Mom's Possessed (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
Bonita took a step back at the lady’s roar.
‘Fake daughter? Impostor?’
She didn’t know what relationship that elderly woman had with His Grace, but judging by her attire and the knights’ deferential demeanor, she was clearly a noble of high standing.
Moreover, the only person who could possibly be called a fake daughter or an impostor was undoubtedly herself. Bonita’s thoughts instantly spiraled in the worst direction.
The child’s face had gone pale. Her small shoulders were hunched so tightly it was pitiful to behold.
Meanwhile, Aria was flustered for entirely different reasons.
Her tone was rigid and fussy.
She paid absolutely no heed to the stares of onlookers.
Despite being well past sixty, the lady’s skin and hair remained impeccably maintained, and she wore a dazzling dress adorned with sparkling jewels.
Her identity was none other than…
‘Mother?’
Catherine Lysianthus, the former Duchess.
In other words, Aria’s mother-in-law.
Though strictly speaking, the word ‘former’ ought to be added.
“Didn’t you declare you’d never return from your retreat? What’s all this commotion about, showing up out of nowhere?”
“You wretched boy, Luke!”
“Ouch.”
Whack!
Catherine swung the wooden cane she held toward Luke. Luke let out a groan, though his face showed no sign of pain after taking the blow straight to the head.
He grumbled irritably.
“Please stop throwing your weight around.”
“Do I look like I won’t?! I’ve already lost my precious husband and my golden daughter-in-law—now the only blood left is this pitch-black lump!”
“Don’t call people ‘lump’—it’s offensive.”
“Hmph! More importantly, where are those scheming mother-daughter frauds who tricked you so thoroughly? Since they didn’t come to see me, tell me right now where they are!”
“Sigh…”
Luke heaved a deep sigh. In the meantime, Catherine scanned the surroundings thoroughly with sharp eyes.
And into that gaze stepped the two females.
Though they stood at a fair distance, Bonita was the only child present, so Catherine immediately recognized who they were.
“There you are! You shameless pair!”
“Mother!”
“Don’t you dare stop me!”
Luke chased after his mother, who charged forward like a storm. He’d initially intended to hold her back, but then this thought crossed his mind:
‘She’ll understand as soon as she sees them anyway.’
Of course, since she wasn’t of Lysianthus blood, she lacked that instinct.
Yet Bonita bore such a striking resemblance to Elodie that no proof was even needed.
Just as Luke anticipated, Catherine’s expression—which had been ready to drive the woman and child away on the spot—began shifting dramatically the closer she got to them.
With only a few steps remaining, Catherine’s eyes widened in shock. Her gaze fixed upon the adult woman.
Aria smiled gently and greeted her.
“It’s been a long time, Madam.”
“You…!”
Aria had lived together with Elodie in the main Lysianthus estate for over three years.
Recognizing her, Catherine’s eyes bulged as if they might pop out. But an even greater shock came from the other side.
“Bonita, say hello. That lady is Duchess Lysianthus, His Grace’s mother.”
“His Grace’s mother…?”
“Yes. Which makes her your own grandmother.”
Hearing Aria’s explanation, Bonita—who had been hiding behind her—peeked out cautiously. Catherine’s eyes locked onto the child.
Seeing the elderly noblewoman’s slightly parted lips, Bonita hesitated briefly before offering a careful greeting.
“Um… hello, Madam.”
But Catherine didn’t register the greeting at all.
All she saw was Bonita’s cotton-candy-pink hair, coral-colored eyes that shifted from bright to deep depending on the light, and features uncannily reminiscent of someone dear.
“No, how… how can this be?”
The fierce old woman who had roared like a lion moments ago had vanished.
Catherine stood frozen, unable to shout at Luke as originally planned or even acknowledge the child’s greeting—she merely gaped silently for a long while.
Luke, arriving belatedly, watched his mother from afar. He’d been prepared to intervene if she flew into an irrational rage, but seeing how things unfolded, it seemed unnecessary.
“Um… Madam…?”
It was Bonita who broke the lingering silence. The child fretted anxiously, wondering if this distinguished-looking elder was angry because of her.
“If I did something wrong, I’ll apologize. I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s not that at all.”
Catherine stammered, still dazed.
Her mind was in chaos.
‘Could she really resemble her this much?’
Of course, there was good reason for Catherine’s utter bewilderment.
As the eldest daughter of the Marquess of Violet—and having been born without a mother—she’d longed desperately since childhood for a sister she could confide in. When that dream became impossible, she’d hoped instead for a lovely daughter.
