I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 163 - Side Story 2

 

After mocking Erhan, I left his room, feeling the stress melt away.

 

Then I made my way to the parlor where my aunt and uncle were supposed to be…

 

There, an unexpected figure was seated before me and Carson.

 

“…Mother?”

 

I blinked rapidly in embarrassment, and the Duchess and Auntie greeted me with beaming faces.

 

“Oh my, is our daughter-in-law here?”

 

“Leen!”

 

The Duchess, who saw me every day at the Ducal Palace, smiled leisurely, but my Aunt and Uncle did not.

 

They jumped up from their seats, rushed over to me, and then embraced me in a double hug.

 

“We’ve missed you.”

 

“How have you been?”

 

Since my return from Abascanthus, I had been to the Count’s house to let my aunt and uncle know that I was well.

 

But to come running up to greet me like this… 

 

No, it’s because of Barmon’s execution.

 

At my aunt and uncle’s affectionate concern, I smiled sheepishly.

 

“Everything is settled, so why should I not be well? The Duke and Duchess have treated me so dearly, and I am doing fine.”

 

“I’m glad to hear that.”

 

Auntie and Uncle embraced me once more with a sweep of their chests.

 

As we stood there in our emotional reunion, Carson turned to the Duchess and asked.

 

“Wouldn’t you have been at least as happy to see me as my mother?”

 

Carson had become invisible to the Duchess, but there was no hint of regret in his expression or tone.

 

The Duchess was unperturbed, answering, ‘I’m sure you know that.’

 

“I see you every day.”

 

“You see Leen every day, don’t you?”

 

“How could I not be happy to see such a beautiful daughter-in-law?”

 

“That’s true.”

 

Carson was easily convinced by the mention of the name.

 

Somehow managing to separate myself from my aunt and uncle, I approached the duchess and asked.

 

“What brings you here, Mother?”

 

“I’m here to coordinate a few things with my in-laws for the wedding.”

 

Aha!

 

It was the Duchess who was in charge of our wedding as a whole.

 

But given her status, she could have informed my aunt and uncle of the decision and no one would have said anything.

 

I could feel the Duchess’s respect for my Aunt and Uncle.

 

“If I had known this was going to happen, I wish Mother could have come with us.”

 

“I’ve been talking to my in-laws about this and that while you were gone.”

 

True enough, they would have had a more honest conversation without us.

 

My aunt watched me and the Duchess chatting, then said playfully

 

“By the way… Leen, who never called us mother and father either, I’m a little jealous that you’re her mother.”

 

“Oho, it’s the privilege of in-laws, they have a new daughter.”

 

The duchess laughed, her eyes curling up into a catlike bend, and offered me a seat.

 

“Sit down.”

 

In response, I tugged on Carson’s hand, who stood at a distance, and we sat down side by side.

 

My aunt stared at us, then her mouth twitched as if she’d just remembered something.

 

“Ah. Now that I think of it, Leen, you are completely independent of us, so I suppose I should give it to you.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The truth is, not long after your parents died, and the funeral was held, Arcandus came to me personally.”

 

“Arcandus…?”

 

This was the first I’d heard of him.

 

“She handed me a box full of gold coins. She said it was your mother’s inheritance, and she wanted me to use it for child support. She said it was a will.”

 

My mother left me an inheritance.

 

I narrowed my eyes as if I’d heard wrong.

 

There was no way there was any money left in our family.

 

I had taken all the money I had and spent it on treating my parents’ illnesses.

 

As if reading my thoughts, my aunt explained with a bitter expression.

 

“Your parents must have realized early on that they couldn’t be cured, so they saved up a large sum of money and asked Arcandus to help them.”

 

“Oh…?”

 

Was that it?

 

Yes, it was strange, now that I thought about it.

 

My mom had made tons of medicines and was quite famous.

 

There wasn’t anything I hadn’t tried to cure my parents’ disease, but all that money couldn’t have been spent so easily.

 

My aunt’s eyes filled with sadness as if she were about to burst into tears.

 

“But I never spent any of the money your mother gave me, because I thought it was only right that you should have it.”

 

It was a very Auntie thing to do, and it made my heart ache even more.

 

“Auntie…”

 

“Now that you’re all grown up, and it’s time for you to get married, I think it’s time to give it back.”

