I Will Abandon My Family! - v1 Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 (Patreon)

My Mother, Who Dotes On My Brother, Has Abandoned Me, So I Will Abandon My Family!
My Mother has doted on my Brother since he was a child.
My Brother, who had been an extravagant, single nobleman, finally decided to get married.

However, everything came crashing down when with my Brother’s marriage.
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v1, Prologue
Siblings, may be destined to compete with each other and be compared.
If one is superior, the other is considered inferior, and the one who is not superior is never looked at.

It’s always the less superior one who is taken advantage of.
At times, I began to wonder if I was even necessary.

Still, I believed that my Mother would look out for me.

Yes, until this moment.

“Why don’t you leave the mansion now?”

“Huh?”

It was right after my Brother's marriage.
I couldn't believe my ears when my Mother asked me this.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. You really have no consideration... even though Shepard is so smart.”

She looked at me condescendingly.
I had been told similar since I was a little girl.

“Shepherd will be moving in once the marriage is taken care of, and all the inheritance will go to him and his wife. I want you to leave from here.”

“Wait a moment, Mother, I've been living with you all this time because you asked me to move in with you."

My Brother said he would remain single.
Isn’t that why she basically forced me to move in with her?

“Yes, if Shepherd didn’t marry, I would feel guilty that he had to take care of me. As our household was fading, I wanted you to maintain it and let him be free.”

“What do you…”

“However, the family will be stable now. As I thought, my Shepard is excellent. You are useless to me, all you can do is chores.”

I thought that she was terrible for saying this.
How hard had I worked to rebuild this household that was nearing ruin because of my Brother's debauchery?

“And how sad would it be to have a nagging sister-in-law around? I want to keep as much face as possible for Shepherd's sake. You should repay me for letting you live here until now.”

“You must be joking!”

She let me live here?
I've been forced to work hard without a paycheck, sometimes even working as a maid outside the house, and most of my money has been taken away from me, but this is just too much.

“Why all of a sudden…”

“And I can't have you meeting with Shepherd's fiancée. He's asked me to forbid you from attending the wedding as well.”

This is too cruel.
Not only am I being ignored, but I'm being treated like this?

It’s too much.

“Marie.”

“Dear…”

It was Henry, my husband, who understood my frustration.

“Then, you mean to say that the rightful heir to this household is my Brother-in-law, right?”

“That’s right. By nature, you are not worthy of the title, but we had no choice.”

“Mother!”

These were my Mother's true feelings.
I can't believe that she would say such horrible things about not only me, but also Henry.

“It’s good that this happened before you had kids. Things would get troublesome, so make sure not to use the name Ranford from now on.”

After being told all she wanted, we were evicted.
We were not even allowed to take the furniture we bought ourselves, just a few changes of clothes.

Moreover, they also took our extra clothes and dresses and threw us out.

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v1, Chapter 1

After Eviction
I have always wanted to be recognized, so I have worked hard.
Whether it was my studies or my manners, I tried my hardest.

But my Mother's priority was always my Brother.

I never intended to compete with him.

But…

"The best among girls? What does that mean? It's only natural that she can do it.”

“She's just a girl. There is no one to compete with.”

The school I went to was a meritocracy, with no discrimination between men and women.
I frantically studied hard there.

One day, I was chosen as a special student.

“Is the level so low that you can be the best? Or is the quality of teaching different for girls and boys?"

“How could you say that!”

“There’s no way for Shepherd to be 30th in his class otherwise. Because you are a waste.”

I thought that if I worked hard and studied hard and became a special student, they would accept me.
I also worked hard on my etiquette, music, and embroidery.

“I can’t believe you have to work hard on things like this.”

“You are mediocre.”

I was scolded for not being able to do even that much without trying hard.

In the midst of these difficult days, I met Henry.

He was a special student like me.

“I was always curious about you. The girl at the top of the class.”

“Umm…”

“I lost again this time, but I won't lose next time. I'll work harder than you.”

I'll work harder.
I was surprised at those words.

Did he know how hard I worked?

We often competed with each other.
The year I reached the highest grade, I was completely defeated by Henry.

“I won this time.”

“It’s my loss. What do you demand as promised? Do I have to run errands for you? Or?”

