Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 42

“You’ll do well. You’re the one who fits this position better than anyone else.”

 

“I just wanted to help people by making medicine. I’m not sure if I deserve such a blessing.”

 

Lenon shouted from the podium. “Will the person to be blessed please stand up! For making Pasa Blanche and Royal Blue, bringing great benefit to the people…”

 

Nicholas sprang up from his seat. Stella also stood up with a modest smile, pretending to be humble.

 

“…Lady Epirosa Blanche! Please come up to the podium!”

 

At that moment, the surroundings fell silent. Stella and Nicholas stood awkwardly, frozen.

 

I passed by them lightly and went up onto the podium, walking carefully like a butterfly. After all, I couldn’t risk breaking the shoes Diane had gifted me just yet.

 

As I got on stage, Stella, who had finally come to her senses, shamelessly tried to step forward. Nichola followed behind her. At that, Lenon frowned and spoke. “If you’re not the one to be blessed, please remain seated.”

 

“What? I’m Stella Blanche.” Stella said, flustered.

 

Lenon nodded, hiding his irritation. “I know. Lady Stella and Lord Nicholas. Please take your seats.”

 

“But isn’t today the day I receive the blessing?”

 

Lenon gestured to the priests. The priests approached Stella and Nicholas.

 

“Please return to your seats.”

 

“What are you talking about? I came to be blessed for making Royal Blue.”

 

“You too, Lord, please take your seat. You’re disrupting the ceremony.”

 

“Have you lost your mind? I am the creator of Royal Blue! Let go of me!”

 

The crowd murmured. Hubert watched them with sharp eyes.

 

Sensing the atmosphere, Gale deliberately raised his voice. “What is this? You invited people to be blessed, and then you pulled this kind of stunt? There’s a limit to making mistakes!”

 

Unable to bear it any longer, Lenon raised his voice. “The only person receiving the blessing today is Lady Epirosa Blanche!”

 

Diane protested in shock. “What are you saying? Isn’t something wrong? You clearly sent invitations saying the creator of Royal Blue would be blessed! My children made Royal Blue!”

 

“What do you mean? When did the temple ever send invitations saying we would bless Lady Stella and Lord Nicholas?”

 

Hearing this, the Gale family froze like stone. Just as he said, Stella and Nicholas’s names were not on the invitation.

 

Lenon, clearly furious, continued speaking. “And the creator of Royal Blue is Lady Epirosa Blanche! Why are you lying in this sacred temple!”

 

“No, Royal Blue is…!”

 

“Can you swear in the name of the god in this temple?”

 

Stella was left speechless. If she swore falsely in the name of the god in the temple and got caught, she could be excommunicated. The rest of the Gale family couldn’t say anything further.

 

“Could it be that Stella and Nicholas lied?”

 

“Was Lady Epirosa the true creator of Royal Blue?”

 

“Then what happens to my investment?”

 

“I gave Nicholas so much money!”

 

“Silence! Everyone, please be quiet!” The pope, unable to take it anymore, shouted.

 

People reluctantly closed their mouths. But everyone stared at the Gale family with angry eyes.

 

From atop that rising wave of anger, Lenon spoke. “On the occasion of the feast of Saint Pabello, we will now bless Lady Epirosa Blanche, who created Pasa Blanche and Royal blue, and brought benefit to the people.”

 

The pope placed his hand on my head. “May the blessing of God and Saint Pabello be with Lady.” Then, with his other hand, he dipped his finger in the holy water Lenon was holding and anointed my forehead.

 

Soon, grand music began to play. It was a song praising God.

 

I swallowed a smile as I looked at the Gale family. Their faces, caught in the midst of the fury, were utterly miserable. The sight of all their lies being exposed was truly pathetic.

 

This ceremony is only the beginning. When it ends, the consequences of what you’ve done will come crashing down like waves!

 

Then I heard the sound of applause from below. While the atmosphere on the first floor was grim, there was one exception. Only Hubert smiled at me and clapped his hands.

 

“My grandchild, I’m so proud of you!” His face shone with affection toward me.

 

The grandfather who abandoned my mother cares for me. I felt a strange mix of emotions and gave a clumsy smile.

 

Juliet, who sat behind Hubert, watched me with interest.

 

* * *

“This concludes the grand prayer ceremony.”

 

With Lenon’s declaration, people surged toward the Gale family like a wave.

 

“What is going on!”

 

“Did you really deceive us?”

 

“What about our investments?”

 

“Can you really make the medicine?”

 

“Give me back my money!”

 

Since the investments weren’t small sums and all the investors were powerful nobles, their anger was unfiltered. Especially Nicholas’s arrogant attitude, as if he was looking down on them when he accepted their investments, fueled their rage even more. The priests couldn’t even stop them.

 

“Oh, dear God…” The pope pressed his forehead and turned his head away.

 

“Calm down! Please, calm down!”

 

The Gale family was pushed around in the crowd that had swarmed them.

 

“How can we calm down, you swindlers!”

 

“Nicholas, what are you going to do about my money! I even borrowed money to invest!”

 

Someone grabbed Nichola by the collar. It was a nobleman, one of Claude’s circle members.

 

“Are you crazy? Let go of me!”

 

“Who are you calling crazy?”

 

When the man gripping Nicholas’s collar pushed him forcefully, Nicholas fell backward and disappeared into the crowd.

 

“My son, Nicholas!” Shocked, Diane tried to run after him, but she stepped on her skirt and fell forward.

 

“Kyaa!” Stella screamed in shock. But she, too, was shoved around, and her carefully braided hair came undone and became disheveled.

 

“Damn it!” Gale cursed.

 

“There’s an uproar on the first floor. Please exit through the door behind the stage.” Lenon said to me, who was still on the stage.

 

“No, I need to go down and help my uncle’s family.”

 

The real fun was just about to begin.

 

I declined Lenon’s kindness and went down. As expected, Diane crawled out of the crowd as if she had been waiting for me. Spotting me, she charged forward, her eyes blazing with fury.

 

“Epirosa! You deceived us!” Her shout made everyone look our way.

 

I blinked innocently, feigning surprise. “What do you mean, Aunt?”

 

“You were the one who asked us to pretend to be the creators of Royal Blue! We refused, saying we couldn’t tell such a lie, but you cried and begged, so we had no choice but to pretend! That’s the truth!”

 

Diane’s intentions were obvious. She was trying to shift the blame and divert the crowd’s anger onto me.

 

“You also asked us to receive investments for you! What is this mess? You did this to make a fool of us on purpose, didn’t you?”

 

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who insisted I shouldn’t reveal I was the creator of Royal Blue. And as for the investments….” I looked at the crowd and spoke with a trembling voice, pretending to be frightened. “You accepted them without telling me. I have no plans to develop new medicine.”

 

The moment I said I had no plan to develop a new medicine, the anger that had momentarily subsided flared up again like wildfire.

 

“What about my investment?”

 

“Can you even make medicine?”

 

“Take responsibility!”

 

As people crowded around Diane, I pretended to protect her.

 

“Let go of this!”

 

Annoyed, Diane pushed me away. I fell weakly to the side. Just in time, the shoes Diane had prepared broke.

 

“!”

 

People fell silent in shock. But no one was more horrified than Diane herself. Between the skirt I had deliberately lifted slightly, the heel of my shoe was shown, shattered to pieces. But nothing spilled out from the heel.

 

All those black magic items you hid in there, I removed all of them beforehand. If any black magic items had fallen out of my shoes, I would have been arrested for blasphemy.

 

I looked up at Diane with teary eyes. “I’m sorry. I broke the shoes you gifted me, Aunt. Please forgive me.”