ヨランダ・ラインバッハは、夫が新しい女を連れてきてから続く、最悪の日々に苛立ちを隠せずにいた。
息子のマニオンが後継者から外され、自分は正室から側室になってしまった。
「せっかくメラニーからこの正室の地位を奪ってやったのに、あんな町娘なんかに奪われてしまうなんて!」
新しくラインバッハ家の正室になったハリエットは、いかにも夫カリウスが好みそうな素朴な娘だった。
思い返せば、亡きメラニーとどこか似てもいる。
それだけでも苛立たしいというのに、ハリエットの息子ハリーはマニオンから後継者の地位を奪った子供だ。
許せなかった。
この怒りが正当なものだと信じて疑わなかった。
「マニオンもマニオンよ! あんなガキに返り討ちになるなんて!」
息子の不甲斐なさもヨランダの苛立ちを大きくしている要因だった。
かつて自分がメラニーにしたように、ほしいものは奪いとれと教えた。
しかし、息子はハリーを亡き者にするどころか、二度も失敗するという体たらく。
その挙句、二度と同じことができないようにと、カリウスによって腕を叩き折られた。
ヨランダは息子を唆した罰として、自由を奪われた生活を強いられている。
「愚図の使用人たちめ......ハリエットに毒を盛るどころか、裏切って旦那様に告げ口するなんて。やっぱりメラニーのときのように時間をかけて追い込むべきだったわ」
かつてメラニーを自殺まで追い込んだことを思い出す。
不出来なサムを生んだにもかかわらず、変わらずカリウスから寵愛を受けていたメラニーが邪魔だったので嫌がらせをしてやった。
メラニーに味方するダフネの存在が邪魔だったが、あのメイドと始終一緒にいるわけではない。
その隙に、散々メラニーをいじめ抜いてやった。
男爵家の正妻の座を手に入れ、邪魔な存在まで消すことができたのだから。
ハリエットにも同じようにして屋敷から追い出そうと考えていたのだが、マニオンが後継者の地位を奪われてしまったため、焦ってしまったのが失敗の原因だった。
でなければ、今頃、ハリエットで憂さ晴らしができていたはずなのに、とヨランダは忌々しそうに唇を噛む。
どうにかして、今からでもハリエットを亡き者にしてやりたい。
「私はラインバッハ家の正室なのよ。息子は次のラインバッハ男爵家の当主になるんだから......そのために、邪魔な奴らは消さなければ」
秘密裏に父に手紙を出して手伝ってくれるよう頼んでいるが、返事が一向にこない。
もしかしたら、夫のところで止められている可能性もある。
父に会いたくても、軟禁中のヨランダは自由に外に出ることもできない。
メイドたちも夫に命じられているのか、自分のいうことをまるで聞かないのだ。
どうにかならないものか、と考えていると、ノックもなしに雑に部屋の扉が開けられ、ふたりのメイドが入ってきた。
彼女たちの手には、トレイが乗っている。
食事を運んできたのだと気づくと同時に、いつまでこんな生活が続くのか、と嘆息してしまう。
食堂ではなく、部屋で食事をしなければならないという窮屈さ。腕の動かない息子に食事を与えるのも自分がやらなければならない。
こんなに不便な目に遭わなければいけないのは、なぜだ、と叫びたくなる衝動に駆られる。
いっそ、屋敷から飛び出し、父に直接助けを求めに行こうかとも考える。
「......いい迷惑よね。旦那様も、さっさとこんな親子放り出してくれればいいのに」
若いメイドがわざとヨランダに聞こえるように呟いた。
「あら、聞こえてしまいましたか。でも、もうあんたなんて怖くないわ。見てみなさいよ、部屋からでられず、自慢の息子も役立たず。サム坊っちゃまがあんたにされた仕打ちがどんなものだったのか、身をもってしればいいのよ!」
またこれだ。
「あんな無能なガキと私を一緒にしないで!」
ヨランダが我慢できずに叫ぶと、なにを思ったのか、メイドたちが笑い始めた。
「なにがそんなにおもしろいと言うの!」
「あんたなにも知らないのね。サム坊っちゃまは、ステラ王女様とご婚約したのよ」
「――え?」
「ウォーカー伯爵家のご令嬢ともね。サム坊っちゃまは、宮廷魔法使いの地位につき、伯爵位まで陛下から賜ったのよ。そんな方のどこが無能だと言うのかしら。無能と言うのなら、あんたの息子じゃないの」
メイドたちはそう吐き捨てると、乱暴に食器を置いて部屋から出て行ってしまう。
「ま、待ちなさい! どういうことよ!」
ヨランダがメイドを追いかけようとするも、部屋が施錠されてしまい、外に出ることができない。
「そんな、馬鹿なことが......サミュエルが伯爵家令嬢と、王女と婚約ですってぇ?」
「マニオンが婚約解消され、当主の座まで奪われたというのに、どうしてあの剣も満足に使えない無能がいい思いをしているのよ! ――母親のように死ぬまで追い詰めてやるべきだったわ! 子供だと思って放っておいてやった恩を仇で返すのね!」
誰かが聞いていたら正気を疑うようなことをヨランダは叫び、近くにあった椅子を持ち上げ、床に叩きつける。
「――はぁ、はぁ......そうよ、そうだわ!」
息を切らしていたヨランダだが、いいことを思いついたとばかりに笑顔になった。
「サミュエルの代わりにマニオンを王女の婚約者にすればいいのよ! 王女だって無能のサミュエルよりも、剣の才能に優れたマニオンのほうを気にいるはずだわ!」
ふふふっ、とヨランダは自らが思い描いた未来を想像し、身悶えする。
「そうと決まれば、マニオンを連れて王都に向かいましょう。お父様を頼れば、旅費と滞在費くらい用意してくれるはずだわ。いいえ、喜んで出してくれるはずよ。マニオンが王女と結婚すれば、ラインバッハ男爵家なんて簡単に潰せるわ。ハリエットも、ハリーも絶望を味合わせてから殺してやるわ! あははははは、あははははははははははっ!」
そうだ。自分と息子はこんなところで終わる人間ではない。
そもそも田舎の男爵家の妻程度で満足できるような小さな人間ではないのだ。
