C36
When I found out from Leandro that Countess Wallace was waiting for me in the restaurant, I thought she would come.
Finally, the time has come to implement the plan I had in mind.
The family of Count Wallace. These are the influential people who have been and will continue to hinder me.
It was obvious that they would side with Leandro in the trial, and there was great concern that the fact Leandro had lent them money would work in his favor. Saying that he cares a lot for his wife.
It's deplorable. Although I, the party involved, didn't benefit from that money at all.
"If I want to win the trial, I first have to do something about Wallace," I thought.
If I wasn't careful, I could easily be labeled as an unfeeling wife to her loving husband and an unfilial daughter who didn't consider her parents' position.
What should I do to prevent such unfortunate incidents and really change people's perception in my favor? The answer is simple.
Simply expose it. All the atrocities that the Wallace family committed against me and Ethel Wallace.
"What the hell is this...?" Leandro frowned at the embarrassing situation he was facing.
I burst into tears, grabbing my red cheeks.
"It's too much, mother..."
Tears welled up immediately. I'm not a genius actress, but it wasn't difficult.
"It hurts so much!"
The cheek I slapped hurt a lot. I should have slapped myself more gently. Nevertheless, it created a much more realistic scene.
"I-I did it just as Mom said... I did the laundry, prepared the food, washed the dishes, cleaned, and did the shopping. I worked hard at sewing and contributed to the family's budget..."
Beyond Leandro, I could feel how people were reacting.
My goodness, are you asking your daughter to do all that? They're probably thinking something like this.
Indeed, even for commoners, it would be considered child abuse to force their children to do so many household chores. It was even more shocking for nobles who had their servants do all the hard work.
"And yet, what is it that you dislike so much about me to keep hurting me? Whippings, beatings, kicks..."
Even assault!
"My marriage too... I didn't want to do it, but my mother told me to..."
"Oh, dear God! Marriage too?!"
As the lobby mixed with the crowd of people that Robbie had gathered, the murmur grew louder.
What I asked Robbie to do was to gather Leandro and the others and have them stay outside the door to listen to our conversation.
I experienced it myself, and I know it well after reading Ethel's diary. Countess Wallace was the one who would eventually resort to the most familiar and convenient method of discipline when her daughter continued to disobey. Violence.
People don't change easily. She wouldn't have cared that her daughter married into a great family, or that there were so many people nearby, just a door away.
Because Ethel was a being that needed to be controlled and disciplined by herself for the rest of her life.
The Countess acted as expected when she lost her temper a little. And it was the same for everyone else.
"Th-they forced you to marry...?"
I looked at Leandro, who was stunned after hearing the shocking truth about his marriage.
The person who values his pride so much also heard our conversation immediately after Robbie spoke as I told him.
"The atmosphere inside is strange! I think something is going to happen; please stop it!"
It was a magical comment. It can alleviate her guilt by helping others and at the same time satisfy her curiosity.
Leandro, who didn't want to divorce, was the one most curious to know if Countess Wallace was good at persuading me.
Robbie approached other guests in the restaurant and said something similar to them. Perhaps they looked at each other for a moment and then gathered in front of the door.
The Duke Cassius's divorce scandal is, in name and in reality, the biggest concern in the social world, and it's piquing the curiosity of many people.
"It's lucky that Leandro provided the right place at the right time."
A place where the Wallace family will mistreat me and many eyes will be watching me.
Sharon's colleagues, who were investigating Cassius's movements, brought information that Leandro had been in contact with the Wallace family, but I felt a bit uncomfortable because there was no news for a while.
Nevertheless, I found it a bit uncomfortable to talk to them first.
If there was no message today, we planned to call them first at an appropriate location.
Fortunately, I don't have to do that.
I pinched my thighs, suppressed the laughter that threatened to escape, and acted with all my might.
"I didn't want to marry a man I had only seen a few times... I told you several times that the Young Duke Cassius was scary, but you ignored me!"
In fact, at that time, I thought that marriage would be a good way out of that situation, so I accepted it. But what's important now is not the truth.
"If I get married, my family can live well, and they can pay off their debts... Ugh..."
As I lowered my face, pretending to break into tears, I heard sympathetic words all around.
"Yes, I heard that the Wallace family had a lot of debts."
