I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree-Chapter 22 - Family Rift (2/3)

“Father, what are you doing here?” Litte said this, approaching Lucius.

Lucius turned his head blankly, looked at Litte, then made a “shushing” gesture.

Litte immediately fell silent.

“Margaret always liked to read quietly,” Lucius said this, sitting next to the tombstone and gently stroking the name on it.

“Is Mother in there?”

“Mm,” Lucius nodded. “She is your biological mother, your true mother.”

Saying this, Lucius took a roll of paintings from his pocket.

He unrolled the paintings and showed them to Litte.

This was a portrait of a woman. In the portrait, the young woman was smiling gently, looking at the viewer.

“I had the best painter in the Imperial Capital paint this. How is it? Isn’t your mother very beautiful?”

“Mm,” Litte nodded. This was not false. The young woman in the portrait was indeed very beautiful and bore a three-point resemblance to Litte.

“The more I look at you now, the more I feel you are just like Margaret,” Lucius said this, putting away the portrait. “Speaking of which, you’ve been back for so long, and I haven’t taken you to see your mother yet.”

“Margaret, look, this is our child, Litte.”

“Your name is also very similar to hers. The family that named you was truly kind. Perhaps this is fate,” Lucius said this, pointing at Litte.

[Translator’s Note: The Chinese name for Litte (利特 – Lìtè) sounds similar as the last two characters in the Chinese name for Margaret (玛格丽特 – Mǎgélìtè).]

“The child I often brought here before, Orson, I was mistaken at the time. He is not our biological child, but he is also a very good child. He has not disgraced our family at all.”

Saying this, Lucius seemed to be confiding, and also whispering, expressing his nostalgia for his deceased wife.

It should have been a very touching scene, but the more Litte thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.

Because Lucius was becoming increasingly emotional. This was not his usual behavior.

“Father, it’s almost time. We should go back for dinner.”

“People always have to look forward, Father. Mother also wouldn’t want you to always look sad when you mention her, would she?”

“She would surely want you to live better and better.”

Litte comforted him like this, wanting to help Lucius stand up.

“Mm, it’s about time,” Lucius nodded, allowing Litte to help him.

“I wonder if I will have a chance to come here again next time.”

“I wonder if I will forget you next time,” Lucius’s tone suddenly became sorrowful.

“Litte, do you know?” He seemed to have found someone to confide in and spoke to Litte, “A few days ago, when the illness was severe, I even almost forgot Margaret’s face. I’m so afraid I’ll truly forget her.”

“It’s alright, Father. Isn’t your illness getting better now? It’s alright...”

Litte helped Lucius back home.

At the entrance of the house, a few servants, seeing Lucius return, quickly came forward to greet him.

“Master, are you alright?”

“Heh, do you wish me ill?” Lucius said this, leaving the servants speechless. They quickly lowered their heads and apologized.

“Alright, Litte, just help me back to my room.”

“Alright, Father,” Litte heard this, nodded, helped Lucius upstairs, and escorted him into his room.

Mary, who had witnessed all of this from upstairs, returned to her room. Looking at Randall standing on the side, she said with a smile, “Randall, haven’t you noticed that the Master’s behavior has been a little unusual recently?”

“Indeed... It seems the Master has become more emotional,” Randall nodded. “So, Madam, do you think the Master might have some problems?” Saying this, he pointed to his head.

“Mm,” Mary said. “To be honest, I didn’t want to think in that direction, but Orson and Litte are repeatedly hiding something, only arranging their confidantes to serve the Master. Are they afraid we will discover something unusual?”

Saying this, Mary looked at Randall.

“How about this, Randall? Tomorrow, tell Vivian to help me buy some jewelry at the market. I want to go see the Master myself and find out what’s really going on.”

“After all, I am the Master’s wife. I have the right to know all of this.”

“As you command,” Randall respectfully bowed.

“By the way, Madam, you should take care of your health recently. It’s getting cold, remember to wear more clothes. After all, this child is your hope.”

“You don’t need to tell me. I know that myself.”

...

Early the next morning, Randall sought out Vivian.

“Hello, Head Maid,” Randall said this, looking at Vivian.

