Chapter 16
The protagonist possessed by her husband is Chapter 16
We were all speechless.
I was the only one who was dazed for a different reason.
‘Alex, he took my side in front of Mother……?’
Oh my god, is he out of his mind?
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't believe this was happening.
He was the most respectful and reverent person towards his mother in the world.
He had never disobeyed his mother or upset her.
Even when my mother-in-law unfairly criticized me like now, he was anxious and couldn't say a word.
The only thing he could do was apologize to me on behalf of his mother when we were alone.
‘But what’s with him now?’
Has our Alex changed?
My sister-in-law suddenly shouted.
“Who asked you to do that? Sister! Tell me. You’re the one who did it, right?”
“……”
I couldn't hear my sister-in-law's words right now.
I was stunned by Alex's attitude, which I had never seen before.
“Why is Brother making a fuss when Sister likes it? If you hate it so much, Brother, don’t eat what Sister makes!”
“Eloy!”
Finally, my mother-in-law scolded her sharply. My sister-in-law reluctantly shut her mouth and pouted her lips.
But I don't think I ever said that I liked cooking alone?
My mother-in-law pressed her surprised heart and stared at Alex.
“Okay, Alex……? I understand what you mean. Then let's check with Luise first and decide.”
“……”
Me?
“Luise, tell me.”
I stared straight into my mother-in-law's eyes. Her tone was kind at first glance, but her eyes contained a strong will.
‘Of course, you'll continue to take on the annoying and difficult tasks, right?’
“Do you want me and Eloy to help with meal preparation?”
“……”
It's not just meals.
There are so many things to do, such as cleaning the house and turning the candles on and off.
Dust keeps accumulating even if you wipe it every day.
“Well, I can do anything as long as you enjoy eating it. But I'm afraid my cooking skills are not good enough, so I disappointed Mother again today.”
“……”
I put on a very sad expression, and the family remained silent.
I quickly continued.
“I think it would be better for me to give up cooking.”
“……Luise!”
“Sister!”
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law were startled by my sudden declaration.
In fact, I didn't mind preparing meals for my family.
The problem was that I wouldn't hear a single word of thanks from my family.
Seeing my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who only think about themselves, I lost all desire to do anything for them.
“When I think about it, cooking isn't the only thing I have to do. I can't live in a garbage dump, so I have to clean the house, and I have to wash clothes and blankets often. I have to go around every night and turn off the candles. Don't I have to take care of the sheep too?”
I brought my hand to my mouth as if I was upset.
“Last night, while looking for candles, I suddenly felt so sorry for the servants. How hard must it have been for them all this time? Sniff.”
My mother-in-law clicked her tongue.
“They did what they were supposed to do in exchange for money.”
“But thanks to them, we've been able to live comfortably until now. Are you and Eloy going to cook or clean in exchange for money?”
“What nonsense……!”
“Look at that. Anyway, I don't think you like my food, so I'm going to clean. You should eat better food than what I make. Sniff.”
At the end of my words, I pretended to cry a little.
Oh, how pitiful. How disappointing.
My mother-in-law's face crumpled. My sister-in-law looked furious.
My sister-in-law's face was red and blue, and it looked like she was about to run out, shouting, ‘I won’t eat it!’
Suddenly, Alex opened his mouth, and everyone's attention was focused on him.
“Then how about we do this?”
“……?”
“Everyone does their own cooking and cleaning as needed. I'll take care of the hard work of taking care of the sheep and burning the trash, so don't worry too much.”
“……”
“Laundry is also very hard, so it would be better for me to do it.”
Really?
I blinked a couple of times.
I didn't know when I was in the ducal house, but my husband is surprisingly comfortable with household chores?
He willingly offered to do Latteret Duties, and somehow he seemed to be shining right now.
Creak.
But suddenly, I heard the sound of a chair being pulled.
I thought Eloy was going to run out again - huh?
Contrary to expectations, it was my mother-in-law who stood up abruptly.
Then she gave Alex a cold look.
“I'm really disappointed, Alex.”
“……?”
“I thought that damn tyrant only took away your title, but now you've lost your pride too?”
