In front of me stood Antra, her face red with anger. She was breathing heavily, unable to contain her rage.
Seeing her even angrier than I was made my own frustration fade away. It was quite strange.
In my memories, she was a terrifying presence, like a disaster striking without warning. But now that my past life’s memories had returned, all I saw was an immature woman, unable to control her emotions, acting like a wild horse.
‘I was scared of this person all this time?’
I mocked myself inwardly and blinked indifferently.
“Yes, did you call me?”
“What’s wrong with you? Did you hit your head when you fell down the stairs?”
“No, but I suppose one has to be at least half-crazy to have a conversation with you, Mother.”
Pfft. Someone from the attendants’ line let out a silent laugh at my sharp remark.
Antra and the butler shot sharp glares at them, causing the attendants to hurriedly cover their mouths and lower their heads.
The butler, who had glared at them with narrowed eyes, stepped forward and bowed.
“Please understand, my lady. She fell down the stairs yesterday, so she is not in her right mind. Once she regains her senses, she will understand your true intentions.”
Ha. A laugh of disbelief escaped me.
How many servants in the world dared to declare their master insane?
At the beginning of my marriage, the butler had been cautious, following proper hierarchy. But it didn’t take long for him to realize where the real power lay, and he quickly submitted to Antra.
If even the butler was like this, I could only imagine how much worse the other attendants were. No wonder I had always found them more irritating than my mother-in-law herself.
I smirked and glared at the butler.
‘You’re out too.’
Meanwhile, Antra, somewhat pacified by the butler’s words, lifted her chin lazily.
“Hmph. Well, since it’s because you’re unwell, I’ll let it slide this time.”
What was this? Something felt off. I frowned.
Normally, Antra would have grabbed my hair and thrown a tantrum by now.
‘She must want something.’
As if confirming my suspicions, she hesitated suspiciously before lifting her chin and narrowing her eyes.
“It’s about the household expenses. Why did you reduce the budget?”
Ah. Of course. She wasn’t here out of concern for me—she was here because her allowance had been cut.
Every morning, Devon’s attendants delivered her a sum of money for her extravagant spending. But today, when she received less than usual, she rushed over immediately.
It seemed that, in my drunken state yesterday, I had not only ordered an assassination but also cut her financial support.
‘Nice.’
Suppressing a laugh, I took a slow breath and spoke.
“So what?”
“Do you not understand the importance of rules and order in a household? Why did you interfere with the finances all of a sudden? What do you even know?”
“……”
I silently watched her, then lowered my gaze and spoke in an overly calm voice.
“Mother.”
Hearing my seemingly obedient response, Antra scoffed arrogantly.
To her, the foolish woman who had been acting strangely must have simply been drunk, and now, she believed I had finally returned to being the submissive Etricia she knew.
“Fine. I won’t even ask for an apology. Just go back to the way things were—”
“Does Father know that Devon has been covering your personal expenses?”
Viscount Dien was a notorious miser. The kind of man who would tremble at the thought of spending even a single money from his own pocket. There was no way he knew about this.
Antra’s face stiffened. Her lifted chin lowered slightly.
“Are you daring to threaten me—”
“What about the money you took to fund your uncle’s business before my marriage?”
Antra flinched.
“T-That was a business opportunity! You voluntarily invested in it!”
Ha. What an absurd excuse. I scoffed.
‘How shameless. You pulled me back by the hair and forced me to sign that contract when I tried to walk away.’
Even now, my scalp still ached from it.
“All I remember is you pulling my hair, Mother. Oh, and that business? It failed. Your uncle got divorced because of it, and I hear he still hasn’t remarried.”
What a pity. I pretend sympathy for her unfortunate relative.
That incident had been such a disgrace that Antra avoided social gatherings for a long time afterward.
As expected, my words made her tremble with rage. A shadow loomed over me as she clenched her fists.
“You’ve changed. You even know how to mock me now.”
“It’s all thanks to your teachings, Mother.”
“You think you can disrespect me just because I’m holding back for your sake?”
I glanced at the attendants behind her.
Some of them flinched and hurriedly lowered their eyes. Instinctively, they recognized the shift in my behavior and knew they had to tread carefully.
Feeling satisfied, I looked back at Antra with a neutral expression.
“Why are you acting so different now? It’s not like you never grabbed my hair in front of people before. Or are you too old to have the energy for it now?”
“You—!”
Antra’s face twitched with fury.
Uh-oh. She was really mad now. I blinked innocently.
“Mother, are you angry?”
“Of course I’m angry!”
“But you’re being unfair. You came here to demand more money from your daughter-in-law, who had a rough day yesterday.”
I smirked and wrinkled my nose playfully.
“Even a baby wouldn’t act like this, Mother.”
“……”
Ha! Ha ha!
Antra threw her head back and laughed as if she had lost her mind.
Watching her, I felt an incredible sense of relief.
‘It feels good to finally speak my mind.’
All these years, I had endured everything, living as Etricia, following the script of this world. But now, I was finally confronting Antra properly.
Then, suddenly, Antra stopped laughing. She lifted her skirt and stormed toward me, raising her hand.
Oh dear.
I quickly stepped back, dodging her slap effortlessly.
She lost her balance for a moment, clearly not expecting me to avoid it. Her expression was blank with shock before it quickly twisted in humiliation and rage.
“I wonder what Devon will say when he sees your disgraceful attitude. He treasures his mother dearly, so he’ll probably kick you out immediately!”
‘Oh, there it is.’
Her ultimate threat.
Normally, this would be the moment I begged, “Please don’t tell him!” and gave in to whatever she wanted.
‘But that won’t work on me anymore.’
I simply blinked indifferently, making Antra swallow nervously.
“If Devon hears about your behavior, he’ll want to divorce you right away!”
‘That would be great.’
“You really should be careful about who you let into the family!”
‘I see. Is that so?’
“Just wait until Devon returns. Let’s see if you can still act so arrogant in front of him!”
‘No thanks.’
“Devon must be blind! How could he have ended up with someone like you?!”
That last remark made me grin.
“I don’t like mama’s boys either, Mother.”
Realizing her threats weren’t working, Antra glared at me, grinding her teeth.
“……You’ll regret this. Just wait and see.”
I gave her a dry, unimpressed smile.
‘Yeah, yeah. Just leave already.’
With an angry mood, Antra lifted her dress and stormed toward the door.
Her footsteps were heavy, as if demanding an apology.
‘Oh, right.’
Suddenly remembering something, I called out.
“Mother.”
She turned around smugly, as if expecting me to plead.
I bowed politely.
“Goodbye.”
She was speechless.
I widened my eyes and tilted my head.
“You were mad earlier because I didn’t greet you, right?”
“…Right. Very thoughtful of you.”
Grinding her teeth, Antra stormed off.
