Episode 35
She’s My Mother-in-law, But I Don’t Want a Daughter-in-law Conflict
“I didn’t take the class. I just did the exercises.”
“I’m sure that has its own meaning too.”
‘And what exactly is that supposed to mean?!’
To Jace, it was obvious that Wilhelmina was reluctantly playing along with the lessons while making it clear with her whole body that she couldn’t care less.
Thinking that it was pointless trying to talk with the Viscountess, Jace ignored her and headed to his room.
Just as he was about to ask a passing servant to bring dinner upstairs, the Viscountess spoke in a blunt tone.
“There’s a letter from the Countess of Jormun.”
“…What?”
The Countess of Jormun.
It was the family Jace was engaged to marry into. His father had harped on it multiple times a day, nagging him endlessly to become a son-in-law befitting the Jormun family, so much that he had heard the name to the point of exhaustion.
Jace, his face pale, quickly snatched the letter from the Viscountess’s hand.
“…”
After reading it several times over, Jace weakly returned the letter. The Viscountess had expected him to take it with him, but instead, he shoved it back as if he didn’t want to look at it anymore and turned away.
The Viscountess looked up the stairs at Jace’s retreating figure with a puzzled expression as he trudged toward his room.
‘What could it possibly say?’
She had never seen that rascal look so defeated before.
Knowing she shouldn’t, the Viscountess couldn’t help but open the letter. However, the contents appeared ordinary.
It was mostly a letter of well-wishes, presumably from the Countess of Jormun. The handwriting was neat and elegant, and the sentences were refined enough to elicit admiration from the Viscountess.
‘What’s the problem? It’s so normal…’
“…Ah.”
As she read it again, something strange caught her eye. Though poetic in expression, there was an unsettling repetition in the letter.
“Please… Are you… hoping for Jace’s growth…? Our Jormun family wishes for the promising student Jace… hoping… asking… supporting him to learn much…”
‘It’s heavy.’
There were too many expressions like wish and ask.
Only then did the Viscountess realize the atmosphere of the letter.
It was far too much responsibility to place on a twelve-year-old child. Beyond the gentle tone of encouragement, the letter pressed an overwhelming burden onto Jace’s shoulders.
While an adult might brush off those phrases as polite formalities, a child would likely take them to heart.
“Maybe this is what made him turn out that way…”
The Viscountess let the letter fall limply from her hands. Normally, Jace would have stomped loudly up the stairs, but today, he had gone up so quietly.
* * *
The next morning, Jace returned to the Duke’s estate.
It was only the second day, but already his steps felt heavy. The letter from yesterday still weighed on him, along with the mountain of problems he had yet to solve.
‘So many annoying problems.’
The workbook Wilhelmina gave him contained an insane variety of problem types. It felt like a test of endurance, more frustrating than anything he had ever encountered at the academy.
‘If it weren’t for that weird contract, I would’ve just thrown it away.’
If the academy had assigned such homework, he would’ve made his subordinates find the answers or come up with some way to cheat. But now that he was a student alone, it wasn’t so easy.
‘No, I’m not exactly alone…’
Jace soon arrived at the annex. Following a servant inside, he passed by the windows and saw pages sweeping through the courtyard.
Among the boys doing yard work, one person caught his eye—Mireina.
‘That one’s an idiot.’
There was no way he could ask Mireina to solve the workbook for him. Her level was worse than a first-year academy student.
‘What’s the use of a pretty face?’
Though the thought was harsh, his gaze lingered on Mireina with a hint of softness. His cheeks flushed with an innocent blush, oddly out of place for someone known as a wild brat.
“Welcome.”
That pleasant moment didn’t last long. Jace entered the study and was greeted by Wilhelmina, who looked half-asleep, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
For someone in her position, it was quite unladylike behavior—but strangely, it suited her.
Jace ignored her greeting and headed straight to his desk. The workbook was already opened to the starting page as if signaling where to begin.
“If you don’t understand something, ask.”
There was no way someone as prideful as Jace would ever ask a question, but that was all Wilhelmina said. She then opened a book and began to read, making it clear she wouldn’t interfere.
‘What kind of lesson is this?!’
There was no new knowledge being taught, no noble etiquette or proper manners. Just solving complex problems over and over.
Not understanding the point of this “lesson,” Jace muttered under his breath so she wouldn’t hear.
‘Why did we even sign a contract for this?’
He couldn’t make sense of her motives.
At first, he thought it was just to mess with him, but Wilhelmina didn’t seem to care much about him at all.
If anything, she seemed more like a teacher when dealing with Mireina.
Not that he wanted attention, but being ignored didn’t feel great either.
He pouted and gripped his pen tightly, starting to scribble through the workbook with frustration.
His hand moved quickly, but the pages barely turned. The problems were even harder than yesterday’s.
The person who made this book must have hated the students—it was filled with unnecessarily complicated and annoying questions.
“Ugh…”
Jace let out a frustrated sigh, wanting to tear the book apart.
If this were his family’s home, he would have screamed at the tutor and thrown the book in their face.
He glared at Wilhelmina with resentment—but…
‘Is she… asleep?’
Wilhelmina had dozed off on the couch.
Though she was simply leaning back, her upright posture and soft breathing made it hard to tell at first. But after watching a bit, it was clear—she was definitely asleep.
The top lady of the West’s most prestigious family was napping, in front of a guest no less.
“…I’m done.”
That sight made his already low motivation completely disappear. Jace dropped his pen and got up from his chair, heading toward the study door.
It wasn’t like he had anywhere specific to go—he was just angry at how unreasonable everything was.
Maybe he’d find a servant and demand they bring some snacks or something, he thought as he reached for the doorknob.
“Ah, Jace.”
Mireina appeared, holding a pile of worn-out notebooks in her arms. One hand was gripping the door handle, making it look precarious.
Jace, surprisingly polite for once, opened the door for her and stared with a sour expression.
“What, here to study?”
“Yeah. There’s not much work right now. I’m on a break, so I came to see the madam.”
Jace still wasn’t used to her clumsy speech, but he got the gist of it.
“Why would you study for fun…”
Just moments ago, he had been about to abandon his homework and storm out, but now Mireina’s innocent face made him feel like he was being judged. Annoyed, he snatched her notebooks.
“Ugh, gross.”
The notebooks were not only covered in smudges but also had some kind of greasy stains. Mireina had studied whenever she found time while working, but Jace had no way of knowing that.
He flipped through the pages with furniture wax stains and found one that was blank.
“Why didn’t you do this part?”
“I didn’t understand, so I was going to ask the madam.”
“Are you dumb? You don’t know this?”
Jace thought this section was laughably easy compared to the others.
Mireina just stared at him, unbothered by the mocking tone. That blank reaction threw Jace off, and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I’ll teach you. Follow me.”
He spoke on impulse to avoid feeling embarrassed. As he returned to the desk, Mireina hesitated.
“Um… but the madam…”
“She’s asleep, okay?”
“…Oh, she really is.”
Seeing Wilhelmina asleep, Mireina pouted in disappointment.
Jace sat her down at the desk and slowly began to teach her arithmetic.
“Okay, look. This is how you do it…”
Unfortunately, Jace had no talent for teaching others. He focused heavily on memorization, but thanks to Mireina’s quick understanding, the page was soon filled.
“Thanks for teaching me.”
Mireina gave a small bow and a faint smile. Somehow, that made Jace feel a little better. He responded with an awkward snort as he accepted the thanks.
