IKMHITM 27

࣪ ִֶָ☾. Chapter 27 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“Is this it?”

Feeling the weight of their gaze pouring onto her, Eve unfastened the choker from her neck.

“That is…… why is it like that?”

The deep blue bruises and handprints left across her snow-white neck were fully exposed.

Brittany flinched and knitted her brows in shock, while Hatar’s expression hardened as his eyes widened.

“No responsibility shall be held even if the bride is crippled or dies.”

In a slightly hoarse voice, Eve recited the clause from the contract.

“Do you understand now? Why such a clause was necessary.”

“Oh…… good heavens! I had no idea.”

Brittany nervously bit her lip, not knowing what to do. The people around her were casting sharp, condemning glares in her direction.

“Brittany!”

Hatar let out a booming roar.

“I came all the way out here based solely on your words! You’ve made a complete fool of me!!”

“W-Wait a minute. I didn’t expect this either……!”

Startled by the thunderous reprimand, Brittany recoiled in terror.

“Eve. Why didn’t you say anything? I didn’t know a thing about this! Do you feel satisfied painting me out to be such a heartless mother?”

“As if telling you would have done any good.”

“What?”

“Have you ever helped me out, even once? Thirteen years ago, when I was almost kidnapped, I begged and pleaded with you to save me, but you refused to believe a word I said.”

“You were just a child back then! A little thing babbling on about kidnappings, mages, and prince charming…… how on earth was I supposed to believe such wild nonsense?”

“I don’t even need to go as far back as my childhood. When I was beaten by my older brother! Did you ever try to stop him, even once?”

Overwhelmed by a surge of surging emotion, Eve’s voice rose to a pitch.

“I begged you to save me. I pleaded with you that something might break if I took any more beatings, but you always covered your ears! Ignoring my screams right up until the end!!”

“What on earth is this child saying……! Am I supposed to meddle in every little squabble between siblings?”

“A squabble? You call it a squabble when only I am beaten to the point of breaking my bones?”

Gritting her teeth with a bitter smile, Eve looked back and forth between Hatar and Brittany.

“Did Mother get beaten like that by Uncle all the time, too?”

Hatar shook his head, and Brittany’s face flushed a deep crimson.

“This won’t do. Tell your husband to come out here right now! I’ll have a word with him. There, happy now?”

With a reckless attitude, Brittany tried to grab Eve’s arm. However, someone stepped in to block her path.

“Pardon me, but.”

Before anyone realized it, Kamien had stepped forward.

“I must ask you to show the proper respect to our master, guest.”

Seeing Kamien’s face for the first time, Brittany’s eyes glazed over. It was a face that made one momentarily forget even the chaotic mess surrounding them.

“Well said, Kamien. You have my permission to say whatever you like.”

Eve smiled sweetly, releasing the restrictions she had placed on Kamien.

“R-Right. You came at a good time.”

Clueless about the situation, Brittany redirected her anger toward the servant.

“Where is the Marquis of Arno? Bring him to me at once. I need to have a word with him.”

“Lord Seryan is currently suffering from a nervous breakdown. He is accepting no outside visitors whatsoever.”

“Oh! Are we really strangers? I am his mother-in-law!”

“Pardon me, but family members of the bride are strictly prohibited from visiting the Belper Estate.”

The contents of the contract, which she had been deliberately ignoring, were dragged right back into the light.

“It has to be a reasonable contract in the first place! How can a mother not even be allowed to see her own daughter?!”

“Why did you sign a contract that was so unreasonable?”

Kamien asked with a genuine expression of confusion, making Brittany’s face turn even redder.

“If the contract is violated, Arno will hold you strictly accountable.”

Kamien’s lips moved lightly. The sight resembled a red rose blooming while carrying deadly poison.

Brittany shivered with an inexplicable chill. She was suddenly reminded of her eldest son, twitching as though he had lost his mind, and her daughter-in-law, groaning in misery while breaking out in cold sweats.

A vague, dreadful premonition whispered that a similar fate might soon befall her.

Brittany felt an urgent need to shake off that feeling by any means necessary.

“Eve, you. Are you really just going to stand back and watch?”

Brittany’s target shifted back to Eve.

“What on earth did you do to Hyde and Iola?”

“What on earth could I possibly have done?”

“Oh, please, if you have even a shred of conscience, confess the truth! Iola is heavily pregnant, and she almost suffered a miscarriage because of this.”

“I told you, I didn’t do a thing.”

“Then why did they come back looking like an absolute wreck, shaking like leaves? Their entire bodies were covered in bruises and cuts!”

“I suppose they beat each other up. A domestic dispute or something of the sort.”

“Ha……!”

At the apathetic retort, sparks flew in Brittany’s eyes.

“Are you implying Iola beat up Hyde? What absolute nonsense!”

“Or perhaps they ran into some robbers.”

