Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 107

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It was the next morning. Gale, who had gone to find Stella, frowned.

 

“What? She’s already out?”

 

“Yes, she left early at dawn.”

 

“Didn’t she go out all day yesterday too!” Gale shouted at Stella’s servant. But yelling wouldn’t bring Stella back from her outing.

 

Outing my ass! It was clear Stella was deliberately avoiding him.

 

“That damned brat! Avoiding me when her father is looking for her?”

 

His insides churned with anger. Epirosa, despite being busy, takes such devoted care of her sick mother. But that brat Stella abandons me just because I’m cornered! The comparison was inevitable. Nicholas was useless, and now Stella, who avoided him whenever he tried to rely on her! Why are all my children like this!

 

Gale stormed back to his room, his steps heavy with rage. Maybe I should go see Marquis Mateng. That old man is the only one I can turn to for help! But his thoughts came to a halt as he opened the door. It was because the servants were bustling around, packing up his belongings.

 

“What do you think you’re doing!” Gale shouted.

 

Startled, the servants froze and looked at him. “Um, that, His Excellency ordered us to pack everything in advance.”

 

“Pack my things?! Why!”

 

“Because Count will soon be leaving for the Hepas territory…”

 

In the end, Gale exploded. “Who said I’m going to Hepas! Get out of here right now!” He raged wildly.

 

Seeing Gale thrash around like a madman, the servants bolted out of the room in a flash.

 

“Haa, haa… Damn it!” Left alone, Gale slumped into a chair, panting heavily. His heart pounded like crazy, unable to calm down. Lately, he had been caught in a cycle of constant anger and agitation. It was becoming unbearable to endure with a clear mind. Cold sweat began to trickle down his face.

 

Gale reached out to the table, grabbing a random piece of cloth to wipe his forehead. But then, a strange feeling crept over him, and he slowly looked at the cloth in his hand. The pattern and color were familiar. It looks just like… the pattern of his clothes. The very clothes he wore the day he tried to kill Epirosa!

 

“Uh, uuuhh!” Gale recoiled in horror, throwing the piece of cloth, no, the piece of clothing away from him.

 

“W-Why is a piece of burned clothing here!” A single unforgettable sentence flashed through Gale’s mind as he screamed.

 

[Have you perhaps lost a precious button?]

 

Gale’s legs trembled uncontrollably. Someone in this house knows what I did. No, they even have evidence! And that crazy person is using it to blackmail me right now! Who, who on earth is it! Epirosa? No. If it were her, she would have gone straight to Father and ended me already! It was probably some insignificant b*stard who wanted something from me.

 

What on earth are they trying to get out of me? Money? If they want something, they should just come out and demand it! Why pressure someone who’s already about to lose his mind!?

 

Unable to contain his anger, Gale tore the piece of clothing into shreds. As he panted heavily, a name came to his mind. Could it be Marie Lotus? Marie Lotus was currently locked up in the servants’ prison. She was soon to be sentenced and transferred to the Tower of the Condemned. Could this be some kind of threat, asking me to save her?

 

But that assumption didn’t make any sense. Epirosa had replaced all the staff, and all of Marie Lotus’s close aides had been driven out. In other words, there was no one left who would do something like this for Marie, who was locked up in prison. Besides, Marie was half out of her mind right now. It was because of Wise, who had tried to kill her under Gale’s orders.

 

Wise had died fighting the private soldiers Hubert had prepared in advance. Marie, who had witnessed the gruesome scene right before her eyes, had lost half her sanity. There was no way someone like Marie Lotus could threaten Gale. However, Gale was in no state to think rationally at the moment.

 

Driven mad by the pressure, Gale stood up from his seat. Damned Marie Lotus! He stormed out of the main mansion, heading for the underground quarters where Marie was being held. Even though the security was so tight, he wouldn’t be able to meet her anyway.

 

It was then, as he was running like a madman, that someone called out to him.

 

“Ah! Count Gale!”

 

“What! Get out of my way!” Gale shouted at the person blocking his path.

 

The man flinched and bowed his head. “I-I apologize. I didn’t realize you were in such a hurry.”

 

The man’s next words stopped Gale, who was about to rush off again, in his tracks.

 

“I just wanted to ask if you received the clothes Lady Epirosa ordered recently.”

 

Gale flinched and slowly turned to look at the man. Only then did he recognize the face. It was the owner of the boutique he frequented. “Why are you here… No, wait. Clothes Epirosa ordered for me?” Gale asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

 

The owner spoke with a look that seemed to say, ‘You didn’t know?’ “A while ago, Lady Epirosa ordered clothes as a gift for you and had them delivered. Did you not receive them?”

 

“W-What clothes?”

 

“A brown shirt with elegant sleeves. She said it was a replacement for the one you cherished, which was ruined in a fire. She wanted to give you the exact same one…”

 

“What did you just say… “Gale’s eyes turned red with fury. What is this? Epirosa ordered the exact same clothes I burned? Then that meant the one who placed the clothing in his room and the note was Epirosa.

 

As Gale’s eyes burned red with rage, the boutique owner’s face turned pale with fear. “Co-Count…”

 

But soon, Gale burst into a fit of maniacal laughter. “Ha, hahaha!”

 

“Count, w-why are you acting like this?”

 

“You’ve been caught! You impudent thing!”

 

Gale spun around and dashed into the mansion. His steps headed straight for the common parlor on the first floor. Since she called the boutique owner, she must be waiting here!

 

Bang! The door swung open violently, and Epirosa, who had been standing by the window, turned around with a startled expression.

 

“Uncle?” Her already pale cheeks turned even whiter, and her voice trembled at the end.

 

Gotcha! Gale’s lips curled into a sly smirk as he approached Epirosa. At that moment, something in Epirosa’s hand caught his eye. Her slender, fair hand was clutching something. A small, round shape peeked out slightly. My button! His face twisted grotesquely as he lunged toward Epirosa.

 

“You cunning little thing! You’ve been holding onto that this whole time, playing me for a fool?”

 

“U-Uncle? What are you talking a… Ah!”

 

Gale roughly grabbed Epirosa’s wrist, the one holding the button. Startled, she clenched her hand even tighter. The button, which had been partially visible, disappeared completely beneath her fair fingers. Furious, he tightened his grip on her wrist and shook her.

 

“Give me my button right now! Do you think you can blackmail me with something like this and make me submit?”

 

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m dizzy, let me go!”

 

Epirosa’s slender body was being shaken violently. At her scream, people began to gather in the parlor one by one. They murmured in shock as they saw Gale threatening Epirosa as if he was about to hit her.

 

“Give it to me! I said, hand it over right now!” But Gale, who had lost his reason, couldn’t see the many employees around him. It seemed as though all he could see was the button hidden under Epirosa’s hand.

 

“Stop it! What do you think you’re doing?!”

 

Mizulin, who had rushed in urgently, grabbed hold of Gale. But Gale refused to let go of Epirosa. In the end, Epirosa, drained of strength, opened her hand. But then… Plop! What fell from Epirosa’s hand wasn’t a button, but a coin.

 

“!”

 

Gale’s eyes wavered in confusion. Thud! He felt someone roughly grab and yank at his hair.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Gale was slammed onto the ground. Through his spinning vision, he saw someone bending down in front of him. They looked familiar. It was like déjà vu, as if he were reliving a moment from not long ago.

 

Le-Leonoe! With that realization, the spinning silhouette took shape. Fiery red hair, piercing crimson eyes. And a handsome face resembling Hubert’s.

 

Leonoe whispered coldly. “I had told you. If you touch my daughter, I’ll kill you.”