Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 15

“It’s the same green as the previous ointment!”

 

I turned pale. “No, that’s not—!”

 

“Give it to me.” Stella shoved me aside and held out her hand to the maid. I collapsed helplessly to the floor.

 

“Mi-Milady!” Karen rushed over in a panic and helped me up. It was an unconvincing attempt at pretending to be a loyal subordinate.

 

I shouted as if I hadn’t noticed Karen’s behavior. “Y-You can’t take that! Don’t take it!”

 

Stella laughed as if finding my desperate plea amusing.

 

“Please give it back! You’ll regret it if you take it!”

 

“Even if I just investigate it? You’d better keep quiet about the ointment if you don’t want to regret it.”

 

Stella pretended to act like she cared about me, then left the room with Diane. Bang! The door slammed shut with a loud noise, and Karen’s shoulders flinched noticeably. On the other hand, I exhaled calmly.

 

“Milady, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” I brushed off Karen’s hand and stood up.

 

Karen flinched at my sudden change in demeanor. “D-Doesn’t matter?”

 

“I mean I already expected you’d tell Stella about me.”

 

“!” Karen’s face froze stiff.

 

“Of course, it must’ve been a mistake. Right?”

 

“Y-Yes! Of course, it was a mistake! It’s because Lady Stella led me into it with trick questions..!”

 

“Then that’s fine. It doesn’t really matter.” And then, as if to say, ‘You’re more important to me,’ I gently stroked her cheek. Karen looked at me with a face that was half surprised, half touched.

 

I turned my head and looked down at the empty drawer. The ‘new ointment’ was meant to be taken away anyway.

 

* * *

It was a few hours later. A man rushed into Grand Duke Blanche’s manor.

 

“Lady Stella! Where is it? I came as soon as I heard the news!”

 

The man was none other than Viscount Molon. He had come running the moment he received the message from Gale.

 

Disheveled hair, wrinkled shirt tails, even forehead drenched in sweat. Anyone could tell her had run like his life depended on it.

 

When he spotted Stella standing between Gale and Diane, he grinned widely, throwing all formality aside. “Lady, is it true that you’ve finished the ointment?”

 

Stella tilted her head slightly with an air of arrogance. But Viscount Molon didn’t even notice such rudeness.

 

“Ah! Finally!” He was trembling with joy. “Thank you, Lady!” The anticipation of finally being freed from the wretched illness made him feel like he was soaring through the sky. “If this works, I’ll do more than open the path to the Peto Port—I’ll give you anything you want!”

 

Viscount Molon shouted loudly. The commotion reached Hubert, who was in the study.

 

“Viscount Molon, you’ve arrived earlier than the time Gale mentioned.”

 

Hubert was already aware that Stella had completed the medicine. He had heard it from Diane.

 

“My apologies, Your Excellency. But it was too urgent! Please understand.” Viscount Molon bowed deeply to Hubert, his posture almost groveling. A stark contrast to his previous attitude.

 

All this change is thanks to Stella. Hubert’s gaze toward Stella shifted. But the next moment, his fiery red eyes turned cold. But what is this uncomfortable feeling? His thoughts didn’t linger for long.

 

“Here it is.”

 

Stella pulled out the green ointment. Everyone present widened their eyes in surprise.

 

“Lady, quickly, the ointment!”

 

Viscount Molon reached out both hands toward Stella. But at that moment, Stella swiftly hid the vial behind her back.

 

“Not so fast. Let’s make things clear first.” She spoke with an air of arrogance. “You promised that if I gave you this ointment, you’d open the path to Peto Port, right?”

 

“Do you even need to ask? Of course!”

 

“Then let’s write up a contract first. I’ll give you the ointment after that.” Stella spun around sharply.

 

Viscount Molon, desperate, flailed his empty hands and shouted, “I’ll write the contract however you want! But let me just apply a little as a sample right here!” He was far too desperate.

 

Knowing this, Stella shook her head as if pitying him. “The contract comes first. Not a single dab before that.”

 

She tilted her chin up slightly as she spoke. Her attitude was beyond haughty, bordering on insolent. But the one in need was Viscount Molon. He couldn’t do anything.