“Robbers, my foot!”

“You said it yourself earlier, Mother. There are bandit groups in this forest.”

“Stop talking rubbish! If there were, we would have seen them on our way here.”

“You brought thirty soldiers with you. What bandit in their right mind would show up?”

Since when did this girl get so good with her words? Unable to contain her burning rage, Brittany hammered her own chest with her fists.

“That’s enough, Brittany.”

“But, Brother!”

“You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”

Gasp. Struck by Hatar’s sharp rebuke, Brittany looked as though she had been punched straight in the solar plexus.

Hatar grabbed Brittany firmly by the shoulders and shoved her back out of the way.

“I apologize for the sudden visit, Eve. I made the mistake of listening only to your mother and caused you trouble.”

“……It’s fine.”

“We will be heading back now. As for you, Eve…….”

Hatar trailed off, his gaze landing on Eve. More precisely, on the handprint bruised around her neck.

“Do you perhaps have any mind to return with us?”

“Uncle.”

Eve felt a sudden warmth in her chest.

Hatar was the head of the Bahu family. He knew full well that taking her back with him could trigger a severe territorial conflict with the House of Arno.

Even so, he was willing to risk all of it and ask Eve if she wanted to come along.

“I am fine. My husband isn’t the easiest person to deal with, but…… he won’t kill me.”

“Are you certain?”

“This place needs me.”

Eve smiled softly.

“Besides, anywhere is better than that house.”

“That girl!”

Brittany flared up again. However, one glare from Hatar was enough to seal her lips.

“Eve, I understand your intentions. If you ever wish it, you are welcome to visit the Bahu estate whenever you like. There is always a room for you.”

If she had heard those words just a little earlier, would anything have been different? Shaking off the strange sentimental thought, Eve lowered her head.

“Thank you, truly, for your kindness.”

Hatar turned back to Brittany with a bitter look in his eyes.

“You should apologize, too.”

“What?!”

“Not only did you sell your daughter’s life price and trade away her safety, but you also framed her? On top of that, it seems Hyde went begging her for money. How can a family behave like this…….”

Hatar’s eyes narrowed with deep disapproval. Even the soldiers accompanying him were shooting disgusted glares at Brittany.

The mounting pressure felt terrifying. With trembling lips, Brittany muttered reluctantly.

“W-Well, there must have been some misunderstanding. Why would I ever do something like that on purpose?”

“…….”

“Hyde is sick, and the household finances are a mess. I’m having a terribly hard time. I even had to let maids go, so there’s so much work my back feels like it’s breaking. Yet here you are, Eve, living in the lap of luxury as the grand mistress of a great noble family!”

Eve noticed her mother’s eyes darting toward her hand—the hand resting on the large jeweled choker.

So money is what she’s after, after all.

Sure enough, Brittany changed tactics. Pretending to apologize to her daughter, she pitifully lamented her harsh circumstances in a sweet, pleading tone.

Naturally, it didn’t work on Eve.

“Isn’t that why you pocketed my bride-price? Use that to cover your debts.”

“How can you speak so coldly to your own family?”

“Because my family sold me out first.”

Eve gave a bright, cheerful smile.

“Please do not ever come looking for me again. As you can see, I am nothing more than a pretty fruit that looks good on the outside but is rotten within.”

As she spoke, Eve gently stroked the bruises on her neck with her fingertips. She felt a ticklish sensation as Kamien’s gaze followed the movement right above her.

“I have no money to give to family.”

The moment Eve finished speaking and let out a refreshing breath of relief, it happened.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet shook violently.

“W-What is this?”

“An earthquake!”

“Everyone, get low and cover your heads!”

Hatar shouted to the panicking soldiers.

“Pardon me, Master, for a moment.”

Kamien scooped Eve up into an embrace and crouched down.

The earth let out a deafening roar. Thousands of lightning bolts crackled beneath the trembling ground.

“What on earth is happening?!”

Above her head, she could feel Kamien letting out a sigh.

“It seems the mansion…”

“……?”

“Is quite fond of Lady Eve.”

So it’s trying to bury them for good? Before she could even ask, the mountain collapsed.

“A landslide!”

“Everyone, watch out!”

A torrent of tumbling earth and mud surged downward like a high tide.

Certain they were going to be swept away, Eve braced herself as the world went pitch black.

“What?”

“It seems to have stopped.”

To their surprise, they ended up covered in thick layers of dust and dirt. Though a few soldiers sustained bruises from flying rocks, it was a minor outcome compared to the danger.

“It’s thanks to the birch forest! The tall, dense trees acted as a breakwater.”

Looking around, Hatar shouted out.

Just then, something glittered amidst the densely piled-up soil. One of the soldiers carefully brushed the dirt aside to inspect it.

“……What is this?”

The soldier’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Isn’t this… gold?”

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･