Don't Obsess Over A Married Woman (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
“If this is also a gift intended for Her Grace, please leave it over there. I shall be sure to deliver it to her along with the marriage proposal letter you brought.”
“That’s not what I meant… Oh dear, honestly.”
Dieren’s seasoned butler was an exceptionally principled man.
No matter how shamelessly someone from the procession of suitors resorted to underhanded tactics or clung desperately, it was utterly futile.
Indeed, his demeanor never wavered even when dealing with nobles.
In particular, the butler meticulously kept track of time like a blade, ensuring no specific suitor lingered at the estate beyond a set duration.
After all, to efficiently manage that seemingly endless line, careful time allocation was essential.
The problem was, despite all this, there was no sign whatsoever that the line was beginning to shorten….
The sun, which had soared high into the sky, was already tilting downward.
The elderly butler let out a worried sigh as he gazed at the main hall, now piled high with mountains of engagement gifts.
This amount alone would take more than a day or two to sort through.
“It seems I’ve arrived at a rather busy time.”
Just as yet another group of suitors exited the estate, a low, gentle tenor floated in with light footsteps through the mansion’s entrance.
Naturally assuming this was yet another suitor, the butler’s eyes soon widened in astonishment.
A stunningly handsome man with hair like silver dusted with pearl, his crimson eyes brighter and clearer than rubies, crinkled softly as he offered a kind expression.
To the butler, this was only the second time he’d seen this man today.
Yet that breathtaking beauty, enough to stop one’s heart, still felt utterly unfamiliar.
For even a fellow man—let alone an old man like himself—to be so awestruck was remarkable.
“I am Count Joseph Obreim Alphon. I had an appointment with Duchess Dieren today—may I wait in the reception room?”
The butler, still dazed, snapped back to his senses at those words and looked utterly bewildered.
There had certainly been a visitor scheduled—but it wasn’t supposed to be Count Alphon….
“Isn’t today the day Her Grace is meeting the new tutor she recently hired?”
“That is correct, sir.”
He knew the tutor sent by Viscount Baden was due to arrive.
“Yes. I am one of those tutors. I’ve already spoken with the Duchess verbally regarding my employment, so please deliver this to her.”
As he spoke, the Count pulled a silver envelope from inside his coat.
The letter, sealed firmly with red wax imprinted with a crest resembling a set of scales—but too intricate to identify clearly—was quite thick.
“My resume and letters of recommendation.”
With that beautiful smile from Count Alphon, the butler found himself accepting the letter almost unconsciously.
“Will you deliver it for me?”
“…Very well. Please wait here.”
If it had already been arranged beforehand, what choice did he have?
The butler ultimately had no option but to take the Count’s letter and head upstairs.
Knock knock.
“Your Grace, it seems the tutor has arrived.”
Even after the butler entered the study to relay the news, Liselotte didn’t lift her eyes from the book she was reading.
Her expression plainly revealed her exhaustion without the slightest concealment.
“I expected this, but not so soon. Viscount Baden truly is impatient. Tell him I’m busy and have him wait in the reception room for now.”
“Here—he also brought his resume and letters of recommendation. However, Your Grace, I never imagined Count Alphon would be among the tutors Viscount Baden arranged.”
“Sir Joseph?”
“The gentleman who has just arrived is Count Alphon.”
“…?”
Upon hearing this, Liselotte instantly looked up from her book and rose to her feet.
Her violet eyes widened in astonishment.
She snatched the envelope from the butler and burst into laughter.
[This is the timeline separator]After finally calming my laughter, I first wiped away the tears gathered at the corners of my eyes.
“Please bring Sir Joseph to my study immediately. Serve him tea and refreshments right away.”
“Right this moment, Your Grace? Shouldn’t we have him wait a little longer?”
“It’s fine. He isn’t the tutor Viscount Baden introduced.”
“Oh! I see!”
The elderly butler’s face, previously clouded with worry, quickly relaxed into comfortable wrinkles.
Even after the butler left, I spent a long while examining Sir Joseph’s resume and letters of recommendation.
‘He really is quite extraordinary.’
At this point, it no longer seemed important whether Sir Joseph was a prophet or not.
Or rather—wasn’t he claiming to be a regressor?
Regardless, I focused on the fact that he was far more capable and resourceful than I’d anticipated.
‘To become fully qualified as a tutor in just one month…’
Where should I even begin?
Ah, yes—the funeral would be a good starting point.
Sir Joseph had once declared he’d prove himself someone worthy of my trust.
Indeed, I couldn’t deny that his advice that day had made dealing with my brother and Viscount Baden significantly easier.
