I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 199

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I’m a Mother-in-Law, But I Don’t Want Family Conflicts Episode 199

As Emily and Gideon began staying in the annex building, I was able to understand their personalities.

Emily was a woman whose age seemed to have stopped when she was a girl.

Her passive personality, which didn’t match the strange boldness that led her to come to Layton alone with her son, was also due to this.

She was as fearful as she was imaginative.

I suppose you could say she was someone who had lived in a fairy tale world and was thrust into reality without any preparation.

I came to understand her personality when I heard that she had referenced romance novels to teach her son Gideon proper etiquette.

‘My husband was always away from home, and we couldn’t afford to hire a tutor… so I taught him myself.’

But since she, who lived in a fairy tale world, couldn’t possibly be well-versed in male etiquette, she taught him by referencing the novels she usually enjoyed reading.

Her educational methods were generally like this, but Gideon was an extremely bright child as she claimed, so he absorbed this bizarre education like a sponge.

His etiquette learned from classic romances was perfect, and even with a mathematics textbook that went out of print 20 years ago, his mathematical thinking already surpassed that of Academy children his age.

He was a child who fit the saying about a dragon emerging from a humble stream.

He was even blessed with good looks, so I could see that Emily wasn’t bragging about him for nothing.

‘This must also be why Count Jormon’s house and Lord Windsor had their eyes on him.’

Outstanding ability compared to his poor household circumstances – that was exactly what Count Jormon’s house wanted.

I heard about Count Jormon’s house’s situation from Baroness Metokan, Lady Roland, and Helene.

Count Jormon’s house was a poor noble family with no money but honor.

Originally they were major landowners with quite fertile land, but due to various circumstances, they sold their land and were left with only barren territory that was difficult to cultivate.

Yet their vanity remained, so they couldn’t accept their situation and employed all sorts of schemes.

Their efforts to marry off their daughter were one of these.

The Jormon family, having no sons, married their eldest daughter into a prestigious family to gain benefits, and engaged their second daughter to Jace, trying to gain the power of Baron Milo’s house, which had become suddenly wealthy.

But since it was tradition in this world for sons to carry on the family line, they decided to adopt a son outright.

‘More precisely, it’s a son-in-law rather than adoption.’

Since he was too young to be taken as a son-in-law, their plan was to first adopt him and bring him over, then marry him to their daughter once he became an adult.

This way, they could prevent Gideon from getting engaged to someone else or running away.

I was appalled by this world’s marriage system that made such things possible, but surprisingly, it was a method used here and there.

Of course, cases involving methods like human trafficking were rare.

Anyway, setting aside Emily’s personality, what caught my attention was Gideon.

Looks aside, his behavior was quite suspicious.

‘Young Master Gideon is very… mature.’

Rose, the maid who had been assigned to handle Emily and Gideon’s daily needs, reported this with a perplexed expression.

She was saying that Gideon’s attitude was far too mature even considering his age.

At first glance it sounded like praise, but to Rose, who had worked in the annex building for a long time, it seemed unnatural.

‘It’s only been a week, but the other servants have a good opinion of him. Some people even feel sympathy because he’s a young master with a pitiful situation, yet he’s so mature…’

‘What does Rose think?’

‘I’m not sure. To be honest… I’d say he’s a bit sly.’

It was a somewhat rude assessment, but it was similar to what I felt.

Gideon was a child who ‘knew how to receive praise.’ He only showed himself to those who would praise him and moved cleverly.

Conversely, he wouldn’t even approach people he didn’t need to befriend.

It was an attitude you couldn’t easily see in boys of that age.

‘Is it some kind of survival skill gained from living in poverty? But somehow that doesn’t seem quite right.’

I couldn’t express it in words, but he kept catching my attention.

Actually, it was a problem I could ignore. What was important to me now was information about Lord Windsor, not Gideon’s upbringing.

But perhaps because I had been his teacher, even briefly, I kept taking interest.

‘If he doesn’t express emotions, having an innocent friend nearby would be effective.’

I had him play with Mirinai, but there was no effect.

I was thinking it might be better to talk openly when Jace arrived.

And when I guided the two children to the study and had them reveal each other’s situations and identities, an unexpected situation arose.

“What, he’s just an ordinary dependent?”

Perhaps relieved that he wasn’t a rival, Jace relaxed his expression and sighed.

On the other hand, Gideon’s face changed after hearing Jace’s introduction. It was a very slight change, but I could sense a strange jealousy in his eyes.

‘Could it be…’

There was a hypothesis crossing my mind, but it wasn’t something I could voice immediately.

I pretended not to notice and continued speaking calmly.

“So Jace, I want you to help me. No one knows the situation of House of Count Zormon better than you.”

“Help you… do you want me to infiltrate or something?”