Huh?
Suddenly, even pride……?
My mother-in-law clenched her fist tightly.
“I never gave birth to a duke's son who takes care of sheep and does laundry.”
“……”
“No matter what anyone says, you are the dignified head of the Brent Ducal House. I would rather see you die honorably than see you cleaning up animal poop and putting your hands in dirty water.”
“……”
My mother-in-law was quietly indignant.
It was quite rare for her to be so disappointed in Alex.
When my mother-in-law acted like that, I felt like I couldn't swallow my food.
I swallowed hard and looked around.
‘At this point, won’t Alex be surprised and kneel down?’
But Alex stroked his chin with an indifferent expression.
“……Anyway, the situation is different now, so I understand that we will share the housework. I would be very grateful if Mother could help too.”
“……?”
It wasn't just me who was repeatedly surprised by Alex's attitude.
My sister-in-law and mother-in-law were also stunned by Alex's firm words.
My mother-in-law gritted her teeth and tightly grabbed the hem of her dress. Her complexion was unusually distorted, turning red and blue.
Just before my mother-in-law's reddened face was about to explode, she shouted.
“I am the Grand Duchess of the Brent Ducal House. How dare you-!”
Swish.
My mother-in-law just fluttered her skirt and left.
“……”
Silence flowed.
My sister-in-law sighed and picked up her fork.
“Brother, why don't you just hire a few servants?”
After saying that, my sister-in-law picked up the meat on her plate and put it in her mouth.
While chewing, she cut another piece of meat.
“Sister, I didn't say your food was bad like Mother did.”
“……”
Yeah.
Well, she eats well…….
I secretly turned my head towards Alex.
He is the person who fears his mother more than anyone else, but I was surprised that he rebelled against her.
If he had stayed still, his mother wouldn't have said anything to him.
“……Thank you, Alex. Thank you for saying that much for me. But I think my mother got angry because of me, what should I do?”
He was puzzled for a moment, then picked up his utensils.
“No. I didn't know that my saying I would take care of the sheep would make her so angry.”
No, he didn't know……?
Trying to get his mother and sister to share the housework, and Alex himself offering to do the hard work, were all unacceptable to his mother-in-law.
“I would be upset too. You're not just an ordinary son, you're the head of a noble family. You said you're the only descendant of the Paladin Family.”
“……”
“Are there any families as prestigious and deeply connected to the imperial family as our family?”
But that's all a story up to the previous Duke Brent.
“Of course, I'm really grateful that you said that much to Mother for me.”
I lowered my gaze and fiddled with the utensils.
Alex defied his mother for me.
It was so surprising and grateful that I couldn't even imagine it.
Although my mother-in-law was indignant and stormed out of the dining table, I was sorry to say that my heart was pounding at my husband's shield, which I was experiencing for the first time.
……What is this feeling?
It feels strangely reassuring?
Is it such a good thing that my husband is on my side?
“Sister, is there more meat in the stew?”
“Huh?”
I raised my head at Eloy's words.
Only then did I look at the table and see that my sister-in-law had already emptied her plate and was sparkling her eyes.
“Well, I don't think there is any left.”
I tilted my head and said that to my sister-in-law, then got up from my chair and checked the stew pot.
When I stirred it with a ladle, there were fortunately about three or four pieces of meat left.
‘Alex seems to have eaten almost everything anyway, so I should just give it all to Eloy.’
As I thought that and turned around, my mind suddenly changed.
I put the pot back in its place and returned to the table, feeling sorry.
“Oh, it’s all gone.”
“Ah, I see.”
My sister-in-law stirred the remaining stew with a very disappointed expression. Then she quickly got up from her seat.
“I’m going to go see Mother.”
She still said sullenly and left the dining room.
Alex and I were the only ones left at the table.
I quietly got up from my seat again and brought the stew pot.
I added more stew with three or four pieces of lamb to his bowl.
“Eat more, Alex.”
For some reason, my eyes welled up with tears.
He is the only person in this world who cares about me, sniff.
“It’s okay-.”
“……Alex?”
But for some reason, he was staring into space and froze.
