Episode 30 of I’m a Mother-in-Law, But I Don’t Like In-Law Feuds
At that moment, the sound of shattering glass came from outside. At the same time, the Viscountess’s face turned pale, and I immediately rose from my seat.
“Madam, I’ll go check—”
“No, let’s go together.”
I cut off Nata’s offer to go alone and opened the parlor door. The Viscountess rushed out after me, flustered.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it would start this early…”
“Let’s check the situation first.”
We quickly headed to where the sound came from and found a small boy, about chest height to me, standing face-to-face with a servant who had her head bowed deeply in distress.
Beside them, a large decorative flowerpot had shattered on the floor into pieces.
“I told you! Take me to the Viscountess right now!”
“B-but the Viscountess said to wait a moment…”
“How long am I supposed to wait! My legs hurt!”
“That’s why we tried to guide you to another parlor…”
“I said I want to see the Viscountess! Not some other parlor!”
The high-pitched yelling made me dizzy with memories of the past. I turned to a nearby servant and asked,
“What happened here?”
“Ah! Madam! That boy demanded to bring the Viscountess to him, or be taken to her himself… and in the struggle, he pushed Rose…”
The servant’s name, Rose, was the young girl standing with her head down. She had just turned fifteen.
The boy had pushed Rose, and in doing so, she collided with the flowerpot behind her.
“He laid hands on her?”
Leaving the Viscountess, who sounded like the life had drained from her, behind me, I signaled to the servants watching to start cleaning up the mess immediately.
With a sigh, I walked up to the boy. The priority was to calm him down and take him to the parlor.
He’s still a noble family’s child, so he should understand words. Let’s not provoke him. Smile and talk gently.
It wasn’t my place to scold him anyway—that was the Viscountess’s responsibility. With that in mind, I approached.
“Why are all the servants here so slow? What kind of training did they get? And they’re all just squash-heads!”
“You ill-mannered little brat.”
Oops. I accidentally said that out loud. The boy, startled by the sudden insult, pointed at me.
“W-what? Who are you?!”
No, I must hold it in. Causing a fuss would be troublesome. He’s still a noble child…
“You look like a wad of seaweed and talk back to your elders? What nerve.”
Oops again.
My inner Korean soul slipped out.
“S-seaweed? What’s that?”
“Seaweed.”
“You’re calling me seaweed?!”
To be fair, the boy was objectively decent-looking. He resembled a child actor with some baby fat still on his cheeks… Aside from the dark green hair, he didn’t look anything like seaweed.
But kids who make fun of others’ looks should experience the same. Only then do they understand their faults.
Ignoring the boy’s wide-eyed reaction to what was likely his first time being insulted, I called Anna.
“Anna, take Rose upstairs. Check if she’s hurt.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Rose, who had been sniffling, bowed to me and left with Anna.
“Is this a spectacle for everyone? Back to your places.”
I dispersed the other servants who had been watching the scene unfold from the lobby. If rumors spread, it wouldn’t be me in trouble—it would be the Viscountess, who was in charge of educating the boy.
“W-who are you?”
“…‘You’?”
I frowned at the boy. No matter how rude he was, how could he refer to someone who looked like the mistress of this estate as just “you”?
There’s no way the Viscountess didn’t explain who I am.
They would’ve ridden in the same carriage—surely she told him where they were headed.
He probably wasn’t listening.
As a former educator myself, I knew the type. If you hear “I didn’t know that” three times in a row, your lid starts to fly.
“Say that again? You called me ‘you’? Really?”
“Y-yeah! Who else would I mean?!”
I crossed my arms and remained silent. I had intended to handle this lightly and send him off, but that wasn’t going to happen now.
He’d caused trouble for my staff, and seeing his behavior made me sympathize with the Viscountess.
I’ve had students like this before—what a headache.
There were plenty of times I wanted to ask for help. Unlike the Viscountess, who hadn’t given up on this child, I had no such professional commitment.
Still, I should fix his attitude at least a little before I send him back.
It was the least I could do in return for the Viscountess’s efforts.
“….”
“What! Say something!”
The boy grew uneasy at my silence and glared at me with wide eyes.
Now was not the time to respond. I wasn’t going to explain why he shouldn’t call me “you” or what title to use.
He already knows.
No noble boy his age wouldn’t know how to speak respectfully. I was waiting for him to correct himself.
“Ugh… Lady!”
The boy called out to the Viscountess, but she merely shook her head slightly and stayed still.
Not knowing what was going on or who I was, the boy tried to walk past me to reach the Viscountess.
“Stop him in front of me.”
“Yes, Madam.”
At my command, Nata, who had been standing behind me, blocked the boy’s path. He gently caught the boy’s arm and returned him in front of me.
“W-what?”
“….”
The boy tried to shake Nata off, but he didn’t budge.
“Let go of me!”
“….”
“Who are you people?!”
The boy repeatedly struggled to get away and reach the Viscountess. Each time, Nata gently but firmly stopped him.
Even when the boy sat down on the floor or pinched Nata’s arm, it was no use.
“Tsk…”
The boy glared at me with tearful, angry eyes as if everything were my fault.
There was real defiance and fury in his gaze. If there had been a stone nearby, he would’ve thrown it without hesitation.
The Viscountess must’ve had a hard time.
If it were me, I would’ve demanded a parent-teacher meeting immediately. But she had even let this kid lodge at her home. I admired her dedication to education.
“Look at me and say it again. What should you be calling me?”
A woman who appears to be the lady of the house. A knight standing by her command. Even the Viscountess wasn’t stepping in.
Anyone with a shred of awareness would realize a mere viscount’s son shouldn’t speak informally to someone like her.
“Y-you…”
“Nata, bring a chair. I think I’ll be sitting here for a while.”
“L-Lady!”
“….”
“W-who are you?!”
I’d give him a 20 out of 100. It was rude of him not to introduce himself first, but this wasn’t the place to point that out.
“What kind of noble asks for someone’s name before introducing himself?”
“…I’m Jace Milo.”
He sounded as if he were the victim, forcing himself to speak respectfully. It was rather funny.
“All right, Jace. I am Wilhelmina Leighton, wife of the late Duke Nikolai Philip Leighton of House Leighton.”
“Gasp…!”
Even if he didn’t understand the earlier names, he surely understood Duchess.
Finally realizing who I was, Jace’s face turned pale.
With introductions done, I called to the Viscountess.
“Lady Rolland.”
“Yes, Madam?”
Why was she being so formal again? She approached with her head bowed as if she were my attendant, awaiting my words.
“As you requested, I will assist with the education of young Master Jace Milo. I may not be of much help, but I hope to ease your burden, even a little.”
“Thank you for your considerate generosity, Duchess.”
Jace’s eyes darted around in shock at the Viscountess’s humble tone.
Perhaps she had lowered herself even more than usual to subtly teach Jace just how high my status was.
“However, I cannot allow him to lodge here. Please bring him to the annex every morning.”
“I understand.”
She accepted immediately, but there was much to do—like getting approval from the main estate for an outside guest, and rearranging my entire schedule.
For one, my daily ritual of sipping tea while staring at the garden before lunch would be canceled.
“And… it’s already evening. Let’s eat before discussing more.”
“But I couldn’t possibly trouble you—”
“No trouble. This too is part of his education.”
