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

Theodore, shocked by the unfamiliar sight of his son, couldn’t even get angry. He froze where he was and eventually left the room in a fuss.

Graham sat back down at the table. He dropped the knife and his body started shaking.

“Phew, mom, it’s okay now…”

“Graham. Are you alright?”

She quickly scooped Graham up into a hug.

A small hand trembled and grabbed onto Rachel’s dress.

“I’m okay. What about mom? Are you hurt? Oh…”

There was a light scratch on Rachel’s cheek from when the knife broke slightly and a piece flew into the air.

Graham burst into tears.

“What do I do, mom, you’re hurt, you’re bleeding.”

“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt. Just put some spit on it and it will heal.”

“Mom, if you put saliva on a wound, you will get a bad disease. Mom taught me that you should apply medicine to painful areas.”

Rachel smiled and nodded at the cute voice admonishing her.

“Okay. I will treat it properly. Thank you for protecting me. It just seemed like our little Graham was just like a real knight.”

“Let me know if dad bullies you again, I’ll protect you.”

“Thank you, but don’t do this again next time, I’m worried you might be in danger.”

Perhaps because the rejection was unexpected, Graham’s eyes began to tear up again. However, instead of making a fuss, the sweet boy quietly nodded his head.

“Sorry… Next time… I won’t. I’ll try my best, so you don’t get hurt, Mom.”

“Yeah. Mom will try her best too, I promise.”

Two different-sized pinky fingers intertwined.

Tears formed in the corners of Graham’s eyes once again.

“Daddy’s a bad person,” he said, “First he made Mommy upset, and now he’s hurting her.”

“I know. Your dad is a really bad person. He’s making Mommy and Graham so upset, his mother should scold him.”

“I wish I didn’t have a father like that. I hope mommy isn’t sad…”

Rachel’s heart ached when she heard the child’s voice whispering as he snuggled into her arms.

‘I originally had no intention of procrastinating, but I really need to hurry before Graham gets affected anymore.’

Before the child turns into a murderer…

 

That afternoon, Cian came to the mansion. He was still wearing his usual black cloak and mask.

Berengella, who was passing through the hall at that moment, saw Cian’s appearance and jumped.

“Countess, are you out of your mind? How dare you bring such a lowly thing into the residence! No matter how times have changed, how is it possible for someone to allow something like this?”

If she knew that the person she had just called lowly was the one and only Archduke of the empire, Berengella might have collapsed.

Perhaps because he was always calm or because he was used to it, Cian didn’t move, even at the insult. Instead, he simply bowed politely towards Berengella.

“This is Alias, the guild’s chief informant. He is carrying out a request given by myself.”

“Countess, what on earth could you possibly entrust to something like this?”

Rachel sighed and walked up to Berengella and whispered.

“Tomorrow is the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet. I ordered a precious item to give to Theo.”

“What do you mean by precious?”

“A token of love that is very famous in social circles. The guild has offered to procure it for me, as I have been unable to obtain it myself. It is something that even high-ranking nobles struggle to find”

Berengella’s eyebrows rose.

She liked the sound of “very famous in social circles” and “even high-ranking nobles struggle to find”.

Rachel persuaded.

“Theodore’s going to wear it to the banquet tomorrow, and people will say that the Count and Countess of Elrosa have very good taste, and it’ll be the talk of the town.”

“Hmm. Not bad.”

Berengella nodded as if she approved, then glanced at the shady looking figure and left.

Rachel brought Cian into the parlor and politely greeted him.

“Greetings, Your Highness the Archduke.”

“I came today as the guild’s informant, Alias, so there is no need to be polite.”

“I understand.”

Rachel offered a chair, but Cian raised his hand and declined.

“The guild’s errand boy does not dare to sit in a noble’s mansion.”

It was an unexpected statement. The Archduke was famous for being the second most powerful person after the Emperor, but he wouldn’t ‘dare’ sit in the parlor of a Count’s residence.

She was surprised, but didn’t show it. Instead, she was happy to know that her future in-law was a very professional man.

“What brings you here today?”

“I’m here to deliver the results of your request.”

“Thank you. I’ve been waiting.”

Cian took out a flat box from inside the hem of his cloak and held it out. Inside the box were the cufflinks with pink diamonds.

Rachel’s eyes widened.

“Oh my god…! It’s so beautiful!”

“It is a difficult item for even the noblest to obtain. It’s mean is ‘I will love you forever.’”

“This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you.”

“Are you sure this is okay?”

