I Taught You Carefully, So Why Are You Obsessed?

The weekend came quickly. During that time, I diligently read through the books that had been delivered to the Grand Duke’s estate and occasionally took early morning walks, seriously contemplating how I could fix Ian’s mind. And the conclusion I finally came to was…

‘Well, this is pointless.’

In the end, I decided that confronting the problem head-on was the best approach.

No matter how many books I read or how much I studied the perfect husband model, there was no guarantee that this cold-blooded Ian would follow along.

So, after finishing Men Loved by Women, I sent all the books straight to the far corner of the estate’s enormous library.

And now, here I was, sitting at a tea table in the middle of the garden with Ian.

“I wondered what you were up to…,”

He casually glanced over the refreshments on the tea table.

“Did you really tie up my entire weekend just to have tea?”

“…Well, since it’s our first session, I thought we could start with some light conversation.”

I shrugged nonchalantly and took a sip of the black tea in front of me.

Ian was watching my every move intently.
Stop staring like that, you’re going to burn a hole through my face.

“Jumping straight into fixing your… no, your behavior might be too much since we don’t know each other very well yet. The first step in any education is to assess the student’s level, after all.”

His brow furrowed slightly at the word “level,” but that was all.

I was planning to teach this guy how to actually have a conversation with another human being. According to the novel, this male lead didn’t know how to hold a proper conversation.

And naturally, the one who suffered most from this was poor Diana.

It was normal for Ian not to initiate any conversations with Diana, and even when she made an effort to bring up a topic and keep the conversation going, he would usually respond with short, awkward answers, ending it abruptly.

Especially just before Diana left for the Academy, their final conversation was so heartbreaking that even the author’s biased writing, which was usually dripping with love for Ian, couldn’t hide her misery.

Understandably so, because when Diana told Ian she was leaving for the Academy, he basically drew a line by saying.

“There’s no need to bother me with such trivial matters.”

In that chapter, even Ian’s most ardent fans commented that Diana seemed pitiful, so there’s no need to elaborate further.

‘This shameless man…’

Suppressing the anger that was starting to rise again, I forced a calm smile.

“Anyway, since we know so little about each other, I thought this kind of time would be necessary. Is that alright with you?”

Across from me, Ian, who had been staring at me the entire time, sighed and nodded.

“Fine.”

“In a year, you’ll be grateful to me.”

“Have you suddenly developed the ability to see the future?”

What a brat.

“Well… I have a pretty good sense of what’s going to happen.”

It’s true. I guarantee you’ll be thanking me with tears in your eyes in a year, buddy.

Ian, who had been staring at me with that piercing gaze, sighed in reluctant agreement.

“…Alright. Let’s have that light conversation.”

Though he was cooperating, his tone was still oddly uncooperative.

In fact, he had looked uncomfortable since the moment he sat down.

“Okay, let’s start with something simple. How about we exchange greetings?”

“Greetings?”

“Yes.”

Ian frowned.

“But we saw each other this morning….”

“Greetings.”

I cut him off with a smile, and a wrinkle appeared on his perfectly smooth forehead.

You can shove that handsome face all you want, I’m not falling for it.

“Even people who live together exchange greetings every morning. You know, things like, ‘Did you sleep well?’ or ‘The weather’s nice today.’ There are plenty of things to say. Haven’t your servants ever greeted you?”

“You must have slept well if I saw you at breakfast this morning, and you must think the weather is nice since you set up the tea table outside.”

Watching Ian counter every word I said, I thought to myself,

‘If you weren’t a swordmaster, you’d be getting punched right now.’

How did a man who deserves a beating like this end up being the male lead?

I just couldn’t respect this author’s tastes, no matter how hard I tried.

Suppressing the urge to sigh, I clenched my fist in determination.

This was all for Diana’s sake. I had to bear it and be patient.

“Greetings are meant to build a sense of connection. You’ve never once exchanged greetings with me.”

“Because it’s unnecessary.”

“Should I just go back to reading every single scandal about me instead?”

Frustrated, I lashed out, and a crack finally appeared in his rigid expression.

“…Sigh.”

He pressed his fingers lightly against his temple as if he were tired.

He looked like he had no idea why he was putting up with this.

“I hope you slept well last night. The weather is nice.”

‘Why are you just repeating it verbatim like that?’

The lack of sincerity deflated my mood.

‘But no, this is still progress.’

Though it didn’t seem like much, the fact that he was playing along was a small victory.

In the original story, he hadn’t even said this much to Diana.

It seemed my not-so-subtle threat had worked quite well.

“Yes, I slept well… and yes, the weather is lovely. The flowers are beautiful, too.”

I looked around as I spoke.

This garden was the same rose garden I had visited on my first morning walk.

That day, I couldn’t walk long because of the wind, but in the daylight, the roses were blooming beautifully, filling me with a gentle warmth.

Now that I thought about it, Diana had also particularly loved the rose garden at the Grand Duke’s estate.

“Don’t you see these flowers every day?”

Unlike me, Ian’s expression was as dry as ever.

“….”

I knew he was emotionally distant, but seeing him so devoid of sensitivity was downright disheartening.

“Even flowers you see every day can feel new. Don’t you ever feel that way?”

“No.”

I clenched my teeth tightly.

“Still, isn’t there anything you can feel?”

Come on, say something.

My intense gaze made Ian pause for a moment.

“…The flowers.”

The flowers?

“They’re… colorful.”

At this point, I should have felt a deep sense of doubt.

Could I really reform this man within a year?

Maybe the only reason Ian even pretended to change in front of Diana was because of the overwhelming power of love.

I swallowed the curse words that were about to slip from my lips and forced a business-like smile.

“Your Grace, did you know? Women like men who can hold a good conversation.”

“So what?”

“I’m a woman too, you know?”

“…That’s quite an astonishing revelation.”

Ian replied with a completely unimpressed expression.

“…Ahem! What I’m trying to say is, women like men who can appreciate the beauty of flowers with them, not men who simply point out that they’re colorful.”

“…….”

“At the very least, you could say something like, ‘The garden is beautiful,’ or, ‘It’s an honor to enjoy tea together on such a sunny day,’ or even just, ‘This is pleasant.’ Surely, you can manage such empty pleasantries?”

“Are such empty words even necessary?”

Ian looked at me with an expression that said neither of us were particularly enjoying this meeting, and I had to restrain myself from punching him.

“I think it’s time to add a new rule to these lessons.”

“…….”

“No more unnecessary questions.”

Though Ian frowned at this, he didn’t argue.

Thank goodness. If he had said something here, I might’ve quit this whole lesson on the spot.

“Well then, let’s keep going. Let’s try saying something nice. After all, there isn’t a woman in the world who doesn’t like sweet words.”

I explained that this was an extension of the earlier greetings and cleared my throat.

“Watch carefully.”

I put on the sweetest expression I could manage and gazed at him warmly.

“No matter how beautiful the flowers may be, they can’t compare to the person sitting in front of me.”

Ian’s expression soured immediately.

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