𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗: 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱-𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞
When his sister Cassie stopped by the mansion that Stephan, who had inherited the family headship, lived in, she screamed when she was greeted by my foolish brother’s mistress.
She asked why it wasn’t the young wife who had been entrusted with the household affairs and had been bullied by her mother-in-law until she became thin.
“Why are you acting as the mistress of the house, Owenna?”
“Because I’m the legal wife now. Didn’t you know? Even though you’re his sister.”
Cassie, who had turned pale, immediately called for the house steward, but it seemed that the steward, who was directly under my foolish brother, was out on business in the royal capital with him. Instead, a young servant who was not very familiar with household affairs came out.
Cassie dragged him into the parlor and grilled him about the whole story.
From his explanation, which he gave in a flustered manner due to her fierce demeanor, Cassie was finally able to grasp the situation.
“. . .So, that idiot Stephan kicked out his young wife and is going to remarry that mistressーーOwenna, who has become a Viscount’s daughter on paper. But since they can’t remarry immediately due to the law, and Owenna can’t handle the household affairs as a mistress at all, you’re taking over the household affairs instead.”
“That’s correct.”
Cassie sighed deeply while fanning her lemon water.
“Really, what is he thinking. . .”
Cassie had already married into another Marquis family, but the aristocratic society is a small one connected by blood. That’s why they report each other’s situations through letters and social interactions.
The fact that Cassie didn’t know until now means that she wasn’t informed. It’s too sloppy not to have been able to grasp the current situation of her family.
“. . .What about the division of property?”
“Ah, yes. It seems that the former Oku-sama was only given the bare minimum of personal belongings and alimony. Since there was hardly any division of property, I suppose Danna-sama didn’t inform Cassie-sama.”
“. . .What about the land?”
“The land? Yes, of course, there was no land allocated to Oku-sama.”
At that moment, Cassie stared at the servant with wide eyes. The servant held his breath.
“Ah, um. . .Cassie-sama?”
“Chloe went far away, didn’t she?”
“Yes. She left the territory immediately.”
“. . .”
Cassie pondered. Something was too perfect.
The former wife who was gotten rid of with just her body.
A pitiful disposable wife who was entrusted with the care and nursing of her mother-in-law and father-in-law, and the household affairs, without having a child, and was kicked out when she was no longer needed.
ーーIs that really the case?
“Hey.”
“Ye, yes.”
“Who handled this divorce procedure, division of property, and all other procedures? You? Or Stephan? Or the steward?”
“Yes. It was not me, Danna-sama, or the steward, but the former Oku-sama’s servant who handled everything. Apparently, since he has been handling all of Oku-sama’s financial management since her time at the Maclouge family, the paperwork was smooth. . .”
After thinking for a while, Cassie looked at the servant.
She gave an order in a low voice to the servant who was breathless from being shot by her gaze.
“Let me check those documents right away.”
“But, but. . .”
“Are you saying I can’t?”
“I’m afraid. . . since Cassie-sama is already a wife of a Marquis, I cannot show you the documents related to the mansion’s assets.”
“Then who can see them?”
“Er. . .! Once Danna-sama returns, I can arrange for you to see them immediately.”
“Then hurry up and do that. And send a letter to that foolish younger brother. Tell him to come back soon, something terrible might be happening.”
“Yes.”
The servant bows and leaves the room as if fleeing.
Cassie grips a goblet filled with lemon water and glares into space.
“If it’s just Chloe, there’s nothing to be afraid of. She’s just a naive little girl. . . It wouldn’t be strange if she signed the divorce papers under overwhelmingly disadvantageous conditions and went somewhere with nothing but the clothes on her back. But that servant. . . would he allow that. . . No. . .”
Cassie drains her water. Then she frowns at the fogged surface of the goblet’s glass.
Back when the young wife was here, every corner of the room was beautifully arranged, and even a single glass maintained a flawless beauty.
As the Countess Strelitzi, the mother-in-lawーーshe had been thoroughly treated by her mother, and they met several times a year.
Cassie knew that the life of a noblewoman in charge of household affairs was surprisingly harsh, but she was well aware of the sight of her thin sister-in-law, who had never had a glamorous debutante or girlhood, being worked hard all over the house, to the point of being mistaken for a maid.
ーーWhen she saw that, as a woman, she felt some sympathy and pity.
However, she was an incredibly good-natured person.
After the death of her father-in-law, she thought she would have some respite, but she started working again, covered in dirt and sweat, to build a school for reading and writing for the common people as a charity.
Moreover, she devotedly took on the care of her mother-in-law who had bullied her, and even shed tears at the funeral.
Cassie’s assessment of Chloe was that she was a good-natured and eccentric person beyond comprehension.
Where had that servant, who had watched over and supported her like a father, gone?
Did he really approve of her being driven out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her back?
“There must be something going on. . .”
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