Don't Obsess Over A Married Woman (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
There were two interviewees for the governess position, but the number of people I needed to hire was three.
What do I mean by that?
It turned out that Viscountess Baden, whom I had assumed had come merely to show off her arrogance, was actually the governess candidate brought by Viscount Baden himself.
No, not even a candidate. She had brazenly shoved a contract at me, one in which she had unilaterally written the terms and declared the hiring finalized.
‘That’s just forced salesmanship.’
Not even remotely amusing.
What kind of person shows up claiming to be a teacher with nothing but a single-page résumé and no letter of recommendation?
At that point, I couldn’t help but wonder exactly how extraordinary Viscountess Baden’s scholarly knowledge must be if she dared volunteer to educate my children.
Yet the moment I glanced at the contract, I was left utterly speechless and could only let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
‘Yupi’s chaperone, of all things.’
Euphemia is currently fourteen years old.
In high society, where debutante presentations typically occur at sixteen, formal etiquette training usually begins around fifteen.
Still, I couldn’t outright reject her, as among the highest nobility—such as ducal families—it’s common to assign a chaperone even earlier to instruct young ladies in the manners of noblewomen.
The reason education among nobles begins at different ages depending on rank is simply because finding a suitable chaperone is incredibly difficult.
Few are willing to accept the conditions: mastery not only of noble etiquette but even imperial court protocol, plus committing to live alongside a noble young lady every day for at least a year.
‘After all, while serving as someone’s chaperone, one can’t attend social gatherings or manage one’s own household affairs.’
Thus, lately, it has become increasingly common to seek chaperones among cultured ladies from the gentry class rather than the nobility.
Even then, scheduling conflicts often delay debutante presentations until well past seventeen.
Given these circumstances, there’s even a saying in high society: “If a noblewoman ever volunteers to be a chaperone, you should thank her by gifting her a mine.”
Naturally, refusal is simply out of the question.
Had this proposal come from any noblewoman other than Viscountess Baden, I would have immediately unrolled the duchy’s map to consider which mine to offer.
And I certainly would have started planning to furnish a new room for the chaperone.
But the offer from the Viscount and his wife, whose hidden motives were glaringly obvious, couldn’t possibly be accepted at face value, no matter how sweetly it was presented.
‘So, you’re saying you’ll stay by Yupi’s side until she turns sixteen and debuts as a debutante?’
In other words, you intend to spy on me for the next two years.
‘What exactly are you planning to do during that time?’
I had fully intended to refuse.
Rumors would surely spread—that I, as a stepmother, mistreat the children, or that I’d chased away every previous tutor solely to seize control of the ducal house.
But such baseless gossip didn’t matter.
After all, everything would be proven once I passed the ducal title to Cardiel in three years.
The real problem was…
“Then I suppose Viscountess Baden and I will be living under the same roof for a while.”
“Oh, ohoho. Is that how it shall be, Count Alphon?”
…Sir Joseph’s reaction like that.
He had warmly welcomed Viscountess Baden, but only after catching my eye did he narrow his eyes into a subtle, knowing smile.
“…….”
It was clearly a signal to give my permission.
‘I really don’t want to.’
How hypocritical of me.
After benefiting so much from Sir Joseph’s prophecies until now, the moment I’m faced with something unpleasant, I find myself wishing he were merely a fraud.
Though frustrated, I had no choice—after all, we’d already sealed our alliance based on mutual trust.
But even if I agreed, I still needed to take certain precautions of my own.
“Before that, I’d like to make one request. Although you’re technically a relative by marriage, now that you’re coming as Yupi’s chaperone, I ask that you at least maintain a clear distinction between personal feelings and official duty in front of the children.”
In plain terms: don’t let your slightly advanced age go to your head and act haughtily around me or my children.
“Ohoho. Don’t worry, Duchess. Would I, of all people—as someone entrusted to teach proper etiquette—ever behave in a way unworthy of a prince or princess?”
“Then let’s prepare as quickly as possible so you can begin caring for the princess right away. Have a room ready by tomorrow if possible.”
“No need for grand preparations. My luggage won’t be heavy at all, so once the room is assigned, a simple cleaning will suffice. Ohoho.”
“Well, cleaning won’t take long, so you could even move in tonight if you’d like.”
Now that they had my confirmation, the Viscount and his wife exchanged gleeful smiles.
They were clearly eager to infiltrate Dieren as soon as possible to keep watch over me and my children.
From their conversation, it seemed they’d already packed their belongings and were merely waiting for the right moment.
Sigh. Is this really the right call?
Though doubts about my decision still lingered, Sir Joseph—mysterious as ever—simply smiled at me with serene ease. I’d have to ask him his reasons later.
