Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 118

“Lady Stella?”

 

It was Britlyn who first noticed Stella approaching with sinister intentions.

 

Without a word, Stella grabbed Leonoe’s farm. Then, glancing sideways at the imperial guards coming up the stairs, she shouted, “Aunt, where are you going? The imperial guards came looking for us. Are you planning to defy His Majesty’s orders?”

 

At the obvious act of deliberately raising her voice, Britlyn’s face turned red. “What are you doing, Milady?”

 

“Shut your mouth.” Stella whispered with a small movement of her lips. Britlyn felt a chill run through her veins.

 

Meanwhile, the imperial guards came rushing toward the source of the noise. Sensing their presence, Britlyn cried out urgently. “Let go of Madam Leonoe!” She struggled to pull Stella away. But Stella’s hand clung to Leonoe like a demon’s grip. “Milady! Why are you doing this!”

 

“If you don’t want to get stabbed to death, stay quiet! This is all to save ourselves.” Stella muttered coldly. Though in truth, she was planning to sell out Leonoe to save herself.

 

Britlyn, sharp as ever, couldn’t possibly miss the intent behind it. Stella’s eyes failed to hide the contempt she felt.

 

Stella simply curled her lips as if she found it amusing.

 

* * *

The first-floor lobby of the mansion, where Benjamin and I were dragged out to, was packed with people.

 

“I-I didn’t do anything wrong! P-Please believe me! Uhuhuhu…!” Terrified, Nichola was sobbing with tears and snot running down his face.

 

“Calm down, Nicholas. No matter what happens, this uncle will protect you, so don’t worry.” Kobel was soothing the whining Nicholas as if he were a child.

 

A little apart from them, Juliet stood silently, holding her breath.

 

To mobilize the imperial guards, seize the Blanche Mansion, and detain its members by force. The emperor has truly made up his mind. This was a blatant act of tyranny, breaking the pact. If it failed, the backlash would be immense.

 

The emperor surely knew that as well. That’s why he summoned Hubert to the imperial palace and launched a surprise attack. He was determined to take over the Blanche family, even if he had to force the issue.

 

“Have all the members of the Blanche family been captured?” The captain of the imperial guards, Hector, asked his men.

 

A response came from the direction of the stairs. “We’ve found the last two remaining family members!”

 

I turned my head and froze. Behind me, I could hear a low sigh from Benjamin. Stella was coming down the stairs, clutching my mother’s arm tightly, surrounded by soldiers. I told Britlyn to hide with Mom in the secret space in the attic, didn’t I?

 

“Let go! Madam Leonoe! Madam Leonoe!” Just then, Britlyn’s scream echoed. Behind Stella and my mother, she was being dragged along by the soldiers, struggling desperately.

 

“I don’t know what happened, but please take into consideration that I voluntarily came while escorting my aunt in order to obey His Majesty’s command.” Stella bowed her head to the captain of the imperial guard, her expression showing no intention of resisting.

 

Seeing her servile and despicable attitude, I could guess what was going on. Stella plans to sacrifice Mom to save herself. Before I knew it, my fists clenched tightly.

 

“Aunt, you say?” Hector looked at Mom and asked. He questioned my mother’s presence, who stood there blankly, expressionless.

 

“You must have heard of her. Leonoe Blanche, my aunt. She’s a bit unwell,” Stella quickly replied. Then, she added something with a meaningful tone. “She’s Epirosa’s biological mother.”

 

At the mention of her being my biological mother, Hector’s eyes gleamed wickedly. He extended his large, rough hand toward Mom. But I stepped in front of him before he could reach her.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Hector asked without hiding his displeasure.

 

The imperial guards all pointed their swords at me in unison. Even the Blanche family and their employees shrank back under the sharp, oppressive atmosphere. Only I didn’t avoid Hector’s gaze. His face twisted in dissatisfaction at my defiance.

 

“Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

 

It was a meaningless question to someone who had already died once. So instead of answering, I countered with a question of my own. “Aren’t you afraid of breaking the pact between the imperial family and the Blanche family?”

 

“Why should a pact with traitors be honored?” Hector scoffed.

 

I glared at him coldly. “When it’s revealed that the Blanche family is innocent, will you be able to bear the consequences of your actions?”

