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

“What do you mean ‘what did I do’? It was Balua that treated me, the prince, with all kinds of insults!”

“Didn’t I tell you countless times that we must maintain a good relationship with Balua?”

The sharp shout rang out loudly.

“Balua can become a kingmaker just by existing!”

The Empress glared at her son, breathing heavily.

“Do you not understand why our family has been trying to win over Balua for generations, even keeping them as ‘friends’?”

“W-well, that’s…!”

“Given their status, you should be doing everything you can to gain their favor!”

The Empress shouted again.

“Are you seriously trying to undermine their carriage business, of all things? Are you out of your mind?”

Renald felt his heart drop.

It was only now that he began to realize the gravity of what he had done.

“What if Balua ends up supporting Frederick?”

The Empress shuddered, shaking her head.

“No, that can’t happen. It absolutely cannot!”

She then fixed her piercing gaze on Renald.

“Are you planning to keep living under Frederick’s shadow?”

“Of course not!”

Renald unconsciously raised his voice in protest.

The Empress reached out her hand toward him.

“Renald.”

“…”

Her dry fingers slowly caressed Renald’s swollen cheek.

“You are meant to be the next emperor.”

“…Mother.”

“Don’t forget that.”

Her firm voice echoed in the room.

The Empress grasped both of Renald’s cheeks tightly and pulled him closer.

“For you to become emperor, Balua cannot be your enemy.”

Her sharp, shining eyes stared directly at her son.

“If you keep behaving recklessly like this and let Frederick take the throne from you…”

“That will never happen.”

Flames sparked in Renald’s eyes.

After confirming his determination, the Empress slowly nodded.

“Good. That’s how it should be.”

The strength drained from her hands, and she slid her fingers away from his cheeks.

And then she whispered in a low voice,

“Rather than see that lowly creature with the blood of a maid trample you to become emperor…”

“I would rather bite my tongue and die. Do you understand?”

“…Yes, Mother.”

“Good.”

The Empress nodded and took a step back.

“For the New Year’s ball, the duke’s family will be coming to the palace.”

“I understand. I will do my best to be attentive.”

“Then you may leave.”

The Empress waved her hand to dismiss him.

Bowing his head slightly, Renald exited the room.

Click.

The door closed behind him.

“…I’m nothing like that Frederick.”

A suppressed voice escaped from his twisted lips.

“I can’t even be compared to that lowly creature.”

To suppress the rising emotions, Renald clenched his fist tightly.

“I am the only legitimate heir of this empire.”

He knew well that the only advantage he had over Frederick was his royal blood.

“I am the prince who will become the future emperor.”

Renald whispered desperately to himself.

***

Meanwhile, after Renald had left.

The Duke’s Territory Regains Its Original Peace

No, that’s what I thought.

“……”

Anriche stared intently at the documents in her hands, as if hoping that by glaring at them long enough, the contents would change.

Knock, knock.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Snapping back to her senses, Anriche lifted her head.

“Yes, come in.”

The person who entered was none other than Alexei.

“Riche, I need to talk to you about the multi-passenger carriage business…”

However, Alexei couldn’t finish his sentence.

Anriche was looking at him with a rigid expression.

“……Why do you look like that?”

“I have something to say.”

Anriche took a deep breath.

“I have something to say about the multi-passenger carriage business.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Could you come over here for a moment?”

Alexei nodded and approached her.

The first thing that caught his eye was the three gold coins placed on the desk.

They sparkled brightly in the sunlight, almost as if taunting those who looked at them.

“What is this…?”

“It’s counterfeit money.”

Anriche opened her mouth to explain.

In an instant, shock spread across Alexei’s face.

“Some of the money collected as carriage fare has been paid in counterfeit coins.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. I heard that the gold content in the coins is low.”

Anriche quickly added details as she handed him a document.

“You can refer to this document for more information.”

“Thank you.”

Alexei began to scan through the document thoroughly.

A moment later, he clenched his jaw and set the document down on the desk.

“We need to investigate this, but… if counterfeit money is circulating in the Empire, it could be a serious problem.”

Anriche silently nodded.

A sense of foreboding crawled up her spine.

***

11. The Unveiling Truth

In recent days, the Balua couple had been deep in thought.

“What do you plan to do about the counterfeit money issue?”

“Well, for now, we are conducting our own investigation.”

Starting off with a sigh, Alexei continued speaking.

“So far, it’s clear that some of the counterfeit gold coins were paid by one of the First Prince’s attendants.”

“……Really?”

“Yes. There are very few people who pay with gold coins for carriage fare, so the coachman remembers it clearly.”

At this, Anriche nodded heavily.

Here’s what had happened:

Although the First Prince left the day after visiting the Duke’s territory, some of his attendants remained behind.

They were there to clean up after the incident caused by the First Prince.

“Is it alright if we look into the multi-passenger carriage business separately?”

At the cautious inquiry, Anriche was taken aback and responded with a confused expression.

“But the First Prince has already left the Duke’s territory, hasn’t he?”

“Well, we need to write a report for Her Majesty…”

The attendants couldn’t hide their awkward expressions.

Seeing that, Anriche quickly realized the predicament they were in.

“Now that I think about it, Her Majesty personally sent a letter for the First Prince to come down.”

So, it could be said that the actual reason the First Prince visited was more due to the Empress’s will rather than his own.

If she didn’t allow them to write the report, they would likely face punishment from the Empress.

“Alright.”

Having nothing to hide, she had allowed them.

“……The attendants probably didn’t know it was counterfeit money and just used it, right?”

“Most likely.”

Alexei added with a reluctant voice as he nodded.

“Even if he has a bad temperament, shouldn’t there be at least a minimal sense of responsibility as a royal?”

Yet, he felt a deep sense of dissonance.

After all, the word “responsibility” was one that fit the First Prince the least.

“Moreover, if the counterfeit money is discovered, the First Prince will be suspected immediately.”

“……That is true.”

But neither of them looked genuinely convinced.

‘Could it be that the First Prince really didn’t know?’

Anriche couldn’t shake off that suspicion.

At that moment—

“Mom!”

“Mother!”

Elliot and Liliana came running towards them.

Anriche reflexively stood up from her seat.

“I told you not to run! You’ll fall.”

“Mom, Mom!”

At the same time, Elliot clung to Anriche’s knee and spoke up.

“Grandma said that we’re going back to the palace again!”

“Eh?”

Suddenly?

Anriche’s eyes widened in surprise.

Along with that, Delphina walked over gracefully.

“Kids, look at this.”

Delphina held up an invitation stamped with the royal seal.

“The palace sent us an invitation for the New Year’s ball.”

“Ah….”

Anriche and Alexei couldn’t hide their ambiguous expressions.

It was understandable since they had just been discussing the First Prince’s dubious actions.

But—

‘Regardless, the New Year’s ball is a historic event held annually by the royal family.’

It was a gathering for the royal family and nobles to come together and strengthen their ties.

And the Balua Duchy was the head of the nobility.

They naturally had to participate.

Then Delphina, with a puzzled expression, asked,

“By the way… why do you both look so gloomy? Did you two have a fight?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

Anriche quickly shook her head.

At that, Delphina narrowed her eyes and glared at Alexei.

“You, don’t make Anriche worry, okay?”