Chapter 33
~Chapter 33~
“While she was in the convent, there were people who called me cold-blooded for stripping away her guardianship, but think about it. How could I have continued living with Harriet and supporting her indefinitely? Just imagining the commotions that girl would cause… Sigh, it makes me sigh just thinking about it.”
Trisha took a quiet sip of her tea without any particular retort. John looked somewhat relieved that she wasn’t sharply rebuking him and put on a serious expression.
“Why do you think Harriet suddenly turned to you, her aunt she hadn’t contacted in ages? I hate to say it, but with no family around to tell her the truth, she must have thought she could easily sweet-talk you. That girl is very good at lying. She must have spewed all sorts of horrible things about me and Bella. I know exactly what kind of person she is.”
“Hmm…”
“You need to end the guardianship and kick her out. If you get too deeply involved, your peaceful retirement could be ruined. If it’s too hard for you to do it yourself, I’ll help you.”
Only then did Trisha set down her teacup.
“John. Harriet didn’t say a single word about you or Bella.”
“Y-Yes? I see. Well, she must have figured her lies would be exposed anyway.”
“Would she? She said that no matter what she says, it would sound like a one-sided claim from her side, so she’d rather you observe her yourself and ask when you truly come to trust her.”
John’s heart sank.
“She knows how to manipulate people! She says things like that just to make the listener feel good!”
“I actually think Harriet is right. What you’re saying right now sounds like a one-sided claim to my ears.”
A slanted smile curved Trisha’s lips.
“So to me, you and Harriet are no different. I’ll decide who to believe after seeing for myself.”
“You’ll regret it—!”
“But John,” she cut him off, and the smile vanished in an instant. John instinctively held his breath at her sharp gaze.
“Even if you didn’t like Harriet, how could you sever the guardianship without giving her a single penny? Do you know how much Arthur left you? And yet you abandoned his daughter?”
“Abandon her? I raised that girl for ten years! I did everything I was supposed to!”
“You know the law changed twelve years ago, right? Daughters and wives can now inherit noble titles.”
John flinched as if struck in a sore spot.
“Arthur died suddenly without even leaving a will. Harriet was a minor. With no one around, you were lucky enough to inherit the title, weren’t you? Even considering that, you should have at least given her enough money to stand on her own!”
Trisha slammed the tea tray, and tea splashed up from John’s untouched cup.
Despite her frail appearance, the old lady’s dignity was overwhelming. John felt like a child being scolded.
“That law is useless. What madman would pass a family title to a woman…?”
Muttering to himself, John froze after uttering the word ‘mad.’ Only then did he realize where he was—sitting before Trisha Felon, the black widow of the Pellon family!
He hurriedly shut his mouth, but the words he’d already spoken couldn’t be taken back.
“My husband was exactly the one who did that so-called ‘mad deed.’ And there will be more and more people like him in the future.”
“N-No, that’s not what I meant—”
“You’d better leave before you say something truly irreparable. But remember this.”
Trisha pointed straight at John with her index finger.
“No matter what happened in the past, Harriet is now under my protection. If you so much as lay a finger on her, I’ll consider it a declaration of war from Viscount Listerwell against the Pellon family. So keep that in mind.”
“Y-Yes? Auntie!”
“You know better than anyone what happened to those who underestimated me.”
Oh, he knew all too well. John had once been utterly crushed after trying to get something from Trisha. He knew she meant every word.
“Now go.”
She pointed toward the door.
John left Pellan Mansion with the situation only having worsened, ruffling his hair in rage.
“Damn it! That damned old hag. The way she talks… Does she already know about Perillas?”
Thinking about it, it made sense. Otherwise, why would Trisha sponsor Harriet, who had nothing?
“Is she afraid someone will snatch it away? I’m Viscount Listerwell. My brother’s fortune should all be mine!”
Gritting his teeth, John climbed into his carriage. But he didn’t head straight home.
There was only one road leading to Pellan Mansion. That meant if Harriet was out, she would have to return via this route.
After waiting about an hour, a small carriage bearing the Pellon family crest appeared heading his way. With Trisha at home, the only person who could be riding in the Pellon carriage was Harriet.
At John’s prior instructions, his coachman approached the oncoming carriage and shouted at the other driver to stop.
“Stop! Hold the horses for a moment!”
“Whoa, whoa!”
Startled by John’s carriage cutting in suddenly, the Pellon coachman yanked hard on the reins.
Inside the carriage, Harriet nearly lost her balance from the sudden jolt.
“What’s going on?”
There was no way she’d run into bandits near Pellan Mansion.
Just in case, Harriet gripped the small hammer kept in the carriage and peered out the window. She almost screamed. Right outside the carriage window, impossibly close, was John’s face.
“Harriet! Open the door. Now!”
From the opposite carriage, John bellowed like a dog barking. Even after a year since betraying and abandoning his niece, there wasn’t a speck of guilt on his face.
Harriet briefly considered using the object in her hand, then took a deep breath to calm herself. The revenge she envisioned wasn’t something as petty as inflicting a minor wound.
Harriet opened the carriage window with the brightest smile she could muster.
“Uncle? Long time no see. What brings you here?”
Her unshaken, confident demeanor seemed to irk John. His eyes widened in anger. He looked like he might yell at any moment, but after fumbling uncertainly over what expression to make, he finally spoke in a low, menacing voice.
“I don’t know what you’re scheming or how you bewitched Aunt Trisha, but if you dare try to tarnish Bella’s name, I won’t let you get away with it. I’ll drive you out of Genoa by any means necessary!”
John’s ferocious expression, baring his teeth as he glared, was exactly the same as it had been a year ago. Nothing had changed in the slightest.
