“How dare……”
He was biting the inside of his cheek, clenching his jaw.
Looking at his hardened face, I realized Jade was exercising a great deal of patience.
‘I was already worried about her being bullied… I never imagined she’d go through something like this.’
I wiped the cold sweat from Blanche’s forehead as she called out “Mama” in her sleep.
She didn’t want to tell me because she was afraid Jade would be troubled and I would be disappointed.
‘It’s all my fault. Because I practically forced her to get along with friends from before, Blanche just endured it blindly.’
I shouldn’t have done that. An overwhelming feeling of regret washed over me. Blanche stirred slightly as I kissed her cheek.
“…Anything else?”
Jade glanced at Blanche briefly, seeing she hadn’t woken up, and spoke again.
“Pardon…? Ah, um… So, he said if you two divorce, Blanche would become a Boston again… And to act according to her station.”
“……”
“Then he bumped Blanche’s shoulder as he walked past.”
He took a deep breath, pressing hard around his eyes. I stroked Lirin’s hair in place of Jade, who couldn’t continue speaking.
“Lirin. Thank you so much. For taking good care of Blanche and telling us everything. Blanche will stay at the Rowe Viscount’s residence for a while.”
“Lady Viscountess, on the weekend… may I come visit Blanche?”
Lirin’s question asking if she could visit on the weekend out of concern for Blanche was so warm.
‘If Blanche didn’t have a good friend like Lirin by her side, she probably wouldn’t have been able to endure at all.’
I nodded, and Lirin bowed saying she had another class before leaving the room.
“Jade. What are you going to do?”
“…It’s the parents’ responsibility when a child grows up like that. They must have heard what people around them were saying.”
He was right.
Some adult must have said things like she’s an adopted daughter who doesn’t know her place, or to act according to her station.
Killing intent filled Jade’s red eyes. A tension that made even my hair stand on end hung in the air.
“Jade. I’m saying this just in case, but killing is not allowed. Even if there’s a guarantee no one will see and you won’t get caught.”
No matter what, Eman Iskal was still young. And above all, I didn’t want Jade to do such a thing.
“Right now I feel like wringing all their necks wouldn’t be enough.”
As if confirming my prediction, Jade retorted with a sneer.
“I feel the same. I hate Eman Iskal for saying those things to Blanche, and my heart aches just thinking about how hurt Blanche must be. But… I want him to formally apologize to Blanche. I’m not saying we should forgive him. That’s up to Blanche.”
Jade, who didn’t understand at first, nodded slightly as if telling me to continue.
“We need to make Eman Iskal apologize to Blanche so she doesn’t keep dwelling on this incident in the future. So Blanche doesn’t get trapped by her wounds.”
After pondering for a moment, Jade reached out. I handed Blanche over to him.
“…I’ll cut off all funding for the Iskal family’s businesses and send a notice demanding repayment of all loans with exorbitant interest.”
Jade said quietly as he let Blanche’s head rest comfortably on his shoulder.
“The Iskals, who won’t be able to repay, will surely come begging for an extension. I’ll make apologizing a condition for granting it. And I’ll tell them to send Eman Iskal to study abroad since I don’t want to see his face anymore.”
Fortunately, Jade listened to what I said.
[This is the timeline separator]I brought Blanche home and we spent our days as usual. Days that were no different from before, neither asking nor speaking about that day first.
As he told me, Jade immediately sent a notice to the Iskal Count’s family. Not long after, the Viscount and Viscountess Iskal came with their son, Eman Iskal.
All three of them looked quite urgent.
While they were meeting with Jade, I was reading a storybook to Blanche seated on my lap.
As I was about to turn to the next page, Blanche stopped my hand.
“Mama. Did Lirin tell you?”
“Hm?”
“What happened to Shu Shu. Mama and Papa already know, right?”
Even though we hadn’t said anything, Blanche already knew.
“Blanche. My baby. Mama is sorry.”
“Why are you sorry, Mama…? You didn’t do anything wrong to Shu Shu.”
Blanche looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
“I told you to get along well with your friends. But you didn’t really need to do that. I feel like my baby became a child who endures pain because of me.”
“…No, Mama. Shu Shu isn’t nice. Every night before falling asleep, Shu Shu imagines scratching his face with both hands. But actually, I’m just a coward. I can’t really do it.”
Sorrow tinged Blanche’s voice. I shook my head.