We have decided to make a bet, the loser would do what the winner said.

“Fall in love with me.”

“What?”

“Fall in love, with me.”

I think I looked very dumb at that point.

“Why?”

“Naturally, it’s because I love you very much.”

I still remember what he said to me at that time.

Later, I became Henry's lover, and after a year of dating we became engaged and got married.
At that time, my Brother had said that he would never marry and would remain single, so we were allowed to marry on the condition that Henry would be marrying in to become the heir to the Ranford family.
Moreover, even though he was forced to live with us, Henry accepted it without a bad look on his face.
During that time, my Mother's overbearing attitude did not change, and I did not even know whether she approved of him as a son-in-law or not.

However, it was thanks to Henry that the household did not fall into ruin, and yet!

“I am sorry, Henry.”

“Don’t cry. Everything will be all right.”

“But, for something like this to happen.”

It's too much.
Just how hard was Henry working all this time?

“I am ashamed to face Mother-in-law.”

Henry is from a fatherless family.
His Father died early in his life, but Mother-in-law is a highly respectable and independent woman.

The Ranford family might be a Viscount household, but Henry’s Mother is a respectable person who raised Henry with her own hands.
She’s a wonderful person who does not put on airs.

Normally, it would have been unthinkable for her to give up her only son, Henry, and let him marry in.

I am too ashamed to face her.

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v1, Chapter 2

Mother-in-law Appears
We were thrown out with no money and only a simple luggage, and we had nowhere to go.

After walking for a while, it started to rain.

“Oh no, it’s raining.”

“It will be alright, Marie.”

The warmth of Henry’s arms around me was the only thing that kept me warm.

And then,

“A carriage?”

A carriage stopped in a place with close to no streetlights.
It was a very fine carriage, which I thought was very rare for this area.

“Marie! Henry!”

“Mom.”

“Mother-in-law!”

It was my Mother-in-law who stepped down from the carriage.
She was dressed in a suit and hurried over with an umbrella.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for being late.”

“No, your timing was perfect.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that. Come on, get in.”

I wondered why the timing was so perfect, but I understood when I saw Henry’s mischievous smile.

Did he perhaps anticipate this to happen?

“Here, have a cup of tea to warm yourself up.”

“Mom, it smells very bitter.”

“It’s good for the body.”

The tea was bitter at first glance, but I couldn’t afford to not drink it.

“Ugh!”

“Don’t force yourself too much. Mom, your skills are still the same.”

“Oh my, is that so? The only thing I’m good at when it comes to cooing is mixing juice.”

I wonder if that can be called cooking?
However, it did warm up my body.

“I have got alcohol too, if you’d like.”

“You don’t have to take that out.”

I felt my heart warm up a little, but why is Mother-in-law here?

“But this truly happened out of the blue. I was surprised.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No need. But when I heard you were moving in with me, I was so happy I came flying over.”

“Eh?”

Living together with Mother-in-law?
I have no idea what is going on whatsoever.

“I got a letter from Henry saying that your brother was getting married and that you might be thrown out.”

“You wrote something like that, Henry?”

“Yeah, I kept having a bad feeling.”

Should I say that he’s the same as ever, or just alert?

“But this situation is unexpectedly good for me. I am growing old… and many things are getting rough. I am glad you are moving in with me.”

“Mother-in-law.”

“Besides, I love the sweets you make, Marie.”

My Mother-in-law, a businesswoman, was delighted with the sweets I made during our engagement period.
Although she was a commoner, she should have a discerning palate due to her wealth, but she preferred country cooking and homemade simple sweets.

“I may come across as rude by saying this, but this incident is a happy occasion for me.”

“Mom…”

“I apologize, Marie. But, I would rather you stay by my side in the Royal Capital, where your soup won’t get cold.”

Even though we are not related by blood, my Mother-in-law really cares about me.

This warmth touched my heart.

“Even though I may look like this, I have plenty of savings, and I am still earning more, so just pretend you boarded a large ship.”

“Thank you very much.”

I thought I was a lucky girl because I had a reliable Mother-in-law like this.
Ironically, I was not blessed with a blood-related family instead.

The only ally I had was my Father.

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