Twenty million gold was equivalent to the price of a decent medium-sized carriage.

For a poor commoner, it was an unimaginable sum they couldn’t hope to amass in a lifetime, and even for ordinary nobles, it was by no means a small amount.

Looking at her mother-in-law Caroline, who spoke as if she’s requesting a trivial sum, Yvonne couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Nor could she hastily agree to provide such a large amount of money.

A silence laden with concern lingered for a while.

Perhaps aware that her demand was excessive, Caroline cleared her throat unnecessarily and continued in a slightly elevated tone.

“If our Silvia can just catch Hugo Wenner’s eye, and if things go well between them, what’s a mere twenty million gold? Isn’t that right, my daughter?”

Silvia responded with a coquettish smile and glanced at Yvonne’s expression.

She seemed inwardly concerned about the opinion of Yvonne, who held the family’s actual economic power.

Currently, the Greenwood family’s livelihood entirely depended on the income from the Rosier Hotel, which was Yvonne’s inheritance.

Of course, while Yvonne was the owner of the hotel, her husband Rupert Greenwood had to occupy the position of president.

In the Empire, it was considered natural for a son-in-law to inherit a significant portion of his wife’s family’s legacy or position, and many looked down on businesses operated by women.

Yvonne had hoped her husband Rupert would diligently manage the Rosier Hotel, her family’s heirloom.

If he had shown such dedication, she would have considered transferring half the ownership of the hotel to him someday.

But that was only her wish; her husband was always out gallivanting.

Eventually, Yvonne took on the actual management of the hotel and was currently supporting the Greenwood family’s lifestyle alone.

Nevertheless, she worked diligently without a single complaint.

To take responsibility for the Greenwood family’s livelihood in place of her husband. And……

To protect the Rosier Hotel, her family’s long-standing legacy and pride.

Yet no matter how diligently she worked, it was insufficient to cope with her in-laws’ wasteful habits.

Her husband continued to accumulate gambling debts, while her mother-in-law and sister-in-law indulged in luxury under the pretext of maintaining their “dignity” as nobles.

As a result, the Greenwood family’s financial difficulties were growing more serious by the day.

Yvonne’s concerns deepened gradually.

But now it seemed only she felt anxious about their tight finances.

To demand such a large sum for a few expensive dresses in this situation…

It was clear they would soon fall into the trap of high-interest debt.

She was trying her utmost to prevent that situation, yet the Greenwood mother and daughter showed no understanding of her circumstances.

It was as if providing living expenses was solely Yvonne’s responsibility, while the details of those circumstances were none of their concern.

As if to prove this, Caroline clicked her tongue in annoyance.

She appeared displeased that Yvonne wasn’t readily providing an answer.

“Even from a business perspective, this is nothing but an investment. You must know this, having observed and learned from your father, Count Rosier, who had good business acumen.”

“……”

“If our Silvia marries Hugo Wenner, several times, no, dozens of times that money will come back to us!”

It sounded plausible if taken at face value.

But whether affection would bloom between the great businessman Hugo Wenner and Silvia, the daughter of a declining count’s family, was anyone’s guess.

No, considering that numerous women would be competing at Hugo Wenner’s banquet, the probability that Silvia wouldn’t even catch his eye was higher.

Yet Caroline spoke as if the marriage between the two was already decided.

And as if the twenty million gold Yvonne would provide would determine the success or failure of that marriage.

But Yvonne wouldn’t be swayed by such assumptions.

It was a flimsy idea that even someone without a business-savvy father wouldn’t fall for.

The problem was that the person spouting this far-fetched hypothesis was none other than her mother-in-law.

She found it difficult to speak.

If their finances had been more comfortable, she would have preferred to give the twenty million gold without argument and avoid criticism.

But Yvonne now had no choice.

After her lips trembled for a long while, a quiet voice finally emerged.

“Mother, I truly want to help with Silvia’s future. However……”

“……”

“The Rosier Hotel’s management situation has worsened lately. Maintenance costs remain the same, so we lack extra funds.”

Yvonne explained the current situation as thoroughly as possible.

It was the unembellished truth, but hearing these words, her mother-in-law’s face gradually sank into coldness.

To her, Yvonne’s desperate situation seemed like an excuse fabricated to avoid providing money.

Caroline eventually gritted her teeth and slowly stood up.

“You……”

Her complexion began to flush red gradually.

“You’re flatly refusing without even saying you’ll discuss it with your husband?”

It seemed Yvonne’s refusal had finally ignited her choleric temperament.

