Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 58

This necklace was a gift Diane’s mother had given her daughter as part of her dowry. Diane had deliberately hidden this ‘Empress Necklace’ from Violet and never showed it to her. But Stella handed over her grandmother’s keepsake to Violet without hesitation. She did it for herself.

 

“To willingly give something that doesn’t suit you to someone who does, you’re much wiser than your mother,” Violet spoke with satisfaction. Then, uncharacteristically, she gently stroked Stella’s hair with a benevolent touch.

 

“Soon it will be the fall social season. The banquet marking its beginning will be held at the imperial palace.” Violet looked at Stella with beautiful yet sharp eyes. “Do you need my help by any chance?”

 

“No, not at all. I gave the necklace as a gift to see Duchess happy, not because I expected anything in return.”

 

At that, Violet burst into laughter. The other noblewomen joined in, laughing loudly. Stella looked at them with a bewildered expression.

 

“Dear, you can be honest in front of me. I’m not refined enough to enjoy beating around the bush.”

 

“Ah, t-that’s not what I meant…”

 

“Who in the world would give a gift to the emperor’s concubine without expecting something in return? Don’t treat me like a fool and just say it. I’ll gladly do whatever it is.” Her tone was both kind and cold at the same time.

 

It was a trick Stella had often used on Epirosa, but experiencing it firsthand herself left her utterly confused. Hesitating, Stella finally opened her mouth when Violet’s gaze turned icy. “I don’t have anyone to act as my chaperone for the ball.”

 

“Ah, right. I wonder if Diane is doing well in the Tower of the Condemned?”

 

Violet burst into laughter again. Stella’s face flushed with humiliation.

 

“So, you’re asking me to be your chaperone?”

 

“N-No. How could I dare ask the busy Duchess for such a favor? I just need someone to escort me.”

 

“Someone to escort you?” Violet’s face turned frigid. She had caught on to Stella’s intentions. “You want my son, Claude, to escort you?” Her voice was laced with thorns.

 

Violet cherished her son deeply and held him in excessively high regard. She firmly believed that Claude would one day become the emperor. And yet, she dares to ask for an escort from my son, the future emperor? Could it be that she’s eyeing the position of the future empress?

 

As suspicion began to creep into Violet’s mind, Stella quickly delivered the lines she had prepared. “Duke Claude Clementi is someone far beyond my reach. However, as the ‘granddaughter of the Blanche family,’ I can’t just accept an escort from anyone, so I’m in a bit of a dilemma.”

 

Stella emphasized the phrase ‘granddaughter of the Blanche family.’ She was saying that she was Hubert Blanche’s daughter, not Diane’s daughter.

 

“Even my grandfather is troubled because of me. Juliet won’t be attending the banquet, and Epirosa has already found someone else.”

 

“The grand duke seems to be quite concerned about your escort, doesn’t he?”

 

“Of course. It’s embarrassing to say this myself, but my grandfather pays more attention to me than to Juliet or Epirosa. I feel so sorry for him.”

 

Violet’s lips curled into a smile. Stella’s intentions were obvious, but the proposal wasn’t a bad one for Violet either. The Blanche family is undoubtedly the most prestigious family in the empire. If someone wants to be escorted by Claude, the future emperor, they should at least have that level of qualification. Even Diane’s scandal hadn’t left a scratch on this grand family. If the Blanche family and Claude were connected, Claude’s reputation would only rise.

 

Besides, that playboy Ludwig would never escort anyone. Even if the crown prince belatedly decided to escort someone, by then, all the Blanche granddaughters would already have their partners. Ludwig would be left with no choice but to escort someone of a lower standing than Claude. If you think about it, having to escort Blanche’s granddaughter is a profitable deal for us too.

 

Violet, having made her decision, gave an order to the maid. “Go fetch Claude.”

 

A short while later, Claude entered the ladies’ parlor. He was dressed in sparring attire that clung to his figure, as if he’d just come from martial arts training. His golden hair, damp with sweat, glistened under the light. Stella let out a gasp without realizing it. As if accustomed to such reactions, he strode confidently across the room and took a seat opposite Stella.

 

“Greetings.”

 

The flawless greeting from the golden-haired beauty made Stella’s cheeks flush. Even though it wasn’t her first time seeing Claude, his striking looks still made her heart flutter. But Stella wasn’t the type to shy away in embarrassment. After all, she believed herself to be just as beautiful and alluring as Claude.

 

“Greetings, Your Grace,” Stella said with a playful smile.

 

Violet’s expression turned sour at the sight, but Claude responded with a warm smile.

 

“Mother, you didn’t mention there would be such a beautiful young lady in the parlor today.”

 

“She’s just a young lady who hasn’t even debuted in society yet.”

 

“And what might be the reason for introducing such a young lady to me?”

 

With a displeased look, Violet opened a box. Inside, it was filled with jewelry gifted by the emperor. Violet took out an amethyst bracelet from the collection. “Stella, this is a gift for you.”

 

“You’re giving me something this beautiful?” Stella feigned exaggerated surprise.

 

“My son will be escorting you, so you should at least have a bracelet like this. I heard things are hard for your family lately, that you’re reusing old jewelry.” Violet spoke with a subtle hint of sarcasm.

 

Stella felt a surge of irritation but held it in and accepted the bracelet. “Thank you so much.”

 

Claude looked at Stella, seemingly surprised. “Mother, am I really going to be escorting this young lady?”

 

“That’s right. She’s a young lady of the Blanche family, so take special care of her.”

 

Claude was visibly flustered. When Violet’s maid had said, ‘The duchess requests your presence,’ he could have used his martial arts training as an excuse not to come. But when he heard that the granddaughter of the Blanche family was in the parlor, he decided to go. He thought it might be Epirosa. However, the one waiting in Violet’s parlor was Stella.

 

Another wasted effort.

 

Previously, when Epirosa had come to the outer palace with Diane and Stella at his mother’s invitation, Claude had secretly tried to meet her. He had hoped to run into Epirosa under the guise of coincidence. But someone had caught him, forcing him to make an excuse and leave. He had barely managed to suppress his disappointment back then, and now he was being told to escort Stella.

 

“Lady Stella, do your other cousins have someone to escort them or a chaperone? If not, I could introduce someone to them.”

 

“Thank you for your consideration. But Juliet won’t be attending the banquet, and Epirosa already has someone to escort her.”

 

Claude’s dark eyes turned cold. However, he quickly returned to his smiling demeanor. “Very well. Then I shall take on the honor of escorting Lady Stella. It would be my pleasure, Lady.”

 

If he escorted Stella, he would be able to stay close to Epirosa. So, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Of course, Stella might be more useful to exploit than Epirosa, but for some reason, Claude found himself more drawn to Epirosa.

 

* * *

The imperial palace banquet invitation arrived at the Blanche family. It was a banquet marking the start of the fall social season.

 

In my previous life, I had been utterly humiliated during this time because of Violet, and I ended up cutting ties with society altogether. After that, I threw myself into ensuring Gale became the heir. Breaking through cursed magic circles, digging up the tomb of the Archmage. Barely surviving death and stealing treasures from the Magic Tower. Even the time I ran into Crown Prince Ludwig while trying to retrieve a unicorn’s horn—all of it happened shortly after.

 

“Today I called a designer from the boutique. Epirosa, you should pick out clothes with my children,” said Gale, acting uncharacteristically like a kind uncle. “The designer will be here soon, so go wait in the dressing room over there.”

 

When I entered the room Gale pointed to, Stella was already there. She was lounging on the sofa, fiddling with an amethyst-embedded bracelet. The moment I recognized what it was, my eyes widened in surprise.