IBDF 03

Chapter 3

Freya Hayworth.

Better known as the Dowager Marchioness Hayworth.

Who was she?

The one and only wife of the late former Marquess Hayworth, and the mother-in-law of the great Duke Seymour Somerset himself—the true power behind the current Hayworth family.

And the person who raised Seymour Somerset.

The late Marquess Hayworth had been frail since birth.

As a result, he had only one child after much difficulty: his daughter, Rose. Fortunately, while he lacked good health, he had one excellent friend.

That friend was Marquess Graham, son of the Duke of Somerset.

“Graham, I heard you have two sons? Send one to the Hayworths. Let him marry our Rose and inherit the family. It would benefit both our houses, wouldn’t it?”

“A splendid proposal, Hayworth. My eldest, Quentin, must inherit the title, so I’ll send the second one. Take good care of the boy.”

And so, through the fathers’ enthusiastic agreement, a young boy was suddenly sent off to the Hayworth estate.

That boy was Seymour Graham.

The man who would later become the Hayworth family’s live-in son-in-law, and eventually inherit the Duchy of Somerset after an unfortunate accident—becoming Seymour Hayworth Somerset.

Though he carried the blood of the Grahams, he was Hayworth to the core.

He had been raised by the Marquess and Marchioness Hayworth, and he loved Rose Hayworth more than anyone else in the world.

That’s why even after his wife died and he turned into a complete wreck of a human being, he still treated the Dowager Marchioness Hayworth with a certain degree of respect.

To Seymour, the Dowager Marchioness was his mother-in-law, his mother, and the only person who shared the same grief of loss.

And yet that very Dowager Marchioness Hayworth was Townsend Orphanage’s patron.

And today, they were going to meet her!

If things go well, that means meeting Seymour won’t be impossible either!

The moment this realization hit her, Rowena nearly jumped on the spot.

She’d discovered she had reincarnated into a novel, and now it turned out that the orphanage she lived in was sponsored by the mother-in-law of the story’s hidden mastermind!

I really am lucky!

Right. Fate couldn’t possibly be trying to kill her at every turn.

Come to think of it, Rowena had always been lucky.

While the other children spent all day combing through fields, Rowena could find four-leaf clovers after searching just a little.

Whenever they all snuck into the kitchen to steal cookies, Rowena was always the only one who never got caught.

And honestly, even having memories of my past life is lucky in itself.

Of course, if they were really discussing luck, they’d first have to address whether being reborn as an extra orphan in a novel and getting diagnosed with a terminal illness counted as fortunate at all…

Eh, that’s not what matters right now!

Even pawnshops didn’t bother nitpicking over details like that.

The important thing now was that she finally had a way to meet Seymour.

Until now, the possibility had seemed impossibly distant, but with the Dowager Marchioness involved, it no longer felt entirely hopeless.

Of course… meeting the Dowager Marchioness doesn’t guarantee I’ll meet Seymour.

Still, having an opening at all was huge.

It was the difference between searching for an apple tree sapling just to eat an apple, and simply going to a fruit shop.

A massive difference.

Obviously, buying apples at a fruit shop was far easier than wandering around trying to obtain an apple sapling.

But there was one problem.

Having a fruit shop was all well and good. Great, even.

But…

“I hope the Dowager Marchioness is in a good mood today.”

“Didn’t someone get scolded terribly last time? What was it for again?”

“Miller got caught wiping his nose on his sleeve.”

“Doesn’t she seem scarier every time we see her?”

“Please let us survive today…”

Yes. That was exactly the problem.

The Dowager Marchioness Hayworth’s personality was… not ordinary.

She was an extreme perfectionist.

“I absolutely cannot tolerate incompetence in front of me.”

That was her favorite saying.

Put kindly, it was perfectionism.

Put bluntly, she was eccentric and difficult.

Because of that, her name had gradually become a source of fear among the children of Townsend.

After all, any child who displeased the Dowager Marchioness was guaranteed punishment upon returning to the orphanage.

