I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 34

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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 34

Contrary to my expectation that it would take about two days, he sent word at the crack of dawn that he welcomed showing favor to the Mailo Family.

It must be related to the gold mine recently discovered in Mailo Territory. It wasn’t a story I particularly wanted to be involved with.

I handed the documents I had finished reading to Nata and walked to the dining hall. While going down the stairs, Nata asked cautiously.

“Will Mirinai be alright?”

“She’ll be fine.”

“You seem certain.”

“Yes, troublemakers like Jace like younger siblings.”

The problem is that his way of showing affection is different. I swallowed the rest of my words. The more rebellious someone with low self-esteem is, the more they tend to obsess over people who follow them.

I could roughly guess what kind of conversation Mirinai and Jace might be having.

“Besides, that little one cares about appearances.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Didn’t you notice? When looking at Sir Nata, she was extremely shy.”

Nata tilted his head with a truly puzzled expression, as if he hadn’t noticed at all.

It was me that Jace acted rudely toward, but he couldn’t say a word to Nata who was blocking his way.

Rather than because he was a knight, it was because of his looks. That bratty young master was more particular about appearances than I thought.

This was also something I had heard directly from the Baroness. That he was somewhat better behaved in front of handsome or pretty people.

“Mirinai is cute, so he’ll try to look good in front of her.”

Come to think of it, the fact that he didn’t voice complaints when Mirinai entered seemed to be because of that too.

“You look like you don’t believe me.”

Nata frowned slightly. I was about to joke that he shouldn’t make such expressions with that handsome face, but swallowed it because it sounded too much like an old man.

“Then why was he so rude to Grand Madam?”

“…Huh?”

“Naturally, he should try to look good in front of Grand Madam too…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Excuse me?”

“Huh?”

“…”

As I stared at him, not understanding what he meant, Nata blinked quietly. Suddenly his face turned bright red.

“Th-that’s… it’s not that.”

“What’s not that?”

“It’s nothing.”

Then is this inside or outside?

Should I really make a joke or something?

Nata’s unusual behavior left me feeling flustered too.

Nata passed by me and went down the stairs, then opened the dining hall door wide. It was a gesture telling me to hurry in.

‘I don’t know why he’s acting like that.’

That aside, a beautiful person was still beautiful even when they turned into a tomato.

* * *

Since Mirinai had heard Wilhelmina’s request to ‘get along well with Jace,’ he decided to approach first.

“Hello, I’m Mirinai.”

“….”

He greeted him right after Wilhelmina left.

Meanwhile, Jace was flustered seeing Mirinai approach so casually.

‘What’s with this page boy speaking so informally?’

While he was pondering how to get angry, Mirinai suddenly came closer and examined Jace’s textbook.

“Wow, what’s all this? Problems?”

“…Don’t touch it. I haven’t finished solving it yet.”

“It looks like a foreign language.”

“It’s math, that’s why. Don’t you even know that?”

Sharp words came out by habit. Contrary to his expectation that Mirinai would be offended, Mirinai brought his own textbook and opened it while saying,

“Math, I’m doing that too.”

“That’s… arithmetic.”

“Is it different?”

“Of course it’s different! I solved all of that 7 years ago.”

It felt like bragging about something trivial, so he felt embarrassed even as he spoke. Jace tried to rephrase his words, but Mirinai spoke first with sparkling eyes.

“Amazing, I still haven’t solved it all. Jace is already solving difficult things.”

“Uh… well, yeah.”

“Cool.”

If Mirinai had a tail, it would be wagging vigorously – that’s how intense the friendliness felt.

Regardless of Wilhelmina’s request, Mirinai had the pure ability to admire and praise.

Jace’s expression softened a bit at Mirinai’s sincere words.

“You’ll learn it soon too, well.”

“When? Can I use this foreign language too?”

“It’s not a foreign language, it’s formulas. About… 10 years?”

Not knowing how long 10 years really was, but not wanting to say anything less than his own 7 years, Jace trailed off.

“10 years….”

But Mirinai hung his head low in disappointment.

“What, why are you like that?”

“It’s too long. Even studying every day… there’s not enough time. Grand Madam can’t keep teaching me forever.”

The only time Mirinai could fully study was during lunch break and rest time before bed.

