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

Until now, women had been unable to participate in society at large.

In that context, someone had finally emerged to break that glass ceiling.

“That’s right.”

With that, Anriche nodded readily.

“This time, I’ve directly hired the drivers.”

“Really? Usually, don’t businesses outsource that to other companies?”

At that moment, one unsuspecting lady asked a naive question.

‘Oh no.’

Anriche bit her lip.

The incident with the butler had been handled internally in the duchy, kept under wraps to the outside world.

‘It was a matter of my mother’s honor.’

Anyway, it was to protect her because Delfina had handled things carelessly.

So while the lady didn’t ask with any ill intent,

“…”

Delfina couldn’t help but show signs of guilt on her face.

‘Thinking about how my negligence allowed the butler to commit various misdeeds in the duchy…’

In fact, because of that incident, it was almost inevitable that this business had to be run directly.

In that moment,

‘It’s okay.’

As if to say that, Anriche tightly held Delfina’s hand.

‘…Anriche.’

Delfina’s eyes widened, shimmering with emotion.

Simultaneously, Anriche continued speaking nonchalantly.

“I just wanted to try running a business myself this time.”

With that, Anriche smoothly diverted the uncomfortable topic away from Delfina.

“The system is already mostly in place.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Yes. Right now, we’re in the process of trial runs with the carriages.”

The noble ladies’ questions continued to pour in like a torrential rain.

Anriche answered each question without a hint of annoyance.

‘…She really has changed so much.’

Delfina looked at Anriche with a mixture of pride and gratitude.

***

Late in the afternoon.

Finally, the reading group came to an end.

“Please, travel safely.”

Countess Aubrey greeted the guests with an excited expression.

“Thank you so much for coming.”

“No, it was my pleasure to be invited.”

Anriche and Delfina exchanged farewells with the surrounding noble ladies as they exited the estate.

And then,

“Dear.”

Delfina suddenly called out to Anriche.

Anriche turned around with wide eyes.

“Yes?”

Before speaking, Delfina glanced around to confirm there was no one else nearby.

Only then did she open her lips, looking somewhat awkward.

“About what I said earlier…”

“Earlier?”

“Yes, about whether we would outsource to another company.”

Ahem, ahem.

Delfina cleared her throat a couple of times and shyly continued.

“Was that to cover for me?”

“Kind of, but… it wasn’t anything major. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“Sweetie, it’s not nothing.”

Delfina cast a sidelong glance at her daughter-in-law, continuing.

“I’m really grateful…”

“Liche.”

But at that moment, a calm voice called out to Anriche.

‘Huh? Whose voice is that?’

Startled, Anriche turned toward the source of the voice.

“Oh, Alexei?”

The noble ladies who were just about to leave also turned their surprised faces in this direction.

“Wow!”

“Isn’t that the Duke of Valois?”

The ladies’ eyes widened in disbelief.

No matter how one looked at it, it was indeed the Duke of Valois, known for his busy schedule.

“Is he here to escort the Duchess personally?”

“It seems that way, doesn’t it?”

“Oh my, how romantic.”

“I wish my husband would take a page from that book.”

Both ladies had been married for quite some time, yet here was this youthful charm.

The noblewomen found themselves basking in a sense of youthful sentimentality for the first time in ages.

They admired the picturesque couple, Anriche and Alexei, standing side by side.

“Seeing them together like this is truly a picture-perfect pair, isn’t it?”

“The Duke was known as the most handsome man in the empire during his youth.”

“Besides, the Duchess was quite famous in society as well, wasn’t she?”

In fact, Anriche had been among the top three beauties in society during her unmarried days.

However, her sharp and sensitive temperament was much more renowned than her innocent appearance.

“I heard countless noble young men sought her hand in marriage back when she was single.”

Considering her nature and notoriety, it was indeed an impressive feat…

Yet the ladies couldn’t bring themselves to voice those thoughts and exchanged awkward smiles instead.

In truth, there had been plenty of gossip surrounding Anriche’s marriage.

