Selected as the New Stepmother (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
I’m here.
I heard the voice of the Kid, which shouldn’t be audible right now. I checked the clock on the wall and exclaimed in surprise.
“You’re here early?”
“Today’s the last day, so I came to stay longer.”
“Has a week already ended?”
I pushed the clippings and the noble directory to one side. The Kid’s eyes briefly glanced toward them before dropping away.
“Why? Are you sad?”
The Kid grinned and asked. I smiled along and replied.
“Yeah, I am a little sad.”
The Kid was startled by my answer. Those already large eyes widened even more, taking on an expression as if about to take flight.
“Really sad?”
“Yeah.”
The Kid, who had been sitting with elegant poise like a painting, suddenly stood up and strode over to me. Then they plopped down beside me and grabbed my hand tightly.
“I am too. I’m sad.”
I gently stroked their lowered head. After today, unless on a mission, I wouldn’t see this child again, would I?
“Is there anything you want to do with me? Since it’s the last day, I’ll try to say yes to most things.”
“Really?”
The Kid raised both hands high, as if ready to flutter into the air at the slightest motion.
“I want to eat dinner at your house with you.”
“You want to eat at the Duke’s residence?”
It wasn’t an impossible request, but it would be quite an awkward setting. If it were another gathering with the Duke and the two of us, it would be even more uncomfortable.
“No, I want to go to your house.”
“…Ah.”
Taking the Kid to my residence isn’t impossible. I just worried they might be overwhelmed by the opulence and exquisite decor of my home after living in such luxury.
“Kid, I’m not saying I can’t take you to my residence, but I don’t have a kitchen maid and only a few maids—so you might find it uncomfortable.”
“If you don’t have a kitchen maid, does that mean you cook yourself?”
“Yeah.”
The Kid’s lips twitched. It was obvious they were trying hard not to laugh.
“So I’ll get to eat food you cooked today?”
“My cooking is terrible. I’ll buy something from outside.”
“Ugh… but I still want to try food you made.”
The Kid puffed out their cheeks. I felt an urge to poke them with a finger.
“I’m not exaggerating at all—my food really is terrible. Are you sure you still want to try it?”
“Yes! Please do. I don’t mind.”
“Alright, but first you must get the Duke’s permission.”
“Understood. I’ll get it for sure.”
The Kid showed no intention of giving up. I glanced at the wall clock and replied.
“Then we’ll need to go to the market earlier than usual today. Want to come with me?”
“Sure!”
The excited Kid wandered around the office, barely holding back the urge to jump and run. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Anna, please write a letter and send it to the Duke’s residence. Tell my father in advance that I’ll be having dinner with a guest at my residence.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Anna replied with a contented expression. Just as she turned to leave the office—
“You’re here early.”
An unforgettable voice pierced my ears. Anna froze like a statue upon seeing Duke Artenbach enter.
“D-Duke… Father?”
The Kid, who clearly hadn’t expected him to be there, looked equally startled. Beside them, I stared with the same expression of surprise.
“Oh, I’m not here about a mission, so don’t worry.”
He walked in slowly, surveying the rearranged furniture. With his white gloves on, he swept his hand over bookshelves and sofa backs.
‘Damn, I’m suffocating!’
Was he checking the cleaning? He didn’t seem to be re-inspecting his gloves, so probably not.
Why is he standing in that corner?
“Don’t think I’m here. Act as you normally do.”
The Duke, leaning against the wall in the corner, crossed his arms and stood slightly askew, watching the Kid and me.
So he came here to watch? Why on earth?
“Father, you’re making it uncomfortable for her if you stand like that.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Good job, Kid!
“Aren’t you supposed to go to the art museum today?”
“I’ve decided to go tomorrow.”
“What about the harbor? Weren’t spices and vodka supposed to arrive?”
“I have a capable Secretary, so it’s fine.”
I listened carefully to the conversation between the Kid and the Duke. It was astonishing how thoroughly the Kid knew his schedule.
‘Does the Duke go to the art museum to scout talent?’
The Artenbach Art Museum and the Black Swan.
They’re rivals with an insurmountable gap, so I gathered even more information.
When the museum curator arranges interviews with artists, the Duke assesses their character and talent level to determine whether they’re worth bringing into his fold. Of course, most end up joining the museum, but occasionally someone is rejected.
Back when I didn’t know better, I’d recruit those who were rejected—only to later discover they had serious character flaws, to the point where contract termination had to be considered.
After experiencing this three times, I stopped even glancing at anyone who failed the museum interview.
