Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 122

Thud. As the door closed, it felt like my entire body was about to collapse.

 

“Are you alright?” Hubert asked worriedly.

 

I forced a smile. “Of course. Mom’s consciousness has become clear. It’s okay if she forgets someone like me.” I held back the tears that were threatening to fall. Hubert then looked at me with pity.

 

Of course, I hadn’t anticipated this situation either. I hoped for Mom to get better, but I never thought she would completely forget about me in the process. Saying I was happy was absolutely true. Yet, at the same time, a deep sorrow washed over me.

 

“Grandpa, please don’t pity me. More importantly, you still have so much work left to do, don’t you?” I said, pretending to be perfectly fine. And this part was entirely genuine. “Thanks to the emperor’s reckless actions, we’ve been given the chance to hold his leash.”

 

Hubert’s eyebrows shot up. He seemed a bit surprised at how quickly I had turned cold. But soon enough, he adjusted his posture, as if he agreed with me. “You are right. Sadness is sadness, but we still have work to do.”

 

“Grandpa, what did you say to the emperor?”

 

Hubert’s lips curled into a smile. “I told him that this time, he would have to wager his very throne.”

 

The Blanche family was a family that possessed enough power to make such a demand. Furthermore, with the emperor having lost his imperial guards along with his righteous justification, the scales tipped heavily in our favor. Yet an opportunity to overthrow the throne had also existed during the late emperor’s reign. I suspected Hubert must have had his reasons for not acting back then.

 

“You don’t intend to strike the imperial family immediately, do you?”

 

“You always seem to know exactly what’s on my mind.” Hubert let out a laugh, as if he found me endearing. “Toppling the imperial family right now would be easy. The real issue is the subsequent chaos. Above all, I believe there’s a reason God bestowed the divine beasts upon our families.”

 

“Indeed, the Belinach royal family of the Frankish Kingdom was destroyed when they tried to attack another family with a divine beast.”

 

Hubert fell into deep thought. “Should I ask Ignasio to make the grand duchy independent?” He seemed to be mulling it over.

 

I leaned in and whispered to him, “I have an idea. If we do this, we can keep the emperor firmly on a leash while significantly raising Blanche’s independent status.”

 

* * *

Hubert was overjoyed when he heard my proposal. He immediately headed back toward the imperial palace, intending to extract the full price for this incident.

 

I left the office and went up to my room. However, the moment I reached the door, strength drained completely from my legs, and I collapsed onto the floor. From inside the room, I couldn’t hear the usual sound of Mom’s laughter or her chatter. She was probably sitting there calmly, having completely forgotten about me.

 

“Mom… doesn’t remember me…” Leaning back against the door, I curled up.

 

* * *

“This is the room where Madam Leonoe used to stay.”

 

Leonoe slowly looked around the large, clean room. It was the room her late mother had used long ago. However, the furniture and decorations had changed so much that it was hard to recognize their old appearance.

 

“What about my room?” Leonoe asked.

 

Britlyn flinched. “I heard the room you originally used has been sealed off for a long time. Even if you wished to use it now, it would require extensive repairs.”

 

A faint scoff escaped Leonoe’s lips. The cold sound of her breath made Britlyn flinch again.

 

“So the moment I left the house, he immediately sealed my room. That’s just like Father.”

 

Leonoe and Hubert were similar in temperament, like a blade meeting another blade. Once their relationship soured, it was hard to mend.

 

Leonoe glanced at the bed without thinking and froze. There were two pillows. Come to think of it, everything in this room seemed to come in pairs.

 

“Is someone else using this room besides me?”

 

Yes, you shared it with Lady Epirosa.”

 

“Epi…rosa?” Leonoe was taken aback. Even if she hadn’t been in her right mind, she could have left her care to the servants. But the fact that her daughter had shared the room with her meant that Epirosa had personally taken care of her. They must have been that close. But I can’t remember anything.

 

The memory of Epirosa’s face flashed through Leonoe’s mind. The way the girl had desperately forced a casual expression even as her complexion turned deathly pale and she bit her lower lip.

 

“Mom, you must be tired. Go rest in your room. Maybe your memories will come back faster that way.”

 

She put her mother’s well-being before her own.

 

How could I possibly forget a child like that? So completely, without a trace. Leonoe felt an intense wave of confusion. She couldn’t even remember getting married, yet she apparently had a child of her own. The fact that she had given birth felt entirely surreal.

 

To her, the concept of having a child was like some unknown creature straight out of a novel. And yet that unknown creature was looking at her with such earnest eyes. Even during the time she had lost her memory, that girl must have taken care of her diligently. Even though I couldn’t have been much of a mother. But she couldn’t remember anything. Guilt crept up from her legs to her head.

 

It was then that the door suddenly opened without warning.