‘The Marchioness of Saxon is truly remarkable. That cunning way of securing her daughter the most prestigious match…’

‘After all that weighing and measuring, who would’ve thought she’d go directly to the Valois Duke to secure a proposal?’

…Such rumors had circulated.

Cough.

One lady cleared her throat and spoke up.

“Well, it seems like you two are getting along quite well, so that’s good, right?”

“That’s true.”

The other ladies nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Delfina was feeling flustered at the unexpected appearance of her son.

“Seriously, don’t you have any sense?”

Delfina suddenly snapped at Alexei.

“I was just about to thank our daughter-in-law, and you interrupted!”

“Well, I believe it was you who said, ‘If you’re really that upset, come and get her,’ right?”

“…”

Delfina opened her mouth in shock.

But that was just something she had said playfully to tease Alexei.

‘Wait, are you really here to take Anriche with you?’

However, Alexei was serious.

“Since you’ve monopolized Liche lately, I think it’s my turn to have her to myself now.”

“What? What did you just say?”

Delfina protested angrily.

“Anriche is my daughter-in-law!”

“Before that, she’s my wife.”

Alexei answered firmly, turning to Anriche.

Unlike the indifferent expression he wore when talking to Delfina, his face was adorned with a warm smile.

“You said you were going to stop by the carriage business today, right?”

Anriche blinked in surprise at his silky smooth voice.

“Ah, um, yes, that’s true…”

“I’ll take you there.”

“But what about Mother?”

“Well, as for my mother…”

Alexei glanced at Delfina with a sidelong look, shrugging lightly.

“She is an adult.”

“Excuse me?”

“She should be able to make her way back on her own to the duchy.”

Alexei asked playfully, raising the corners of his lips.

“Right, Mother?”

“You…!”

Delfina, astonished, raised her voice.

But,

‘No, I can’t let them see me and my son bickering over my daughter-in-law.’

That would definitely be quite a sight to behold.

Unlike her son, who would do anything to claim Anriche, Delfina had a normal way of thinking.

‘I have my image to maintain, after all.’

The cold and aloof Duchess.

Delfina defined herself that way.

It was a notion that would make others chuckle, but still, Delfina was serious about it.

“Ugh.”

Choosing to uphold her dignity as the Duchess, Delfina let out a sound of frustration.

Then, she narrowed her eyes and glared at her son.

“Do you know how petty you’re being today?”

“Well, have you forgotten whose son I am?”

Frustratingly, Alexei didn’t back down.

“It’s all because you taught me, after all.”

“You!”

As Delfina felt her patience wearing thin, Alexei extended his hand toward Anriche with a polite gesture.

“Shall we go?”

“But I can’t just leave Mother like this…”

What should I do?

Anriche was at a loss when suddenly,

“Go, go!”

Delfina, lowering her voice and brimming with irritation, turned around and stepped into the carriage.

At the same time, Alexei eagerly grabbed Anriche’s hand.

“Mother gave her permission, didn’t she?”

“Uh, well…”

“Let’s go.”

He looked anxious as if afraid someone might snatch away his precious treasure.

Anriche reluctantly nodded.

“Ah, okay…”

Thus, as Anriche boarded the carriage, she barely held back a sigh.

‘Alexei, somehow you seem to be getting more childish by the day…’

***

The reason Anriche decided to visit the carriage business today was that she had a prior appointment.

“You’re going to meet the drivers in person?”

“Yes, if I have to be specific, they are the ones doing the actual work, right?”

Anriche nodded at Alexei’s question.

“You usually have to pay attention to the opinions of the people doing the job to ensure the business runs smoothly.”

“Well, it sounds like you’ve experienced running a business before. Is that just my imagination?”

Alexei replied, half-joking and half-serious.

In that moment, Anriche felt a little startled.

‘Oops.’

Was it because of her previous life, where she had been pushed hard as a low-ranking employee?

The words slipped out before she realized it.

To cover up the awkwardness, Anriche intentionally flashed a bright smile.