“Blanche. You’re not a coward. You take after your father.”
“But Shu Shu takes after Mama, right? No one knows. That Shu Shu is Papa’s daughter.”
“That’s because they don’t really know your father. You’re very much like Jade. Kind, brave, and impossible not to love.”
Blanche swung her feet as if embarrassed. The habit of fidgeting when unsure how to respond was similar to Jade’s.
At that moment, a polite knock came from behind the door. It was the Iskal Count’s voice. Eman Iskal would be with him.
“Blanche. Eman Iskal is outside.”
“…Why is he here?”
Blanche tensed up, startled.
“He came to apologize to you. After today, he’ll be going to study abroad so you won’t see him again. This is your only chance to scratch his face.”
Blanche didn’t answer right away and thought for a long time.
“Of course, if you really don’t want to, you don’t have to meet him. I’ll send him away.”
I added, thinking Blanche didn’t want to see Eman Iskal.
“Shu Shu will meet him. I have something I want to say. Just the two of us.”
But Blanche jumped off my lap and answered energetically.
“Just the two of you? Will you be okay?”
“Yes. Shu Shu knows now. No matter what happens, Mama and Papa are on Shu Shu’s side.”
I was proud of Blanche who got back up even after falling.
“That’s right, Blanche. Mama and Papa are always behind you.”
When I came out after finishing my conversation with Blanche, the Viscount and Viscountess Iskal bowed their heads deeply.
It was hard to believe these were the same people who deliberately didn’t attend the banquet to put me down, given their polite attitude.
I turned my gaze to Eman Iskal, who was standing next to the Viscount Iskal with hunched shoulders.
The Viscount Iskal bowed his head even deeper.
“I will send my son to study abroad right away. I would be grateful if you could give him a chance to apologize to the Young Lady. I’m sorry for not raising him properly.”
I stood in front of Eman Iskal. Although I had Jade give a lenient punishment, that didn’t mean my anger had subsided.
“…My daughter says she has something to say to you privately. Go on in.”
“Y-Yes…”
I got goosebumps, finding it hard to believe this young child who couldn’t even answer properly had said such frightening words.
“If such words come from the collateral branches in the future, I will hold Iskal equally responsible. From now on, be responsible and keep their mouths in check.”
After Eman Iskal entered the room, I whispered to Viscount Iskal.
The sins of a child were the sins of the parents. Naturally, the parents should also pay the price for that responsibility.
[This is the timeline separator]Blanche felt it was futile to have been so nervous. The boy who had bumped her shoulder while spitting out sharp words looked infinitely small now.
To the point where she couldn’t understand why she had been scared at the time.
“…I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“For being mean to you. It’s just, Aunt told me to scare you a few times if I ran into you. Father didn’t do anything. So, could you please put in a good word to the Viscount for me?”
Until the end, he was blaming others and saying he had done nothing wrong. Knowing that it wasn’t a sincere apology, Blanche found the boy irritating.
She wanted to scratch his face like in her imagination. Mama said it was okay, and she wouldn’t see this boy at the academy anymore.
“Shu Shu doesn’t want to be like you.”
“…?”
However, she didn’t do it.
“Someone who hurts others, says bad things, and doesn’t even know it’s wrong.”
As she stepped closer, the boy backed away.
‘Hmph. I didn’t even hit him. What a coward. Maybe I’ll tease him a bit.’
Blanche brought out her wolf ears and bared her sharp teeth.
“Y-You. How…”
Seeing this, the boy was shocked and confused.
“So what if you’re the son of Viscount Iskal? You’re still just from a collateral branch. Shu Shu’s papa is Viscount Rowe, and Shu Shu is a real Rowe.”
She first threw back the words the boy had said to Lirin.
“You really were… the Viscount’s daughter…? Impossible.”
“Lower your voice and be quiet. If anyone finds out what happened today, Shu Shu will really scratch your face.”
The boy trembled and covered his mouth with both hands. His dilated pupils showed no signs of returning to normal.
“Learn a lot while studying abroad, okay? Because Shu Shu will be the Rowe Viscount you’ll have to serve later.”
Blanche patted the boy’s shoulder.
She made a promise to herself to work him harder than anyone else when he returns as an adult, offering words of comfort in advance.
At this moment, Blanche was really glad to have been born a child of wolves.
Having a Wolf’s Child (End)
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
