even guess how meticulous she would need to be to make it possible.

‘I thought I knew of all the talented people in the empire. I was arrogant.’

He tossed up the cufflinks again, snatching them out of the air and holding them tight.

A feeling of pleasure ran down his spine as thought of acquiring Rachel’s talents for himself.

‘I want her.’

He appointed Hyzius as the guild leader to obtain information, left Stefan in charge of the guild to make money, and appointed Nick as his assistant to help with the work closest to him.

He lost track of time as he thought about what kind of work he should entrust to Rachel.

‘There was a time when I thought it was fortunate that I had this ability to identify skilled talents, thinking it was a necessary trait to become an emperor.’

Now it was pointless. Sigar, Cian’s older brother, inherited the throne.

He was lost in thought for a while, when he heard a familiar voice from the doorway.

“…Dad?”

The only person who could open the office door and enter without permission, his daughter, Dolorosa.

“…Dolly. Have you not gone to sleep yet?”

“I had to go to the bathroom. Why isn’t Dad sleeping?”

Dolorosa, seven years old this year, was brighter and more mature than her peers. Cian was grateful for that, but sometimes it hurt.

The child never once asked who her mother was or what kind of person she was. She seemed to know that even if she asked, she wouldn’t get an answer. Perhaps she also suspected that Cian was not her biological father.

The small rabbit-shaped slippers got closer, making a muffled thud.

“Sleeping late is not good for your health. Dolly doesn’t want daddy to be sick.”

“Dad, worried you. I’m Sorry, I’ll go to sleep now.”

“Okay. Sleep well, Dad. I’m going to go back to sleep too. I’m really tired.”

“Sleep well. I love you, Dolly.”

“I love you, too.”

Alone in his office, Cian reached for the cufflinks on his shirt sleeve. The pink diamond, a symbol of love, sparkled brightly.

As he held the diamond, he thought about what he had to do.

It was time to go see Rachel.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Theodore couldn’t go to work at the imperial palace, his face and calves were swollen after being punished by Berengella.

At breakfast time, Berengella had a scary look on her face, as if she would get angry again at any moment, without notice, and Theodore looked as pitiful as a blade of grass shaking in the wind.

Among them, only Rachel and Graham were cheerful.

“Come on, Graham. It’s your favorite beef. Mom will cut it up for you.”

“Mom, you have to eat too. I will eat one piece and mom can have the rest.”

“Mom’s all grown up so she doesn’t need to eat much, Graham is still growing so he needs to eat a lot.”

“Hmm… Then, I’ll eat two and grow up to protect you, mom.”

So cute!

Rachel rubbed her cheek against Graham, who was sitting next to her.

Berengella, watching the two people, ended up throwing down the knife she was holding before even finishing half of her meal.

Clink!

“This residence’s chef’s cooking skills are terrible. The rotten smell of the food is awful and is making me sick. Fire him immediately.”

“Yes, mother. I’ll fire him right away and hire a skilled chef…”

Theodore, cheeks swollen, bowed, not knowing what to do, and tried not to anger his mother again.

Berengella glanced at her son like she thought he was pathetic, then turned and left the dining room.

As soon as the sound of the door closing was heard, Theodore jumped up from his seat. The table shook and the silverware and plates clashed noisily.

“Rachel. Are you really crazy?! Why are you being like this these days?”

It was funny how he couldn’t even say a word when Berengella was around, but had no problems bellowing at his wife and son when they were alone.

Rachel frowned and hid Graham behind her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we’re still eating. We’ll talk later when we’re alone.”

“I’m already done eating, what are we still waiting for?”

He couldn’t eat much. Theodore’s cheeks were so swollen that it seemed impossible for him to chew anything.

“You’ll have to wait, though. Me and Graham haven’t finished yet.”

“Last time I brought Jane here, you were rude to her, this time you’re bringing a ridiculous ledger to my mother? What exactly are you planning?”

“I have no plans. As I said before, Jane was rude first, and the reason I gave the ledger to mother was because she is an elder member of the Count’s family. Shouldn’t the elders of the family know how best to handle the Count family’s problems?”

“What are you saying? You’re the reason I told my mother last night how……!”

“You were the one who created the problem in the first place, right? Inviting a woman who doesn’t know etiquette to the house, putting a hole in the family’s finances, and evading taxes.”

You don’t even look at your wife, who only loves you, and you cheat on her in public.

Theodore’s face, which had been red and swollen from being hit, turned red with anger.

“Shut up!”

Theodore’s eyes rolled back and he threw away the silver cup filled with water.

It happened so suddenly, Rachel stiffened as she saw the silver cup flying towards her, unable to avoid it.

The moment she expected the silver glass to hit her face, she closed her eyes.

Cheaeng!

A sharp sound was heard and the silver cup rolled across the floor.

Rachel’s eyes opened wide in disbelief. Graham, who had been hiding behind her back and shivering, was on the table. In his hand, he held the silver knife they’d been using to slice the beef.

“Huh, Graham?”

“Dad’s bad!”

Graham extended the short knife toward Theodore. The child’s blue eyes were cold.

Even though he knew that the silver knife was not much of a threat, Theodore hesitated.

“Graham. Put that down right now.”

“No, I don’t want to.”

“Graham.”

“Throwing things at people is bad! Didn’t you learn that from your mom and dad?”

Did Graham say this because he knows Berengella is Theodore’s mother?

“If you do something bad, you should be scolded! If you do something bad, I’ll blame you too!”

It was a cute threat made in a trembling voice, but the atmosphere was murderous. Even Rachel was frozen stiff by the deadly force radiating from his small and delicate body.

In the original, the reason Graham became a murderer was not just because Rachel died.

Graham was gifted with incredible talents such as unrivaled vision, athletic ability, strength, and murderous intent that froze those who encountered him in place.

Graham’s talents, which had not been revealed in peaceful times, were about to bud to protect his mother, Rachel, from danger.