TDWO Chapter 29

Of course, having preconceived notions and judging people prematurely is not a dignified attitude.

Elizabeth tried to clear her mind and smile.

 

“It seems your mother cherishes Miss Wentworth very much. So much so that the first Miss Wentworth gets jealous. I wonder how much your father must care as well.”

 

At the grand duchess’s question, Anri couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

The thought of her stepmother caring for her brought tears to her eyes.

Of course, it might appear that way to the Grand Duchess.

Catherine had suddenly switched tactics and was flattering Anri, who would become the Duchess.

On the other hand, Candice had been sulking the entire time she was at the Duchy, making Anri want to kick her out.

Although Anri understood that her marriage made Candice upset, she didn’t want to be subjected to the Grand Duchess’s scrutiny.

Even now, it appears that the Grand Duchess was bringing up her stepmother for a reason.

At first glance, she appeared gentle and kind, but Anri could see through her.

By mentioning her stepmother, she was subtly trying to gauge Anri’s family background.

Elizabeth seemed curious about the conditions Anri had been living under. With her experienced eyes, she eagerly awaited Anri’s response.

Anri picked up a napkin and lightly dabbed the corners of her lips.

She needed a moment to think about how to respond.

There was no way she could say that she had grown up neglected by a single father and frequently retorted against her stepmother’s scolding.

Eventually, Anri answered before it was too late.

 

“Of course. My mother was especially fond of me compared to my sisters. She visited me more often and shared many kind words with me.”

 

This was just errands and nagging.

 

“It seems that since I lived alone with my father, she paid more attention to me.”

 

She was reprimanding her.

 

“Oh, how fortunate and impressive that is. Indeed, young ladies require their mothers’ careful attention. Thanks to your stepmother, Miss Wentworth, you must have learned many things that your father couldn’t teach you.”

 

The Grand Duchess’s words sounded somewhat joyful yet calm.

However, for Anri, who knew about the Grand Duchess, it was interpreted as a sigh, “Your refinement might be superficial, influenced by your stepmother.”

Anri was not the type to remain passive in such situations.

 

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t like that. It’s only been three years since I’ve been close to my mother and sisters.”

“Oh. How unfortunate.”

 

The Duchess sighed as if lamenting.

 

“Three years is such a short time. It’s a shame you had to part ways so soon after becoming a part of the family. I don’t mind, so please do invite them occasionally, Miss Wentworth.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Madam. However, my late biological mother taught me from a young age that once married, a woman becomes an outsider to her family. My mother also barely interacted with her family members while she was alive.”

 

Anri’s words were a clear indication that she would not have a close relationship with her stepmother.

Moreover, the fact that her biological mother had not engaged with her family was certainly a story that would resonate with the Grand Duchess.

To others, it might sound like an extreme tale of a daughter who cut ties with her family after marriage, but the Grand Duchess would welcome it.

The Duchess originally believed the old saying that a married daughter is worse than a stranger.

The phrase “worse than a stranger” (a married woman should cut ties with her natal family) was still a relevant proverb in their society.

Indeed, the look in the Grand Duchess’s eyes changed.

Her gaze softened, as if melting with satisfaction.

 

“It is natural for a married woman to dedicate herself to managing the household and raising children.”

 

At the Grand Duchess’s words, Anri smiled slightly, her eyes crinkling.

It was a pure smile without ulterior motives, but beneath it lay a hint of reluctant agreement to that notion.

It pained her to fully agree.

In this world, the roles of husbands and wives are socially fixed, and most people do not deviate from these norms.

The concepts of being a “proper husband” and “proper wife” are standardized.

The husband is in charge of the family’s income outside the home, and the wife’s role is to obey him and raise the children.

The world held the belief that maintaining society required defining the roles of men and women in a stereotypical manner.

What happens if a married woman, who should be taking care of the household, starts working? They believed that the family would disintegrate, leading to the collapse of the nation.

In any case, this is how things currently stand.

 

“The bream is delicious.”

 

Suddenly, a low voice interrupted.

Edwin, who had been silent until now, spoke for the first time.

The gazes of Anri and the Grand Duchess, who had been engaged in conversation, turned to Edwin simultaneously.

It was a moment when words like “stranger,” “household management,” and “child raising” were being exchanged.

Out of nowhere, the mention of bream abruptly broke the context.

Then came the sound of fried bream being crunched.

 

“Well, if it’s delicious, do enjoy it, Edwin.”

 

Elizabeth blinked, seeming somewhat flustered.

Was the bream particularly well-cooked today?

It didn’t seem so.

Edwin didn’t particularly like fish and preferred meat instead, though he didn’t strictly avoid other foods.

He didn’t have selective eating habits.

He would eat whatever food was presented to him without complaint, and if it was a decent dish, he would simply enjoy it.

But saying, “The bream is delicious,” felt like an intentionally ambiguous interruption.

Anri also sensed an unnaturalness in Edwin that was uncharacteristic of him.

Is everything all right?

However, as the footman brought out the venison, Anri quickly forgot her small doubts about Edwin.

 

“What will happen to Miss Wentworth’s luggage?”

