TLWFL 10

Chapter 10

Everything was going smoothly.

When I told my father that the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant and her acquaintances would also be accompanying us on the volunteer trip to Muteso, he even did a little shoulder dance.

*’The Dowager Duchess of Cheskant must be considering you as the Duchess’s wife once again. My child, Roseel. You must do well. You must win back the Dowager Duchess’s heart. From what I know, the Dowager Duchess favors clever and calculating young ladies. How should I put it? The intellectual type? They say she seeks a lady who fits the image of a Duchess well.’*

That is completely wrong information.

If the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant truly favored that type of lady, there’s no way she would have chosen Aileen. Aileen was a person warmer than anyone, like a spring sunshine.

Unless…

A big incident had occurred before her death that was enough to cause a change in the Dowager Duchess’s heart.

It would have been so nice if Aileen could have come on this volunteer trip too.

Actually, they say the biggest reason for ruining a marriage is mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict. Since the only in-law in Cheskant is the Dowager Duchess, it would be good if Aileen makes a good impression.

After today, I’ll have to poke Count Loteroa in the side.

I’ll try to move up Aileen’s arrival.

If only Lestern would see the error of his ways right here, then spring would come to my life too. I’d live a sweet life, laughing and joking with the two main characters.

Just as I was imagining that far, the carriage stopped.

Noble ladies were gathered in front of the disaster site in Muteso.

Inside the tent, medical teams and people supplying food were gathered.

“I heard there were no casualties, but…”

One noble lady muttered with a pale face. Just then, the person in charge who would explain the situation to us ran over. A man wearing a safety helmet deeply bowed his head before the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant.

“You’ve come! To offer help like this…”

“…From what I see now, the situation looks serious. I think an explanation is needed.”

The person in charge looked back with a troubled expression. Behind the man, one more arrogant-looking middle-aged man appeared. He had a shabby impression and a beard.

Looking sideways and backwards, he had the look of ‘I’m a villain, deheh.’

The Dowager Duchess of Cheskant’s expression hardened slightly.

That man pushed the person in charge aside.

“Ah, Viscount Muteso!”

“To think you’d really come all the way here! Dowager Duchess of Cheskant, and Lady Loteroa.”

The man called Viscount Muteso winked at me. What is this, this feels very ominous. I swallowed dryly. I could feel the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant looking at me with a cold gaze.

Viscount Muteso was a vassal under Count Loteroa. Recognizing his long service to Loteroa, the Count himself had petitioned the Emperor to grant him a title.

And so he came to manage the largest land among the territories belonging to Loteroa.

It’s cold, so cold.

“Actually, there was a secondary disaster. While we were proceeding with the restoration work, another landslide occurred, and three workers went missing.”

“Why haven’t you reported this fact yet!! And I know there was sufficient financial support, but you didn’t even prepare for additional accidents!”

The Dowager Duchess of Cheskant raised her voice. It felt like my hands were sweating. Somehow I had a feeling I knew what that man was going to say.

“The accident happened yesterday, and I sent a man to Count Loteroa this morning. He should have received the news by now. It happened so suddenly, I… And, just because there is financial support doesn’t mean we can prevent accidents. Unless it’s enough.”

Viscount Muteso’s eyes met mine.

I could clearly read the desire reflected in Viscount Muteso’s eyes. Cheskant had sponsored Muteso with support funds through Loteroa. And I knew that both I and Loteroa had spent a large sum to support the restoration of Muteso, but…?

My heart sank.

It seems Count Loteroa is hiding something from me.

The Dowager Duchess of Cheskant gave a sharp order.

“It seems I was unaware of something. But I don’t think now is the time to argue about that. Shouldn’t we find the missing people?”

“We are looking now, but as you know, it’s not easy… And because of that, the restoration work is also being delayed…”

Viscount Muteso gave a greasy, catfish-like smile. I wanted to tear out all that beard. I wanted to ask, while plucking each and every hair of that beard, what conspiracy he had cooked up with Count Loteroa.

My fingertips trembled.

“Cheskant will take charge of finding the missing. You there.”

“Yes, Dowager Duchess!”

“Go to the capital immediately and bring the Duke of Cheskant. The knights under the Duke will also be helpful. Bring anyone who can be of use… There’s a nearby territory, ah! Yes, the Countess. There is the territory of Countess Escana. Countess, could you lend a hand?”

“Yes, Dowager Duchess. I’ll send someone right away.”

Watching everyone submit to the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant’s charisma, Viscount Muteso wrinkled his face in dissatisfaction. Viscount Muteso blocked the Dowager Duchess’s path.

“What are you doing now, madam? I am the one in charge of this site! No one can enter the site without my permission, and nothing can be done without my permiss—”

“Does that apply even if I’m here?”

A cold voice escaped my lips without me realizing it.

Watching a man so calmly assert his rights in a situation where people could die was disgusting. And it was even more disgusting to think that Count Loteroa might be that kind of person too.

People’s gazes turned to me.

I could see doubt forming in the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant’s eyes.

“I carry the name of Loteroa, and I am the one who will inherit Loteroa in the future. So I believe I have the right to give orders to Viscount Muteso.”

“La-Lady. Regarding this matter, let’s talk again…”

“No. I don’t want to hear any stories. Saving lives is more important. And I lack knowledge about this kind of site, so I wish to seek advice and learn from the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant. So.”

I approached, pressuring Viscount Muteso.

Viscount Muteso took a step back with an uncomfortable expression. I threatened him, as if grinding my teeth.

“Viscount, who must be very busy, please return to your mansion.”

Get out of here right now, Catfish Beard.

—

Yurassel watched Roseel, who had rolled up her sleeves and was dashing around among the people. Lestern had said Roseel had changed somewhere.

Yurassel does not believe that people change. She believed that a person’s nature is determined at birth.

But today’s Roseel was certainly different. Whether it was when she drove out Viscount Muteso, when she gave orders for the search operation following the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant’s will, and even now, when she was wiping the face of a child lying face down on the ground crying.

Many noble ladies shy away from dirty and menial work, but Roseel was casually carrying food and wiping the wounds of the injured with clean cloth.

*’Roseel has changed.’*

It felt like those words were truly true.

The Dowager Duchess of Cheskant was certainly a calculating person who moved for the benefit of the family. However, she was also a person who believed that people must come before money. In a situation where lives were at stake like this, she could set aside the family’s interests.

That was where she clashed with Count Loteroa.

When the landslide occurred due to the Muteso trees, Count Loteroa tried to shift the blame for the accident to someone else.

But the Dowager Duchess of Cheskant cleanly admitted fault and provided support funds. Because of that, there was a dispute with Count Loteroa, and ultimately, Roseel and Lester’s marriage was put on hold.

She had told Count Loteroa to take responsibility and deliver the support funds to Muteso, but…

*’It seems there was a problem with that too.’*

They say parents are the mirror of their children.

Roseel seemed to know nothing about that matter.

It was a day when Roseel looked newly different to her.

“Child, Roseel.”

“Ah, yes. Grandmother.”

Roseel smiled brightly in response to the Dowager Duchess’s call.

“Are you not tired? You can go back now. Your father wouldn’t be pleased to know you’re being put through such hardship.”

“I came here to volunteer anyway.”

Yurassel did not miss the faint bitter smile that flickered across Roseel’s face.

“And, it seems my father’s thoughts differ from mine.”

At that point, Roseel was inwardly grinding her teeth.