Chapter 010: The Great Clash of Mother and Son
“Is the butler embezzling the public funds that are supposed to go to you?”
At those words, Roanne almost choked on her Suyuk. Ugh, Roanne glared at Alexis.
“How could that be? That butler wouldn’t have two or three lives to spare!”
“Then what?”
Alexis, still not understanding, questioned her back. His face was filled with utter confusion.
“What do you mean ‘why’! It’s because your family gives so little for living expenses!”
Then, Alexis, fallen into shock, quietly set down his spoon. He couldn’t even close his mouth.
“In our family… I mean……”
He couldn’t even finish his sentence. Roanne, who was scooping up soup, glanced at him sideways.
What’s with him, is his mouth frozen? Then she soon sank into her next thought. It seems this man didn’t know.
“Are you saying they only pay enough living expenses to barely survive like this?”
“Ah, yes. Well, that’s how it is.”
Anyway, looking deep into it, she wasn’t the ‘Real Roanne’, and technically she was in a position of eating for free, so she wondered if she had talked about money too openly, making her feel embarrassed. Because of that, her voice came out bluntly.
“To the point where you can’t even get a single new set of clothes?”
“To the point where I have to sell the items here one by one just to make a living!”
Roanne shouted back at the bewildered Alexis. Since things had already come this far, there was no point in hesitating now. Besides, looking into it.
“Since you don’t even treat me like a wife and only wander outside, would I even look like a daughter-in-law to your family? I’m just no different from an uninvited guest, that’s what!”
Isn’t it because of this man’s neglect?
If he had at least put on an act of being on good terms with her, she wouldn’t have been kicked out to the annex like this. Well, in fact, she felt more comfortable this way. She also liked how secluded it was, enough to secretly run away in the middle of the night whenever she had to leave this place.
“……!”
Thud, Alexis suddenly stood up from his seat. Roanne, who was about to pick up her spoon again, was startled.
“You scared me!”
Roanne made a fuss.
“They say you don’t even bother a dog when it’s eating!”
However, Alexis had already turned his back and left the spot. He just walked away with loud footsteps and slammed the door shut. Roanne, blinking her surprised eyes, slowly spoke.
“What kind of person has their manners soaked in their rice like that….”
At that time, Leah waved her hands and dissuaded her.
“Stop it, Lady Roanne. I’ve never seen Lord Alexis endure this much even when a lady talks back to him like that. His personality is truly like fire. He’s also quite prickly. You should consider it lucky that he left after only this much.”
“No, is being handsome everything? Is he saying he can live like a mess just believing in his face?”
Ahem, Leah cleared her throat. Roanne was huffing with rage while eating.
“If he was going to be like this, why did he suddenly barge in while we were eating. Ugh, he ruined the mood. Leah, you know the wine we bought last time we went to the market? Let’s have a glass each now. This won’t go down at all without some alcohol.”
“Ah, I was just thinking that too.”
And so they soon began to eat again and drink wine.
‘Ah, full and fragrant.’
But what was that energy she felt when he stayed beside her just a moment ago? There was an unusual energy she felt every time she encountered him. That sense of incongruity that confused her, what on earth was it.
‘Let’s not think deeply. Maybe very handsome men just give off that kind of vibe.’
And today, Roanne was happy as usual. Alexis’s business was no more than a piece of gum compared to the drunken nuisances she had to face in reality.
* * *
A terrifying aura emanated from Alexis as he entered the Glister mansion. He glared coldly at the butler who bowed to him. The butler flinched and immediately stepped back. With a menacing stride, Alexis headed straight for the room where the Countess resided.
“What brings you here? To think you’d actually seek me out.”
The Countess, who was sitting reclined on a sofa in her room having her hair styled by maids, greeted him with a listless voice. It was a dry voice that didn’t welcome him at all, containing not a shred of emotion.
“No matter how much you dislike me, this is not right, is it, Mother?”