Yet after becoming Duchess of Lysianthus, she’d given birth only to three dark-haired sons. The youngest had been frail and died young.
Thus, when her eldest son Luke brought home a radiant, beautiful daughter-in-law through love, Catherine rejoiced as if her heart would burst.
Elodie had approached even Catherine—the famously stern and temperamental mother-in-law—without prejudice or preconceptions. It was only natural that Catherine grew to adore Elodie more than her own son.
Though that happiness lasted merely three years.
Overwhelmed by grief afterward, she’d left the Lysianthus estate and stayed at a villa in the southern kingdom for several years now.
And now, Elodie’s supposedly stillborn daughter had suddenly appeared.
Given similar incidents in the past, Catherine had assumed yet another swindler was trying to deceive her son—so furious she felt her skull might crack open.
That’s why she’d rushed here in such haste… only to find…
Before her stood a tiny girl who resembled Elodie to an absurd degree. Catherine’s mind went blank. Her heart pounded at the long-buried memory of Elodie.
‘No! Pull yourself together, Catherine Lysianthus!’
Catherine jerked back just as she’d been about to reach out, entranced, toward Bonita’s plump cheeks. She scolded herself inwardly and stepped away.
“Well? Do you believe me now, Mother?”
“…Ahem. She does look somewhat like her, I suppose.”
“Somewhat?”
“W-well, anyway!”
Catherine shouted abruptly.
“I refuse to accept it! If she’d been born alive and then lost, fine—but how can a stillborn child suddenly show up?!”
“But—”
“You saw it clearly yourself back then! The baby Elodie delivered was dead! How can a child we already buried come back alive—”
“Mother.”
Luke cut her off in a low, steady voice.
Following his gaze, Catherine noticed Bonita’s ashen face and flinched.
“The child is listening. And.”
He stepped toward Bonita and declared firmly.
“Bonita is indeed my daughter.”
“Luke.”
“I’m certain. …Though I am still investigating exactly how this came to be.”
As he spoke, he shot a chilling glare toward Aria—one so cold even fearless Aria felt a shiver run down her spine.
Seeing Luke’s conviction and Bonita herself, Catherine spoke in a far gentler tone than before.
“Still, we must at least conduct a paternity test. Your father kept going on about the Lysianthus instinct or whatever, but honestly, I don’t buy into that nonsense.”
“…I was planning to do that anyway.”
Though Bonita’s striking resemblance to Elodie left little room for doubt, her existence could still seem suspicious to outsiders.
Moreover, many coveted the Duke of Lysianthus’s position. Should he die without an heir, countless would salivate at the opportunity.
Such people would surely challenge Bonita’s legitimacy.
To silence them, they needed to summon a priest for a formal paternity test.
Once confirmed as Luke’s own daughter, her legitimacy would be unquestionable—anyone with eyes could see she was the late Duchess’s child.
“Fine, let’s set the child aside for now. What about that woman? Didn’t she leave service when Elodie passed away?”
An awkward silence followed Catherine’s question.
Luke burned to expose Aria’s suspicious points, but he couldn’t bring himself to threaten or belittle the caregiver Bonita relied on—not in front of the child.
“Miss Aria currently resides in the estate as Bonita’s guardian, with my permission. I’ll explain the details to you separately later.”
“What? Why not just explain right now—”
Catherine fell silent as Luke’s eyes turned sharp, and she noticed his subtly pointed finger gesturing fiercely toward Bonita—visible only to her.
Seizing the opening, Aria smoothly interjected.
“Madam, since you’ve come all this way, why not join your son and Bonita for a picnic before you go?”
“A picnic? Such a trivial thing?”
Catherine was about to scoff, but then her eyes met Bonita’s face.
“—Actually, I rather enjoy them. You know, life isn’t always about intensity and busyness—sometimes a quiet, leisurely afternoon is exactly what one needs.”
It was a swift change of heart.
Aria clapped her hands together.
“Perfect! Since it’s lunchtime anyway, let’s head back under the tree for a light meal! The servants have prepared a picnic basket for us!”
“Nonsense—youngsters these days, eating on the ground without a shred of decorum,”
“Wow, really? Can I open the picnic basket myself?”
Catherine and Bonita spoke at the same time.
Bonita’s coral eyes sparkled with anticipation. Seeing this, Catherine cleared her throat lightly and continued smoothly.
“Well… I suppose that wouldn’t be so bad. Truthfully, I’ve always preferred eating on the floor over dining at a table—even since I was young.”
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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😅😅 They are about to die mentally, sooo exhausting