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

Does she really understand the most efficient way to handle a situation like this?

Anriche was shocked.

Liliana hadn’t even learned the basics of swordsmanship.

“If it were me, I think I’d try to conserve my energy first and wait for an opening later…”

Liliana was calmly explaining her thoughts, but suddenly, she hesitated and looked anxiously at Anriche.

“Did… did I sound like I was pretending to know too much?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Anriche quickly shook her head.

“How did you even notice those things you just pointed out?”

“What? I just saw it, so I said it…”

Liliana still looked bewildered.

Anriche had a curious expression.

Could it be…

‘Does Liliana have a talent for swordsmanship?’

Thud!!

At that moment, Elliot dropped his wooden sword, signaling the end of the sparring match.

He gave a polite bow to the knight and walked briskly toward them.

The boy’s forehead was glistening with sweat.

“Mom, Liliana!”

“Good job, Elliot.”

Liliana smiled brightly, and Anriche handed him a towel.

“Here, wipe off your sweat.”

“Oh, thank you.”

As he wiped his sweat off haphazardly with the towel, Elliot glanced at the drawing Liliana had been working on.

Then, with a puzzled look, he asked her a question.

“Liliana, is that a pumpkin flower you’re drawing?”

“No! It’s supposed to be a lily!”

Liliana huffed in frustration.

Elliot tilted his head in confusion.

“But no matter how I look at it, it really seems like a pumpkin flower…”

“If you’re going to say that, why don’t you draw one yourself?”

“Sure, why not.”

Unexpectedly, Elliot responded nonchalantly.

Liliana’s eyes widened in surprise.

But Elliot was serious; he took the sketchbook from Liliana and sat down, starting to move the pencil over the paper.

“W-wait, what…?”

At first, Liliana had been pouting, but soon enough, she became entranced by Elliot’s drawing.

“You’re… really good at this.”

Anriche’s eyes also grew wide in surprise.

Indeed, Elliot was exceptionally skilled at drawing.

The lily he drew was so vivid that you could almost feel the softness of the petals if you touched it.

Elliot proudly raised his chin.

“This is just basic stuff.”

“No way! How is that basic?”

Liliana’s face showed her frustration.

Anriche silently agreed with her.

At that moment, Liliana looked at Elliot with a curious expression.

“Elliot, I have a favor to ask…”

“What is it?”

“Well, um…”

After hesitating for a while, Liliana finally spoke carefully.

“…Can I try holding the wooden sword just once?”

Anriche felt a bit conflicted.

She understood why Liliana was being so cautious.

Although the laws of the empire allowed both men and women to pursue any profession, the reality was different.

‘In the past, a woman receiving a knighthood would be such a rare occurrence that it made the newspapers.’

That female knight had been regarded as an oddity by the noblewomen, who said things like, “A woman becoming a knight? How peculiar.”

So Liliana must have been worried that Elliot would find her strange.

“Sure, why not? It’s not a big deal.”

Fortunately, Elliot didn’t seem to mind at all and nodded easily.

The two children walked together down to the training ground.

Liliana held the wooden sword with both hands, just as Elliot handed it to her.

‘Oh… Liliana actually looks pretty good with that.’

Liliana planted her feet firmly on the ground and pointed the wooden sword straight ahead.

Her stance was perfectly steady.

“Wow, Liliana. Have you ever learned swordsmanship before?”

Surprised, Elliot asked her.

Anriche subtly threw a question at Liliana.

“Liliana, do you want to learn swordsmanship?”

Startled, Liliana quickly shook her head.

“No, I’m a girl! How could I possibly learn swordsmanship?”

“Huh? What’s wrong with a girl learning swordsmanship?”

“…What?”

Liliana widened her eyes in surprise at Anriche’s unexpected response.

“If you want to learn, you can.”

“But…”

“If you really want to, I’ll speak to the Duke about it myself.”

At that, Liliana’s light green eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Really?”

“Of course, really.”

Anriche answered calmly.