 

I stared blankly at the box Auntie had had the attendant bring.

 

The clasp was securely fastened, as if to prove that it had never been opened.

 

“I can’t take this money.”

 

It was obvious.

 

“If my mom gave it to you as child support, I think it belongs to you, after all, you raised me.”

 

“I didn’t raise you, you raised yourself. I didn’t know that happened to you when you were younger, even though we lived in the same house.”

 

‘I don’t deserve this money.’

 

My Aunt added, looking determined and pushing the box in front of me.

 

“Auntie, I have a lot of money.”

 

At this point, I realized that I was going to get the money.

 

Of course, it was true that I did have a lot of money.

 

“No. This is money I can’t take, Leen, no matter how much or how little you have.”

 

Somehow, that determined look in her eyes and voice made me feel like she wasn’t going to back down.

 

I silently exchanged a glance with Carson.

 

He caught the meaning of my gaze and his mouth curled into a smile.

 

“Mother-in-law.”

 

Flinched—

 

My aunt, who flinched slightly at the unfamiliarity of the title, took a deep breath and answered calmly.

 

“Yes, go ahead, Duke.”

 

“It was a pleasure to meet you, though briefly.”

 

“What? What does that mean…”

 

Carson pulled an invitation from his bosom and set it down on the table. And then…

 

Grabbing my hand, he teleported away.

 

“Well, I’ll see you at the wedding.”

 

Poof!

 

I screamed as my vision flipped.

 

What a lunatic, he ran away and settled for persuasion!

 

💫

 

Arriving at the Duke of Lysianthus, I questioned him incredulously.

 

“No, I asked you to persuade them, so why the hell did you teleport?”

 

“…Didn’t you say we should run away?”

 

I slapped my forehead as I watched Carson roll his eyes.

 

As if they’d even brought the Duchess along for the ride, she muttered with despair in her eyes.

 

“…I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into.”

 

I glared at Carson for a moment, then decided to smile and think favorably of it.

 

“Though, I suppose it might have been better this way, since your aunt was so determined not to take the money.”

 

“Right?”

 

“That doesn’t mean you did a good job, so don’t laugh.”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

The Duchess, who had been looking at us with a look of disapproval, finally spoke up.

 

“Speaking of which, my husband has prepared a wedding present for you, so why don’t we head over to accept it now?”

 

“What? I’m sure you’re busy enough with the preparations for our wedding, what else have you got for us?”

 

She shrugged her shoulders and said like a sigh.

 

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I already bought it a while ago, and when I heard he bought something like that, I was like…”

 

What the hell did the Duke buy that would cause such a reaction?

 

I remembered his previous purchases, including a fist-sized diamond ring, and suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

 

It felt like I was about to receive an unusual gift.

 

“Let’s get to the Duke.”

 

Arriving at the Duke’s residence, we walked in, unusually nervous.

 

No, actually, I seemed to be the only one nervous.

 

Carson doesn’t seem to care what his father bought, and the Duchess seems to have already been robbed.

 

The Duke stopped what he was doing and drew a small smile to his lips.

 

“I did not expect the three of you to return together. Did you enjoy your outing?”

 

“Father.”

 

The Duke’s expression hardened when he saw my stern expression.

 

“Leen, what is it…”

 

“What’s your wedding gift for us?”

 

“…Alas, you heard from Sylvia.”

 

The Duke gave a small sigh, as if he knew what was coming.

 

He took out a wad of papers from a drawer and spoke slowly.

 

“It’s nothing much, but I’ve arranged for a cottage for the two of you to share.”

 

“A cottage?”

 

My ears perked up. Well, that’s not as bad as I thought.

 

Seeing my expression, the Duchess gave a small sigh and asked for clarification.

 

“How many houses are there?”

 

“…Dozens of houses.”

 

“What?”

 

Why would I need dozens of villas when I only have two bodies?

 

I quickly checked the papers the Duke had pulled out.

 

But there was something else I should be panicking about.

 

He’s right, all those dozens of addresses…

 

“Village of Garir Abser…?”

 

I tore my gaze from the papers and looked up, staring at the Duke blankly.

 

He coughed uncharacteristically and averted my gaze.

 

Perhaps I had caught the culprit.

 

The culprit had taken possession of a house that was completely white, faintly pink, and just my kind of house.