After the old Head Maid retired, Vivian, as Orson’s personal maid, was also promoted to the position of Head Maid.

“Uh, hello, Mr. Randall. Is there something you need?” Vivian was cleaning the glass. Seeing Randall suddenly approach her, she looked at him with some confusion.

“It’s like this. Madam Mary’s jewelry is missing, and she is planning to buy some new ones at the market. She is not very familiar with the market and would like to ask for your help in selecting some suitable jewelry.”

Saying this, Randall took out a bag.

“There are a hundred gold coins in here. It’s the Madam’s private money. Please help her pick some decent ones. There’s no need to choose anything particularly expensive.”

“Alright,” Vivian heard this, nodded, took the money bag, assigned the task to others, and then took the money bag and hurried towards the market.

On the other side, Mary saw Vivian leave, then walked to Lucius’s door. She lightly knocked twice, then walked in.

In the room, Lucius was already awake and sitting at his desk, writing letters. He seemed no different from usual.

“Master, are you already up?” Mary said, opening her mouth in surprise upon seeing Lucius.

“Mm,” Lucius nodded. “Pour me a cup of tea.”

“Alright,” Mary said this, went downstairs, fetched a cup of tea, brought it upstairs, and placed it by Lucius’s desk.

“Master, here is your tea.”

“Mm, thank you for your trouble, Margaret,” Lucius said this, took the teacup, and took a sip.

“Um... Master, what did you just call me?” Mary was startled upon hearing Lucius’s words.

“Margaret, what’s wrong?” Lucius heard this and looked at Mary in confusion. “I’m writing documents for the front-line army. There will be a battle in a few days.”

“Wait a moment, Master, what are you writing?” Mary said this, showing a surprised expression.

She took the letter from Lucius’s hand. The content of the letter was all about the war.

“Master, the war already ended a while ago,” she said this, and put the letter back. “Orson led the troops on the front line and has already driven the beastmen back.”

“Orson? Who is Orson?” Lucius heard this and looked at Mary strangely. “Wrong, wrong! His Majesty the Emperor specifically appointed me as a general. How could he change commanders midway? No, I must go see His Majesty the Emperor.”

Saying this, Lucius quickly stood up.

“Master!” Mary quickly called out to Lucius. “This is Antica City, not Saint Roland City!”

At this moment, Lucius was startled, and then he sat down.

“Wait a moment, wife, you go out first. Let me think for a while...”

“Alright, Master, I’ll go out now,” Mary saw that the time was about right. She walked out of the room, leaving Lucius alone in the room.

“What do you say? Madam, how is the Master’s condition?” After returning to the room, Randall looked at Mary and asked.

“Just as I suspected, the Master’s mental state is not good now, like he is demented,” Saying this, she sighed.

“No wonder Orson and the others don’t want me to see the Master. Are they afraid I will leak the news? Or are they worried that I will take advantage of the situation?”

“I don’t know,” Mary shook her head, then looked up at Randall, her eyes carrying a hint of determination. “But, this should be our best opportunity.”

“Coincidentally, Orson and Litte have also given me an excellent excuse.”

“Let me think. Two children, for the sake of inheritance, deliberately concealed their father’s illness, preventing their mother from knowing, and thereby controlling the affairs of the duchy.” Mary said this, lightly tapping the table with her finger.

“If His Majesty the Emperor were to know about this, it would be a serious crime, wouldn’t it?” At this moment, Randall added from the side. “At that time, they might even lose the right to inherit the duchy because of this. Then the only one qualified to inherit the duchy would be the child in your belly, wouldn’t it?”

“Mm, and my child will be too young to manage the duchy. By then, the actual ruler of the duchy will be me,” Mary said this, revealing a hint of a smile.

She was an ambitious woman. She had always considered the Antica Duchy her own.

Earlier, when Litte had just returned, she had intended to incite Orson and have the two brothers fight each other. Unexpectedly, Orson refused her proposal and instead prepared to support Litte. frёeωebɳovel.com

In that case, she shouldn’t be blamed for being ruthless and targeting both of them.

As long as she ruined their reputation, the power of the duchy would naturally fall into Mary’s hands.

Thinking this, Mary quickly wrote a letter, preparing to send it to Saint Roland City.