Chapter 39
My Mother-in-Law, But I Hate Family Feuds
I shifted my gaze away from the uncomfortable-looking Jane and slowly swept over the few soldiers and servants acting as jurors, finally settling on Mirinae, who sat in the defendant’s seat.
Mirinae had her head deeply bowed, hiding her face.
Not because she was crying, just to clarify—she was sleepy after staying up late last night listening to the situation. She yawned so much her eyes were still stained with tears.
“Helene’s been looking forward to this. Since I’m her mother-in-law, I should do this much for her.”
Jane’s eyes widened in surprise, perhaps because she didn’t expect me to say I was doing this for Helene. But I meant every word.
Over the past week, I’d looked into the matter through the viscountess and Jane.
Due to a recently discovered gold mine, the Milo Viscount family, Jace’s family of origin, had begun drawing unexpected attention from the West.
Apparently, the vein was rich, and they’d become sudden millionaires overnight.
There were even rumors that the historically noble but impoverished Count Jormund family had approached them with a proposal to combine households.
‘That means that girl is also a victim of politics.’
The Milo Viscount family wanted connections, and the Jormund family wanted wealth. It was a win-win deal for both sides.
The only catch was that they used their children as bargaining chips. Quite a medieval move.
In that situation, Helene seemed determined to create a large debt that the Milo Viscount family would owe her.
At this rate, it was obvious the Milo family would rise as a new influential faction. Her plan was to create a bond—and a shackle—before that happened.
So, what I needed to do for my daughter-in-law was simple.
Thoroughly rewire Jace’s mentality and instill fear and respect toward the ducal family.
Jace was a key figure who would serve as the link between the two families, so it made sense that Helene was keeping a close eye on him.
‘I’ve gone full noble, haven’t I?’
To think I could see through this kind of political game—I’m starting to feel embarrassed about my history as a perpetual last-place student in political science.
…Even if the plan I came up with relied on a trap that only made sense in the modern world.
‘What else could I do? This is the best way to correct a kid’s attitude.’
It’s no easy feat to calm down a rebellious teen who thinks he’s the smartest in the room and can’t control his overflowing strength—especially without corporal punishment or physical activities.
So I chose to put him in a situation that couldn’t be solved by either violence or status.
The results were outstanding. Cornered into a dead end of his own making, Jace was overwhelmed not by anger, but by guilt.
I was feeling pretty satisfied with the outcome when Anna, who was standing beside me, gave me a wry smile and asked,
“Be honest. You kind of enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
“I won’t deny it.”
In my past life, I’d been messed with by guys like Jace more times than I could count. So being able to get a little payback through acting like this? It was incredibly satisfying.
“You really didn’t like what he did to Mirinae, huh?”
“…That’s not the reason.”
“Really?”
Anna smiled gently and stepped back.
Feeling a little awkward, I fiddled with my hair and turned my gaze toward the garden entrance.
Just as I was thinking he should be arriving soon, Jace came running into view.
He looked a mess. His unwashed green hair was all over the place, his complexion was haggard, his eyes empty, and his lips chapped—he looked more like the defendant than Mirinae did.
Jane, surprised, murmured,
“He must’ve been under a lot of stress.”
She didn’t know the full story of what he’d done, so there was a hint of sympathy in her expression.
‘Good. At least he feels guilty.’
If he hadn’t shown up for the trial, this would’ve gotten far more complicated.
“You’re early today. I’ve got some errands later this morning, so why don’t you wait in the study for a bit?”
“…”
Startled by my words, Jace looked over at Mirinae, who still had her head down. He was gripping the bag in his arms so tightly his fingertips had turned pale.
“Mi, Mirinae?”
At Jace’s soft voice, Mirinae slowly raised her head. She hadn’t slept properly either, and her usually cute face was heavy with drowsiness.
We all knew it was just sleepiness, but in Jace’s eyes, it probably looked like a face stained with sorrow.
“Jace?”
“You, you…”
Jace kept glancing at me nervously.
