All Chapters of The Real Heiress Didn’t Want Her Brothers—She Wanted Her Mother: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

My call rang out, sharp and clear, and everyone in the hall froze.The eight brothers looked at me with even greater disdain.Patrick Shaw frowned. “Melody, where are your manners? Mother is of such noble status. How dare you offend her like this?”Linus Shaw sneered. “A country girl will always be a country girl. The moment she steps through the door, she latches onto Mother, terrified someone might not realize she is after wealth and status.”Ivy Shaw stood sheltered behind them, her face pale as she gently tugged at Patrick’s sleeve.She said nothing, only looked at me with reddened eyes.Comments flashed across my vision:[Here they come—the Eight Brothers’ Sister Protection Squad has arrived.][Female lead, don’t confront them head-on. The Princess Regent hates people with no manners.][She’s done for. She already stepped on a land mine the moment they met.]I ignored them.The only person I could see was the woman standing at the entrance.The Princess Regent, Priscilla King.She

Chapter 2

They assigned me to Willow Court.It was not the grandest residence on the estate, but it was the one closest to Priscilla’s private apartments.That alone was enough to show that Priscilla cared for me.Sharon Smith was the lady’s maid Priscilla had assigned to me. As she made up my bed, she lowered her voice and reminded me, “My lady, all the young lords of the house adore Lady Ivy. You have only just returned, so it would be best not to compete with her.”I was seated by the hearth, slowly preparing a warm ginger cordial.Without looking up, I said, “Who said I wanted to compete with her?”Sharon froze.Slowly stirring the ginger syrup with a silver spoon, I said seriously, “She may have my brothers, the betrothed, and all the pearls and jewels…“...But Mother is all I need.”Sharon was speechless.Comments flashed across my vision:[She sees the bigger picture.][Female lead: Keep the eight brothers. I only want the woman who decides who stays and who gets thrown out.]I let the g

Chapter 3

On the third day, I began making Priscilla a hand muff.It sounded simple enough, but it was not.An ordinary hand muff only needed to be lined with wool, but Priscilla’s chill had settled deep in her joints. I needed to sew a thin sachet into the lining, filled with dried ginger, cloves, rosemary, and warmed salt—enough to soothe the cold without becoming too harsh.I worked in my room all afternoon and pricked my fingertips several times.Sharon watched with distress. “My lady, please rest. Her Highness does not lack skilled needlewomen.”I bit off the end of the thread and shook my head.“A needlewoman does it as her duty. I do it out of a daughter’s devotion. How could they be the same?”Comments flashed across my vision:[Priscilla may have countless servants, but only one truly devoted daughter.][She really has me in tears.]I had only just finished one muff when Ivy arrived.She wore a pale pink cloak that day, her complexion even paler than before. My fifth brother, Stephen S

Chapter 4

I knew Ivy would not let the matter rest.She had always relied on frailty and tears to get whatever she wanted in the ducal estate. Now that she had encountered someone like me, someone who only sought Priscilla’s affection and refused to play along with her, she had to be feeling unsettled.Still, I had not expected her to be so ruthless.That was the day of the month when Priscilla’s chill was at its worst.I had discreetly asked the royal physician when Priscilla’s condition was most likely to worsen, then spent three days preparing heated herbal sachets and a silk-lined warming wrap for her.As Sharon helped me warm the sachets by the hearth, she asked softly, “My lady, are you truly making this for Her Highness yourself? Could you not have the needlewomen prepare it?”I shook my head. “No.”The needlewomen would not know where Mother felt the chill most severely, nor how warm the herbal sachets needed to be.Besides, this was my best chance to raise her favorability.Comments fl