息子だって、田舎臭い女より、華やかな王女のほうが気にいるだろう。
ヨランダは叶わぬ夢を見ながら、上機嫌に高笑いを続けるのだった。
Yolanda Reinbach couldn't hide her frustration amid the worst days that had followed after her husband brought a new woman into their lives.
Her son Manion had been excluded from the line of succession, and she had gone from being the legitimate wife to becoming a concubine.
"After all the effort I put into snatching the position of the legitimate wife from Melanie, to have it stolen by some country girl!"
The new legitimate wife of the Reinbach family, Harriet, was a simple and modest girl who seemed to be just the type her husband Calius would prefer.
Looking back, she even had some resemblance to the late Melanie.
That alone was aggravating, but Harriet's son, Harry, was the child who had taken away the position of successor from Manion.
Yolanda couldn't forgive this.
She believed that her anger was justified and never questioned it.
"Manion, what a fool you are! To be defeated by such a brat!"
Her son's incompetence was a significant factor in Yolanda's frustration.
Just as she had once taught herself to take what she desired, she had taught him the same.
However, instead of dealing with Harry as a threat, he failed twice.
As a result, Calius had broken his arm to prevent him from ever doing the same thing again.
As a punishment for her son's instigation, Yolanda herself was subjected to a life of confinement and lost her freedom.
"Those foolish servants... Instead of poisoning Harriet, they betrayed me and informed my husband. I should have taken my time like I did with Melanie."
She remembered how she had driven Melanie to suicide.
Despite giving birth to the inept Sam, Melanie had still been favored by Calius, which was inconvenient. So Yolanda had tormented her.
Daphne, who supported Melanie, had been an obstacle, but the maid hadn't been by her side constantly.
Yolanda had exploited that opening to bully Melanie relentlessly. She had laughed heartily when Melanie had left behind a letter and disappeared.
She had managed to secure the position of the Baron's legitimate wife and eliminate the nuisance.
She had intended to do the same to Harriet, but due to Manion losing his position as heir, she had acted hastily, failing.
If it weren't for that, Yolanda could have taken out her frustrations on Harriet by now. She bit her lip irritably at the thought.
She wanted to somehow bring Harriet down even now. Annoyingly, the woman was carrying Calius's child in her womb.
