Chapter 37
“I’m a Mother-in-Law but I Don’t Like Mother-in-Law Conflicts”
Thinking of Mirinae’s delighted face when she receives the unexpected gift lifted his spirits.
“Hey, how do you read this part about the First Emperor?”
“That’s not a name, it’s a title. You read it as ‘Chariot of the Sun.’ It’s said the First Emperor descended to earth riding a chariot from the sun.”
“So he’s a nobleman?”
“Uh… I guess?”
Was he a noble? Or a divine incarnation?
It was a hard question to answer, so Jace just nodded.
“The man who rode the chariot of the sun was awaited by all… Wow, he must’ve been amazing.”
“Yeah, there was a prophecy before he came down to the continent, so everyone was waiting for him.”
“That must’ve been hard.”
“So right when he arrived, he founded the empire… Wait, what?”
It was only natural for imperial citizens to hold the First Emperor in great reverence.
So Jace was proudly continuing the story when Mirinae’s unexpected reaction left him speechless.
“The empire is big, and there are a lot of people. But if everyone had expectations of him, that must’ve been really hard.”
“Uh…”
Jace was about to deny it, but the words got stuck in his throat.
“Anna unnie said the lady at the castle is really cold. But the head lady told her this — the more people rely on you, the lonelier and harder it gets.”
“The head lady said that?”
It was hard to imagine that coming from Wilhelmina. Jace frowned in confusion.
“Yeah. So I imagined… if I had gotten a lot of attention when I first started working here, it would’ve been tough. I wasn’t good at talking, and my hands were clumsy.”
“You mean your hands were slow.”
“Yeah. I’m slow. It takes me an hour to clean stairs that Binnie can do in thirty minutes. If I were getting expectations back then, I wouldn’t have liked it.”
Unreasonable expectations — the pressure to live up to them.
It was something Jace had never consciously thought about, but perhaps always felt deep down.
But instead of empathizing, Jace tried to hide his vulnerability and raised his voice.
“Idiot. That’s what being a noble means. Don’t you know the saying, ‘Those who stand high must bear the weight’?”
Though it was an old saying, he puffed himself up as if it were his own. Mirinae tilted her head.
“Even if you bear pain, that doesn’t mean you have to lie to yourself. If I’m hurting and struggling, do I have to lie about it to myself too?”
“…”
“Nobles are weird sometimes. Lying to yourself isn’t cool at all. I wouldn’t do that.”
She seemed to lose interest in the founding myth and closed the book. But Jace couldn’t tear his thoughts away from it.
“…What would you do, then?”
“I’d tell the head lady and Anna unnie that I’m struggling.”
“What if the head lady is the one struggling?”
“Then…”
Mirinae paused to think. Jace waited, and his thoughts drifted to the past.
He was the eldest son of the Milo Viscount family, a prodigy who passed the academy entrance exam on his first try.
The day he passed, his family threw a huge celebration. Nobles from all around came to congratulate him.
Among them was the Count of Jormund.
His father warned him sternly not to offend the prestigious family.
As soon as they met, the count proposed an engagement and praised Jace as a child destined for greatness.
…And so began life at the academy.
‘Oh, right. I still haven’t replied to that letter.’
While he lived at the academy, Count Jormund sent more letters than even his own family. Twice a week. Each required a reply, and if he had a test, he had to include his grades.
[Your history grade is disappointing. Perhaps it’s due to the short lineage of the Milo family. This is a good opportunity to…]
[I look forward to seeing the swordsmanship your family brags about. Baron Pilen’s son is also enrolled — why not test your skill against him?]
[In your last letter, you didn’t understand the phrase ‘red dishware.’ It’s a noble idiom meaning…]
[It’s unfortunate. But I will still have expectations.]
[Don’t forget you’re the pride of the Milo family.]
Once, Jace lightly remarked to his parents that the letters were a burden.
He was beaten until the soles of his feet bled.
They told him he should consider it an honor that the Count of Jormund showed interest.
And of course, word of his “disrespect” reached the count. Another letter came.
From then on, he never missed a reply.
Even after he moved in with the viscountess and received only one letter a month, he still replied — because he had received it.
This time, his reply needed to include the results of the etiquette training from the viscountess, mathematics learned at the ducal household, relationships with peers, and…
“I’ll listen instead.”
“Huh?”
“If the head lady is struggling, I’ll listen for her. And I’ll praise her, tell her she’s done a great job.”
The heavy thoughts that weighed Jace down seemed to vanish with Mirinae’s simple, confident words.
“Do you even know what kind of status the head lady has? A servant like you wants to praise her? You’ll get punished.”
“But praise is a gift. And gifts, the head lady said, are nice no matter who they come from.”
“You think she’ll be happy getting a gift from you?”
“I’ll give it anyway. Even if she doesn’t like it — I like her.”
“…”
“If someone I like told me in secret that they were struggling, I’d say, ‘You did well.’ I’d want to say that.”
At that moment, Jace began to see Mirinae not as a servant, but as a friend.
He found himself wishing they had met sooner, wishing she would say that to him.
Sometimes, people are saved by the most unexpected words.
When an old scar or an empty place in the heart is suddenly soothed.
When a moment brings a feeling of gratitude and emotional relief that’s hard to describe.
“To me too…”
Will you say that to me too?
Jace couldn’t finish the sentence.
He was ashamed that something so trivial moved him. And he was afraid she might reject him.
The friends he had known always accepted his gestures gratefully. He had never imagined rejection before.
“Do you… do you say that to all your friends?”
But all that came out was a curt, rough-toned question. Mirinae didn’t understand and was about to ask when—
A frantic voice called from the annex.
“Mirinae! Where are you?”
“Anna unnie?”
Anna was running toward them, sweating and unusually flustered. She spotted Mirinae and rushed over without even greeting Jace.
“There you are! Sorry to bother you, but have you seen a document in the office about this big? It’s titled ‘Knights’ Budget Execution’ — and it’s from 20 years ago. The castle is asking for it, but we can’t find it anywhere… You were in the office this morning, right?”
There was only one reason Mirinae would go to the office. Jace flinched unconsciously.
But since this wasn’t about the answer sheet, he looked away.
“Of course, I know you wouldn’t take it, but just in case — you didn’t see it, right?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Hmm, then where could it be… Want to come help me look? The head lady is there.”
Mirinae stood from the bench and took Anna’s hand. She waved to Jace.
“See you later!”
And she headed toward the annex.
“…What was that, all of a sudden.”
Jace pouted, annoyed that their time was interrupted.
Normally, he would’ve scolded her for being rude, but Anna had seemed too urgent.
“Whatever, it’s mealtime anyway.”
He got off the bench and headed to the study.
The corridor to the office was noisy, likely due to the missing document being important.
‘Idiots. My father would’ve found it right away.’
Smirking at the fuss, Jace entered the study. With no servants around, it was quiet inside.
He decided to wait there until the meal arrived.
‘Tomorrow’s the last day anyway. Might as well review a few more problems. I’ve got the answer sheet, after all.’
He pulled out the answer sheet Mirinae had brought him. He opened the workbook to the pages he hadn’t solved yet and flipped through the answer sheet.
Suddenly, he felt something odd in the back.
Like a large bookmark stuck in the pages.
Jace fully opened the answer sheet.
“…Huh?”
