Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 21

“I’ll try making medicine that suits the tastes of nobles and the wealthy.”

 

“You’re saying you’ll make another new medicine?” Hubert furrowed his brows, as if to say that might be a bit much.

 

I smiled faintly. He’s half right and half wrong.

 

* * *

It started raining in the evening, and by late night, thunder and lightning were raging. Unable to sleep, I wandered the hallway. The closed windows of the corridor rattled violently.

 

“!”

 

At the same time, my heart sank with a jolt. It was then.

 

“Epirosa.”

 

Hubert’s voice came from behind me. I turned around with startled eyes.

 

“Grandpa… “

 

So that’s why the light in the study hadn’t gone out until late at night. It seemed like he was just now coming out.

 

“Why are you lingering around here?”

 

“Well…”

 

“Are you unable to sleep because you’re scared of the thunder and lightning?” Hubert asked, looking at my pale, frightened face. “To think that even a composed child like you would be afraid of thunder and lightning. You’re still just a kid after all.” A faint smile appeared on his face.

 

I shook my head. “I’m not scared of things like thunder and lightning.”

 

“Are you trying to act tough in front of your grandfather?”

 

“It’s not that… “I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth. “Mom is scared of thunder and lightning.”

 

“!”

 

Hubert’s eyes widened instantly. He seemed shocked by my unexpected answer.

 

I carefully observed his reaction and spoke cautiously. “I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about Mom being alone in the sanctuary. I was worried about how scared she must be.”

 

Hubert was silent for a moment. He had a look on his face as if his soul had wandered off somewhere else. “That’s right. Leonoe… she used to be afraid of thunder and lightning…”

 

* * *

Rumble, crash! It was a room in the sanctuary. Leonoe was trembling under the blanket. The rounded blanket quivered every time blue lightning flashed or thunder crashed. Her hand, sticking out of the blanket, trembled as it clutched the sheet.

 

At that moment, someone placed their hand over her trembling one. It was a hand encased in cold, silver armor. Leonoe’s trembling stopped as if it had been a lie. She slowly peeked her head out from under the blanket. Her eyes fell on the silver armor that held her hand.

 

The figure’s face was hidden behind a helmet, giving it an eerie appearance. Yet, Leonoe seemed to find comfort in their presence.

 

“…some,” Leonoe murmured softly, her dazed eyes staring blankly.

 

* * *

It was in the capital’s investigation office.

 

“The investigation is complete. You may leave now.”

 

I finished the case investigation and stepped out of the room. It was an inquiry into the incident that had occurred at Gale’s salon. As I walked down the hallway, Gale’s booming voice echoed from the adjacent room.

 

“I’m telling you, I have nothing to do with this! Do you even know who I am?”

 

What a spectacle.

 

I spoke to the coachman who was waiting for me. “Don’t head straight to the mansion. Please stop by the sanctuary first.”

 

Last night, I received permission from Hubert to visit the sanctuary. Surprisingly, he had given permission without much resistance. It must have been thanks to the story about thunder and lightning.

 

The sanctuary was located behind the temple’s free clinic. As I entered the clinic, a priest recognized me and rushed over immediately.

 

“You’re the young lady of the Blanche family who was supposed to come today, correct?”

 

“Hello, Priest. You must be working hard. May the blessings of the divine be with you.”

 

When I, still a child, greeted him politely, the priest smiled warmly.

 

“You have such good manners.”

 

“It’s thanks to the education I received from my family.”

 

“Even among noble families, not everyone is like that. Ah, what am I saying…” The priest pretended to scold himself, lightly hitting his own mouth. It was obvious he had said it on purpose, though.

 

Did Nicholas cause trouble here too? It was surprising enough that someone like him would even come to a free clinic, no matter who made him do it.

 

“You came to see your mother, right? The sanctuary is this way.”

 

As I followed the priest, I noticed some noblewomen who seemed out of place here.

 

“Those ladies are here to volunteer—”

 

“Don’t touch me! Filthy!”

 

It happened then. A noblewoman coldly pushed away a patient who had reached out a hand toward her.

 

“The free clinic’s situation is struggling a bit. We have to accept people like them since we rely on donations.”

 

“I see…”

 

There were nobles who forced themselves to volunteer, driven by a sense of moral superiority or to appear as good people in social circles. Those women seemed to be that type.

 

“But thanks to the Pasa Blanche Lady donated, the free clinic’s situation has improved significantly.”

