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

***

The Balua family moved onto the dance floor.

Just then, a piece of music came to an end.

Those who had been dancing flowed out like the retreating tide.

“Riche.”

Watching the scene, Alexei politely extended his hand toward Anriche.

“Would you like to dance a song with me?”

As he spoke, Alexei felt a thrill inside.

How many obstacles had he had to overcome just to invite her to dance!

‘I never expected my mother and even the Emperor to interrupt me.’

Of course, the Emperor hadn’t deliberately tried to thwart him.

In that moment, Alexei cast a wary glance at his mother.

‘…I hope my mother won’t interfere again.’

Delphina was standing with her arms crossed, squinting at them.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have any intention of interrupting.

Just then, Anriche placed her hand over his.

“I’d be happy to.”

The moment her warmth enveloped his hand,

Alexei felt an indescribable happiness wash over him.

***

The Balua couple stood side by side on the dance floor.

With that, a new dance tune began to play.

They stepped in time with the music.

But Anriche’s mind was still lingering on the sight of the Second Prince from earlier.

‘No matter how I think about it… it seems like they’re ostracizing the Second Prince.’

Whether the Emperor was unaware or pretending not to notice,

it was clear that the Empress and the First Prince were making the Second Prince feel isolated.

Then, at that moment,

“Riche, what are you so deep in thought about?”

Called by Alexei, Anriche snapped back to reality.

“Oh, well…”

She narrowed her eyes and spoke softly.

“It seems like the relationship between His Highness the First Prince and His Highness the Second Prince isn’t that good.”

“…”

At this, Alexei looked down at Anriche with a sulky expression.

Huh?

Surprised, she blinked.

‘Alexei… he looks oddly dissatisfied?’

At the same time, he leaned slightly closer to her.

‘W-What’s going on?’

Alexei’s lips brushed against her ear.

It felt like every hair on her body stood on end.

In that moment, Anriche forgot to breathe.

He continued to whisper softly into her ear.

“I would like you to focus on me during this dance.”

“…Huh?”

“Not the imperial family.”

Anriche looked up at Alexei, her face flushed bright red.

“Y-You can’t just close the distance so suddenly!”

“Why can’t I?”

“Well, because…”

I’ll get flustered!

She couldn’t bring herself to say those words aloud and pressed her lips together.

Meanwhile, those watching the scene were utterly astonished.

“Oh my, did you see that?!”

“D-Did the Duke just…!”

Who was the Duke of Balua?

He was a man known for being stone-faced and indifferent to all the ladies.

Yet here he was, displaying such affection in an official setting!

One lady murmured in disbelief.

“It feels like it was a long time ago that they had the worst relationship…”

“Right?”

“Exactly…”

The people nodded in agreement.

Then, after a moment,

the conversation shifted.

“Let’s set aside the Duke for now; what about the Duchess?”

And someone who had been keenly listening to the discussion chimed in.

‘Are they talking about our Anriche?’

It was Delphina.

‘I can’t miss a single thing about my daughter-in-law!’

Delphina perked up her ears and glanced toward the people talking.

Meanwhile, they had become increasingly enthusiastic about discussing Anriche.

“Surely, she seems to have changed a lot compared to before?”

‘Of course she has.’

Delphina’s lips began to twitch with a smile at the praise for Anriche.

“That’s true. She’s been appearing in public more often, and her demeanor is so gentle…”

‘That’s right. My child is so kind!’

Delphina wore a satisfied smile on her lips.

“Above all, she’s easy to approach.”

“Oh, I agree.”

“I had no idea the Duchess was such a cheerful person.”

Oh, I can’t hold back any longer!

Unable to resist the urge, Delphina finally interjected into the conversation.

“Did you all feel the same?”

“D-Duchess?”

Startled, the ladies turned their wide eyes toward Delphina.

“It seems everyone is very interested in our Anriche, so let me explain a bit.”

With that, Delphina began, puffing up her shoulders as if she had just received compliments.

“Let me tell you how kind and intelligent our Anriche is.”

“Ah, yes…”

The ladies nodded awkwardly in agreement.

Up until that point, the atmosphere was relatively cheerful.

However, not everyone looked favorably upon Anriche.

“But the Duchess has quite a notorious reputation, doesn’t she?”

