The Fantasie of a Stepmother

Chapter 6

Would they have quietly stood by and let a naive young widow take that spot?

They didn’t kick me out immediately. They smiled to my face, armed with flawless manners and graceful dignity.

However, I did not have to wait long to be summoned to a hearing where they accused me of fabricating my late husband’s will.

It became a stage for storytellers.

If His Majesty the Emperor had not taken my side at the hearing—if he and Duke Nürnberger had not kindly asserted the validity of the marquess’s signature and reminded everyone that the law protecting dying wishes had been losing power in noble society recently—I would have lost my authority to vipers and extended family.

I, for one, had no idea why the emperor and Duke Nürnberger helped me and dismissed the hearing.

After that event, I vowed to be ruthless. I cultivated my notoriety, and noble society was opened to me. Through it all, the emperor and the duke left me alone.

If Count Mueller was giving me advice out of honest concern, I would have pretended to accept it with gratitude.

These people probably wanted me out of the way, but I was of no value to them dead.

Alive, I could be manipulated. If I died, the imperial family would absorb everything the marquis owned.

They needed to protect me, at least for the sake of their material interests. Life is cruel.

If I were any other young widow, they would have wanted me to pass the house’s authority to the eldest son and quietly support him. That was the nice way of saying it, anyway. Alternatively, they would want me to remarry someone they could mold to their will.

Young heads of houses whose fathers died early often became family puppets, not just because of their age but due to their lack of experience and connections.

Some may emphasize status and lineage over age, but one should never underestimate the connections and people skills that grow over a lifetime.

But I was not a noblewoman with strong connections; I was a young stepmother. Thus, I was in the worst possible situation.

I could only assume that this was why Johan left this will... and why he made me promise.

I wonder what he saw in me to believe in me like that.

Most people in my position would nestle into a safe life in society funded by family wealth rather than facing troubles head-on.

The children weren’t even mine, and we did not marry for love. What kind of idiot would choose a thorny path over a comfortable one?

Choosing the difficult path would be lethal for a woman who had no hope or means to gain respect.

And I was that idiot.

In retrospect, it’s hard to believe how stubborn I was.

“I must express my gratitude for your warm consideration, Count Mueller,” I said. “Nevertheless, I cannot go against my late husband’s dying wishes.”

“I am well aware. As such, we are begging you to let us help you, my lady.”

His voice was quiet. There was a small smile on his lips. He was like a hunter approaching prey that has taken the bait.

Dear me.

“How are you proposing to help me?”

“Your only concern needs to be the housekeeping, my lady,” he said. “We will take charge of complicated matters like parliament and the marquess’s provinces for now, as well as the children’s education. I must reiterate that none of us have any right to lay hands on your authority, my lady. We want to assist you out of consideration for our late brother.”

Before, I had trembled where I sat and rejected their cajoling. I was like a frightened cat, my tail puffed up, my claws out. I snarled and sent them away.

How brave I was.

Back then, I still didn’t know how to intuit another person’s intentions or use people to my advantage. I simply charged forward and hoped for the best, desperate to become stronger.

It was so hard sometimes that I wept alone at night. After bumping against every wall and getting thrown about by the world, I became who I am today.

I didn’t want to live the way I had before.

I hadn’t decided how I would live this time, but I was rejecting the suffering of my previous life.

I didn’t want to hear any more criticism or resentment... especially from the children.

“I don’t know. I will have to consider it,” I said. “My husband is barely cold in the ground. I do not have the strength to decide everything now. You understand, don’t you?”

My amiable words relaxed the tense atmosphere.

Though continuing to pressure me would be difficult after my words mollified them, they probably believed they had succeeded.

Just look at Count Mueller’s ardent gaze on me. Tsk tsk.

“Of course. I understand,” Count Mueller agreed. “But things being the way they are, I hope you will decide qui—”

“I... May I make one request?” The warm, girlish voice that spoke up belonged to none other than Countess Lucrecia von Sebastian.

She was a beautiful woman. Her blonde hair was in an elegant updo, and her eyes were lake blue. In the past, she had begged me to let her see the children, invoking her position as their aunt.

“What is it?” I asked.

“As you know, my lady, I have treasured my niece and nephews all their lives, so we are quite close,” Lucrecia told me. “If I could stay here awhile, I could comfort them while lightening your burden as well. What do you say?”

What had I been thinking last time, to have driven out the children’s relatives and slammed the door?

Their greedy uncles were one matter, but why shut out their beautiful and kind aunt?

It was probably because of what my late husband told me. He said over and over again that he didn’t trust any of his younger siblings. He called every one of them treacherous hyenas, wolves who played at lions.

I think I was following my own intuition as well. But in the end, everyone resented me for it.

Before I returned to the past, twenty-one-year-old Jeremy, on the day before his wedding, resented me. He was so ashamed of me that he sent his fiancée to tell me not to attend.

That was how people saw me.

The Blood-and-Iron Dowager. The Witch of Neuschwanstein Castle.

I’ll show them what they want to see this time. I’ll go along with their scheme.

“I would be grateful for such kindness,” I said, “but I worry your husband would be displeased.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” Lucrecia said, smiling brightly. “He’s already been informed.”

As the mood turned, Sir Valentino interjected as if he didn’t want to be left out. “I would like to lend my aid as well, my lady.”

“How so?”

“I have free time of late,” he said. “Perhaps I could be of assistance in refreshing my nephews’ swordsmanship skills.”

“Oh, but Jeremy already has a swordsmanship teacher who has taught him since he was eight,” I said.

“I know,” said Sir Valentino. “But isn’t Elias at an age where he should be training as well?”

I wondered what he was thinking.

Sir Valentino was an awful example of a knight. He never would have been knighted if he weren’t a Neuschwanstein. He was a wastrel who did nothing but gamble and drink.

What could he get out of hanging around his nephews?

Well, I guess time will tell.

I pretended to consider for a few moments, then nodded and smiled innocently. “This is a rare opportunity. I would be pleased if you would look after them.”

It was a test of pride and nonchalance.

As I prepared to turn my back and step down from the stage, part of me hoped that I had been right the first time.

***

I used to spend all day working. I would get some brief sleep late at night and return to perusing complicated documents and account books as soon as I opened my eyes.

Whether my eyes were opened or closed, I was always on edge. Even a small noise made me jump. I read too much into the ways the staff and knights looked at me.

The first time I attended the aristocratic parliament, I collapsed into bed as soon as I got home. When I opened my eyes, it was dawn. I packed everything I had brought with me to the estate as if in a trance and went outside.

I was on the verge of a breakdown. I ran out with no plan except to never come back.

I was stopped by the twins Leon and Rachel. They were standing on the balcony, rubbing their faces with their knuckles.

“Where are you going, Fake Mother? You’re always busy. Bring candy on your way back.”

They blinked their sleepy green eyes and waved their small hands side to side like little ferns in the wind.

It woke me up. I suddenly became aware of the dazed knights staring at me as I appeared to be in the middle of something reckless.

I turned back. I went inside, summoned the staff, and fired about half of them. No one dared to say a word in protest.

In the present, it was early morning, and the sun was rising. I was taking a leisurely walk in the backyard. I decided to wait to change the staff.

First, I had to decide my path for the future.

Things could have been worse. Though I couldn’t tell whether I had truly returned to the past or I was having the most vivid of prophetic dreams, I was able to anticipate most things to come.

For example, that damnable hearing...

Even if the hearing never happened, my reputation would still be horrible.

Why else would Jeremy have barred me from his wedding?