 

After tasting the venison in the natural silence, the Duchess asked again. Anri responded with a smile that was not excessive, just like before.

 

“My mother has arranged for it to be sent by carriage.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. It would be better for us to send people. Isn’t that right, Edwin?”

 

When the Grand Duchess looked at Edwin, Anri also gazed in the same direction, with sparkling eyes.

His hand, which had been using the knife, paused.

Eventually, Edwin spoke in a flat tone.

 

“… I’ve already sent someone.”

“Oh, really!”

 

Anri was surprised.

 

“Thank you, Your Grace. I didn’t expect you to take care of it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

 

The corner of Edwin’s mouth lifted slightly, then fell again. It was a light smirk, as if it were nothing significant.

The Grand Duchess looked pleased and turned back to Anri.

 

“I’m not sure how much luggage Miss Wentworth has. Edwin should’ve sent a generous carriage. Is there anything large? Perhaps an instrument…?”

 

As Elizabeth spoke, her eyes glimmered with eager anticipation.

In truth, she was trying to find out what kind of education Anri had received from her tutors.

She was subtly probing to avoid any awkwardness.

There must at least be a piano.

However, Anri smiled gently and mercilessly dashed Elizabeth’s hopes.

 

“I do have one frame, but it’s not much. Most of it is books and clothing.”

 

Don’t you have a violin?

Still, Elizabeth didn’t give up.

 

“Oh, I see. You must enjoy reading.”

“Yes. I believe there’s nothing more beneficial for spending leisure time than reading.”

 

Suddenly, more creases appeared in Anri’s folded eyes, like crêpes. Sweat trickled down her back.

As soon as the luggage arrives, she’ll have to carefully select some books to burn.

Thinking about it, most of her cherished books are romance novels. Oh dear.

 

“Have you mostly spent your time reading since you were young?”

 

For a noble lady, it was only natural to spend her childhood with lessons from governesses.

That was Elizabeth’s standard, but she didn’t think it was an unreasonable expectation.

She was simply curious if the governess who had taken care of Miss Wentworth was someone she had heard of.

Meanwhile, Edwin, who had been listening with an impassive face, realized his mother’s intentions.

 

‘An interrogation.’

 

It was impossible not to notice.

He had spent many mealtimes with various ladies alongside his mother.

While she appeared kind and genuinely interested, in reality, she was trying to dig deep into the other person.

However, directly asking what she wanted would be somewhat undignified and against proper manners, so she was taking a roundabout way to get there.

She was trying to find out how Anri had grown.

Even the noble ladies, whom his mother had previously introduced, were not exempt from such probing.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much about it while observing, but now it felt a bit.

 

“Oh, when I was young…!”

“I suppose we should give special pay to the kitchen staff.”

 

Anri blinked, her mouth agape.

It was just as Anri was about to answer the Grand Duchess’s question about whether she had mostly spent her childhood reading. In the amiable (at least on the surface) exchange between Anri and her future mother-in-law, her future husband interrupted for the second time.

He did so suddenly, as if striking a blow to the conversation.

Anri, unable to make a sound, quietly closed her mouth, feeling embarrassed.

In truth, it was difficult to answer since the topic of her childhood had come up.

Even if she mentioned her mother, it would only be before she turned eleven.

After that, her father hired a governess, but all she learned was social dancing and French.

Initially, there was only a dance teacher.

However, thanks to a neighboring lady speaking to her father, Anri was also able to learn French.

Her father didn’t know much about raising children.

It was a stroke of luck that he even thought to teach her to dance.

In fact, there was another reason her father didn’t hire more governesses.

As a child, Anri was quite famous in the village as a prodigy.

She had already attended graduate school in her previous life and had studied world history and basic knowledge.

She was skilled in musical instruments like the piano, recorder, danso, and castanets… and her English was not bad either.

When other babies her age, not even twelve months old, could only babble “mama” and “papa,” Anri had once surprised her mother by accidentally saying, “Are you my mother?” 

Her mother immediately gathered her close friends to talk to Anri.

‘Since it has come to this, I’ll pretend to be a prodigy… ahem.’

At twenty-four months, when her mother first tried to teach her piano, Anri played “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” flawlessly.

Her mother was so amazed and delighted!

However, like most prodigies, once they reached a certain age, they became ordinary like everyone else.

She had simply saved on education costs in her second life, but if people who didn’t know anything heard about it, they would think her parents were neglecting her.

If someone asked her about her educational background like this, it would be so hard to deal with it.

She couldn’t say, “I didn’t learn anything, but I’m a prodigy who can do everything well, haha.”

Meanwhile, Elizabeth blinked her eyes wide, just like Anri.

 

‘Why is Edwin acting like this today?’

 

He was usually so indifferent and quiet, but today he kept interrupting her.

 

“Grand Duchess.”

 

At that moment, a young footman, who was moving between the kitchen and dining room, spoke to Elizabeth.

 

“…?”

 

What’s going on?

Anri and Edwin’s eyes were also focused on the footman.

He seemed a bit anxious, as if he had something urgent to convey.

The Grand Duchess pressed her napkin to her mouth, then turned around.