Alexis said. One of the Countess’s eyebrows arched up.
“What do you mean by that, so abruptly?”
Her complexion quickly soured.
“I always think this, but you are truly rude, Alexis.”
“I have nothing to say about that point. You played a large part in it as well.”
At Alexis’s words, the Countess couldn’t take it anymore and sat up straight. The maids who were styling her hair were startled and stepped back. Dismissing them from the room with a wave of her hand, the Countess faced Alexis with cold eyes.
“Are you saying you’re turning your problems onto me? Yes, it’s just like you.”
“No matter what anyone says, I am the biological child of Father and Mother. I can’t do anything about you hating me, your own son, but at least shouldn’t you fulfill your duty as a mother?”
“What is it that I haven’t done as a mother?”
“Fine. Such words are useless, so let’s stop.”
Alexis clenched his teeth and balled his fists. It was always like this. Conversations with his mother were like flying silent spears, attacking and wounding each other.
That was why he had wandered outside the mansion as much as possible to avoid running into his mother. However, this matter was hard for even him to endure.
“No matter if she’s a wife married off like breeding livestock by the families, she is clearly my legitimate wife. You cannot treat my wife with such neglect.”
“How can you say such a thing!”
The Countess of Glister suddenly stood up from her seat. And she glared fiercely at Alexis. It was a cold gaze where no maternal love could be found at all.
“How truly vulgar, Alexis!”
The Countess pointed her finger at him.
“The one who treated your wife like a transparent person was you! And the one who watched while she was kicked out to the East Annex was also you!”
“I’ve endured even her being sent to the East Annex, but that doesn’t mean you should leave her to live in poverty, does it?”
Alexis shouted back just as fiercely.
“This is a clear disregard for me. Regardless of the situation, what is the intention of letting a woman who officially became my wife live more poorly than a maid? Isn’t it the same as spitting in my face?”
He showed no sign of backing down on this issue.
“Whether I neglect or ignore my wife, that is an issue between us as a couple. Wasn’t it both families that forced the marriage? Do not bring up our marital issues, and give her the rights that the wife of a Count’s child should rightfully enjoy. If you continue to ignore her in this way, and further try to ignore me, remember this clearly, Mother!”
A dangerous growl-like threat emanated from Alexis’s mouth as he took a step closer to the Countess.
“I will truly bring shame upon the name of Glister.”
And then, as if he had nothing more to say, he turned abruptly and left the room. Thud, the force of him closing the door was so immense that the door seemed to shake.
“Such an unfilial child!”
The Countess, who had momentarily shut her mouth out of fear of her son, belatedly became enraged and threw a vase. Smash, the vase lay broken on the floor in a loud clatter. Startled maids entered holding their breath and cleared it up.
The Countess could not calm her rage and was huffing. She roughly disheveled the hair the maids had neatly styled. Alexis’s words came to mind.
-I am also the biological child of Father and Mother.
It was true. He was the clear flesh and blood of the Count of Glister and herself. He was the biological son she had given birth to from her own womb. However, she could not feel that way. It was as if Alexis was a different kind of monster born using her womb. The reason was indeed…….
‘Because he happens to resemble that woman!’
He was her son, but he didn’t resemble her. He was the child she had carried for ten months and given birth to, but that son was born resembling the woman she hated the most.
She, who had fainted for a moment after giving birth, regained consciousness and saw her baby brought by the maids, only to lose consciousness for the second time.
Silver hair, and bluish-purple eyes. Not a single part of him resembled her. Her son, born as the spitting image of her, seemed to be mocking her. It was chilling, like an incarnation of that woman born only by using her womb to insult her.
‘I can’t possibly like him!’
Even though he’s my son, to think I have no affection for him! Furthermore, just now he had stood up to her because of the existence of a wife he didn’t even like much himself. His very existence was unfilialness itself to the Countess of Glister.
‘Cursed child!’
However, she could no longer refuse to grant his demand.