‘Maybe Lanson will be at tomorrow’s museum interview.’
Given that I haven’t heard from him, it’s entirely possible.
“Miss.”
I snapped out of my thoughts at the Kid’s voice.
“Hmm? What?”
“Since Father’s here, I’ll ask him right away.”
The Kid jumped off the sofa and approached the Duke.
“I was supposed to have dinner at the Viscount’s residence today—is it alright if I go?”
The Duke’s gaze shifted to me. I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet my shoulders instinctively hunched.
“If you wish, you may go.”
“Will Father come with me?”
I felt as if I’d been struck on the back of the head with a hammer. I absolutely did not want to bring the Duke.
I swallowed hard, silently repeating a prayer for him to refuse.
“I must attend a banquet with investors this evening. It’s unfortunate, but you’ll have to go alone.”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding all at once. I’d been so focused on his reply, I’d forgotten to breathe.
Relieved he’d refused, I met his gaze—and immediately regretted it.
His brow twitched slightly. Had I sighed too loudly in relief?
“Well, I guess I have no choice. I’ll eat double portions to make up for your share.”
The Duke nodded and placed his hand atop the Kid’s head—a gruff yet unmistakably paternal gesture.
[This is the timeline separator]He told me to act normally, but I couldn’t help glancing toward the corner where he stood.
I offered to bring him a chair—he refused.
I suggested we have lunch together—it was declined.
I was driven nearly mad by his statue-like stillness, while the Kid happily bounced between him and me.
As I endured this tense, suffocating day, Anna returned from the residence with news.
“The Viscount has an evening engagement and will be going out.”
“Really?”
I was relieved, yet a foreboding thought struck me.
“Could he be going to a gambling den?”
“I’ll send a mercenary to follow him discreetly.”
I nodded in response instead of replying. As Anna turned to leave the consultation room, she spotted the Duke still there and jumped in alarm, fleeing to the waiting area.
“Miss, when are we going to the market?”
“Around four.”
“There’s still a lot of time left.”
The Kid clasped her hands together beneath the wall clock, as if praying. Listening to her mutter, “Time, hurry up,” I realized how eagerly she anticipated going to the Viscount’s residence.
“Kid, do you want to go quickly?”
“Yes! I’d go right now if I could.”
I glanced for a moment at the noble directory and clippings spread across my desk. Then, neatly folding and organizing them, I said:
“If you help me organize the directory and clippings, we can leave sooner.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than the Kid rushed over and lifted the directory—though it was too heavy for them to hold properly, they struggled to lift it. I suggested we split the weight.
After all the organizing was done,
The Kid, already ready to leave, beamed at me with bright eyes, silently urging me onward. I addressed the statue-like figure in the corner.
“Duke Artenbach, we’re closing the office early today.”
At my words, he uncrossed his arms and stood up straight.
“Are we going to the market?”
“Yes.”
While I spoke to the Duke, the Kid had already stepped outside. Through the open window, their dark hair fluttered gently, brimming with anticipation.
“I’ll accompany you.”
“You’re busy—there’s no need for you to…”
“I’m not busy. Go ahead.”
He gestured toward the outside with his chin. I forced myself to suppress my grimacing face and walked slowly.
I was already dreading the stares that would follow us the moment we entered the market.
[This is the timeline separator]As expected, every eye in the market turned toward us.
The Duke, whose presence was so overwhelming you could recognize him as the head of House Artenbach from a hundred meters away.
And the Kid, just as striking as the Duke.
The people in the market showed boundless curiosity toward me, appearing alongside them.
‘I knew this would happen.’
The fruit vendor, holding a bag he hadn’t even opened, dropped an apple onto the ground—yet his gaze remained fixed on us, not the apple.
The man grilling meat frantically moved his tongs at a customer’s cry of burning.
‘I need to buy everything and leave as quickly as possible.’
For the sake of their peace and my own mental well-being, I had to.
“Kid, have you ever had lasagna?”
“With meat and tomatoes?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m planning to get.”
I walked with the Kid toward the vegetable stall. As I bought tomatoes, onions, and other ingredients, I patiently answered their questions about how to use each item.
I held a bag in one arm and gripped the Kid’s hand with the other, then turned toward the butcher’s shop.
A large shadow loomed closer, and the Duke’s intimidating face drew near. I instinctively paused in surprise.
He reached out toward me. My heart pounded as I froze in terror—and suddenly, the bag slipped upward from my arms.
“Where to next?”
The Duke asked casually, holding the bag he’d taken from me. I replied with a stiff face.
“I, uh… the butcher’s shop.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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