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

“No, mother…”

Alexei looked at his mother with eyes full of embarrassment.

But Delfina stood her ground confidently.

‘What, why, what?’

With that expression, she stood tall, proving that she had no shame in her actions whatsoever.

“Oh, of course I’m thankful!”

Anriche quickly responded.

At that, Delfina crossed her arms and turned her head away sharply.

“Make sure to say that with some sincerity.”

“It’s true!”

“Hmph.”

Delfina simply snorted instead of replying.

However, she didn’t seem upset at all.

In fact, she looked quite pleased.

“Grandma, you look really happy right now,”

Elliot even remarked.

Delfina’s expression turned serious.

“Happy? What do you mean?”

“But you’ve been smiling the whole time since earlier.”

“When did I ever do that?”

Delfina shuddered and quickly went outside.

After staring blankly at her retreating figure for a while, Elliot turned to his father with a confused look.

“Dad, why is Grandma acting like that?”

“…I’m not sure.”

Oh, mother, please have some dignity…

Alexei let out a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart.

***

After that, the Balua family stopped by a sock store for a brief moment.

In celebration of St. Philip’s feast day, the sock store was buzzing with customers eager to take advantage of the occasion.

Little customers flocked in to buy socks to hang by their beds.

“Hey, that’s the one I wanted to buy!”

“That’s not true! The first one to grab it gets it!”

After a fierce battle with the other children, Lilyana and Elliot each managed to get a pair of socks in their hands.

“I’ve never hung socks for St. Philip’s feast day before…”

Hugging the brightly colored socks that had no practical use at all, Lilyana blushed.

“Do you really think St. Philip will give me a gift?”

“Of course!”

Anriche nodded enthusiastically and turned to Alexei.

“Now that we’ve finished our errands, we should head back to the duchy.”

“Finished your errands?”

But just then,

Delfina widened her eyes in surprise, looking back and forth between Anriche and Alexei.

“Today is St. Philip’s feast day eve, you know.”

“Uh? Yes, that’s true, but…”

“Do you two, being a couple, not have a romantic bone in your body?”

Tsk-tsking, Delfina declared,

“I’ll take the kids back first, so you two can go on a date or something.”

“What?!”

“Huh?!”

Anriche and Alexei both looked at Delfina in shock.

But Delfina merely shrugged her shoulders defiantly.

“Alexei, don’t give that surprised look now.”

“No…”

“Admit it, you like it.”

“…”

With her words hitting the mark, Alexei pressed his lips tightly together.

Then Delfina added one more thing.

“Isn’t that right, Alexei?”

A mischievous smile appeared on her lips.

“Your ears are all red.”

In an instant, Alexei’s face turned as red as a ripe tomato.

“Mother, what are you…!”

“Admit it, you’re thrilled, aren’t you?”

With her playful teasing, Delfina completely shifted her attention away from her son.

Then she looked back at the children.

“What do you think, kids? Am I wrong?”

“No!”

“Grandma is right!”

Lilyana and Elliot chimed in together.

Then, with a serious expression, Lilyana added,

“Originally, couples need to have some time together.”

…That was an incredibly mature statement.

Anriche opened her mouth in shock.

“Lily, where did you hear that?”

“From Mr. Mueller.”

“Oh, I see…”

At that, Elliot chimed in.

“Oh, right! Adults need a break sometimes.”

“Who told you that?”

“The butler.”

“…I see.”

Anriche recalled the butler they had left behind in the townhouse.

Now that she thought about it, when they were leaving for the duchy,

the butler had muttered, “Finally, I can rest…”

‘…The butler has had a lot of trouble, too.’

Anriche’s expression turned nostalgic.

Meanwhile, Delfina looked triumphantly at the couple.

‘See? Even the kids agree with me!’

That was the implication in her gaze.

“Anyway, you two should spend some time alone together. Got it?”

Up until that point, Anriche thought Delfina was joking.

But about 20 minutes later…

‘…She really just left us here alone, didn’t she?’

