Chapter 193 Beautiful Life
The knock on the door was audible, but Elizabeth was ignoring it. She didn't want anyone to see her crying.
When she cried intentionally, her eyes would only turn slightly red. But if she had a full-blown cry, her eyes would clearly be puffy and swollen. She didn't want to show this ugly face to anyone, not even her servants.
However, the knocking stopped, and someone entered the room without permission. This was the private quarters of the Young Marquis's wife, and only her husband was allowed to enter without permission. Which meant the one who had entered was Edward.
"Don't come in, please."
"Liz..."
"Leave me alone for now."
"But..."
Elizabeth had closed the curtains around her bed, and Edward, standing near the entrance, couldn't see her expression. But her voice was clearly nasal, and the occasional sniffle gave away that she had been crying.
Then, another knock was heard.
"Mother, it's Chloe. I've come to apologize. Please let me in."
Upon hearing his daughter's voice, Edward didn't wait for Elizabeth's permission and opened the door. Chloe burst into the room, not very ladylike, and kicked off her shoes with a loud thud, jumping onto her mother's bed with a joyful leap.
"Mother, I'm sorry. I said too much."
Chloe tightly hugged Elizabeth.
"But you're on Sara's side, aren't you?"
"Sara isn't our enemy. It was Sara who told me to come here."
"...So Sara told you to come, huh?"
"No, it's not like that. I came here of my own free will. I'm still regretful about hurting Mother. I don't hate Mother, I just want you to understand."
Elizabeth burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Chloe was surprised, having never seen her mother cry like that before. Not even her father, Edward, had seen Elizabeth cry like that.
"Mother, I hurt you that badly, didn't I?"
"I... I treasured the words Madam Eleonora left behind, and as the Grandchester Young Marquis's wife, I did my best. But Sara denied it all, saying it was worthless. Even Rob, Madam Eleonora's son, was swayed by Revi's words and denied his noble heritage. It even affected Chloe and Chris!"
Once again, Elizabeth raised her voice and started crying. Edward rushed to her side, sitting down on the stool beside her bed.
"Father, what did Grandmother say to Mother?"
"Mother left different words for each of us. So I don't know what she said to Liz."
"By the way, what did she say to you, Father?"
"Umm, she said, 'As a member of the Grandchester family, live a beautiful life.' It was like a habit of hers, but she also said, 'Be honest with Liz and show her your weaknesses.'."
As Edward reminisced about the past, speaking to Chloe, Elizabeth also began to talk in a similar vein.
"I've been told, 'As a noblewoman, prioritize dignity and live beautifully.' So I've been maintaining my influence in high society, just like my late mother-in-law, and actively engaging in charity work."
Chloe tilted her head slightly.
"I'm really curious, but did you ever ask Grandmother what she meant by 'living beautifully as a noblewoman'?"
"You don't need to ask, do you? It means upholding the noble code, obeying your husband, and conducting yourself with elegance in high society."
"Does Father think that way too?"
"I wonder. At least Mother didn't obey Father. She would often scold him, after all."
"Huh?"
Elizabeth looked up, startled.
"When Mother got angry, it was terrifying. Ah, I remember Sara getting angry and it's kind of like Mother. She gets angry with a clear head, you know?"
"I've never seen Mother-in-law get angry."
"That's lucky for you. If she directed that freezing anger at you, you'd... uh, never mind."
Edward hastily stopped himself from saying something inappropriate, but both Elizabeth and Chloe caught the hint.
"What did Father get scolded for?"
"Umm, there were many times, but maybe when I bought a horse-drawn carriage without permission?"
"Hehehe. Just like Adam!"
"Yeah, that's true. So maybe I didn't get angry at Adam because of that."
"Ed, is that something to get angry about? It's weird for the eldest son of a Young Marquis to not be able to buy a horse-drawn carriage freely, isn't it?"
Elizabeth countered.
"Ugh... My mother would say, 'That money wasn't earned by you, so you can't use it as you please.' Of course, if I stayed within the budget assigned to me, I could buy whatever I wanted and wouldn't get scolded. But since the carriage exceeded the budget by a lot, that was a problem..."
"That's the same as what Sara said, right?"
"Yeah, exactly."
Elizabeth looked surprised.
"Ah, speaking of which, when I got into trouble with my tutor, my mother was furious."
"What did you do?"
