Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 53

* * *

“Father, what about Mother? Please save her! Save Mother!” Nicholas, who had chased after Gale all the way to his room, clung to his father, sobbing like a child.

 

Stella, who had come along, anxiously bit her nails as she watched the scene unfold. Why couldn’t Mother even keep Madam Mona under control, dragging me into this mess?

 

It was Stella herself who had poisoned the bust meant to be gifted to Marchioness Gent. If this truth were to come to light, she knew she wouldn’t escape punishment either. Any concern for her mother had vanished from Stella’s mind, replaced entirely by fear for her own safety.

 

“Calm down, Nicholas. Your mother is the next grand duchess of the Blanche family! Nothing bad will happen to her.”

 

“But His Majesty personally ordered her to be imprisoned! What are you going to do?”

 

“I told you, I’ll take care of everything! If I speak to your grandfather, he’ll save her! I’m going to see him right now!”

 

Just as Gale was about to leave to meet Hubert, Stella urgently grabbed his arm. “Father, please reconsider.”

 

“What are you saying? I’m going to save your mother.”

 

“If we’re not careful, trying to save Mom could put all of us in danger because of what she did alone.”

 

“What?” Stella’s cold voice made Gale’s face harden.

 

“It’s true that Mom tried to harm Lady Elizabeth and Marchioness Gent.”

 

“What? How do you know that?”

 

“Because I tried to stop her. Though it was no use.”

 

Gale, unaware of Diane’s dealings with Violet, was horrified. Meanwhile, Nicholas was practically jumping out of his seat.

 

“So what, you’re saying we should just abandon Mother? Are you insane?”

 

“Brother, shut up! Who do you think Mom did such a horrible thing for? It’s all because of the investments you made!” Stella snapped fiercely.

 

Nicholas had no retort and could only fume in frustration.

 

“Father, the reason Mom did what she did was ultimately to clean up the mess Brother made.”

 

To save Diane, they would have to thoroughly scrutinize her actions. In doing so, her motives would inevitably be exposed.

 

“But if we try to save Mom and all of this comes to light, it’s not just Brother who could be dragged into it. Even Father could get dragged too.”

 

“Diane did it for the family, so we might all come under suspicion.”

 

“That’s exactly what I mean. Brother and I can take the risk, but if things go wrong, Father’s position as the heir…”

 

At the mention of ‘heir,’ Gale’s expression turned icy. But soon, a look of doubt crossed his face.

 

“If your mother quietly sacrifices herself, who will manage this household? She was quite useful, you know.”

 

Stella whispered as if to reassure him. “I can take care of it. Did you forget that I’m Grandfather’s favorite grandchild?” She then added. “If I take over, maybe I will even get back the budget management authority Mother lost.”

 

Gale’s eyes widened. “Yes, it would be better for you to handle the household!” Having found the solution, he then muttered coldly. “Why on earth did Diane do such a horrible thing… She’s unfit to be the grand duchess!”

 

Seeing that Gale had already made up his mind, Nicholas turned pale. “Fa-Father… T-Then what about Mother…?”

 

“If you don’t want to end up locked in the Tower of Condemned with your mother, keep your mouth shut!”

 

At the mention of ‘Tower of Condemned,’ Nicholas fell silent. No matter what, he didn’t want to be imprisoned there.

 

In the end, Diane, who tried to clean up the mess caused by her incompetent husband and son, was heartlessly abandoned by the very family she sought to protect.

 

* * *

Meanwhile, Hubert summoned Epirosa to his office after she had returned from an incident at the imperial palace. Under the guise of offering comfort, his true intention was to hear every detail about the incident directly from Epirosa.

 

Epirosa told him everything truthfully, except for the fact that she had orchestrated the entire situation herself. Faced with a truth even more devastating than he had imagined, Hubert’s expression darkened.

 

“To think something like that happened. You must have been really shocked.”

