Chapter 222

Acting as Witnesses (2)
Who were Lady Sylvia, Lady Eliza, and Lady Michelle?
One of them seemed to be Lord Kevin’s elder sister, but…

Lady Caroline explained: Lady Sylvia was Lord Kevin’s sister, Lady Michelle was the Bright Marquis’s biological mother, and Lady Eliza was Michelle’s mother.

So the root of the problem came from Lord Kevin’s sister and the family of the Bright Marquis’s mother, huh?

In short, Lady Emilia believed that Lord Brian also resented her, so she convinced herself she mustn’t return to Southcourt.
She worked tirelessly to repay the funds used for rebuilding the territory and launching new enterprises—
but then the Marquis Bright’s mother’s family seized control of the profitable new ventures and ran them into the ground.

“At this point, it’s nothing but an excuse. I was simply too weak. Even if I had been told to divorce and leave, I still should have come to see you, Diana. I’m sorry,” Lady Emilia said, looking directly at Young Lady Diana’s face as she apologized.

“To be honest, I can’t call you my mother. I’ve always believed you regretted giving birth to me. I thought you had someone else you truly loved, but because of the king’s command you couldn’t refuse the marriage—and that you used the pretext of restoring your family to avoid coming back home.”

“That’s not true. The time when I gave birth to you was the happiest I’ve ever been,” Lady Emilia denied softly.

“But the fact remains that you never once came back to Southcourt.”

“You’re right… saying anything now would just sound like excuses,” Lady Emilia murmured, her expression sorrowful, her hands clasped tightly on her knees.

“Emilia, I understand your circumstances. It seems our own relatives were involved as well. Still, we must sever all ties with the Bright family—you understand that, don’t you?” Lady Caroline said firmly.

“Yes. I know I’ve ruined the kindness you all showed me. I’ll accept the divorce,” Lady Emilia said clearly, looking straight at Lady Caroline.

Lord Brian closed his eyes for a moment, his expression unreadable.

“Emilia, I’m sorry that even my sister Sylvia filled your head with such nonsense. I’ll see that she’s held accountable. So… what will you do from here?”

“I believe the Bright Marquisate will cease to exist. Selling off our businesses won’t raise enough funds to cover repayment.”

Under Lady Emilia’s management, the enterprises had begun turning a profit. But after the Southcourt-appointed personnel forced her out, performance only worsened, and now the businesses were worth little even if sold.

They plan to return the land to the royal family, and together with the proceeds from the sale, repay Southcourt.
Even then, it won’t cover the full amount of aid they received.

So that’s what she meant earlier by “great losses.”
Apparently, Southcourt won’t demand any repayment beyond that.

As for Marquis Bright himself—
it seems he’s arranged to marry into a foreign noble family who came for the recent auction.
His bride is reportedly an heiress, eight years his senior, from a wealthy industrial family.

His previous engagement has been annulled, and he’d been courting young noblewomen with large dowries, but once they learned the truth of the Bright family’s situation, they all turned him down.
That’s when the heiress took interest and told him he could marry her “without a dowry”,
so he accepted immediately.

“Father, if you’re going through with the divorce, you’ll be giving her a settlement, won’t you?”

Young Lady Diana’s sudden question caught Lord Brian off guard, but he replied,
“That’s my intention. I plan to give her half of the funds we recover from the Bright family.”

Half!? That’s quite a large sum, isn’t it?

Lady Emilia might not have been the best wife or mother, but she had been working desperately to repay Southcourt’s aid money.
And given how much of this mess came from the interference of Southcourt’s own relatives,
perhaps that’s why Lord Brian decided as he did.

“I… I can’t possibly accept that, not after all the trouble I’ve caused.”

“You may have your pride,” Lady Caroline said gently, “but think of the servants who’ve stayed loyal to you. Accept it for their sake.”

Wait—wasn’t Lady Caroline supposed to dislike Lady Emilia?

“Father, may I ask—how were the enterprises Lady Emilia managed evaluated at the time?”

“Oh, she went through a great deal of trouble getting them started—bowing her head all over the place—but they were steadily growing in profit,” Lord Brian answered.

Lady Emilia looked utterly stunned.

And honestly, so was I.
Did someone report her efforts to him all along?

“We’ll be launching a new enterprise under Southcourt soon,” said Young Lady Diana. “But starting this spring, I’ll be studying at the academy, so there’s no one to oversee it. Would you consider partnering with Southcourt? We could get to know each other while working together.”

Hearing those words, Lady Emilia burst into tears.

Lady Caroline went to her side and handed her a handkerchief.

“Diana’s giving you another chance,” she said kindly. “Don’t waste it this time.”

“Yes… if you’ll all allow it, I’d like to accept,” Lady Emilia said clearly through her tears.

“I agree with Diana’s proposal as well,” Lady Caroline said. “I regret not stepping in sooner, before the Bright family fell apart.”

“Brian, did someone perhaps put strange ideas into your head too?”

“That’s… well…”

So he had been influenced by someone, then.

“… This whole family falling apart like this—it’s my sister’s fault,” Lord Kevin said at last. “I agree with Diana’s proposal. My sister will make amends. I’m truly sorry.”

Then he bowed deeply to everyone.

“Emilia, you may use the townhouse in the capital that’s under my name,” Lady Caroline offered. “Live there with the servants who choose to follow you.”

“I couldn’t possibly impose that far…”

“Use the money you’ll receive for business expenses and to pay your people. And if there’s anyone capable of working on the new enterprise, we’ll help them relocate to Southcourt and find homes.
As for the details, speak with Brian and Diana.”

“Thank you very much. I won’t make the same mistake again,” Lady Emilia said, bowing deeply before leaving the room with Lord Brian.

What do you think about this chapter?