Chapter 7

The Life of a Noble's Daughter-in-Law is Too Easy (7) Chapter 7/177

#7.

"Can you back off a bit?"

Elena pressed her hand firmly on Damian's shoulder, creating some distance between them. Damian stepped back easily and chuckled.

"The matter of summoning Lady Lork and the Duke and Duchess has nothing to do with this."

You're going to say that?

Elena smiled coldly.

"I heard that the Duchess barged into the Duke's class."

After sending Roena away, she had gotten a hint from Roena's maid, so she knew the details for sure.

Given that Roena hadn't mentioned it herself, it was clear that the Duke had tried to keep it quiet.

'She seemed like just a child, but she's quite clever.'

It must have been Roena's maid, and Roena must have instructed her.

Elena was very pleased that Roena had cleverly kept her promise to the Duke while providing her with a clue.

So much so that she reconsidered her past thoughts of Roena as just a nasty daughter-in-law.

Damian shrugged exaggeratedly and said,

"Oh, you knew about that too?"

"Stop pretending. Did the person who tried to hide it from me call me to the study so openly?"

"I thought the Duchess didn't care about me."

"Hmm."

Elena snorted derisively.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered Roena, who had playfully kissed her cheek earlier. While pretending to kiss, Roena had given her very cunning advice.

"Why don't you ask Father directly? Father is a man who craves attention. If you give him the attention he craves, he'll spill the beans."

With a smile, Roena had said, "Father is a man who craves attention."

Elena wasn't sure what "attention seeker" meant, but it didn't seem to be a good word.

However, it was enough to make her heavy steps move towards the Duke's bedroom.

She was quite curious about the Duke's reaction.

'Tsk, these kids these days, making up their own words. They seem to enjoy it when adults can't understand them.'

Elena treated it as just the slang of the young.

But her face showed more amusement than annoyance.

Indeed, as Roena had said, giving the Duke attention was making him start to react.

He was on the verge of spilling everything if she just pushed a little more.

After a moment, Elena turned her gaze back to Damian, intending to interrogate him again.

But—

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Elena's face crumpled when she saw Damian's expression.

He seemed to be making a stupid face, but then he frowned at her words. Finally, Damian said stiffly,

"Why were you smiling just now?"

"Are you going to criticize me for smiling now? I can't believe it."

Elena stopped smiling and responded coldly.

Then Damian closed the distance again, leaning one arm against the wall.

"I asked you why you were smiling, madam."

"Stop calling me 'madam.' It doesn't suit me."

Elena answered somewhat sharply and tried to push his shoulder back, but this time he didn't budge.

'Acting like a child.'

When Damian didn't move, Elena got closer to him.

When she got almost close enough to kiss, Damian jumped back in surprise.

"Wh-What is this...!"

"Well, I thought you might want to kiss me since you kept getting closer."

"I don't...!"

Damian's face turned bright red, and he couldn't continue.

Elena, not caring whether he continued or not, widened the distance again and crossed her legs.

It was ridiculous to see a man who met many women tremble at a single kiss. Elena said coldly,

"I know. You hate touching me as much as I do."

"..."

"You won't find out anywhere in the empire. We are complete strangers, not even having gone through the initial meeting."

Elena mocked as she circled around Damian. Damian remained silent, not offering any excuses.

Elena, with her hand almost touching his shoulder, asked,

"If you don't want to be kissed, tell me what happened in the study."

Then she playfully tapped Damian's shoulder.

* * *

"Are you back?"

I greeted Hannah, who had returned quietly.

"Yes, young mistress."

"How did Mother react?"

"She didn't seem upset, but I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Did she understand properly?"

"Hmm..."

Just as I was trailing off, the maid Vivian entered the room.

"Miss! The Duchess just entered the Duke's bedroom!"

"Shh! Vivian, what if someone hears you? And 'miss'? You've been a young mistress for a while now."

Shuri scolded Vivian, who pouted. I looked at Vivian with bright eyes and asked,

"Really? Did she go in? Really?"

"Yes, really. They never enter each other's bedrooms, so it's quite unusual."