“I’ll prepare the guest suite on the fourth floor for you. However, it won’t be ready that quickly—we’ll need time to replace the furniture and bedding. Besides, we’re overwhelmed with visitors today.”
“Yes, I noticed earlier—the main hall was in complete disarray.”
“Let’s not speak of that. I already have a headache just thinking about how to clean it all up.”
Though I said that, I hadn’t anticipated the engagement delegations’ visit would actually benefit me in this way.
According to the servants, by the time Viscount Baden arrived, the main hall had been so packed that there was literally no more space to place anything.
So much so that the butler reportedly shut the doors, declaring they could no longer accept any more suitors.
‘This is exactly why I like my butler.’
In any case, since Viscountess Baden had seen the chaos firsthand on her way to my study, even if she were desperate to move in immediately, she couldn’t very well press the matter further.
What a relief.
“The other two tutors will stay in the guest rooms on the first floor. Those are always kept tidy, so I can show them to their rooms right away. However, using the main hall is currently impossible—I’d appreciate it if you’d use the rear corridor of the mansion for now.”
“No trouble at all.”
“Please don’t worry about us, Duchess.”
The two newly hired tutors expressed their gratitude after signing their contracts.
They’d clearly expected to be hired, as both arrived carrying large luggage.
It was fortunate I decided to employ them—otherwise, they’d have had to lug those bags all the way back out.
By the way, the tutors Viscount Baden brought turned out to be surprisingly decent individuals.
Both were men of gentry birth—one an astonishingly capable scholar, the other a renowned musician from the Imperial Capital’s social circles.
From our conversation and their demeanor, they appeared genuinely respectable.
Of course, one can’t judge a person based solely on appearances or a few exchanged words.
Regardless, if they ever act improperly around the children, they’ll be handed straight over to the guards.
“And as for Sir Joseph…”
“I, too, would like to reside here if there’s an available room. It’s been incredibly difficult securing a townhouse in the Imperial Capital, so I’ve been staying at a hotel until now.”
So he’d been living at a hotel.
Now that I think of it, I recall hearing earlier that Sir Joseph had started a hotel business.
It must have been truly inconvenient for him to go to such lengths.
“It’ll take some time to procure new furniture and bedding, but I believe we can prepare a suitable room for you as well.”
“As long as the room is ready, I can simply gather a few essentials from the hotel and move in.”
“Then, for today, I suggest you all rest. I’ll arrange a proper introduction to the children soon.”
And so, four new members were added to the Dieren household, which had always been so quiet.
[This is the timeline separator]The end of a busy day was always tea time with the children after dinner.
As always, I sat in the family parlor on the second floor, chatting with them.
“Mother, does that mean we’ll have five teachers now?”
Celsion, his bright eyes sparkling, swallowed the cookie stuffed in his mouth and asked.
“That’s right. Professor Lozier will remain with us, and Sir Joseph and Viscountess Baden will move in within this week.”
“What about the other teachers? They’re staying on the first floor, right?”
Only then could I finally tell the children about their new tutors.
“Yes. I’ll formally introduce them tomorrow, but let me tell you a little beforehand….”
One was a scholar named Jepheth.
He was a member of the ‘Tower of Honor,’ also known as the ‘Library of Sages.’
The Tower of Honor is an elite academic and research institution that admits only a select few scholars deemed worthy of the title ‘the finest on the continent.’
It’s famously said that even geniuses can appear dull-witted within its walls.
Thus, people respectfully refer to its scholars as ‘Sages.’
By the way, once a scholar’s name is inscribed in the Tower, they receive treatment equivalent to that of a count across the entire continent, regardless of their origin.
Should they ever leave the Tower, they can easily secure a senior bureaucratic post in the Empire.
Why such a person would align himself with Viscount Baden of all people, I cannot fathom.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Chapter Comments (4)
Inline Comments (59)
〈Oh? Even so, your training seems far too intense. Should I speak with your swor
Aww she cared about them from the beginning. She was so innocent and hopeful back then too :((, she didnt know the violence was deliberate. He said plesdon’t interfere cause he was resigned oml no….
Not so much out of guilt for failing to protect his brother, but because he fear
Oh nooo 😭😭 explains why they are so bonded now. That’s alot to deal with
He was fully aware of his own rigid self, trapped solely within his own thoughts
Poor babyyy
YOUR COMMENT
2. Inline comments are now available. Tap the end of any line in a chapter to share your thoughts instantly.
Log in to comment.
Soo all this talk about the dungeons being a maze and very dangerous was for what???
Aww this is such a tesrjerker of a chapter 🥲🥺 . Now she knows they love her ( they made it obvious though)
This is crazy omgosh what is going onn this amount of darkness and trauma gave me whiplash. I can also see where this is going amnesia arc incoming isn’t it.