Liliana’s cheeks flushed pink as she nodded eagerly.

“Then, I’d like to ask you, please.”

“Alright.”

Anriche looked down at Liliana with an intrigued gaze.

For such a shy child to say, “Please teach me,” it seemed she really did want to learn swordsmanship.

Meanwhile, Elliot scrunched his face in dismay, slumping his shoulders.

“Why would you want to learn something so exhausting and sweaty?”

***

That evening…

Anriche went to find Alexei.

“Um, Duke?”

“What can I do for you, Lady?”

Alexei turned to look at her, his eyes only radiating warmth.

Now, Alexei no longer regarded her with suspicion.

For some reason, this realization made Anriche’s heart swell a little.

“I wanted to discuss Liliana’s education with you, Your Grace.”

“Is that so?”

Alexei looked slightly surprised.

After all, Elliot was a boy, so there was a good chance Alexei would be directly involved in his education.

Especially when it came to swordsmanship, Alexei had personally taught Elliot before.

But Liliana was a girl.

Generally, it was expected that a lady of the house would teach a girl.

‘Above all… it seemed like you didn’t need to consult me; I thought you were handling it well on your own?’

As Alexei looked puzzled, Anriche cautiously added, “Well, Liliana wants to learn swordsmanship.”

“…Swordsmanship?”

Alexei’s eyes widened.

What if he thought this was just a frivolous request?

Anriche gazed at him with a flutter of anxiety.

In the empire, it wasn’t common to teach swordsmanship to girls.

“Yes. Honestly, there’s no rule saying girls shouldn’t learn swordsmanship, right? So…”

“If Liliana is showing interest, then that’s good.”

“Uh, I just thought it would be better than being too trapped in prejudices… right?”

As Anriche was trying to persuade Alexei with various arguments, she suddenly blinked.

Did he just say, “good”?

Alexei was looking at her with a composed expression.

“I said that if Liliana is interested in swordsmanship, then she should be allowed to learn it.”

“Are you really okay with this?”

“Of course. There’s no reason a girl shouldn’t learn swordsmanship.”

Alexei shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“There was a time when a female knight was commissioned in Balua, wasn’t there?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right!”

Anriche had to put in tremendous effort to hide her surprise.

‘How little did the original Anriche care about Balua?’

To think that the female knight who was considered “peculiar” in high society was actually a knight of Balua!

“In fact, when I appointed that knight, there was considerable opposition from those around me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But now, she is one of the most skilled knights in Balua.”

Oh, so that’s the backstory?

Anriche’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Then where is she now?”

“She’s down in the Balua duchy, holding the position of vice commander of the knight squad.”

Alexei smiled slightly.

“If I had dismissed her just because she was a woman, I would have regretted it for a long time.”

“Aha, I see…”

“Liliana might be similar to that knight.”

Finishing his sentence, Alexei picked up a desk calendar.

After checking his packed schedule, he asked Anriche, “By any chance, how does the afternoon of the day after tomorrow look for Liliana?”

“I don’t think she has any special plans.”

“Then I’ll meet with her that day.”

Alexei added casually, “I need to assess the child’s basic capabilities.”

Anriche had prepared herself to persuade him for days, but it was surprisingly easy to get his permission.

She couldn’t hide her bewildered expression.

***

The day arrived when Alexei was supposed to meet Liliana.

Liliana woke up early in the morning and headed to the training ground.

Alexei, who had already arrived, greeted her lightly.

“Good morning.”

“Hello, Duke! Good morning!”

Liliana bowed deeply, her face tense with excitement.

Elliot, standing next to Anriche, whispered to her, “Mom, is Liliana really going to learn swordsmanship?”

“Um, probably?”

Anriche shrugged lightly.

“Hey, Elliot.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t Liliana just adorable today?”

Anriche couldn’t hide her fond smile.

Liliana had her beautiful golden hair tied high and was wearing a training outfit made for children!

Isn’t she just so lovely?!

“I think our Liliana looks cute in anything she wears.”