"I'm really bad at history, especially memorization. So, when my tutor told me to read and memorize it over and over, I got angry and said, 'You think I'm some kind of commoner? As a Young Marquis, I have way more important things to learn. I don't have time to repeat it over and over.' My mother overheard that and..."
Edward shuddered at the memory, his body tensing up.
"What happened then?"
"I had to write the timeline of historical events every day until I could recite it perfectly."
"Grandmother was strict, wasn't she?"
"Well, by the third day, I got tired of it and skipped it, but mother caught me and whipped my butt with a riding crop... I couldn't even sit on a soft chair for a few days. After that, I had to write the timeline again."
"Didn't father intervene?"
"Against mother? That's suicide."
"What do you mean?"
"Your grandmother is incredibly powerful, and you can't help but be intimidated by her."
"Huh?"
Chloe tilted her head. According to her mother's stories about her grandmother, she had an image of a refined and beautiful person, and she couldn't imagine her as a woman who intimidated people with her magical powers.
"My mother had a talent for water magic, and she could freeze various objects without even chanting a spell."
"Um... is that a story about Sara?"
"No, it's definitely a story about my mother. It wasn't the kind of magic she used around family or acquaintances, so not many people knew about it. One time, bandits attacked the carriage she was riding in. But they all ended up with their hands and feet frozen stiff. They insulted my mother, and the Lady-in-Waiting she brought from home smiled and smashed their frozen hands and feet."
Chloe and Elizabeth thought the same thing at the same time.
''Sara must have taken after her grandmother.''
"I've heard stories about Liz too. I think my mother must have liked Liz from a long time ago."
"My story?"
"Yeah, back when you weren't even a count's daughter yet, you got back at the noble girl who bullied you with Arthur's help, right?"
"Do you know about that?"
"Arthur was head over heels for you back then, and he was bragging about your intelligence."
"Arthur was being too much..."
Elizabeth covered her face with her hands.
"But mother was smiling cheerfully, saying 'What a lovely, cunning young lady.' On the other hand, she was displeased with the noble girls who bullied Liz, saying they lacked refinement as noble ladies. She even advised their mothers to redo their etiquette lessons."
Then, Chloe started talking quietly.
"Hey, isn't what Grandmother says about 'living beautifully as a noble' and 'having noble qualities' just about looking good and having influence in high society? The more I listen to Grandmother's stories, the more I think she hates unreasonable behavior that's just for show, and is trying to live up to the ideal of 'noblesse oblige'. Isn't having influence in high society just a result of that kind of behavior?"
At that moment, Elizabeth remembered Eleonora's words from the past.
'Liz, you must have the qualities of a Count's daughter. Don't forget who you used to be.'
Elizabeth hugged Chloe tightly and started talking in a small voice.
"That's right, Chloe. I haven't been following what mother-in-law said. I've been treating others unfairly, just like I was treated before I became a Count's daughter. Mother-in-law would be angry with me, wouldn't she?"
"I'm sorry, Liz. I think you became like that because I misunderstood what it means to live as a noble. You've always been kind to me and acknowledged my words. I'm the one who should have changed."
Edward hugged Elizabeth and Chloe together.
"Sara said she wouldn't forgive us for bullying her. Maybe she'll never forgive us. There are many past mistakes that can't be taken back, no matter how much we apologize. And yet, Sara is still kind to us, isn't she?"
"I think she has a good personality...but she's not a bad kid either."
"That's right. If we keep going like that, we might not survive in high society. High society is a battlefield. Even if we want to live beautifully, we can't always be perfect. I think even mother-in-law would agree with that."
"While aiming for a beautiful way of living, the nobles still fight dirty. What an annoying contradiction."
"That's why it's essential to hold on to high ideals. Becoming a lowly human is far too easy, after all..."
"And yet, does that child really intend to hide her true power? She might just lash out and shave the heads of the ladies and gentlemen from other families."
At that moment, a faint doubt crept into Chloe's mind.
'Could it be that she's the one who ruined my hair...'
But for the sake of her own peace of mind, Chloe decided to dismiss that doubt. Chloe had already realized that building a good relationship with Sara was crucial for herself and her family.
"Sara seems like the type to act on impulse and get carried away. Just as Mother said, the heads of the ladies and gentlemen might be in danger. During the hunting tournament, it would be better to ask Lady Orson to keep Sara in check. I think only she, as Sara's mother and a governess, can stop her."
""Exactly!""
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