The moment Marie’s eyes met Hans’s, she realized.

He was thinking the same thing she was.

While they were staring at the entrance where the suspicious woman had disappeared, a sharp voice pierced the back of their heads.

“My goodness! What is the meaning of this?”

Adelaide’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Engel, shrieked irritably.

“What kind of manners were you taught, barging in with all sorts of riffraff without prior notice and driving away my guest?”

“Mother, that’s……”

“I wonder what they taught you at home. Tsk tsk. I suppose not all nobles are cut from the same cloth.”

Despite being well-dressed, they were being treated as riffraff, and then to hear comments about their upbringing—Marie felt like grabbing the old woman by the neck.

She thought she’d seen enough family drama at Vivian’s in-laws’ house, Duke Kaiser’s family, but here was another unexpected adversary.

Adelaide’s face had turned bright red with embarrassment.

Her mother-in-law’s blatant disrespect was nothing new and had become part of daily life, but she never expected it to happen in front of guests she had brought home.

Mrs. Engel had never met Marie before.

Since the family had opposed the marriage, only Felix had attended Adelaide’s wedding.

Even if Marie had attended back then, she would have been too young for Mrs. Engel to recognize her daughter-in-law’s sister anyway.

But even if Mrs. Engel didn’t know Marie was her daughter-in-law’s sister, she was still a guest in their home.

To subject Adelaide to such humiliation in front of others meant that Mrs. Engel didn’t even treat her as a human being.

Even with occasional memory lapses due to her dementia, her hatred for her daughter-in-law remained unchanged.

After the incident where the noble-born daughter-in-law was mistakenly accused of infidelity, she became the lowest person in the household, and Mrs. Engel felt pleasure every time she tormented her.

The thrill of having a noble under her feet was exhilarating.

“What kind of family do you think we are! This is why it’s important for a good woman to join the family. In our Engel family, we’ve never heard of or seen such rudeness!”

The Engel family, though commoners by status, belonged to a fairly wealthy household.

Thanks to this, their son, who grew up in comfort, was able to enter medical school despite the expensive tuition.

But during his medical school years, his father’s business fell victim to fraud and went bankrupt one after another, causing their fortunes to decline rapidly until they were left with nothing.

After her husband died, her son took on all the debt, making him always an object of pity in Mrs. Engel’s eyes.

When such a son brought home a beautiful noble woman saying he wanted to marry her, Mrs. Engel rejoiced.

Upon investigation, she found that the in-law, Baron Klein, was second to none in wealth.

She thought that if she played her cards right, they could live without financial worries for the rest of their lives.

Since Baron Klein was said to cherish his eldest daughter so much, she believed that despite his anger over the marriage between different social classes, he would eventually forgive his daughter out of desire to see his grandchildren.

“Child! Didn’t I tell you to leave all these menial tasks to me?”

“Mother, it’s fine. I can at least do the dishes.”

“Nonsense! I’m already grateful that you, raised so preciously, married into our family. How upset would your father be if he knew you were doing this?”

“Still……”

“I’ll do it, so go rest in your room. When you’re pregnant, your body aches all over. You shouldn’t stand for too long.”

“Thank you, Mother……”

The calculating Mrs. Engel didn’t let her daughter-in-law’s hands touch a drop of water for quite some time.

It was a kind of investment.

Adelaide, deeply wounded by Vivian’s betrayal and her father’s fierce opposition, was moved by her mother-in-law’s kindness, unaware of her dark intentions.

But eventually, the daughter-in-law miscarried, and while Paul did occasionally send money to his daughter, it was just enough for her living expenses.

‘That stingy old man! The rich are even worse!’

Mrs. Engel’s dream of striking it rich vanished in an instant.

“If it weren’t for you, my son could have married into a better family! If only you hadn’t trapped my son with your pregnancy! After taking you in when you were thrown out of your home, you dare to have an affair?”

Mrs. Engel’s changed attitude pushed Adelaide’s married life deeper into the mire.

