Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Comfort

Lu Ge Wei looked at the resolute expressions on Kelan and Duke Cecilia’s faces and suddenly burst out laughing. “I knew it. You’ve never seen me as family. You’re always so high and mighty. No matter how much I tried to please you, it was useless. How can your hearts be so hard, so cold? All my years of devotion—does it all mean less than what that girl has done?”

With red-rimmed eyes, Lu Ge Wei glared at Admiral Kelan. “Tell me, when have you ever come back that I haven’t performed Spiritual Soothing for you? If it weren’t for me, would you even be standing here in one piece? What other noble lady in the entire Empire does as much as I do? And yet you don’t have a single shred of gratitude!”

“And you, Duke Cecilia! You make it all sound so noble, but what do you really care about? Nothing but Lu Xiao’s usefulness! If she had no value, would you be standing here today, saying all this? You’re the height of hypocrisy!”

Lu Ge Wei seemed to have thrown all caution to the wind. She stood up, her gaze once again falling on Lu Xiao. “If I had known back then you would turn out like this, I should have strangled you at birth! It would have spared me from being angered to death by you today!”

After spitting out those words, Lu Ge Wei suddenly let out a cold laugh. “HAHAHA! You want to sever ties with me? Fine! Let’s sever ties! We’ll see if Lu Ge Wei lives or dies. Who cares!”

Cecilia watched Lu Ge Wei have a meltdown in front of her and gently squeezed Lu Xiao’s hand, as if to comfort her. ’Don’t be afraid, I’m here.’

A warmth spread through Lu Xiao’s heart. No matter how strong she was, the feeling of having someone stand up for her was wonderful.

She carefully supported Cecilia’s arm as the old woman began to speak. “You say performing Spiritual Soothing for Kelan is some great deed? That’s hilarious. If you can’t even do that one thing right, then what is the point of your existence, Earl Lu Ge Wei?”

Only someone of Cecilia’s status could say such a thing with such bold conviction.

Lu Ge Wei glared back at her but couldn’t offer a single rebuttal, because this was precisely her purpose for the Duke Gallodro Mansion.

Even if she was unwilling to admit it.

But today, all pretenses had been dropped. The carefully constructed peace was shattered, and the ugly truth was finally laid bare.

“Since you all despise me so much, why don’t you just let Kelan divorce me?”

“Divorce? You wish. Kelan won’t divorce you. He won’t suffer a penalty for the likes of you. Besides, his life isn’t so bad right now. If *you* can’t stand it anymore, *you* can file for divorce. Kelan will definitely sign the papers, don’t you worry.” At this, Cecilia turned to Lu Xiao. “My dear granddaughter, you’ve been through enough today. Come home with Grandma. I’ve had someone prepare your favorite foods. We’ll have a good meal. Don’t waste your energy worrying about this nonsense. It’s not worth it. From now on, you live your life however you want, and I’d like to see anyone dare to interfere. Let’s go. We’re going home!”

Having said her piece, Cecilia clearly had no desire to waste another breath on Lu Ge Wei. Some rotten people couldn’t be changed with a word or two.

Lu Xiao, of course, would not refuse Cecilia’s kindness. She smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll go home with Grandma.”

“Fine! Lu Xiao, if you walk out that door today, then don’t you ever—and I mean ever—step foot in the Earl Lu Ge Wei Mansion again! And I will never pass the title of Earl Lu Ge Wei on to you!”

Lu Ge Wei watched Lu Xiao step over the threshold, supporting Cecilia as they left. She yelled after them, as if only by shouting could she make Lu Xiao realize what she was losing and force her to feel regret.

Unfortunately for her, what Lu Ge Wei considered a great temptation held no allure for Lu Xiao whatsoever.

She couldn’t wait to have nothing more to do with Lu Ge Wei. As for the title of Earl Ge Wei, she couldn’t care less about it.

’I’m already a Merit Earl. What would I need the title of Earl Ge Wei for?’

Seeing them leave so decisively without a single glance back, Lu Ge Wei swayed and nearly collapsed again. Fortunately, the old butler stepped forward to support her. “My lady,” he said, “the noble ladies you invited are still waiting outside. Shall I ask them to leave?”

Hearing this, Lu Ge Wei’s face went pale. “What? They’re still here?”

’Doesn’t that mean…’

“Yes. They were about to leave, but Admiral Kelan stopped them.”

’So not only did they not leave, but they heard everything that happened in the Earl’s Mansion today. They saw me make a complete fool of myself.’

The thought that starting tomorrow, she would be the laughingstock of all the noblewomen in the Empire was too much for Lu Ge Wei to bear. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

The three who had left the Earl’s Mansion and boarded the hover car were completely unconcerned about Lu Ge Wei’s condition.

Once they were in the car, Lu Xiao finally had a chance to ask, “Grandma, how did you know to come?”

“What other reason could there be? The guards your father assigned to protect you reported the situation to him, so he came and got me. He’s not a complete idiot, at least—he didn’t just come charging in by himself to save you.” As she said this, Cecilia gave Kelan an approving look.

Admiral Kelan was savvy enough to play along. “You are right to lecture me, Mother,” he said immediately.

Lu Xiao watched Admiral Kelan, who was so exceptionally obedient before Cecilia, and felt that she knew far too little about her father.

This was an Admiral who could lead armies into battle, yet at home, he could swallow his pride and repeatedly ask his own mother for help for her sake.

Faced with such profound fatherly love, Lu Xiao felt that even someone with a heart of stone would be moved.

“Thank you, Grandma. Thank you, Father.” She was overwhelmed with emotion, but when she tried to express it, all words felt inadequate. In the end, it could all be distilled into those two words: “Thank you.”

“We’re family now. There’s no need for thanks. Since Ares isn’t home recently, you should come move into the Duke Mansion. I’ve already had a room prepared. You can take a look later and just let me know if there’s anything at all you need.”

Faced with such an invitation from Cecilia, Lu Xiao didn’t refuse. She nodded. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony with you, Grandma.”

She knew very well that Admiral Kelan would also be more at ease if she moved into the Duke Mansion.

When they returned to the Duke Mansion, Lu Xiao first went to see the room. She had to admit, Cecilia had been incredibly thoughtful; the room’s decor was almost identical to her own home.

Lu Xiao was amazed that Cecilia had remembered everything after visiting her home just once. The decor was clearly intended to make her feel a sense of belonging, a kindness that Lu Xiao knew she had to accept.

“Grandma, I love it here. Thank you.”

Seeing that she wasn’t opposed to the idea, Cecilia’s heart was finally put at ease. “I told you, no need for thanks. This is all as it should be. Go take a bath and relax, then we’ll have dinner. And don’t think about all those troublesome matters. From now on, no one will dare to gossip about you.”

Lu Xiao smiled and reached out to hug Cecilia. “Okay, Grandma. Whatever you say.”

Cecilia smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “Good, good. All that matters is that my dear granddaughter is happy!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep