When I Quit Being A Wicked Mother-in-law, Everyone Became Obsessed With Me

“Ah, Mom.”

Elliot glanced up.

What the children were staring at with wide eyes was a thick sock made of fabric.

“Grandma said that on Saint Philip’s Day, Saint Philip becomes an angel and gives out gifts.”

“They said you have to hang the socks by your bedside while you sleep to receive the gifts.”

Lilian quickly chimed in.

Then, Anriche looked down at the children with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“As far as I know, Saint Philip only gives gifts to well-behaved children, right?”

“…Then we won’t get any gifts?”

Lilian’s expression turned serious in an instant.

Anriche chuckled lightly and reached out to pat the child’s head.

“Well, in that case, how about doing one more good deed even now?”

“A good deed? What kind of deed?”

“Hmm, we could visit the less fortunate people in the Balua territory.”

Of course, the Balua Duchy was known for its well-established welfare system within the empire.

‘But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any less fortunate people within the duchy.’

Most importantly, the two children were the ones who would eventually govern the Balua Duchy.

They shouldn’t only know about the pretty and bright side of the duchy.

They needed to understand that there are people who are struggling.

“And besides, we’ve only been in the castle so far; we haven’t even been out in the duchy once, have we?”

Anriche added with a light shrug.

“We could also buy socks to hang on your beds. How does that sound?”

“Yes!”

“Sounds good!”

Lilian and Elliot exclaimed in unison.

Just then, a light voice interrupted their conversation.

“That’s a great idea.”

“Duke?”

Anriche’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was Alexei.

“Actually, I was thinking of inspecting the territory as well.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. In that case, visiting the vulnerable groups in the territory with the children would be nice.”

Anriche’s eyes flicked to Alexei as she wondered, ‘Hmm, does that mean the Duke will be going too?’

She had planned to go out lightly with the children, but somehow it seemed like the group was getting a bit larger.

But that wasn’t all.

“Children.”

Someone approached them with a tilted voice.

‘Huh?’

The four turned their heads toward the voice.

Standing confidently while receiving everyone’s gaze was none other than Delphina.

“What about me?”

“…Huh?”

Anriche blinked in confusion.

Delphina looked at her with narrowed eyes, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Aren’t I going too?”

“Ah, well…”

Anriche fumbled for words.

Then Delphina’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Wait, were you planning to go without me?”

“N-No, that’s not it…”

Anriche stammered in response.

Of course, she hadn’t intended to leave Delphina behind.

‘…Oh no, I completely forgot about my mother.’

The truth was that she hadn’t considered Delphina at all.

‘If we had gone out just the three of us, she probably would have been sulking for half a day…’

Anriche felt a cold sweat break out inside.

Thus, the Balua family decided to inspect the territory the day before the feast.

***

The first place the Balua family visited was a welfare facility for elderly people with nowhere to go.

“Wow.”

Visiting the welfare facility, Anriche was a bit surprised.

“I heard that Balua is one of the rare territories that pays attention to the welfare of its people…”

It seemed that those words were indeed true.

“To operate such a facility in the long term must require a significant budget. That’s really impressive.”

Anriche expressed her admiration.

Then Delphina immediately jumped into the conversation.

“This facility was first proposed by Alexei when he was just fifteen years old.”

“Really?”

“Indeed! Check all the nearby territories. Is there anywhere else like this?”

Delphina puffed up her chest as if it were an accomplishment she had achieved herself.

But Anriche understood why Delphina was proud.

‘After all, among the lords, there are hardly any who consider such facilities.’

Some lords treated their subjects as possessions.

They took it for granted that the people paid taxes and worked, yet felt no sense of responsibility toward them.

‘Of course, not all lords are like that.’

But it was undeniable that such tendencies existed.

Moreover, the stronger such tendencies became, the more it was among the noble families that had been vying for privileges for generations.

‘…Yet, despite that…’

Alexei showed no signs of selfishness at all.

‘Is this what the legendary unicorn is like…?’

Just then, while Anriche was lost in thought, Alexei made an awkward expression and tried to deter his mother.

“What are you talking about?”

“Why do you say that, dear?”

But Delphina merely smiled mischievously.

“Aren’t you supposed to be grateful to me?”

“…Huh?”

“You want to make a good impression on Anriche, don’t you? Don’t you?”

“Mother!”

Alexei raised his voice for once.

Delphina pretended to cover her ears with both hands and shot a playful glare at her son.

“Oh, it’s so noisy.”

However, Alexei could no longer afford to pay attention to Delphina because Anriche was looking at him with a surprised expression.

‘The Duke wants to make a good impression on me?’

Really? Why?

A multitude of question marks filled her mind.

Alexei, meanwhile, was looking at Anriche with a face that had turned bright red.

“W-well, what my mother said, um…”

He had reflexively been about to say, “Please don’t mind her,” but suddenly sealed his lips shut.

This was because Delphina was glaring at him with narrowed eyes, her lips moving as if she was urging him on.

‘If you back down here, you’re not a man!’

Even more so, she was shaking her fist in a way that Anriche couldn’t see.

“…”

Alexei fell into a moment of silence.

‘My mother has a point.’

If he continued to retreat like this, he would achieve nothing at all.

His wife would never realize his feelings for her.

And he would keep burning inside with his unexpressed feelings.

‘…I don’t want that either.’

Thus, Alexei decided that this time, he would be a little more honest.

“I do want to make a good impression.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said that I want to make a good impression on you, my lady.”

At that moment, silence fell.

“…”

“…”

Then, Delphina sighed deeply to herself.

‘Oh dear.’

After all, Alexei was in such a tense state that he might faint at the slightest provocation.

‘How could Anriche ever know how he feels like this?’

Well, he was her son after all.

Eventually, Delphina stepped in to help her stiffened son a bit.

“It’s only natural for a husband to want to make a good impression on his wife. Why say it so seriously?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Do you know how well your father treated me? Your father was the most romantic man in the world. He…”

As Delphina rambled on about the late Duke’s virtues,

Anriche beamed at Alexei.

“I’m really glad to hear you say that, Duke.”

“…”

Alexei gazed at Anriche as if blinded by her smile.

‘…Just her smiling like that is enough.’

He thought the slight embarrassment was worth enduring.

Somehow, he felt that way.

***

Once the Balua family stepped into the welfare facility, they split up for their respective tasks.

“I need to meet with the director for a moment.”

Alexei left to meet with the director of the facility.

“My hands feel a bit sticky. I’ll go wash them.”

Delphina said that and headed briskly toward the restroom.

Thus, only Anriche and the two children went to meet the elderly people first.

“Oh, we are honored to meet the Duchess of Balua.”

“Have the young Duke and his fiancée come as well?”

The elderly people who were seated hurriedly stood up.

Anriche quickly waved her hands.

“Please, it’s fine. You can all sit.”

As she did so, she thought to herself,

‘Hmm, it feels a bit awkward to speak informally to elderly people who are so much older than me.’

…This was exactly what she felt.

Having memories from her past life made such situations a little uncomfortable.

But.

“W-well, I’m truly honored…”

“How could we dare…”

The elderly people exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what to do.

In the end, Anriche had to maintain a dignified expression as the Duchess, regardless of her inner thoughts.

“Will you all not follow my command?”

She felt that if she didn’t assert herself in this way, the flustered elderly people would hardly listen to her.

“What are you waiting for? Sit down.”

Only after she urged them again did the elderly people slowly take their seats.

“Is there anything difficult or uncomfortable for you?”

“Not at all.”

The elderly people shook their heads firmly.