Episode 26 of “I’m a Mother-in-Law, But I Don’t Like In-Law Conflicts”
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
“…No, it’s fine.”
After checking Wilhelmina one more time to make sure she wasn’t hurt, Nata finally turned around.
The owner of the sword, Derrick, was now staring at them, having removed his black horse mask.
His face was tinged with confusion, but it gradually twisted into a smile.
“That means… disqualified outside the arena.”
‘This trashy bastard.’
Of all the things he could say—he’s making a victory declaration?
The judges’ seats were located just outside the arena boundary. Since Nata had flown in to protect Wilhelmina, he had naturally landed outside the arena.
“What a shame, Sir Pai. This match is mine. Seems like…”
Just as the audience was beginning to frown at Derrick’s words, Wilhelmina stood up.
“Hold on a moment, Sir Derrick. Why exactly did you throw your sword at me?”
When Derrick’s sword flew at me, I had a thought.
‘Am I going to die by a sword here too?’
But that fear was short-lived—Nata appeared like something out of a fairy tale, wings spread, and saved me in an instant.
Then another worry came to mind.
‘Isn’t this going to count as a disqualification?’
My concern for the match overrode my panic.
Sure enough, while Nata was worrying about me, Derrick was already removing his mask with a triumphant grin.
“Disqualified outside the arena.”
‘Wow, so petty.’
A grown man, gloating despite the crowd’s stares. Even middle schoolers coming up with excuses to skip class are more mature.
If things stayed like this, Nata would be remembered as the noble knight who saved the commentator, but he’d still lose the match.
Meanwhile, Derrick would walk away the sneaky victor. That wasn’t the ending I wanted.
“This match is mine. Seems like…”
If things were going to be this unfair, then I had no choice but to respond unfairly, too.
“Hold on a moment, Sir Derrick. Why exactly did you throw your sword at me?”
I stood up and stepped back onto the arena platform.
“W-What did you say?”
“At the last moment, I clearly saw you throw your sword at me. Were you trying to assassinate me?”
“…What are you talking about? I wasn’t the one who knocked the sword away—he was.”
Since Derrick didn’t know who I was, he casually spoke down to me. That actually worked in my favor.
“I didn’t see anything. And in the end, isn’t the sword lying here yours?”
I played dumb. Of course I had seen everything—Nata deflected Derrick’s sword, and the clash had led to this mess.
‘But what if I just say I didn’t see it? The only physical evidence is your sword, isn’t it?’
Derrick scowled and pointed toward the audience.
“Everyone saw it. The one who caused the commotion was her—”
“Not ‘her.’ You will address me properly. Count, does your knight order allow calling a colleague by such disrespectful terms?”
At my question, the border count slowly shook his head. With a calm voice, devoid of any surprise, he answered formally.
“No, it does not.”
Normally I would speak to him with respect, but even the border count seemed to grasp my intentions and played along.
A murmur rippled through the crowd when they noticed I had spoken informally to the count and mentioned the name ‘Nata.’
“W-Wait. Did she say Sir Nata?”
Regardless, I stubbornly continued.
“So what if they saw it? I felt my life was in danger, and the sword in question undeniably belongs to you.”
“Hah, this is nonsense. Why would I target you? I don’t even know who you are. Don’t make baseless accusations!”
“You don’t know me, huh…?”
I didn’t even raise my voice like a commentator this time, and yet he still didn’t realize who I was. I bit back a smirk and removed my mask.
Then I took off the hood I was wearing and met Derrick’s eyes directly. The elastic that had tied my navy hair came loose, and my hair fell over my shoulders.
“That can’t be. You clearly know who I am.”
“Uh… uh?”
“Which is why you targeted me. Isn’t that right?”
“D-D-Duchess?!”
Watching Derrick stammer was quite the sight.
“Count, it seems Sir Derrick tried to assassinate me. What are your thoughts?”
“I can confidently say that my knight would never do such a thing. However… since the Duchess has expressed concern, an investigation is unavoidable.”
“I’m disappointed, Count. I threw this grand banquet at your request, only for such a disaster to occur.”
“It was my mistake. I sincerely apologize.”
The border count stood from his seat and bowed deeply toward me. Only then did the crowd and Derrick understand the power structure of this garden.
Even if I was called a puppet duchess… it was natural.
I was a duchess, and he was a count. And this was a celebration I had prepared for him. Blaming the count entirely wouldn’t be wrong.
“N-No! I had no idea! I never imagined you were the Duchess…”
“Then how do you explain this sword? Isn’t it clear evidence that you tried to kill me?”
“That’s not true! It was her—no, it was Sir Nata’s mistake—”
“I already told you, I didn’t see it. Are you saying you don’t believe me?”
“But other people—”
“Then are you saying they’re your accomplices?”
“…”
Nothing to say now, huh? Even I admitted this logic was absurd—blatantly abusing my status.
‘But you used underhanded tricks first.’
I didn’t like using my rank this way. After all, misusing power only leads to karmic retribution.
But Derrick crossed the line first. If he hadn’t made that petty declaration of victory, I wouldn’t have stepped in.
‘No matter what you say now, the only hard evidence is this sword.’
The rest is just testimony. And that testimony is easily toppled by overwhelming status.
Now that even the border count is on my side, no knight or soldier would dare speak up.
‘You used dirty tricks first. Now it’s your turn to taste injustice.’
“But… I can’t ruin this delightful celebration.”
“Wh-What? Then…!”
As I trailed off, hope returned to Derrick’s face, which had turned pale.
He must’ve imagined his grim future—being branded a would-be assassin of the duchess. Even if proven innocent later, his life would be ruined.
“Sir Nata, what do you think? Do you believe all this was a coincidence, a mistake?”
Nata slowly removed Pai’s helmet. The sweat-covered face I saw nearly made me lose my composure.
Gods, he’s too handsome.
The crowd was equally stunned.
“Th-That really is Sir Nata?”
“…”
He glanced at me, clearly wondering how to respond. Not that it mattered—I was going to spin it my way regardless.
“I believe it was a coincidence.”
Gasp!
Derrick let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Sir Derrick dropping the sword was a coincidence.”
“Is that so? If you say so… then that means you knowingly risked disqualification to save me from the accidental sword toss?”
“Well…”
Was that how it worked? Both Derrick and Nata looked unsure.
“My apologies. If Sir Derrick didn’t know I was standing there, and if I just happened to be there at the wrong time, then all of this is really my fault, isn’t it?”
“Uh…”
Oh no, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been there. You two didn’t do anything wrong. Right?
It was a classic Korean boss move—blame yourself while passing responsibility. Judging by Derrick’s face, it was his first time experiencing it.
‘This should be enough.’
Time to use his frustration.
“In that case, there’s no helping it. Since it was all my fault, I’ll take responsibility… and demand a rematch.”
“What?”
“If this was the result of overlapping coincidences, then it can’t be considered a fair match. The only proper course of action is to wipe the slate clean and have a rematch.”
“N-No! That would take away my victory!”
“Wasn’t your win thanks to my mistake? If I hadn’t been standing there, your lucky victory wouldn’t have happened. How is that fair?”
Since he already called it an accident, he had no choice but to label Nata’s disqualification as accidental too.
It was a ridiculous stretch. But so what? If he didn’t like it, he could become the duchess himself.
“So, Count, I formally request a rematch. What are your thoughts?”
“There’s no helping it. That seems like the fairest outcome.”
It was a jab—highlighting how all of Derrick’s actions had been unfair and sneaky. Derrick’s face turned crimson.
‘He must’ve finally realized what he was up against.’