In particular, he’d said this about Viscount Baden:
〈After a private meeting with Viscount Dieren, Viscount Baden will propose hiring a tutor for your heir under the pretense of education. Naturally, his intention is to plant his own influence within House Dieren.〉
It was also he who explained what would happen if I refused.
Moreover, he even suggested a way to turn the crisis to my advantage.
〈Your Grace should hire one more tutor—someone loyal only to you, who cannot be bribed—to keep watch over them and detect any dangerous schemes in advance.〉
〈That would certainly give you an advantage against Viscount Baden’s machinations.〉
〈And if needed, it would also be easier to gather compromising evidence to expel them.〉
Though easy to say, finding such a person was undeniably difficult.
And during this period, the stipulation that no one could enter the estate for a full month was particularly crippling.
As if reading my mind, Sir Joseph gently said,
〈It’s not difficult. There’s someone right before Your Grace’s eyes even now.〉
Honestly, my first thought upon hearing that was that he was joking.
After all, wasn’t it true?
To tutor a noble heir, one needed not only deep knowledge of imperial history, law, and etiquette—the standard expected of high nobility—but also a refined artistic sensibility.
Although Sir Joseph was indeed of noble birth, he was still a foreigner who’d only arrived in the imperial capital a few days prior.
Naturally, everything about the Empire would be unfamiliar to him—especially its history and culture, on which he’d be practically ignorant.
To think of appointing such a man as my son’s tutor—unless I were utterly bewitched by his looks, it was unthinkable.
Yet when I raised this objection, Sir Joseph merely chuckled softly and replied calmly,
〈If I can prove to Your Grace within a month—by the time Dieren Mansion reopens its doors—that I’m qualified to teach the young viscount, would that suffice?〉
I didn’t even bother asking him, “How?”
Because I was absolutely certain it was impossible.
Knock knock.
“Your Grace. I’ve brought Count Alphon.”
“Show him in.”
At that moment, accompanied by a knock, Sir Joseph arrived.
I rose from my study chair and moved toward the tea table prepared for receiving guests.
Soon, guided by the butler, Sir Joseph entered and naturally brushed his lips against the back of my hand as he inquired after my well-being.
“It’s been a while, Duchess Dieren. I trust you’ve remained well these past months.”
“I’ve felt a bit stifled, but as you can see, I’m quite healthy. You, on the other hand, seem to have been at the heart of quite a few happenings in the imperial capital’s social circles.”
“Ahaha.”
His face, once so stoic at the funeral, now bore that dangerously heart-stopping smile just as when I’d first met him.
Honestly, if I’d seen that face ten years ago, I’m certain my heart would’ve fluttered.
I first offered him a seat. As we exchanged brief pleasantries, the refreshments I’d ordered were served.
“How did you manage this?”
After dismissing the servants from the study, I placed his resume and letters of recommendation on the tea table and asked,
“Recommendations from some of the Empire’s most prestigious noble houses, the headmaster of the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences, even an Academician of the Tower of Honor… It couldn’t have been easy to obtain these.”
Having navigated the imperial capital’s social circles for over a decade, I knew well the families and individuals who’d written these letters.
I also knew they were stubbornly upright people, utterly incorruptible by wealth or status.
To receive such glowing recommendations from them, one would need exceptional competence—nearly at the level of an Academician qualified for the Tower of Honor itself.
“Don’t worry—I didn’t forge the letters.”
“…I don’t recall ever suggesting you did.”
“But Your Grace’s expression is filled with evident distrust toward me.”
That man really is perceptive.
Since I’d ask anyway, I decided not to deny it further.
“Well, I was under the impression Sir Joseph has only been staying in the capital for about a month.”
To convey my suspicion honestly, I deliberately half-opened my fan to cover my mouth.
“Yet you claim to have attained scholarly mastery—on par with what imperial-born nobles take decades to accumulate—as a foreigner. Naturally, that’s rather hard to believe.”
At that, his crimson eyes, fixed on me, narrowed into a delicate, almost coquettish curve.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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Chapter Comments (4)
Inline Comments (63)
A creature that slowly devoured a person’s brain, driving them inevitably to mad
Ohhh I wonder what it is about her that makes his headaches go away
‘she must be there.’
Oh, I like this development… the novel synopsis made it seem like he was obsessed before the story started. But it seems like what brings him towards her is a need for survival rather than love…that means we get to see him fall in love during the novel :)))))Arriving in the past by flipping the hourglass of time,
Huh… Interesting 🤨 so he can control his regression??? This is new..never read a story with this kind of plot
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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.