Anriche couldn’t hide her bewildered expression as she watched the carriage disappear into the distance.

Alexei, standing beside her, also looked confused.

“W-What is this…?”

It all began like this.

Delfina had cheerfully dropped the two of them off from the carriage.

“Have fun on your date, okay?”

Moreover, Lilyana and Elliot had added to Delfina’s words, waving their little hands.

“Have a good time!”

“You need to buy us a present when you come back!”

Thus, by sheer chance, the two of them were left alone in this situation.

Anriche cast a sidelong glance at Alexei.

‘…Did she really mean for me and the duke to go on a date?’

Oh no.

Of course, she didn’t dislike the idea.

To be more honest, she wanted to welcome it with open arms!

‘That’s just my thought, but the duke might feel uncomfortable with it…’

As Anriche was cautiously gauging the atmosphere,

Alexei turned to his wife as if he had made a great decision.

“Madam.”

“Y-Yes?!”

Feeling slightly tense, a high-pitched voice escaped her.

Anriche’s cheeks flushed.

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s not that. More importantly…”

Clearing his throat several times, Alexei politely extended his hand.

“Since we’re in this situation, would you spend this evening with me?”

“…?”

Anriche stared blankly at the hand offered to her.

‘Wait, is this really a date proposal?’

Are we really going on a date, just me and the duke?

Her heart was racing uncontrollably.

However, Alexei seemed to interpret her silence in a somewhat different way.

“If you’re uncomfortable…”

“No!”

Anriche hurriedly grabbed the retreating hand.

Then she smiled brightly.

“I’m just so happy about it.”

“…Really?”

“Of course!”

As she nodded vigorously, Alexei turned away as if to appear nonchalant.

“Well then, let’s go.”

But Anriche noticed.

Alexei’s nape had turned a shade of red.

***

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Inside the carriage.

As they watched their parents’ figures fade away, Elliot spoke in a sulky voice.

“…Do you think Mom and Dad will be back late?”

Lilyana drooped her shoulders and added,

“I wanted to spend more time with Mom too…”

Sigh.

The two children sighed in unison.

But that was just for a moment.

“No, Mr. Mueller said that Mom sometimes needs a break from parenting too.”

Lilyana said, clenching her small fists.

Delfina looked down at Lilyana with a somewhat astonished expression.

‘What is a seven-year-old girl talking about right now?’

It seemed she would have to call Mr. Mueller in for a chat.

They would need to have a serious conversation about the child’s excessive maturity.

Resolving to do just that in her mind, Delfina spoke in a gentle tone.

“But still, kids…”

At her call, the two children looked up at Delfina with sullen faces.

“Wouldn’t it be better if your parents came back a bit late?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, that way…”

Delfina trailed off for a moment before grinning mischievously.

“Maybe you could see Elliot’s little sibling?”

“A-sibling?!”

“Wow!”

At Delfina’s bombshell declaration, the children’s gloomy faces vanished without a trace.

‘Well then, maybe I’ll get to see my second grandchild soon?’

As she watched the kids’ eyes sparkle like stars, Delfina wore a wicked smile.

***

While Delfina was concocting her sinister plan,

the Balua couple was enjoying the lively streets on the eve of the festival.

“I really don’t understand how Mother can be so reckless.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it?”

Anriche replied with a bright smile, looking back at Alexei.

“This is my first time walking around the Balua duchy myself.”

Since the children and Delfina had taken the carriage, the couple had to walk around the city themselves.

‘What if my wife felt uncomfortable?’

He was truly relieved to see that she looked unexpectedly happy.

Alexei felt a deep sigh of relief inside.

The two had a busy schedule ahead of them.

They bought gifts for the children and Delfina, enjoyed snacks, and explored various sights…

“Wow, I can’t believe how much time has passed already.”

Before they knew it, dusk was settling in.

Sitting on a bench set up in the square, Anriche tapped her tired legs and let out a long sigh.

Alexei looked down at her with concern.

“Are your legs hurting a lot?”