 

“Still, to make sure that it is the same ointment I used before, I need to test it a little…”

 

“Are you saying you don’t trust my daughter?” Diane raised her voice at Viscount Molon’s words.

 

“If you really can’t trust us, let’s just pretend the contract never happened.” Gale joined in.

 

“N-No, I didn’t mean it…” Viscount Molon shrank back.

 

It was then.

 

“Giving him a dab to prove the effect wouldn’t hurt.” Hubert finally spoke.

 

“But Father!” Gale protested. However, all he received in return was Hubert’s sharp glare.

 

So short-sighted.

 

Of course one dab wouldn’t be enough to cure a skin disease. But if the ointment was truly effective, it would at least give the impression of improvement. It’s like giving a drop of water to a parched man’s tongue. When people taste hope after enduring suffering, they become even more desperate. That’s why letting him feel even the faintest effect of the ointment will make it easier to manipulate him when drafting the contract. But it seemed like no one in Gale’s family had thought this far. Even Stella was pouting her lips.

 

“Tsk tsk.” Hubert clicked his tongue.

 

Stella reluctantly opened the lid of the jar. “Just one dab.”

 

“T-Thankyou!” Viscount Molon quickly rolled up his sleeve. Though it had improved compared to before, his forearm was still covered in red blotches.

 

Stella frowned and applied a small amount of the medicine. Sssaaa—A cool sensation immediately spread across Viscount Molon’s forearm.

 

“Ahhh!” Viscount Molon closed his eyes tightly in delight. “I will never forget this kindness. Your Excellency and Lady! Aaah!”

 

“I’m only giving you one dab because grandfather said so…”

 

“-Aaaagh!” It was then. Suddenly, Viscount Molon’s forearm began to swell up bright red. With a burning, searing pain, Viscount Molon let out a scream. “Aaargh! My arm! My arm… !” His skin began to swell and then started to crack. He couldn’t endure the pain and collapsed onto the floor.

 

Stella turned pale as a sheet. W-Why? I definitely gave him Epirosa’s ointment…!

 

“Viscount Molon!”

 

Hubert came running over. Up close, his condition looked even worse. Viscount Molon’s servant and the employees of the mansion tried to support him. But Viscount Molon, overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, couldn’t even stand.

 

“Argh! Y-You wretched thing!” Viscount Molon glared at Stella with bloodshot eyes, his veins bursting. “You gave me poison on purpose to mess with me, didn’t you?! Aargh! I won’t let this slide! I’ll sue you for assault, and I won’t ever open the path for you! Aaaargh!” His horrifying screams echoed throughout the mansion.

 

Hubert turned his gaze to Stella, who was frozen in fear. “What the hell is going on here, Stella?!”

 

At Hubert’s furious outburst, Stella trembled and stammered.

 

“I-It wasn’t me!”

 

“What do you mean it wasn’t you?”

 

“T-This is…!” Stella, shaking uncontrollably, flung the ointment jar away. The ointment jar rolling on the floor stopped at Hubert’s feet. As Hubert picked it up, Stella’s deceitful voice reached his ears. “This was actually made by Epirosa! I didn’t make it!”

 

“What did you just say?” Hubert shot up and strode toward Stella. His massive shadow loomed over her, trapping her in place.

 

“!”

 

Stella felt like she couldn’t breathe under the sheer pressure.

 

“You clearly said you made it yourself, didn’t you?”

 

“T-That was…”

 

“How dare you lie to me?” Hubert’s piercing gaze shifted to Diane, who had turned pale. “Diane, did you know about this? Or were you in on it with her?”

 

“Uaaargh!”

 

There was no time for further questioning. The condition of Viscount Molon was worsening by the second. The pain that had started in his arm was now spreading throughout his entire body, leaving him drenched in cold sweat. Overwhelmed by the excruciating agony, his consciousness began to fade, and his head drooped.

 

“Viscount Molon!” Hubert shouted.

 

A noble dying in the Grand Duke’s manor—especially due to someone in the household—was unacceptable.

 

“Viscount Molon!”

 

Someone suddenly sprang out from a corner no one had been paying attention to. Her movements were light and graceful, like a deer. She quickly dabbed another ointment she had brought onto Viscount Molon’s forearm.

 

Ssshhh!