I heard she wasn’t always this sharp-tongued a few years ago.

Losing her entire family must have changed her deeply.

First her husband died from illness, and not long afterward, her beloved daughter was killed in an accident.

Then the son-in-law she had practically raised as her own child lost his mind from grief.

To be perfectly honest, it was more impressive that the aging Dowager Marchioness had managed to stay sane at all.

Still, that also meant there was no room for Rowena to slip in.

Unlike other noblewomen, who sat chatting with the children and sharing snacks, the Dowager Marchioness usually exchanged only formal greetings before sending them away.

What should I do?

She’d been thrilled at the thought that the Dowager Marchioness might lead her to Seymour.

But at this rate, it didn’t seem like she’d even get the chance to speak with her.

“Phew…”

As Rowena let out a troubled sigh, the girl beside her, Jenny, poked her cheek.

“What’s wrong, Rowena? Nervous? At worst we’ll just say hello and sing a little song. Relax!”

No, that’s exactly the problem, Jenny.

If she couldn’t get the chance to talk with the Dowager Marchioness, what was the point of meeting her at all?

Despite Jenny’s attempt at comfort, Rowena’s expression only grew gloomier.

There’s barely anything about the Dowager Marchioness in the original story.

If she knew anything useful, she could at least start a conversation.

Or if only she had more time, she could’ve come up with another plan!

But mercilessly, the carriage had already stopped in front of a grand mansion.

“Alright, everyone line up and get down properly! The headmistress said anyone who makes a mistake in front of the Dowager Marchioness will be locked in solitary confinement, so mind yourselves!”

At the teacher’s warning, the children visibly flinched.

Rowena included.

Solitary confinement…

Among the Townsend children, it was considered the most terrifying punishment.

A tiny cramped room where the scratching of rats inside the ceiling and beneath the floorboards could be heard with horrifying clarity.

Once you’d spent several hours trapped there, even hearing the first syllable of the word was enough to make your knees shake.

If I mess this up, I might end up accomplishing nothing and getting thrown into solitary instead.

Just imagining it made her grimace, but she had no choice.

Rowena steeled herself and stepped down from the carriage.

Following the teacher toward the Dowager Marchioness felt like marching into battle.

Right.

Now wasn’t the time to be picky about cold stew or hot stew.

If necessary, she’d do forward rolls in front of the Dowager Marchioness!

And if forward rolls don’t work, then backward rolls!

If that failed, cartwheels!!

Whatever it took, she would show off every trick she could to earn a chance to speak with the Dowager Marchioness—

“Oh my, are these the children the Dowager Marchioness sponsors?”

“So these must be the guests she mentioned for tea!”

“As expected of the Dowager Marchioness, truly admirable.”

…Huh?

Without realizing it, Rowena’s determined eyes widened into circles.

This wasn’t the usual drawing room where they met Lady Hayworth.

It was a beautifully decorated garden.

And seated around the tea table were several elderly noblewomen.

In other words—

The noblewomen are in the middle of a tea party.

So why had they brought the children here?

Don’t tell me…?

Just as Rowena stared in confusion, the Dowager Marchioness Hayworth, seated at the head of the table, silently set down her teacup and spoke.

“It felt rather lonely sitting around with only old women, so I arranged the children’s visit to coincide with our tea time. If you ladies don’t mind, perhaps we could enjoy refreshments together with the children?”

“Oh my, we’d be delighted.”

“Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen my grandchildren.”

“Hoho, thanks to you, Dowager Marchioness, we’ll hear children’s voices again after so long.”

“Come now, children, sit over here. Henry, bring chairs for them.”

“At once, my lady.”

At the Dowager Marchioness’s command, the servants moved in perfect order, preparing seats for the children.

So, to summarize—

We’ve been invited to the Dowager Marchioness’s tea party?

The dazed look on Rowena’s face instantly brightened.

She had assumed they’d simply exchange greetings and leave as always.

If that’s the case, then I’ll naturally get the chance to talk with her!

What unbelievable luck!