“I think so too.”

“Well, people don’t change easily.”

A group of ladies gathered a little distance from Delphina, making every effort to undermine Anriche.

Behind their fans and through furtive glances, a sinister malice lurked.

“Hmph, even if she changes her attitude, how can she change her innate character?”

At the center of these women stood the Duchess of Sachsen.

She shot a sharp glance at her daughter.

Currently, the Duchess of Sachsen was in a very foul mood.

Back when Anriche was burdened with the label of a villainess,

she had gradually become more isolated in society due to that reputation.

It was easy for the Duchess of Sachsen to manipulate her daughter, who was despised by everyone.

However, that was no longer the case.

Now, there were far more people who had discovered Anriche’s positive traits than those who looked down on her.

As evidence,

“I think the Duchess really cherishes the Duchess.”

“It’s almost like they’re mother and daughter.”

Such comments could be heard all around the ballroom.

At that moment, Anriche, dancing with Alexei, looked at her husband and smiled brightly.

The instant the Duchess of Sachsen witnessed that smile,

she felt a twist of discomfort in her stomach.

‘Who raised that child all this time!’

Unable to control her emotions, the Duchess clenched her fist tightly.

‘How dare she act so high and mighty just because she’s the Duchess of Balua, ungrateful little…!’

Her daughter, who had longed for her mother’s love all her life,

was no longer the same; she wouldn’t tolerate her mother’s interference like before.

‘No matter how much of the mistress of Balua she is, she’s still my daughter! She should naturally listen to me!!’

The fact that she could no longer exert any influence over Anriche drove the Duchess of Sachsen mad.

“Duchess of Sachsen, please don’t worry too much.”

Just then, a lady spoke softly to her.

“Surely, the Duchess will understand your feelings one day.”

At that, another lady quickly chimed in.

The two ladies exchanged knowing glances.

‘Now’s the time to win the favor of the Duchess of Sachsen.’

That was their intention.

Recently, rumors circulated in high society that the Duchess of Sachsen had a close relationship with the Empress.

“Even so, isn’t the Duchess of Sachsen the mother of the Duchess?”

“Of course. How could a daughter go against her mother’s wishes?”

While they were soothing the Duchess of Sachsen,

“By the way, I heard that the Duchess successfully launched a multi-passenger carriage business this time?”

Once again, a voice surfaced to highlight Anriche’s achievements.

Delphina was in the group of ladies when the remark was made.

“Oh, I heard that too.”

“I heard that even His Majesty showed interest!”

“Isn’t that impressive?”

Along with those comments, several ladies’ gazes shifted to a corner of the ballroom.

The Duke of Sachsen was drinking with a few male nobles.

Having already had quite a bit to drink, his face was flushed.

“I bought a carriage this time, you know…!”

“Haha!”

The nobles burst into loud laughter.

People shot glances at the boisterous laughter.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen my son smile so brightly.’

The Duchess of Sachsen wore a satisfied smile.

However, that smile didn’t last long.

“In comparison, how is your younger brother, the Duke of Sachsen?”

The topic, which the ladies spoke about in lowered voices, was not very pleasant.

“Has he achieved anything recently?”

“Well, the last I heard, he sold the Norton villa…”

“Oh my, wasn’t that villa a historic building for the family?”

Though they suppressed their voices, the Duchess of Sachsen was not so oblivious as to miss the sneers embedded in their words.

“It seems the situation for the House of Sachsen is quite difficult.”

“If I were in his position, I couldn’t be laughing so loudly.”

With those words, the ladies opened their fans wide to cover their mouths.

It was to hide the smirks spreading across their faces.

‘Those fools! They know nothing!’

The Duchess of Sachsen shot a fierce glare at the ladies.

‘Our family has a special trust from the Empress!’

The Duchess gritted her teeth.

‘How much favor has the Empress shown us…!’

However, she couldn’t speak out about the trust the Empress had in Sachsen.

That was because the Empress had insisted,

‘This matter must remain a secret.’

The Empress’s clear, smiling face flashed before her eyes.

‘Please help me and the First Prince from now on, understood?’

In any case, she couldn’t bear to watch her precious son being ridiculed.

The Duchess of Sachsen took a bold step forward.

“Honestly, I’m rather embarrassed by my daughter’s actions.”