 

Thanks to Pasa Blanche, the free clinic no longer had to buy expensive medicine with little effect. And that wasn’t all. Patients who had stayed in the free clinic for a long time because they couldn’t recover were now quickly getting better after using Pasa Blanche, reducing the cost of caring for them.

 

“Thank you so much.” The priest bowed his head. At his words, murmurs began to spread around us.

 

“That young lady donated Pasa Blanche?”

 

“She must be the young lady of the Blanche family!”

 

And then they swarmed toward me.

 

“Thank you, Milady!”

 

“May the blessings of the gods be upon the Blanche family!”

 

“Hey, everyone! The young lady is here on business! No matter how grateful you are, don’t block her way!”

 

The priest shielded me and pulled me away from the crowd. I looked back at the people shouting their thanks with a bewildered expression on my face.

 

“My apologies, Lady. They were just so grateful to you that they—”

 

“No, it’s fine. I’m just thankful they’re so happy.”

 

“To be so kind-hearted even after bestowing such grace, you truly have a beautiful soul.”

 

I was flustered by that. I didn’t do it out of the goodness of my heart, though… My conscience pricked, and I just said anything that came to my mind. “I just donated since I was selling the medicine.”

 

“Regardless of the intent, a good deed is still a good deed. Besides, didn’t you sell it at a very low price?”

 

“Is that the new lady from the Blanche family?”

 

A sharp voice came from somewhere. It was the noblewoman who had brushed off the sick person’s hand earlier. The man accompanying her smirked as well.

 

“Even if she climbed up from the bottom with a sudden rise, it seems she hasn’t fixed her manners. Making cheap medicine like that.”

 

“Does it feel good to make some medicine for poor beggars and get cheap praise? I wouldn’t use that medicine even if it were given to me.”

 

Their voices were loud, as if they wanted everyone to hear. Their petty malice was so obvious that it didn’t even make me angry. But the priest seemed to feel differently.

 

“Please don’t be upset. They’re always like that.”

 

“It’s fine. They’re just jealous.” I raised my voice, making sure they could hear me too. At that, the faces of the man and woman turned red.

 

“Why would we be jealous of Lady?”

 

“No need to use honorifics. From what Stella said, it seems she still can’t shake off her lowly roots and act recklessly!” The woman shouted.

 

Ah, so she’s one of Stella’s close friends and has a grudge against me. I let out a small laugh.

 

“Did you just laugh at me?!” The woman, her face flushed red, stormed toward me.

 

It was then.

 

“What do you think you’re doing? Are you picking a fight with the young lady?”

 

“Seriously, they’re so awful. I wish those two hadn’t come here at all.”

 

The people who had crowded around me earlier started murmuring, looking at the pair.

 

“Are those arrogant fools talking about us?” The man shouted sharply.

 

At that, one of the larger men among the crowd suddenly stood up and spoke. “That’s right! It’s bad enough that you bother us, but don’t you dare trouble the young lady!”

 

“You ungrateful wretches! Hey, priest! Can’t you throw these people out?”

 

I stopped the priest, who was about to intervene. “Leave them be. The ones who should leave are those two.”

 

“What did you just say?” The man clenched his fists tightly. But instead of swinging at me, he turned and yelled at the townsfolk. “You lot need a good beating to come to your senses!”

 

“If you lay even a single hand on the townsfolk, I won’t stand by and watch.”

 

At my words, the man let out a derisive snort. “How are you going to do that?”

 

“I promise in the name of Blanche.”

 

At the mention of ‘Blanche,’ the man and woman flinched. But soon enough, the woman sneered at me.

 

“Are you trying to act all high and mighty just because you call yourself Blanche? But how many people in society even recognize someone like you as Blanche?”

 

So this is how society still perceives me. It was expected, so it didn’t bother me much.

 

“How about we make a bet?”

 

“A bet?”

 

“Whether I can truly keep my promise in the name of Blanche or not.”

 

The man and woman hesitated. No matter how much they looked down on me, there was always that ‘what if.’ If, by any chance, that ‘what if’ turned out to be true, they would end up on bad terms with Blanche. In the end, they chose to be cowards.

 

“Why bother dealing with someone like that? It’s disgusting, so let’s just steer clear of it. But the temple that disrespected us will have to pay the price.”

 

“From today onward, we’re withdrawing all our donations to the temple. Keep that in mind!”

 

The priest turned pale.

 

I looked at the two, puffed up with pride, and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll donate more than the amount they ever donated.”

 

“Hah, and where would you get the money for that?”

 

I replied, looking at the two, “I’m still a Blanche. Do you really think I have less money than you?”