Vivian's voice was lower than before.

"If they end up consummating it and a child is born...?"

Hannah said worriedly, but I shook my head firmly.

"They won't consummate it. She'll definitely come out again."

"How can you be so sure?"

Hannah, Vivian, and Shuri looked at me simultaneously.

'How do I know? I saw it in the book. Those two are a purely business couple.'

I didn't say this out loud and just smiled slyly.

After all, I was the one who had lured the Duchess into the Duke's bedroom.

Akhid only knew that I had kissed the Duchess, not that I had whispered in her ear.

The Duchess had blushed at the kiss but was probably deep in thought, replaying my whispered words.

'Thinking about it, the relationship between my in-laws is quite peculiar.'

In the original story, the two always had a bad relationship.

They barely spoke to each other and growled when they met.

But when they worked together, they were surprisingly in sync.

'Well, that's why they maintained their relationship as a business couple for so long.'

I erased my thoughts about my in-laws.

I had already given the Duchess a hint through Hannah, so the rest would unfold on its own.

I had no intention of choosing between the Duke and the Duchess.

'Rather, I plan to win both of them over.'

To win the hearts of both the Duke and the Duchess, I couldn't take sides.

That's why I had the Duchess hear it from the Duke, instead of telling her myself.

'This much is enough. Let them handle the rest.'

I smiled wickedly, like someone who had finished a long task. Vivian said,

"Oh, young mistress, you're smiling strangely again."

"What's wrong with my smile?"

"Ever since last time, you've been smiling with your mouth twitching like that."

"Well, it could happen."

I stepped back in shock at the face Vivian imitated. Vivian smirked and muttered,

"Anyway, it's nice to see the young mistress smiling more."

"Agreed. I like seeing the young mistress smile the most."

Hannah smiled and agreed.

"Our young mistress's smile is priceless, you know."

Shuri added a joke.

"Why are you all like this, suddenly?"

I felt the attention on me and reacted with a bit of a cold front.

Hannah, Vivian, and Shuri had all been my maids since the April Castle.

Although I hadn't known them for long, they were the most trustworthy subordinates to Roena.

They were skilled maids who could please the nasty Roena.

At first, I was worried they might notice I wasn't the real Roena, but it turned out to be an unnecessary worry.

They were happy that I seemed to have returned to my old self.

They had thought I was acting strangely, like I had hit puberty early.

Of course, that was based on their standards, but perhaps Roena wasn't always so bad.

If she had become sharper due to the new environment, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.

Of course, I couldn't forgive her for tormenting Akhid.

Suddenly, I felt playful and said,

"If you're really curious, go spy on the Duke and Duchess's bedroom. I bet Mother will return to her own bedroom."

The three of them were surprised by my sudden bet. After a moment, Hannah asked,

"Young mistress, are you trying to take our last coins now?"

"Who said anything about money? Let's bet on a slap."

"Hey, how can we hit the young mistress's forehead?"

Shuri shuddered and tried to dissuade her. I smiled wickedly and taunted them,

"Scared?"

"How can we be...!"

Vivian's competitive spirit was ignited. Shuri laughed and said,

"Fine. Since the young mistress wants it, we have no choice. Don't cry if it hurts later."

"Shuri might end up seeing stars from my sharp slap."

"Wow, that's scary."

Shuri giggled, showing no fear.

After the bet was made. Hannah, who had quietly spied on the Duke and Duchess's bedroom, returned and said dejectedly,

"The Duchess has returned to her own bedroom."

"Yesss!"

I clenched my fist and jumped up, then prepared to give a slap with a wicked smile.

"Slap."

"Young mistress...?"

Shuri groaned.

"Hey, how sharp can the mistress's hand be?"

Vivian tried to act like it didn't matter.

"Shall I go first?"

Hannah stepped forward fearlessly.

"Hehehe."

There was no mercy in a bet. I smiled sweetly and said,

"Let's go see the stars, kids."

The next day, Hannah, Vivian, and Shuri had clear red marks on their foreheads.

When other servants asked them about it, they only said, "We saw the stars..."

That's how it was.

The young mistress had no mercy.