Chapter 138
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138
"Doctor Joseph! What is the meaning of this? I told you we shouldn't be seen together like this!"
"Lady Marshall! The deed is nearly done."
At his words, Lauren Marshall’s expression visibly brightened. However, Joseph Alden, the man who had come to see her, still looked like a portrait of anxiety and unease.
"Ten minutes ago, a maid from the Fellon estate arrived with a brute in tow to fetch me. She claimed the Countess wouldn't wake from her sleep."
"Oh my! Is that true?"
"Yes. They said it was an emergency and tried to force me into their carriage, but I made an excuse about needing to gather my tools and escaped through the back door."
He grabbed a glass of water a servant had just brought and gulped it down. Wiping the droplets trickling down his chin with his sleeve, he continued.
"My role ends here. If I go to the Fellon estate now, I’m a dead man."
There would be too many eyes watching. He wouldn't be able to leave, he would be forced to treat Trisha, and if he continued to administer the current medication, her death was a foregone conclusion. He had to extract himself now, before the trap snapped shut.
"You must give me the remaining payment you promised. Right now."
"Of course. Oh, but before that, please provide the medical certificate stating that Countess Fellon is unlikely to regain consciousness."
"I’ve already written it. I’ll hand it over once I have the money."
Lauren immediately called for her son, Jaden.
Jaden, who had been idling around the house with nothing to do, sauntered into the drawing room. He didn't even bother to hide his annoyance, but to Lauren, even that insolence seemed endearing.
"Jaden! Go tell your father to bring the 200,000 Dirhams I mentioned."
"Huh? 200,000 Dirhams?"
Jaden looked at the man sitting across from his mother in surprise. It was no small sum. Lauren smiled proudly, enjoying his shock.
"And you, get ready to go out with me. We’re heading to the Imperial Aristocracy Bureau."
"Why there again?"
"Your aunt is unconscious, you see. Someone needs to step up as the interim Head of House and take charge of the family affairs."
"Oh? Is that old hag finally kicking the bucket?"
Lauren let out a cheerful peal of laughter at Jaden’s reaction.
"Yes! She’s finally dying. We must ensure the primary contributor to this success receives a fitting reward."
She turned back to Joseph and whispered in a gentle, conspiratorial voice.
"As we discussed when we planned this, please head to the villa in Searton for a while. The lakeside is beautiful this time of year. Think of it as a vacation and enjoy some fishing."
"Are you certain no one will follow me?"
"You’ll need to be thoroughly disguised from the moment you leave this room. But no one in Searton will recognize you, so do not worry."
Joseph suppressed his lingering anxiety and nodded. Inside his medical bag were the essentials for a disguise: a hat, a fake mustache, and glasses. The protocol for when Trisha finally collapsed had been planned long ago; his movements were practiced and swift.
In the meantime, Baron Marshall entered the drawing room with Jaden. Lauren took the bundles of money they brought and stuffed them into Joseph’s empty medical bag. Looking down at the now bulging bag, the doctor seemed to grow a little bolder, managing an awkward smile.
"Please contact me once the situation has stabilized."
"Understood. Rest comfortably until then."
As Joseph tipped his hat in farewell and departed, Jaden watched his retreating back, then turned to his mother as she burst into laughter. Lauren was giddily examining the medical certificate.
"Good heavens, to think I’ve endured living like this for so long when it was this simple! I’ll have to pay that young lady, Bella, handsomely."
"Am I really going to be Count Fellon now?"
At her son’s skeptical question, Lauren approached him and caressed his cheek. Her heart ached for her son, who she believed had been deprived of his rightful place for far too long.
"Of course, of course! You must be eager, so let’s hurry to the Bureau. I want to see the looks on the faces of those people—the ones who used to look at me like I was some madwoman."
Accompanied by her husband and son, Lauren headed to the Bureau with a dignified air. The air felt especially fresh today, and the weather was so fine it felt as if the heavens themselves were blessing their new lives.
Upon arriving at the Bureau, Lauren presented Joseph’s medical certificate to the official in charge, her face a mask of profound sorrow.
"I’ve come on urgent business. My sister-in-law, Countess Trisha Fellon, is no longer able to perform her duties as Head of House."
"Excuse me?"
The official, looking startled, unfolded the certificate. It stated that Trisha had been suffering from severe Higgs Legato Syndrome and had fallen into a coma with little hope of recovery.