Chapter 5

The room fell instantly silent.Tears still clung to Ivy’s face, but her expression froze.Patrick released my collar, his voice tight. “What is the King’s Restorative?”The royal physician held the cracked pill in his hands, sweat beading on his brow.“Her Highness’s condition is already severe. Ordinary remedies can only keep it under control. If she suffers a shock from an object cursed in her name, it could provoke a violent attack, perhaps even stop her heart.“The King’s Restorative is meant for precisely such an emergency, but its formula was lost many years ago. Where did Lady Melody obtain it?”I remained on my knees, my cheek burning with pain.“I did not obtain it.”I raised my hands, revealing the blisters on my palm and the fine wounds across my fingertips.“I worked it out myself.”In winter, my adoptive mother’s pain would flare, and she would take it out on me.She complained that her medicine was too bitter, her broth too hot, and that my hands were clumsy.To avoid be

Chapter 6

After that day, the atmosphere in the ducal estate changed completely.Priscilla ordered an adjoining section of the gardens added to Willow Court, then gave me a key to her private coffers.When my father, Wilbert Shaw, heard of it, he was silent for a moment before instructing the steward, “From now on, Lady Melody is to receive the same allowance as the eldest heiress of this house. Add another tenth from my private coffers.”Only then did I truly look at him for the first time.The favorability above his head read [35].It was not high, but it was still far better than my brothers’.Comments flashed across my vision:[Father: I have no say in this household, but I can read the room.][I’m dying. The moment the Princess Regent makes a move, the Duke immediately picks a side.][This is what a truly powerful mother looks like. The brothers are all just decorations.]The eight brothers knelt in the estate chapel all night.The next day, Patrick came to Willow Court to see me.He stood

Chapter 7

By the time the rumours reached Priscilla’s chambers, she was drinking a warm goat’s-milk and parsnip broth I had prepared.After hearing the report, she merely set down her silver spoon.“Who started them?”Mary replied in a low voice, “They began in the west wing, but Lady Ivy claims she heard them from an older woman who came from outside the estate. The woman says she is... Lady Melody’s former adoptive mother.”The handkerchief in my fingers tightened at once.My adoptive mother.The words were like a cold needle driven between my bones.The comment feed suddenly flooded my vision:[Here she comes—the most disgusting person from the original plot.][The adoptive mother abused the female lead back then, and now she is helping the fake heiress testify that the female lead is not the Princess Regent’s real daughter.]My breath caught.So that was it.I wondered how Ivy suddenly dared to question my bloodline. She brought my adoptive mother here.Priscilla looked at me.“Are you afrai

Chapter 8

Ellen confessed soon enough.It was not because her conscience had stirred, but because Priscilla had ordered her worthless son to be brought in.The moment Ellen saw him bound hand and foot, she revealed everything.Fifteen years ago, I had indeed been bought from a child trafficker.Before he died, the trafficker said that I bore signs of noble birth and might fetch a fine price once I grew up.Ellen was unwilling to give up that prospect. She kept me while abusing me.Then news that Priscilla was searching for her lost daughter reached the countryside, and Ivy’s people found her.Ellen wept as she said, “Lady Ivy gave me money and told me to memorize those answers. She said that as long as I insisted Melody was my biological daughter, she would find my son a position!“She also said that if I could send the wretched girl back to the countryside, I could do whatever I liked to her. Better still, I should marry her off to some old widower at once and take the money!”As I listened, I

Chapter 9

After Ivy was sent away, the ducal estate grew much quieter.The eight brothers seemed to have suddenly learned how to behave, sending gifts to Willow Court every day.Patrick sent a box of the finest healing salve.Linus sent several beautiful dresses in the latest fashion from the capital.George sent a small dagger for protection, saying that if anyone dared bully me again, I could use it on them.I looked at the dagger and asked seriously, “Including you, George?”George’s expression stiffened. After a moment, he said quietly, “Yes, including me.”I accepted it.I could accept their gifts. However, forgiving them was another matter.What they owed me could not be repaid with one or two apologies.Priscilla did not let them off easily either.Patrick was sent to inspect military provisions along the northern frontier. Linus was assigned to the royal courts, starting with the lowest clerical work. George was sent to retrain with the Royal Guard and temper his character. The othe

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