"Whatever happens, you're selling your daughter."
"Oh, that's a shame. Well, the people from the Duke's family are a bit scary."
The three, father and sons, often made a fuss about messing with Liena... There were quite a few people who were afraid of Cassius, as he had a long history of being considered an evil family.
Only then did Countess Wallace regain her senses and tried to retort.
"W-what are you talking about? Back then, you agreed too."
"That's because my mother, my father, and even Samuel pestered me to get married!"
But she didn't even have a chance.
Compared to my more subdued performance, it sounded like the perpetrator's excuse.
"Tsk tsk, that's shameless."
"I guess you're not ashamed."
Perhaps because it was right after hearing the Countess's horrifying screams, nobody believed her.
A young lady pointed at my cheeks, which were red and swollen from the commotion.
"You made her face look like that!"
That's why human perception is scary.
No one saw the Countess hit me, but she was already an attacker.
That's why I slapped my cheek with my hand. A wound in a place that people could easily see.
Although I was very excited, there was a little chance that Countess Wallace would hit me in the face. How would she explain her injury to Leandro afterward?
It doesn't matter that Vinetta and Robbie are not nobles, but she probably wouldn't want her noble peers, especially Cassius, to catch her hitting her daughter.
In the past, she had mainly hit Ethel in places that were not visible because they were covered by clothing.
... Ethel, who had been treated like this since she was a child, would have endured it calmly, but the person here now is me, not Ethel.
"I did the laundry, cooked, and even got married, but my mother never changed. I was wrong. I thought I could earn your love if I did better."
As I stood up unsteadily, tears kept flowing from my eyes.
My heart shuddered at the thought of a young girl silently crying in a corner of Count Wallace's mansion. I approached the girl, made eye contact, and spoke to her.
Ethel, honestly, I don't know if this is the path you wanted. I can't know because I'm not you. Maybe you still loved your family and wanted to be with them despite all these indignities.
"But."
This is my choice. If I were you, I would act this way.
"I will no longer live according to my mother's wishes. I will choose my own path."
At that moment, all eyes were on me.
"From today, I will sever ties with the Wallace family."
--------------------------------
"Ouch..."
"She hit too hard."
Vinetta told me as she rubbed my face with the ice pack that Sharon had given me.
We were inside the carriage returning to Terence's secret villa. Of course, the coachman was also hired by Terence and had a big mouth.
"I had never slapped a person before, so I didn't know it would hurt so much."
"Did you achieve your goal?"
While I was on my way to the restaurant, I roughly explained my plans to her.
"Uhm, enough to endure this pain."
"That's good."
Leandro put an end to the commotion in the hotel's restaurant.
After roughly controlling the situation, Leandro left in a hurry, taking Countess Wallace with him.
It seems he decided it wouldn't be good to be exposed to the eyes of others anymore.
The Countess, who had been stunned by my disavowal declaration, seemed to have a lot to say but had no choice but to follow him. Leandro's expression was unusual.
I thought about the brief conversation I had with Leandro before the two of them left.
"Wife, what should I say...?"
"Do you understand now? What it meant to me that you brought my mother to try to persuade me."
"I had no idea there was such a thing!"
"Maybe you just weren't interested in me."
"No. I-"
"Leandro, you probably knew from the reports that I often avoided my family."
"..."
"And still, you didn't realize? If you had paid a little more attention, you could have easily guessed. It must have been a trivial matter for the busy young duke."
Leandro couldn't respond and rushed off. He's a funny guy.
Before we knew it, the carriage had arrived at the villa.
"The last obstacle still remains."
Vinetta, who was escorting me out of the carriage first, suddenly spoke to me.
"What is it?"
"It exists."
Before I could ask, Terence appeared in front of us as we entered the villa.
"Welcome."
It seemed like he had just returned home.
"I'm back."
I replied, thinking it was a greeting that somehow warmed my heart.
"Haven't you had dinner yet?"
"No. What about the Marquis?"
"He hasn't either. And it would be better if you called me Tay..."
Terence, who was handing his coat to his assistant and taking off his gloves, suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
He was looking at me without understanding.
"Your cheek."
The man's eyes were fixed on my cheek, where the swelling had not completely subsided yet.