‘Looks like he’s worried Mirinae might’ve told me everything.’
Since I wasn’t acting any differently, he probably assumed I still didn’t know he was the one behind everything.
Which also meant he wasn’t ready to confess yet.
“If you’re not planning on returning to the study, then go sit over there. Anna?”
“Yes, Jace. This way, please.”
Anna, understanding what I meant, guided Jace toward the corner. Once I confirmed he was seated, I tilted my chin toward Jane.
“Ahem. Then let us begin the trial of servant Mirinae.”
I didn’t really know much about how trials worked in this world, so I decided to skip the usual rituals and procedures.
This may have been a play staged for Jace, but the outcome of this trial wasn’t fake.
As the duchess, I had the authority to enact real punishment based on the result.
Once the trial began, I moved closer to Jace. Jane began reading out Mirinae’s charges in a solemn tone.
“You frequently entered the duke’s study with the duchess’s permission. Was it to retrieve the answer sheets of the workbooks the duchess gave you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And are you aware that important documents from the Leighton ducal house have gone missing?”
“Yes…”
Jace’s expression crumbled as he heard Mirinae’s weak replies. Watching from the side, it was a rather impressive transformation.
“There’s, there’s no proof.”
“Hm?”
At that moment, Jace hesitantly spoke up from the spectator seat.
“There’s no evidence Mirinae took those documents.”
“Is evidence really that important?”
“What?”
I pulled my chair over to sit beside Jace.
“A theft occurred in the study, and the only suspect is Mirinae. Whether there’s evidence or not, she’s going to be held responsible. For all we know, she might’ve already hidden the documents.”
In this world, the presumption of innocence only applied to nobles. Commoners could be punished just for being present.
If this were some other noble family, they wouldn’t have bothered with a trial—they’d have just kicked her out.
“That’s not fair!”
“Fairness? That’s the privilege you’ve enjoyed all this time. Can you honestly say you’ve never used that privilege to oppress someone below you?”
“I…”
Jace started to speak, then stopped. Thankfully, he wasn’t shameless enough to insist on his innocence.
I recalled how Jace had manipulated Mirinae.
Could that really be called a request between friends? No—he was just used to giving orders.
“They can’t refuse our words. Just one careless command from us can shake their entire lives. Evidence doesn’t matter in the face of power.”
Of course, it wasn’t Jace’s fault alone. It’s not like he chose to be born into a class-based society.
Still, the moment he was born, he had power.
Commoners could only hope that the nobles they met were decent and ethical.
That’s why the viscountess had sent Jace here—to learn that lesson.
“I actually know what lie you told.”
“Huh?”
“You told Mirinae to bring you the answer sheets, didn’t you?”
“…”
Seeing his face go pale, I continued.
“Mirinae enjoys studying with me. She only goes to the study when I’m too busy. But lately, she’s been going often, and you’ve been solving workbooks faster and faster. It’s obvious.”
“Then why… why didn’t you call me here? I should be the one on trial.”
“Because you’re the Viscount Milo’s son.”
I leaned forward to force eye contact.
“If you had truly stolen documents through Mirinae, this would’ve become a huge scandal. Your father’s family is powerful enough for you to be proud of. That’s why our Leighton house hopes this incident ends as just a servant’s mistake.”
The first half was true. The second half? A complete lie.
If Jace hadn’t shown up today, I wouldn’t have fired Mirinae—I would’ve spread word of Jace’s misdeeds and gained leverage over him.
No way I’d let the brat who messed with my girl get away scot-free.
Helene wanted that kind of outcome. After all, Jace had tried to break into the duke’s study. That alone gave us enough of an excuse to pressure the Milo family.
“Your son misbehaved in our house”—even that becomes a warning if it’s said by a duke’s family.
But that was Helene’s plan. Mine was different. As a former educator, that outcome would be disgraceful.
“Rather than suspecting the Viscount Milo’s heir, they’d rather end things with the sacrifice of a single servant.”
“Because of… me?”