Enjoying the man’s shifting expression, Lauren stated confidently, "Therefore, I request that you designate my son, Jaden Marshall—who is first in the line of succession for the Fellon Countship—as the interim Head of House."
The official looked back and forth between her and the document. He exchanged a few whispers with a colleague before pulling a file from a nearby cabinet.
"First, please accept our condolences regarding the Countess’s condition."
"Thank you. For her sake—as she has overworked herself leading the family alone all these years—Jaden will do his utmost as the interim Head."
"Hmm. About that... that might be a bit difficult."
The mask of the elegant lady, feigning sorrow and offering polite smiles, cracked instantly.
Lauren didn't know how many times she had heard the word "no" in this building. It was the one word she absolutely refused to hear today. Irritation surged within her, but she barely managed to maintain her noble composure.
"What do you mean by that? Oh, if you need to confirm Lady Fellon’s condition, you are welcome to send an inspector immediately."
"It’s not that. It’s simply that the interim Head of House has already been designated."
"What? No, the first in line for succession is standing right here! Who changed that without permission?"
The official shook his head and presented the document he had just retrieved.
"The first in line for succession is Miss Roxana Fellon, Countess Trisha Fellon’s daughter. In this situation, the authority of interim Head of House automatically transfers to her."
Lauren let out a hysterical shriek.
"Stop talking nonsense! How can the Imperial Aristocracy Bureau be so incompetent?"
"Madam, please, calm down for a moment..."
"Calm down? Look at me! Trisha Fellon has no children! Neither a daughter nor a son!"
She knew this for a fact. She had checked the records before declaring war on Trisha. Trisha was childless. To Lauren, it seemed the official was simply making a clerical error.
But the man only sighed. He looked troubled, yet he didn't apologize or seem flustered.
"Please, look closely. On March 12th of this year, Countess Trisha Fellon applied for the adoption of Miss Roxana Valbenus. The application was approved on the 28th of the same month. Therefore, as of March 28th, Miss Roxana Fellon is indeed the first in line for the Fellon Countship."
"That’s impossible! When I checked, there was no one on the family register!"
"When exactly did you check?"
"Well... it was definitely in March of this year..."
Lauren’s voice trailed off.
She couldn't remember the exact date, but she had checked the documents in mid-March. The lawsuit had been filed on March 19th and officially registered on the 29th. She had mocked Trisha on the 30th, telling her to "live a long life" because the legal battle would drag on.
But the adoption was approved on March 28th...?
She had checked the register just before Trisha applied for the adoption. Because there was a tiny window of a few days between her check and the filing of the lawsuit, Trisha had been able to adopt a daughter right under her nose.
By one day. A single, solitary day!
"Ugh... ugh... AAAAAAAAH!"
Lauren shrieked, clawing at her hair. Her eyes rolled back, and her heart felt as if it would burst from pure rage. Any semblance of the "elegant noblewoman" vanished, incinerated by her fury.
"How could this happen?! How?! That damned old hag! AAAAAGH!"
Forgetting she was within the Imperial Palace, Lauren began hurling anything she could reach. If a startled Baron Marshall hadn't restrained her, she would have been dragged away for insulting the Imperial Family.
*
The fateful day: March 12th.
On that day, after Jasper Atworth had delivered the news that Trisha’s remaining lifespan was a year at most, Roxana had followed Trisha’s command. She urgently summoned a skilled lawyer and a notary to the mansion.
They were the most trustworthy individuals among those who had long handled the Fellon Family’s affairs.
Trisha called only those two, along with Andre, Roxana, and Harriet, into her bedroom. She spoke with a heavy heart.
"The rumor that I am gravely ill will spread quickly. I refuse to hand this house—which I have shielded from a pack of greedy wolves—over to those unworthy of it. If I did, it would mean I’ve spent my entire life merely fattening up scoundrels, wouldn't it?"
She held a deep, bordering-on-obsessive affection for the family she had nurtured, first with her husband and then alone. It was as if she and her husband had raised the Countship in place of the children they never had.
She could not hand such a precious legacy to jackals who had no respect for her and only coveted her wealth. Especially not when there was someone far more suitable standing right beside her.
"So, Roxana. I want you to finally become my daughter."
At those words, Roxana froze.