"I am the legitimate wife of the Reinbach family. My son is meant to become the next Baron of Reinbach... and to achieve that, I must eliminate anyone who stands in my way."
She had secretly written to her father, asking for his assistance, but there had been no response.
Her husband might have prevented her father's letters from reaching her.
She longed to see her father, but under house arrest, Yolanda was unable to step outside freely.
The maids also seemed to be ordered by her husband, ignoring her every command.
As she pondered what she could do, the door to her room was rudely pushed open without a knock, and two maids entered.
They were carrying a tray.
Realizing that they were bringing food, Yolanda sighed, wondering how much longer this kind of life would continue.
The confinement to her room and the requirement to eat there instead of in the dining hall was suffocating. And she had to feed her son, whose arm was broken and couldn't feed himself.
She felt an impulse to scream, wondering why she had to endure such inconvenience. magic
She briefly considered the idea of escaping the mansion and directly seeking help from her father.
"...Such a nuisance. It would be great if the master would just throw this pair out already."
A young maid muttered audibly enough for Yolanda to hear.
"Oh, did you hear that? But I'm not scared of you anymore. Look at you, stuck in this room, and your so-called son is useless. You should experience firsthand what kind of treatment Sam endured from you! How about that!"
Here it was again. These servants of the house were always so obsessed with Sam, Sam.
"Don't you dare compare that inept child with me!"
Yolanda couldn't hold back her outburst, and for some reason, the maids began to laugh.
"Why is that so amusing?"
"Oh, you don't know. Sam-sama is engaged to Stella-sama."
"What?"
"He's also engaged to the daughter of the Earl Walker. Sam-sama holds the position of Court Wizard and has even been granted the title of Earl by His Majesty. So, where exactly is this{inept} quality you speak of? If anyone's inept, it's probably your son."
With that, the maids spat out those words and roughly placed the dishes down before leaving the room.
"W-Wait! What is going on here!"
Yolanda tried to chase after the maids, but the room had been locked, and she couldn't get out. She pounded on the door, but no one responded.
"That's... unbelievable. Samuel engaged to a princess and a noble's daughter?!"
"Even though Manion had his engagement broken off and was stripped of the heir's position, how can that useless brat, who can't even use a sword properly, have such good fortune? I should've cornered him to death just like a mother would! He's repaying the favor I did for him as a child with this!"
Yolanda shouted something that would make anyone doubt her sanity if they heard. She grabbed a nearby chair and slammed it onto the floor.
"Huff, huff... That's it, that's it!"
Despite being out of breath, Yolanda's face lit up as if she'd had a brilliant idea.
"Why not have Manion replace Samuel as the princess's fiance! The princess should prefer Manion, who excels in swordsmanship, over the inept Samuel!"
Heh heh heh. Yolanda imagined the future she had envisioned, and she writhed with excitement.
"Once that's decided, we'll head to the capital with Manion. Father should be able to provide us with travel expenses and accommodations. No, he'll probably give it willingly. If Manion marries the princess, we can easily crush the Reinbach Baron's house. I'll make Harriet and Harry taste despair before killing them! Ahahaha, ahahaha!"
That's right. Neither she nor her son were meant to end up like this.
After all, they weren't insignificant enough to be content with being the wife of a rural baron.
Her son would prefer a glamorous princess over a rustic woman.
Yolanda continued to cackle in high spirits, lost in her unattainable dreams.
The Reincarnated Wizard Who Will Eventually Become the Strongest
いずれ最強に至る転生魔法使い　〜異世界に転生したけど剣の才能がないから家を追い出されてしまいました。でも魔法の才能と素晴らしい師匠に出会えたので魔法使いの頂点を目指すことにします〜
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-reincarnated-wizard-who-will-eventually-become-the-strongest/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Romance Slice of Life
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Age Progression Aristocracy Child Protagonist Childcare Cute Children Death of Loved Ones Demon Lord Demons Depictions of Cruelty Dragons Fantasy World Female Master Kingdoms Magic Male Protagonist Marriage Monsters Multiple POV Nobles Older Love Interests Overpowered Protagonist Polygamy Pregnancy Reincarnated in Another World Reincarnation Resurrection Royalty Student-Teacher Relationship Summoned Hero Sword And Magic Time Skip Weak to Strong Wizards
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n1154gq/
飯田栄静＠市村鉄之助