 

“I’m alright. I was just worried that you might be troubled by all this, Grandpa,” said Epirosa. Epirosa said. Though she claimed to be fine, her pale cheeks and trembling shoulders suggested otherwise.

 

Hubert felt a pang of pity for Epirosa. “You don’t need to worry about things like that at your age,”

 

To that, Epirosa shook her head. “But this could harm our family. I don’t want to see anything bring disgrace to the Blanche family.” Her tone was firm and resolute, despite the fear that still lingered in her demeanor.

 

Hubert was impressed by his young granddaughter’s concern for the family. None of his other grandchildren, not even Gale or Kobel, had ever shown such maturity. A sudden desire to converse with Epirosa more deeply arose within him.

 

“You’re right to be worried. His Majesty will likely use this incident as leverage to pressure the Blanche family.”

 

Hearing her grandfather’s candid words, the young girl furrowed her brow in thought. It was clear she was racking her small brain to find a way to help him. The sight was rather endearing. Just as Hubert was about to smile, Epirosa spoke with a meaningful tone.

 

“Grandpa, wait for the right moment.”

 

“What do you mean by waiting for the right moment?”

 

“Aunt wouldn’t have done something like that out of sheer spite.”

 

Hubert’s gaze sharpened. “Explain further.”

 

“All the people Aunt tried to harm are connected to Duchess Violet.”

 

“So, you’re saying Diane acted on Violet’s orders to harm Lady Elizabeth and Marchioness Gent?”

 

Epirosa nodded firmly. “Yes.”

 

Hubert was inwardly surprised. How had this young girl, new to the world of nobility, understood high society so well? How is that even possible? Epirosa hadn’t even made her debutante yet. Is there someone behind her that I don’t know about?

 

“I heard it from Marchioness Gent. She told me about the people who were on bad terms with Duchess Violet.”

 

“Ah, I see. Marchioness Gent was a close friend of Leonoe. Lately, she has been visiting your mother frequently. So she even shared such things with you, huh.” Hubert’s doubts melted away, not even realizing he’d mentioned ‘Leonoe’ so naturally.

 

Epirosa felt relieved inside and continued speaking. “I heard Duchess Violet persuaded His Majesty to drop the lawsuit against Brother Nicholas.”

 

“That’s right. Everyone thought it was because Duchess Violet and Diane are cousins that she helped her.”

 

“But the timing is too coincidental. The lawsuit was dropped right after the rumor about Lady Elizabeth’s injury spread.”

 

“So, you’re saying Diane committed these acts in exchange for the lawsuit being dropped?”

 

“It’s just a guess, but yes. That’s what I think.” Epirosa leaned forward and whispered. “So Grandpa, you should wait until Aunt mentions Duchess Violet’s name.”

 

Diane would soon be interrogated. It was only a matter of time before she uttered Violet’s name.

 

Hubert also leaned forward.

 

“But His Majesty won’t ‘yet’ abandon a woman who had even borne him a son over an ‘incident’ like this.”

 

“Then what?”

 

“Negotiate with His Majesty. In exchange for retracting the testimony against Duchess Violet, ask him to release Aunt and ensure the blame doesn’t fall on the Blanche family.” Having finished speaking what she wanted to say, Epirosa leaned back again.

 

Hubert remained in his forward-leaning position, close to Epirosa. He was inwardly astonished. This child has thought of a solution that’s almost identical to mine, except for one detail!

 

Suddenly, a memory from long ago surfaced in his mind. It was a memory of sitting face-to-face and having a conversation with Epirosa’s mother, Leonoe. Back then, Leonoe always used to think the same way I did. Even though she was his daughter, it was always fascinating and delightful to talk with Leonoe. And now, he was feeling that same emotion with Epirosa. Hubert’s chest swelled with a strange, stirring emotion.

 

“Let’s talk like this more often, Epirosa.”

 

“Yes, Grandpa!”

 

Whether she understood her grandfather’s feelings or not, the young granddaughter had an innocent and pure expression.