And that was only possible because he was a page boy – the higher the servant’s rank, the busier they became.

No matter how much Wilhelmina looked after him, the privilege of coming to the study and receiving Grand Madam’s lessons wouldn’t continue forever.

“Hey, what’s the big deal about studying….”

Jace stopped mid-sentence as he was about to ask why he was whining about such things. Mirinai’s expression was more dejected than he had expected.

‘How annoying….’

Jace, who would have told him to go cry somewhere else, clicked his tongue like an adult and said,

“…Then, I’ll look after her when the Grand Duchess isn’t around.”

“Huh?”

“Well, I’m going to be here for ten days anyway… I don’t want to eat alone with just the two of us in the Dining Hall, and we’ll keep running into each other in the Study. So….”

His words dragged on unnecessarily. Jace scratched his head irritably.

“I’m helping you out a bit. You should be grateful, do you know what rank I am at the Academy….”

“Really? Thank you!”

Mirinai firmly grasped Jace’s hand that had been scratching his head.

Though calloused, when the warm, small hand characteristic of a young child gripped his fingers, Jace’s body stiffened in surprise.

“I’m so happy to have such a smart friend like Jace. I’ll definitely repay you.”

“Uh, yeah. Of course. It’s natural for a noble like me to teach a co-commoner….”

For some reason, it was difficult to continue speaking. As he stammered and tried to pull his hand away, his eyes inadvertently went to Mirinai’s face.

Looking closely, she was extremely cute.

Her fluffy, curly reddish-brown hair, bright sparkling eyes, fair skin, and between the baby fat that hadn’t disappeared yet were an adorable nose and lips.

‘A gi-girl carelessly touching a boy’s hand….’

Regardless of that, Mirinai was simply happy about having a friend who would help with studying from now on.

“Let’s eat together while studying. I brought some Bread that Anna gave me, want to eat half?”

“No thanks, I don’t eat that hard stuff. A Servant will bring food soon, so I’ll eat that.”

“Okay, then let’s eat separately.”

“…Well, maybe I could share some Soup?”

“Really? I like Soup.”

Mirinai’s innocent gratitude left no room for Jace’s adolescence to interfere.

So he didn’t question Mirinai calling Anna “sister.”

…Naturally, because he thought Mirinai was a girl.

He had no way of knowing that Mirinai’s language progress hadn’t yet reached “family titles,” or that it had only been six months since Mirinai started speaking.

Of course, he also didn’t know that no one had yet corrected Mirinai’s wrong habit of calling Johan “hyung” and Anna “unni.”

‘Having her call me oppa would be… a bit much? At the Main House they called me young master. Just having her call me by name would be a bit impudent….’

And so his misunderstanding began. This was an unexpected situation that even Wilhelmina hadn’t anticipated.

Ten pages a day—what sounded easy turned out not to go as smoothly as Jace had thought. The problems became increasingly complex as they progressed, changing to ones that could only be solved by investing time.

The difficulty level wasn’t particularly hard, but the solution process gradually became longer.

Jace, encountering long problem types for the first time, had only managed to solve about eight pages by the time he was supposed to return.

In the afternoon, Wilhelmina, who had gone outside with a carefree expression, returned only after sunset to check Jace’s progress.

She only checked the answers, then closed the Book decisively.

“Then come again tomorrow.”

“….”

He had expected to be scolded for why he couldn’t solve them, but what came back was a bland farewell saying see you tomorrow.

While doubting whether this was really a lesson, he spotted Mirinai finishing work and about to return to the Lodging.

Mirinai waved with all her might at Jace as he left the Mansion. Though still expressionless, sincerity could be felt in her farewell gesture.

Normally he would have cursed, asking how dare a mere Page Boy not bow his head, but for some reason words wouldn’t come out carelessly toward Mirinai.

He gave her a reproachful look telling her to prepare well for tomorrow’s study, then got on the Carriage and returned to Baroness Rollan’s house.

“Welcome back, how were your lessons?”

“….”

The Baroness, who used to stiffen whenever she saw Jace, now appeared calm unlike before.

At her demeanor that seemed to trust that Wilhelmina would handle his education well on her own, Jace felt inexplicably spiteful.

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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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