“What?”

The box closed with a thud.

As the beautiful gem disappeared, Rachel raised her eyes and met Cian’s gaze.

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s a gift that means ‘I will love you forever.’ You don’t love him. Is it okay to give a token of love to such a man?”

“Why should I care? The ‘meaning’ an object has been given by others does not matter to me. I just have to make Theodore believe in my love.”

“Does the Countess have someone she loves?”

“I do.”

Because she answered without hesitation, Cian’s body stiffened for a moment. The change was so subtle that Rachel didn’t notice it, but Cian himself was clearly aware of it.

She has someone she loves?

He thought he’d been diligent in gathering information about Rachel, but he didn’t know this about her either.

A son? A friend? A hidden family member? Or someone else?

Strangely, it did not occur to him before that Rachel could be having an affair like Theodore. If she were having an affair too, he wouldn’t have criticized her for her actions.

Could it be that pretending to be stupid was a way to protect him?

Cian thought for a moment, then asked.

“Are you talking about your son?”

“That’s right.”

He thought that may have been the case, it was the same for him.

Her son must be even more special because Theodore was always leaving them alone. She would have had to become more perfect and capable for the sake of her son.

Cian also did not hesitate to disguise himself as a guild informant for his beloved stepdaughter.

He felt a sense of kinship with Rachel, who seemed reliable.

“Won’t your son be disappointed?”

Rachel placed a finger on her chin and thought for a moment.

If she only gave a gift to Theodore and bought nothing for Graham…

“I’m sure he’ll be disappointed.”

She could just see Graham’s face as he cried, ‘Why did you give something to Dad and not me?’. After all he did for her this morning, she thought she should get him something as well.

She quickly nodded.

“You’re right. This may be to avoid suspicion, but I shouldn’t give a gift to someone who is worthless and ignore the people important to me. Thank you for pointing that out.”

“No problem. If necessary, I will accept another request.”

“What do you mean? You have to choose the gift you want to give to your loved one yourself.”

She was right.

Cian nodded and Rachel accepted the gift box with a bright face.

“Please calculate the cost and send the residence the bill. I will send the sum to you right away.”

“All right.”

“Now, then.”

It was finally time to receive the ‘conclusive’ evidence of the affair she had been waiting for. Compared to this, Theodore’s gift was trivial.

But Cian said something unexpected.

“I didn’t bring evidence of the affair.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s exactly as you heard. I didn’t bring it.”

“Uh…….”

This was unexpected.

She felt dazed, like she’d been hit over the head with a hammer.

 

“What the hell, you didn’t find any evidence of an affair, so Theodore hasn’t been cleared of plotting a rebellion yet?”

“No. It is now clear that Count Elrosa is not preparing a rebellion. Thank you for the valuable information. In the name of Archduke Dikarsinyak and the Noble Council, I will reward you.”

Rachel became very nervous at the mention of a ‘reward’.

“By any chance, when will I receive that ‘reward’?”

She hoped she wouldn’t receive the reward before the divorce was finalized. Hopefully, it would be after the divorce, but if that was not possible, it was better not to take it at all.

The last thing she wanted to do was add to the wealth of the Count of Elrosa’s family.

Fortunately, Cian was a smart and sensible man.

“I’ll use my discretion on the timing. Since you say you’re preparing for a divorce, it’d better be afterward, because if you increase your wealth before the divorce, it’ll be a hassle to divide the property or adjust alimony.”

Oh my!

Rachel smiled brightly for the first time in a while at the welcome answer.

“I would really appreciate it if you could do that.”

“Then let’s get back to the point. The reason I didn’t bring evidence of the affair wasn’t because I couldn’t find it.”

“Okay?”

“It’s because I wanted to tell you about it somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else? Where?”

“At our next meeting.”

It wasn’t a bad suggestion.

In order for Graham and Dolorosa to get together, Rachel would need to see Cian often. If the parents saw each other often enough, the children would naturally meet!

“Did you know that His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet will be held tomorrow at the Imperial Palace?”

“Of course, I know, it’s a banquet that my husband is taking the lead in organizing.”

“You must attend the banquet. There, I will give you proof of Count Theodore Elrosa’s infidelity.”

I nodded, thinking it was a good thing I was going to the banquet anyway.

“Understood.”

“It will be conclusive evidence of adultery that could never be denied.”

She couldn’t ignore the power in his voice. Even though she couldn’t see it through the mask, Rachel could tell that the eyes behind it were shining brightly.