MDIHC 27

〈027〉

It was, without a doubt, war.

“You idiot! Do you even know who I am?!”

“You’re the bigger idiot!”

“Look who’s talking, ugly!”

“You’re uglier.”

“How dare you talk back to me like that? Do you want to die?”

“Speak for yourself.”

“You! You! Do you know who my father is? If I tell my dad about this, you’re finished!”

“Do you know who my husband is? My husband could beat your dad.”

“That’s impossible!”

“No, it’s not. It’s very possible.”

“My father is a Count!”

“My husband is a Count too. On top of that, he’s a Sword Master. Do you even know what that is?”

“So what?!”

“Exactly. You don’t know anything, you little brat.”

“Who are you calling a brat, you ugly woman! Y-You-Ugly!”

Victory! I won!

Watching Unshow stomp his feet in rage, point his finger at me, and scream, I smiled triumphantly inside.

He clearly wanted to hurl some serious insults at me, but being so young, he didn’t seem to know any truly shocking words yet.

Well, he was only two years older than Daniel, which made him just eight years old. And I? I was a proud twenty-five-year-old adult who had just triumphed over an eight-year-old child.

Heh. A worthy opponent.

“If you’ve got nothing else to say, then scram, brat.”

“Why you—!”

Even at his age, his temper was fierce. Realizing he couldn’t win with words, Unshow charged at me.

But—

“Thunk!”

I easily caught the punch he threw. He might grow up to be a violent little monster, but for now, he was just an eight-year-old punk. Meanwhile, I might only be a side character, but I was still an adult more than capable of handling a small child.

“Let go!”

“Nope.”

“You’re not letting go?!”

“Correct. I’m not.”

“Let go, you crazy woman!”

“No thanks.”

Unshow struggled furiously to break free, but I held on tight. Honestly, I wanted to pick him up and throw him out. I didn’t like that he was anywhere near Daniel.

Even if it couldn’t be helped later… now was not the time.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”

Ugh, my ears!

The shrill voice grated on my ears so badly I winced. I’d already heard it way too much earlier—it was seriously irritating.

Turning my head, I saw Countess Aitley standing there, utterly aghast.

Round two had begun.

“Let go of him immediately!”

Countess Aitley rushed over, shrieking when she saw me holding her son’s wrist.

Clearly, she couldn’t stand seeing her precious son—an only child and future heir—unable to move in someone else’s grip.

“Then would you like to hold him yourself, Countess?”

“Why would I?!”

“This child hit our Daniel. He’s violent. He needs to be separated from the other children right away.”

“Separated?! You’re talking as if Unshow is some kind of criminal!”

“Maybe not now. But who knows about the future? If you don’t correct his violent tendencies, he could end up bullying others, abusing people, plotting murder… and when he gets caught, your whole family could be ruined.”

I kindly recited Unshow’s fate from the novel.

“Countess Winchester! That’s going too far!”

“Oh my, did I?”

Yes, that’s your kid’s future—and your family’s future, too!

“Let go of him now! Kids will be kids—these things happen when they play.”

“‘Play’? Can’t you see the bump on Daniel’s forehead?”

“…Well, that can happen while playing too.”

Seeing the visible bump on Daniel’s forehead, Countess Aitley flinched slightly. But then she changed her expression completely and shamelessly brushed it off.

“This is why your child is violent—because of how you’re raising him. Wasn’t it Unshow who broke Miss Raynol’s leg before? After something like that, you should’ve taught him not to hurt others.”

“Oh! That’s it! You’ve really crossed the line! You’re the one violently grabbing the hand of another family’s heir, and you talk about parenting?! Let go of my son immediately!”

“Not until I get this little brat away from Daniel!”

“B-Brat?! Did you just call Unshow a brat?!”

“He gave someone else’s precious daughter a bump on the head and hasn’t even apologized. What else would you call him?”

“You low-born baron’s daughter, just because you became a countess, you’ve lost your mind! You crazy woman!”

“Aagh!”

Looks like I underestimated the temper of the villainous mother-in-law from the original story. Countess Aitley’s eyes went wide and wild, and the next moment, she lunged at me, grabbing my hair.

The pain of her yanking my hair made me scream without thinking—but I still didn’t let go of Unshow. What if that little punk went after Daniel again?

“Let go! Let go! Are you not letting go?!”

“You let go first!”

“I’ll rip all your hair out!”

“Oh my god! Countess! Please calm down!”

“Waaah! Mooommm~”

“What is going on here?!”

“Ah! Let go! Let go!”

“You let go of my son first!”

My scalp was on fire, the children were crying, multiple people were rushing in trying to break up the chaos—

Whatever happened next, one thing was certain: this was not a very educational moment for the children.

“Ughhh~ I’m still so mad I could die!”

Even after getting home, I couldn’t calm down.

“If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve let go of that ex-husband’s hand and just ripped out that woman’s hair!”

“…Ex-husband?”

A low voice asked quietly.

Oh. Right. I was reporting to Lord Winchester. I was preemptively letting him know what had happened in case the Aitley household decided to retaliate.

That family was the type to ignore what they’d done and only focus on what they’d suffered, so I wouldn’t put revenge past them.

“Did I say ex-husband? I must’ve gotten carried away. I mean, Daniel’s only six, for heaven’s sake—what husband, right? Hahaha…”

I faked a laugh and tried to play it off.

“Is Daniel badly hurt?”

“Yes!”

When Lord Winchester asked about Daniel, I answered energetically, pleased by his show of concern.

See? Korean-style repetitive education works even here. I’d told him over and over that he needed to care more about Daniel—it was finally paying off.

“He has a big bump on his head! I was so worried it might be a concussion that I carried him all the way from the carriage to his room!”

“A concussion?”

“Yes! Luckily, the doctor said it wasn’t—but how could I just sit still? I iced it, applied ointment, and even blew on it to soothe him. But still—on such a small head, such a big bump! I was absolutely heartbroken!”

Just retelling it made me angry all over again.

“I should’ve laid that little devil-faced brat over my lap and smacked him with the righteous palm of justice! How can they say it’s just kids playing? One more time and Daniel might end up with a hole in his head! I’m seriously so furious! To think someone would dare hurt Daniel’s pretty forehead—I should challenge them to a duel! Lord Winchester! Will you teach me swordsmanship?!”

“……”

Was it too sudden? Lord Winchester just stared at me in silence.

“Swordsmanship…?”

“Yes!”

“To duel Countess Aitley?”

“If I learn from you, a Sword Master, I’ll definitely win, right?”

“…Sigh.”

Wait. Was that a sigh I just heard from Lord Winchester?

Or was I imagining things?