 

“Aunt!”

 

An excessively cheerful voice echoed through the room, sounding entirely staged. A pretty girl with red hair and brown eyes stormed in without hesitation.

 

“I heard the news that Aunt has recovered. So it’s true!”

 

It was Stella who had fled the scene earlier. She had been hiding in the wardrobe, only to swiftly emerge once Hubert returned and the situation settled down. In the meantime, she had managed to overhear passing servants mentioning that Leonoe had regained her senses. But she lost her memories?

 

Stella was convinced that the heavens hadn’t abandoned her just yet. Leonoe, having lost her memory, would still be disoriented, trying to adjust to reality. She planned to sow discord while Hubert and Epirosa were too preoccupied to notice. However, contrary to Stella’s expectations, Leonoe sharply observed Britlyn. She noticed the unease in her expression.

 

“Lady Stella, how could you just barge in without a word?”

 

“Does an aunt and her niece really need such formalities?”

 

“But—”

 

“I have something to discuss with my aunt, so please leave us.”

 

“That won’t do.” Britlyn firmly stood her ground.

 

Leonoe quickly assessed the situation. “Britlyn, step out for a moment.”

 

“What? But—”

 

“I’m not a child who needs your protection anymore.”

 

The commanding aura Leonoe exuded was fundamentally different from the person Britlyn had taken care of. Rational, cold, and resolute. It was like looking at a female version of Hubert. Feeling a sense of unfamiliarity, Britlyn left the room.

 

Left alone with Leonoe, Stella quickly approached her and linked arms. When Leonoe instinctively flinched and pulled her arm away, Stella quickly put on a deeply hurt expression.

 

“Aunt, we always used to link arms like this. Don’t you remember?”

 

“To be honest, I don’t even know who you are.”

 

Stella exaggeratedly widened her eyes in shock, and then tears began to stream down her large eyes.

 

Leonoe merely furrowed her brow. “Why are you crying?”

 

“Aunt! It’s me, Stella! Your favorite niece, Stella!” Stella sobbed, letting her tears fall without even trying to wipe them away. “You used to adore me so much. To think you would lose your memories so completely… sob…”

 

“If you’re my niece, whose daughter are you?” Leonoe questioned, completely unmoved by Stella’s weeping.

 

How can she not even try to comfort someone crying so sadly right in front of her? It feels like being interrogated! Though cursing her inwardly, Stella still spoke with a pitiful expression. “Your eldest brother is my father.”

 

“So it’s Brother Gale…”

 

Even amidst the chaos, Leonoe had already grasped the situation she had just experienced. Gale, who had committed a crime, joined hands with the emperor to attack Blanche in an attempt to escape his predicament.

 

I always suspected his blind obsession with the position of family head would lead him to cause trouble, but I never imagined he would go so far as to frame the family for treason. And now, the child in front of her was supposed to be Gale’s daughter? And I supposedly adored Gale’s daughter? Even in the past, Leonoe and Gale had always been at odds. Though it was mostly due to Gale’s one-sided inferiority complex.

 

As Leonoe looked unconvinced, Stella brought out the lie she had prepared. “Epirosa abandoned Aunt while you were ill and entered the Blanche family alone. So, unable to stand it, I personally brought Aunt to the family.”

 

“You brought me…?”

 

“Yes. This room originally belonged to my mother. We cleared it out specifically for you, Aunt. But Epirosa insisted on using this room for herself and moved in.” Stella suddenly burst into tears. “Do you have any idea how much Epirosa mistreated you after you started sharing the room? She completely bribed all the servants so no one could stop her.”

 

Stella then grabbed Leonoe’s hand tightly. “From now on, I’ll protect you, Aunt. I won’t lose you in vain like I lost my father and mother.”

 

Gale aside, what did she mean by not losing her mother in vain?

 

As Leonoe sent her a questioning look, Stella blinked her tear-filled eyes and spoke. “My mother is currently imprisoned in the Tower of Condemned because of Epirosa’s framing. My father made a wrong choice trying to avenge that grudge.”

 

“Why would Epirosa do something like that?”

 

“It’s because of her greed to inherit the family. Now that Aunt has returned, Grandfather’s favor will go back to you. Epirosa won’t just stand by and watch that happen.” Stella then whispered, “So, tell Epirosa that you want to use a separate room from now on.”

 

Leonoe seemed lost in thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”

 

“Then, Aunt—”

 

“I want to rest now. My head hurts.” Leonoe dismissed her.

 

Stella left, feeling a bit regretful but still satisfied with the success of sowing discord between the two. She celebrated her small victory as she walked away.

 

Once the door closed, Leonoe sat on the sofa with an incredulous expression. “Does she take me for a fool just because I lost my memories?”

 

It was precisely then that the curtains by the window fluttered wildly.