Even after being diagnosed with dementia, there wasn’t enough money to send her to a nursing home, so the burden of caring for her mother-in-law fell entirely on Adelaide.

When lucid, she tormented Adelaide mentally with harsh words; when dementia symptoms flared, she would pull her hair, scratch, kick, and even hit her.

After going out briefly to shop or run errands, Adelaide would feel suffocated on her way back home.

Home was no longer a sanctuary for her.

Even after seeing just a small glimpse, Marie felt like she could see the entirety of that terrible marriage.

Her sister, who once ruled high society and was the object of everyone’s envy and admiration, had become a household drudge here.

With her beautiful face, tall stature, and the proud posture she always maintained, she now hunched her small shoulders and endured all sorts of ab*se for things she hadn’t done.

“How dare you stay silent when your mother-in-law is speaking? Shouldn’t you apologize? They say it shows when a child is raised without a mother!”

Marie walked straight up to Mrs. Engel, who was pointing and yelling at her sister.

Before Hans could grab her, worried she might cause trouble, she abruptly bowed to the old woman.

“I apologize for the late introduction!”

“You, who are you now?”

“I’m Marie Klein. I’m the youngest child from that motherless home.”

Surprised by the sudden self-introduction, Mrs. Engel couldn’t close her mouth.

She had believed her daughter-in-law had completely cut ties with her family, so she never imagined that a family member would visit like this.

It was true that after Baron Klein passed away, she had suddenly started treating her daughter-in-law well, wondering if Adelaide might receive an inheritance.

But after hearing that the youngest child would inherit all the property, she completely changed her attitude again.

Adelaide had been thinking about divorce for a long time, so she hadn’t mentioned anything about filing a claim for her portion of the inheritance to her husband or mother-in-law.

In any case, Mrs. Engel’s mind was racing at the thought that the rumored heiress, her youngest in-law, had arrived at their house.

She had believed that her daughter-in-law wasn’t on good terms with her siblings, so seeing Marie here made her wonder if she intended to do something for her sister.

“I, I just forgot we had a guest and was expressing some frustrations to my daughter-in-law.”

She pulled up the corners of her mouth with a sour face and smiled brightly at Marie.

Though it was obvious she was scheming to get whatever crumbs might fall her way, Marie smiled back.

“As this is an Engel family matter, I dare not interfere as an outsider.”

“You’re quite understanding indeed.”

“Indeed? Have you heard about me before?”

“I heard that your father left his entire inheritance to you. I’m sure it’s because you have such a kind heart that your father thought that way.”

“I have a kind heart?”

At those words, Marie suddenly burst into laughter, holding her stomach.

The three people in the house looked at her with surprised eyes at her unexpected behavior.

The smile disappeared completely from Marie’s lips as she looked at Mrs. Engel.

“You’ll find out how kind-hearted I am when you experience it.”

It was a kind of warning.

Hearing those words, the old woman unconsciously gulped.

Despite her round eyes, youthful face, and small stature, there was something about her that overwhelmed people.

“I believe one shouldn’t interfere in family matters, but I think we were at fault earlier, so I’d like to apologize on our behalf.”

“What apology……”

“Who was that person just now? She left in quite a hurry when she saw us.”

“W-why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“I think I know which company she works for.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. This is Hans. He’s my friend and a quite famous lawyer in the capital.”

At the mention of a lawyer, Mrs. Engel’s pupils dilated.

Hans placed his hand on his chest and politely greeted her in response to Marie’s introduction.

He seemed to understand what Marie intended by introducing him.

“I’m Hans.”

“Ah, yes……”

“The emblem on the envelope that your friend dropped earlier looked quite familiar. Since Miss Klein works with me at my office, she seems to have recognized it just as I did.”

“What did you recognize? I really don’t understand what you two are talking about……”

“She was from the life insurance company, wasn’t she?”

As Hans hit the nail on the head, Mrs. Engel flinched and began to tremble.

There was a reason Marie had passed the important line to him.

It was because of the intimidating presence a lawyer could exert.

“Did you perhaps take out a new insurance policy for your family members?”