A Stepmother's Marchen

Chapter 43

Furthermore, it’s equivalent to supporting the church that had raised its hand to promote relief activities, which can be said to have saved face.

Why didn’t I dare to use such a huge asset for this part in the past?

It was then that the Marquis Schweig, who seemed unhappy, opened his mouth with a fake smile, “What an unprecedented and radical offer, madam. This is a proposal that I would never have imagined from the late Marquis.”

Marquis Schweig seemed to want to express that I, unlike my husband, have no limit in spending money.

The sound of a cough began to ring here and there.

Unsurprisingly, the gentle mask on Marquis Schweig’s face began to shake slightly as he said that directly.

The social mask, which had been thoroughly learned since childhood, couldn’t be broken down so easily, but the fact that his opponent was me, I could see through him.

The fact that someone like me was sitting with them was sufficiently insulting to them.

“You’re welcome. I’m just expressing concern, but please refrain from saying such words.”

“If you’re really concerned, the Schweig can also give supplementary budgets to show their kindness, then the Neuwanstein will give 80%, and the Schwing will give 20%.”

The Marquis Schweig gave a shaky cough, as if claiming he had nothing more to say.

Suddenly, he took part of the huge budget. Because 80% of the budget was to be taken out from our side, it would be ridiculous to object.

Duke Nurembert, who had been watching me with a mysterious smile on his face, finally nodded. The Duke, who had deep blue eyes with the same thick black hair as Nora, said without hesitation, “All right, if Schweig will be in charge of the 20% of the budget, then I understand that Neuwanstein will be responsible for 80% of the budget for the Christmas banque, that way it wouldn’t be hard for Neuwanstein to buy gifts for the children. The denomination should disclose the details of the relief activities mentioned by the first day of the new year. I’m going to leave this issue here.”

Knock knock knock knock!

The tapping of the gavel sounded really light.

While I smiled at the kind Duke, I don’t know why the Silent Bell kept gazing at me indifferently.

I used to think he was displeased with me and didn’t care about it, but now that I’ve gone through it again, it’s quite burdensome.

I mean, when would he tell me about his dissatisfaction?

After the meeting finished, everyone left one by one after exchanging a few words.

I stayed alone for a while then finally stood up. It wasn’t intentional, but I hesitated to think.

Prince Theobalt’s sudden confession the other day, and thinking about how to spend Christmas meaningfully, etc.

What should I give them? Jeremy must have wanted a sword, but does Elias need a sword? If I give them the same thing, it’ll be a disaster.

It was fortunate that twins had already written down their own gift lists.

It was my first anniversary with the children since I returned back to the past……

It was then that an unexpected figure blocked me crossing the quiet corridor, completely forgetting Theobalt’s confession while thinking about the children.

I almost screamed at the sight of the young cardinal standing there, I wasn’t sure whether he was waiting for me or not.

“Cardinal…”

“I was startled. What’s wrong?”

There was a moment of silence that felt dim and reluctant. The Silent Bell, who had been glancing through my face with his pitch black gaze, finally said, “Recently, I heard that the Crown Prince has visited your house frequently.”

“…He’s close to my eldest son, is there something wrong…?”

This time, I was trying to answer calmly because I was worried about what kind of dispute would come up, but my dark brown eyebrows seemed to twitch for an instant.

It would have been nice if he told me what was wrong, but Cardinal Richelieu, like his nickname “The Silent Bell,” turned around and moved away from me.

It was ridiculous to see that.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Why was everyone so arbitrary regardless of age? Was it just me? Why was everyone having so many emotional problems?

It felt as if I had been tainted by the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the Silent Bell.

If I went back home like this, I would spread the infection to the children who would argue with the tutors . So, instead of heading to the entrance to the Babenberg Palace, where the horse-drawn carriage was waiting, I headed to the chapel, which was relatively close to the Assembly Hall.

Right, since I was already there, it would be better to just pray and ask God to take good care of the children’s future.

The chapel was silent, with its long glass ceiling and a dignified statue of the Virgin Mary. At this time of year, no one would be in or out of here.

Was that…? Wasn’t it?

At first I thought someone was praying passionately while no one was watching, so I tried to get out quietly.

But the boy, kneeling down on the stairs and lying down on the altar, was clearly not praying.

Nora?

Only God knew why Nora was here. Oh, did he come to see Duke Nurembert?

“Nora? Have you come to see your father?”

As I tilted my head and asked, the boy slowly raised his head and glanced at me. The bright sun shining through the glass still looked bright, it fell on the boy’s face and made his dark hair look lighter.

“… I’m not here to see that man.”