"I told you to get rid of useless pride, didn't I, wife?"
"... You're calling this useless pride?"
"Isn't it? I don't understand why you're trying to keep your pride when it doesn't bring in money, and no one even acknowledges it."
So, you've abandoned your pride to be a noblewoman's mistress?
Lily swallowed the words she couldn't bring herself to say and picked up her comb. The fact that they were the ones who had done wrong, yet were trying to force her to comply while making her out to be the strange one, was another reason she didn't want to help them.
"If you have nothing more to say, would you please leave? I need to prepare to go out."
"Are you going to cling to your useless pride till the end? It would be better not to do so, even for the sake of Lady Grace Benjamin."
At the mention of her mother, Lily gripped the comb so tightly that her hand turned white. And with a face even paler than that, she glared at Fredrick's reflection in the mirror.
"Are you going to threaten me with my mother again?"
"Of course not. This isn't a threat, it's a request."
Fredrick continued with his characteristically brazen face.
"My business needs to prosper so that I can continue to pay for Lady Grace Benjamin's hospital bills. I'm making this request in the hope that you will help too."
It was just a request in words, but it was no different from a threat. To keep threatening like this after saying he would take responsibility for her mother's hospital bills if she gave him the Benjamin viscounty. Lily was bewildered and dumbfounded, but she couldn't refute because those words weren't wrong in themselves.
"... I'll think about it."
For the same reason, Lily couldn't firmly refuse like before. Although she hadn't definitely agreed either, Fredrick seemed satisfied with this for now and nodded.
"I hope you'll think it over carefully and decide, wife."
[This is the timeline separator]
Should I really accept Countess Baliman's request?
Suddenly imagining herself working beside the Countess, Lily squeezed her eyes shut. It was so horrifying that even just imagining it made her feel sick.
"I don't want to do it."
To avoid it, she would have to persuade Fredrick, but the problem was that no good method came to mind. After thinking it over carefully, she realized that simply saying she couldn't do it wouldn't work. He would surely just criticize her for putting up useless pride again.
It would be fortunate if it ended with criticism; he might even threaten to send her mother to the Kingdom of Whissen like before. Knowing that Fredrick was the type to go beyond threats and actually follow through made her even more afraid.
"What should I do..."
As her worries deepened, Lily let out a deep sigh and leaned her head against the carriage wall. In fact, there was no need to worry about this problem. The answer was already decided. For her mother's sake, she would abandon her pride and accept Countess Baliman's proposal. It was a simple problem with only one option, but it wasn't easy. To Lily, it felt more difficult than any other challenge in the world.
"We've arrived at the bookstore, young mistress."
While she was pondering whether there might be another solution, they had already arrived at their destination. Lily got out of the carriage and stared blankly at the bookstore.
Originally, she had planned to go to the information guild or the employment office to look for well-paying work, but all her plans had been ruined because of Fredrick. There was no reason to go out anymore.
But she didn't want to be under the same roof as Fredrick, and she also wanted some comfort for her heart, so she came here. For Lily, who had loved books since childhood, places with many books like libraries and bookstores were no different from resting places.
Since I'm here, I might as well buy a book. At the thought of reading a book she liked, Lily's face, which had been completely gloomy, brightened a little.
Just after Lily entered the bookstore, a black shadow that had been flickering in the alley opposite the bookstore disappeared.
Search "lover" on redcatty(.)com to read ahead up to chapter 70.