Caroline’s agitated voice grew increasingly louder.

“How independently you make decisions! How much must you have looked down on us all this time while clutching that one hotel your family gave you?”

Sharp, distorted assumptions flew at her like daggers one after another.

“I knew this would happen. You say otherwise, but in your heart, you’ve always treated your husband and in-laws with contempt!”

Yvonne tried to calm her mother-in-law, but Caroline’s ears, already thoroughly excited, heard none of her words.

After grinding her teeth and remaining silent for a moment, Caroline soon continued her criticism in a sneering tone.

“Ah, I see…… I understand more clearly why your husband always goes out. What man would give affection to a woman who treats him like a parasite and disrespects him?”

The corner of her lips curled up crookedly as she spoke.

“Well. As they say, like father, like daughter—this is largely the fault of your father who raised you poorly. You must have learned from your father who pretended otherwise but secretly looked down on us, his in-laws.”

“Mother!”

“Otherwise, how could you keep the Rosier Hotel, which was your family’s largest business, as your personal property? Excluding your husband completely!”

Caroline, who had been sneering, shouted again with indignation.

“What good is it just putting his name in the president’s position? Do you think Rupert wants to be a mere figurehead president? When the actual right to own and dispose of the hotel belongs only to you!”

The ownership of the Rosier Hotel.

That was precisely why her husband and in-laws’ attitudes had changed.

After her father, Count Rosier, passed away, they had repeatedly urged Yvonne to transfer the Rosier Hotel, given to her as personal property, to the Greenwood family’s name.

But that hotel was the long-standing pride of her family, the Rosier family.

Yvonne ultimately refused their demands.

From that moment, the Greenwood family’s thorough cold treatment began.

Sadly, she had long grown accustomed to such treatment.

However, the insults against her deceased father were painful to hear no matter how many times they were repeated.

Yvonne suppressed the tears that threatened to spill and parted her lips.

“You may treat me however you wish, Mother. But please don’t speak harshly about my deceased father. Even if I failed to follow his teachings well, there was not the slightest deficiency in his education.”

“……”

“He always told me to be devoted to my husband and the Greenwood family as a wife. So please……”

Yvonne spoke almost pleadingly.

But Caroline pressed her lips together with an inscrutable expression.

After staring at Yvonne intently, a faint, mocking laugh escaped from between her lips.

“Did you just say…… ‘education’?”

At that moment, Yvonne couldn’t understand exactly what had provoked that angry question.

But from past experience, she instinctively sensed that the word Caroline emphasized and questioned had touched on her inferiority complex and sense of victimization.

As if to confirm this thought, Caroline’s face flushed red and blue.

After a brief moment, she soon looked at her daughter Silvia and began to sob.

“Silvia, listen to what your sister-in-law is saying. Though she’s speaking indirectly, in the end…… doesn’t it sound like she’s mocking my background?”

“Mother, that’s not what I—”

“What do you mean it’s not? No matter how uneducated I might be, do you think I wouldn’t understand even that level of social conversation!”

Caroline pounded her chest hard with her fist and burst out in anger.

“You’re indirectly saying how dare I, a commoner by birth, try to teach a daughter-in-law who grew up with noble education from childhood!”

At that moment, Silvia’s gaze toward Yvonne sharpened.

“Was that really your intention, sister-in-law?”

Yvonne was familiar with this recurring situation. And it was all the more painful to endure.

Caroline was born as the illegitimate child of a provincial noble family and had gradually risen from being the former Count Greenwood’s mistress to his official wife, from a commoner to a countess.

Her inferiority complex and sense of victimization about her background were like landmines—impossible to predict when or where they might explode.

Moreover, Caroline always resented her daughter-in-law, born into a wealthy noble family, and would often foam at the mouth claiming Yvonne was looking down on her whenever she refused her wishes.

“Born as the only daughter of the great Count Rosier, enjoying everything life has to offer, you must find this shabby mother-in-law amusing.”

“No, Mother! I swear that’s not—”

“Ah, since your father gave you such excellent teachings, I, as the eldest in this household, cannot fall behind, can I?”

Caroline’s anger burned hot on its own, without any additional fuel.

“This mother-in-law will also give you some ‘education’ about how a woman should treat her in-laws and husband.”

A cold light flashed momentarily in Caroline’s eyes.

It was around then that a stinging impact struck Yvonne’s cheek.

SLAP—!

Her head turned to the side.

For a brief moment, Yvonne didn’t even realize what had happened to her.

Such an unbelievable situation.

That was the reality she faced.