 

“Bear it? Ha! I’ll bear it as much as I want! The glory of punishing a traitor? I’ll gladly take that on!” Hector laughed loudly and shoved Gale forward, patting him on the back as if dealing with a subordinate. “Are you still denying the fact that the eldest son of the Blanche family himself confessed? Truly shameless, isn’t she, Count?”

 

“Epirosa, that child, has always been shameless and wicked.” Gale exclaimed as if he had found his moment to shine. “When it was discovered that they were preparing for treason, they tried to bury me instead!”

 

The employees clicked their tongues at his brazen attitude.

 

Gale flared up in anger. “You wretches! How dare you click your tongues at me! You’ll all be thrown into the flames together!”

 

“Don’t threaten innocent employees.” Unable to hold back any longer, I cut in coldly. “You had countless opportunities, Uncle. Opportunities to live as a proud member of the Blanche family, even if you couldn’t become its head. Opportunities to repent and live after committing sins. But you threw all those chances away and chose the path of death yourself.”

 

“Are you trying to lecture me right now?”

 

“Don’t blame anyone else.”

 

Gale clenched his teeth, his face boiling with anger as he looked at my cold expression. “The evidence will appear soon enough, yet you remain shameless to the end! Once the evidence comes out, you—!”

 

At that moment, the imperial guards rushed out all at once. They were the ones who had gone to search for the evidence.

 

“The evidence?”

 

“We couldn’t find it.”

 

“What? And you?” Hector asked another guard who had searched a different area. But the answer was the same.

 

“There was no evidence in any of the locations Count Gale told us about.”

 

“It’s the same for us. We searched every corner of the mansion thoroughly, but nothing came up.”

 

Gale’s face stiffened. His complexion turned pale as well. “T-That can’t be…”

 

Watching him, I recalled something from not long ago.

 

“Milady, just as expected, Paterson hid fabricated evidence of treason all around my room. He even slipped a treason plan into the report I was supposed to deliver to you.”

 

“Find it all and burn them.”

 

The fake evidence prepared by Gale and Paterson had long been destroyed by our hands. I silently watched Hector and Gale flounder, clueless about this fact. Hector glared at Gale, as if urging him to do something.

 

At that moment, Gale, as if grasping at the last rotten straw, looked somewhere. Someone suddenly stepped out from among the employees.

 

“I-I heard everything about the treason plot!” It was Paterson. After shouting with a solemn expression, he dropped to his knees on the floor.

 

“Who are you?” Hector asked, his face brightening.

 

Paterson responded as if he had been waiting for this moment. “I am the grand duke’s aide!”

 

“Hubert Blanche’s aide? Then you must have seen and heard everything the traitors were doing from up close.”

 

“Yes, that’s correct. Even though I overheard the treason plot, I stayed silent out of fear until now. But after seeing the shameless behavior of Lady Epirosa and Chief Aide Benjamin, I simply couldn’t endure it anymore!” Paterson appealed dramatically, pounding his chest with his fist as if in anguish. “If only I had stepped forward sooner, Count Gale wouldn’t have to bear this false accusation alone!”

 

The desperate effort to fabricate evidence of treason was almost pitiful. But Paterson wasn’t done yet. He glared at Benjamin with malice.

 

“Benjamin! Stop it already! I saw everything! I saw you possessing the treason plans and the receipts for smuggled weapons!”

 

“Paterson!” Benjamin shouted in fury.

 

I raised my hand to stop Benjamin and instead took a step closer to Paterson. “Is that true? Paterson, did you see everything?”

 

As I locked eyes with him and moved closer, Paterson flinched. He avoided my gaze and shouted even louder on purpose. “Yes, Milady! So please stop this now!”

 

“Paterson!” I grabbed him by the collar. The calm demeanor I had maintained until now shattered as I acted on my emotions, and Paterson looked up at me in shock.

 

“You’re getting defensive because it struck a nerve! Don’t intimidate the witness!” Hector, completely mistaken, shouted triumphantly.

 

But I shook Paterson by the collar like someone who had lost all reason. “Everyone in the mansion knows you were close to Uncle Gale! They all know you couldn’t become chief aide because of Benjamin!”

 

I struck a nerve, poking at Paterson’s inferiority complex about Benjamin. His face twisted hideously.