“I’d be delighted if you were that sincere, but it’s dangerous so don’t. What I want is to know what kind of conversations you’re having with the woman you’re engaged to.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“What?”

Jace continued with an expression that said why would I ask such a thing.

“I’ve never had a conversation with that daughter. I’ve never even met her face to face except during family meals because of the engagement.”

I widened my eyes at the unexpected answer.

I had heard that Jace had been engaged for about two years already.

But to think they had never even met, let alone conversed, was an unexpected situation.

“Aren’t your territory and Zormon Territory close? You must have visited before.”

“About twice. It’s a narrow and poor territory with nothing much to see, so they don’t really let me in. Father even told me to ask for a date… but I’ve never gotten a response.”

“And yet the engagement continues.”

“Right. Well, I’d be happy if it were broken off. It would be their loss for missing out on me.”

The more I heard, the more suspicious it became.

Even though childhood engagements were often broken, this case was clearly entangled with political intentions.

As Jace said, House of Count Zormon wouldn’t want to lose Baron Milo, the richest person in the region, yet their attitude was quite passive.

‘No, maybe not passive? They used to send letters pressuring Jace regularly.’

Before meeting me, Jace’s tendency to become hasty and violent in everything was partly due to the influence of House of Count Zormon.

They constantly monitored Jace, sending letters to try to control him.

In a way, adopting Gideon might also be part of such behavior.

While I was pondering Count Jormon’s intentions, Gideon muttered in a low voice.

“Perhaps he simply doesn’t want to meet Lord Jace.”

“What?”

Jace frowned sharply at his sudden attack.

“Your attitude toward Mirinai earlier was the same… I think Lord Jace needs to become a bit more mature.”

“Are you done talking? How dare you to…”

“This isn’t a situation where you should use ‘how dare.’ I’m from a Baron House, Lord Jace is from a Viscount House, and this is in the presence of the Grand Duchess, isn’t it?”

Of course, Jace’s tone was somewhat rude, but it wasn’t enough to warrant an argument.

Jace looked ready to grab Gideon by the collar at any moment, but perhaps because he was in front of me, he only clenched his fists without moving.

Meanwhile, I felt Gideon’s emotions for the first time and inwardly smiled.

‘So that’s how it is.’

At first I thought his emotions were dried up due to his poor upbringing, but my intuition was right after all.

The suspicious feeling I sensed from Gideon wasn’t born from sympathy, but from anxiety when another problem student appeared.

“And the Count’s loss for missing you? Your confidence is excessive. No matter how great a person you are at the Academy, in the end, aren’t those achievements bought with money?”

“You… that’s enough.”

“I heard various praises about you from Mirinai, but I overestimated you. Your rudeness toward the Grand Duchess, and your attitude of looking down on people is just…”

“Hey, you…!”

Finally, Jace raised his hand.

No matter how similar their builds were, there was no way Gideon could handle Jace, who had considerable skill in swordsmanship.

“Jace!”

“Kugh…!”

At my call, Jace gritted his teeth and stopped his arm.

When Gideon looked at Jace with eyes that seemed to say ‘I knew it,’ I smiled and spoke.

“Gideon.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

“Are you jealous?”

“…Pardon?”

Gideon’s pupils shook greatly for a moment.

“Are you jealous because Jace is so outstanding that you can’t stand it?”

“Wh-what do you mean…”

The servants rumored he was completely different from his parent Emily, but I thought differently.

Gideon was actually exactly like Emily.

If Emily was a noble lady who lived in a fairy tale world, then this guy was…

“Are you annoyed because someone smarter and stronger than you appeared?”

‘Chuunibyou.’

Chuunibyou pretending to be mature.

Unlike Ograd of this era who wasn’t chuunibyou, this was a truly adolescent child caught up in imaginary audience during puberty, self-centered in his teenage years.

Even while living in poverty, he probably grew up monopolizing love from those around him with his handsome appearance and excellent mind.

So he didn’t show any reaction to the servants’ praise and affection, as if he was accustomed to it.

Because that was only natural.

In this harsh world, he, as the tragic protagonist, deserved attention.

And when Jace, who was superior to him in every way, suddenly appeared, he couldn’t contain his jealousy.

…Gideon was going through that kind of adolescence.

I was wearing a satisfied smile, thinking I had finally figured out Gideon’s true nature… but somehow Gideon’s expression was strange.

I expected him to get angry, but Gideon was staring at me blankly with his face turning bright red.

“Wow…”

‘Why is he acting like that?’

I stroked my cheek, wondering if something was on my face, when Jace beside me gasped.

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re falling for that kind of smile… right?”

What does he mean by ‘that kind’?

“That’s ridiculous, don’t be fooled, you idiot.”

But contrary to Jace’s words, Gideon, who was visibly shaken to the point where you could see his pupils trembling, didn’t even listen.

He just stared at my face in a daze.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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