Chapter 77. Francis, Part III

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

Francis laughed at Christine, who was smiling confidently. "If I rise to the throne, Killian will die. Why would you cooperate?"

"To save His Highness Killian."

Francis smiled cruelly. "You cooperate with me, and I spare Killian's life…"

"Yes. If you will spare him, we will come to Bertino and live a life of peace without going to Austern forever. He'll never covet the seat of Your Highness. If you're nervous, you can maim him anywhere."

"Do you want him, even if he's maimed?"

Christine replied to Francis's cold words, "If I can't have him in a normal state, I should have him in that condition."

Francis clicked his tongue at Christine, who was still smiling.

"I feel sorry for you. I thought your character would fit me very well."

Christine bowed her head gently to Francis' unassuming praise. 'There's a saying, geminiphobia, fear of those like yourself. You and I will never get into the same boat.'

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By the time Simone was heading to Bertino to pick up his niece's substitute, Maribel was going to Lebatum to prepare the body to deceive Marquise Anais.

Because she had to personally act for a long time and it was something that had to be done in secret, she entrusted the deputy director with the theater's work for the time being, using the excuse of being ill in bed.

She was worried about people whispering about her being gone for two months, the deputy director's moves, and the enticing of actresses away by rival theaters, but Maribel decided it was important enough to head directly to the Kingdom of Lebatum at all risks.

Maribel was able to plan things out with her excellent head, quick judgment of the situation, her own eloquence, and her efforts alone.

As a native of a small town in a tearfully poor northern kingdom, she came to Dublin, the capital of Austern, with a dream of becoming an actress. However, her singing skills and beauty, which had always been praised, were merely average compared to the countless aspiring actresses in the big city.

Maribel didn't want to die doing chores at the theater one day in the hope of getting on stage, and quickly gave up on her dream. She managed to lure an elderly and rich lower aristocrat to get married and took over the Eileen Theater, which had been ruined, with the wealth she had received as her share after her husband was dead.

For the next twenty years, she had made the Eileen Theater into the best theater in the continent, but still she was only Mrs. Grayson, a low-ranking aristocrat without a Territory. Then, an opportunity finally came to her, because of one child received by her instant compassion.

Giving her virginity to an ugly old man with a stinking, rotting body for the future, Maribel had decided to close off all emotions and simply do it. The only person she had loved during her thirty-seven years was Julietta.

Even if the affection was small to another man's eyes, it was the same as a mountain to the cold-hearted Maribel. Maribel headed directly to Lebatum for that affection, and for herself and Julietta's future.

---

Maribel landed at a port in South Kingdom. Lebatum, and boarded a carriage to go to Rotesam, where "Under the Wings of Angels" was located in the amusement sector.

At the words of Maribel, who was looking for a miserable street that was incomparably worse than other kingdoms, a young man sitting in front of her replied bitterly, "The boozing, womanizing, and gambling of the king are getting worse and worse, and the aftermath is coming out on the street."

"Have you had any sudden compassion?" Maribel smiled at a man with an unpleasant face all the way to Lebatum. "Raphael, you know how hard it is to get my affection and sympathy. Yes, talking about the King of Lebatum reminds me of your father. Is Count Caden healthy?"

Raphael looked out the window again and replied, "He still has young girls in good spirits, like the King of Lebatum."

"He hasn't been to the theater lately; he must have found another place."

"He must have been embarrassed to keep asking my maternal grandmother to get a woman."

Maribel laughed at the words 'maternal grandmother' he said uncomfortably.

"I'm glad the child who wants to hide the relationship with me most calls me that."

When her old husband died soon after she was married, there was only Maribel and one old stepdaughter left in the mansion, who was shy and fond of only books. Maribel, who was only seventeen, and her stepdaughter, who was twenty-five, were not as interested in each other and never bumped into one another.

While the two never met face to face, Maribel took over the Eileen Theater and moved to the theater, and had no interaction with her stepdaughter for several years.

Then one day, a maid of her stepdaughter came to see Maribel. The request was to help her prepare for the wedding, because she was pregnant.

She wondered when and where the girl met a man and became pregnant, but that was all. She sent her stepdaughter's maid back under the pretext of being busy, and she didn't want to get involved, but she couldn't ignore it.

----

A few days later, Maribel reluctantly went to the mansion to prepare for her older stepdaughter's wedding, and saw her stepdaughter who cried and had a swollen face, let alone preparing for the wedding. When she pressed her to ask how she got pregnant, she said that she went to the library and became intimate with a lady. Then she went to a party at the invitation of a close lady, and she met Count Caden there and fell to his temptation and had sex.

The stepdaughter, who had firmly believed she would marry him, told Count Caden the good news upon her pregnancy, but the answer returned was that he could not marry the lower noblewoman.

Maribel calculated the impact of her stepdaughter's pregnancy on her. There was no way she could marry another man with a child, and she couldn't stay still when she thought she might have to take on her and her child all her life.

By then, Maribel was working to connect actresses with high-ranking aristocrats to further grow the barely settled theater. Through such acquaintances, she was able to urge Count Caden to marry her stepdaughter, and even though he was not a high-ranking aristocrat, she could now reach the long-established family of the Count's as in-laws.

There was only one thing she had asked for from her stepdaughter, who was grateful for it. If the child she gave birth to was a son, let her meet him twice a year.

Of course, it was not from the affection for the child that she asked for such a condition. What kind of affection did she have for a child who did not have a single drop of her blood? It was because she calculated that there would be no harm in getting close to the future Count Caden who was entangled in her family register.

Maribel realized that it was time to harvest the crop that had been waiting for twenty years.

"Don't you wonder why I brought you here?"

"Well, how can I know your deeper meaning?"

"The place we are to visit today is a very secret place known only to high-ranking aristocrats through some acquaintances. It's a place where not just anyone can get in or out. I'm visiting for the first time, too, and I brought you here because I don't think it's bad if you know."

"You mean I might have to visit here again?"

"Well, I don't know that. But maybe someday you'll need it, won't you?"

"Does it have to do with me going to Tilia Territory?"

Maribel laughed at Raphael's sharp question. "It's time for us to move up from a common noble family and emerge as a high-ranking nobleman. Of course, not now, but it will be after you become Count Caden."

"What are you up to?"

"I'll tell you later. It's not the time yet."

Maribel thought about what would happen after Duke Kiellini made Julietta a substitute.

It might be a few months before Julietta acted as Princess Kiellini. The Duke was expected to force Julietta to go back down to Tilia Territory once she settled down in a proper place in society and solidified her position as heir. That way, he could get his daughter's seat back.