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

Peter grunted as he pushed Liliana’s wooden sword away.

“Ugh—get away!”

Clang!

Once again, the wooden swords clashed.

Outmatched in size and strength, Liliana was pushed back.

No, it looked as if she was being pushed back.

Thud!

Using Peter’s strength to create distance, Liliana suddenly lunged at him like a flash.

She aimed for Peter’s chest.

Having just pushed Liliana’s wooden sword away, Peter’s chest was wide open.

“Ugh!”

Liliana dove in, thrusting her wooden sword right at Peter’s neck.

“What, what?!”

Peter’s eyes widened.

He felt goosebumps all over his body.

She was just a small girl.

If he grabbed her neck, it seemed like she would crumble and breathe her last.

But…

‘…There’s a killing intent.’

Liliana’s ferocity was such that it seemed she could slice Peter’s neck at any moment.

Thud!

The wooden sword fell from Peter’s hand.

Only then did Liliana slightly ease her intensity.

“…Phew.”

Liliana let out a long sigh and took a couple of steps back.

Then, she bowed her head toward Peter.

“Thank you for your hard work. I learned a lot.”

Her tiny face was calm.

Though her breathing was slightly labored from the intense movements, that was all.

There was no sign of excitement or joy about defeating one of the top students in the swordsmanship club.

And that fact wounded Peter’s pride deeply.

‘Damn it!’

At that moment, a crowd of students rushed over to Liliana.

“Wow, Liliana!”

“Did you really beat Peter?!”

“Unbelievable! I can’t believe what I just saw!!”

The students cheered and flocked around Liliana.

Among them, the one who was the happiest was, of course, Elliott.

“Liliana, you were amazing!”

“Thank you, Elliott.”

At Elliott’s praise, Liliana blushed.

The cool expression she had just moments ago completely vanished, and she had returned to her usual shy self.

While Elliott was showering her with compliments, he glanced back at Anita with a triumphant look.

“I told you Liliana would win, didn’t I?”

“E-Elliott.”

“Our Liliana is this amazing!”

Elliott puffed up his chest as if he had personally achieved the victory.

Anita ran over to her brother with a pale face.

“O-Oh, brother!”

She stomped her feet in anger.

“Brother, are you crazy? How could you lose to that little girl?!”

“Are you blaming me right now?!”

Peter raised his voice in frustration.

But Anita had no interest in her brother’s feelings of defeat.

“This is absurd! What am I supposed to do now…?!”

Feeling as if her world was collapsing, Anita bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

The reason she had been able to rule among the academy’s female students was that she was the sister of a popular brother among the noble girls.

Peter was a trainee with the skills to be regarded as the next royal knight.

Many of the female students secretly admired him.

But now, Peter had lost to a girl eight years younger than himself.

The illusion that the female students had about Peter would be completely shattered.

This meant…

‘…If I’m not careful, I’ll end up looking foolish because of my brother!’

Anita pulled on Peter’s arm with an impatient motion.

“Let’s go back for now.”

“Go back? I won’t rest until I get revenge on that girl!”

“Revenge? After losing like that, how can you even say that?!”

Fuming, Anita glared at Liliana with a venomous look.

Liliana was shyly smiling as she was surrounded by people.

‘That spot was originally mine!’

Grinding her teeth, Anita dragged Peter away from the scene.

That afternoon.

Liliana’s duel story reached Anriche’s ears, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh my, is that true? Did our Liliana really defeat Peter Torniain?”

“It’s true! Every time Liliana swung her wooden sword, Peter was just too busy defending himself…!”

Elliott, more excited than Liliana herself, was busy recounting what had just happened.

“You should have seen how amazing Liliana looked when she aimed her sword at his neck!”

“No, it wasn’t that impressive…”

“What do you mean it wasn’t impressive?”

Elliott turned to Liliana with a serious expression.

“Other kids said Peter might be appointed as a royal knight!”

“Wow, so that means our Liliana defeated a promising swordsman from the swordsmanship club?”

“That’s right!”

Elliott and Anriche were both thrilled.

As they gushed over the news, Liliana, blushing, finally spoke up.

“I’m just glad.”

“Huh? Glad about what?”

“That I feel like I’m not embarrassing myself in front of Elliott, Mother, and the Duke.”

At those words, Anriche narrowed her eyes.

“What do you mean by that, Liliana?”

“If I want to live up to the name of Balua, I need to try a bit harder…”

“No, that’s not it.”

Anriche shook her head firmly.

“Why do you think like that?”

“Uh? That’s…”

“We are family.”

Anriche continued with determination.

“You don’t need to feel obligated to earn our affection or think you need to try harder.”

“…Mother.”

“We just want you to value yourself.”

“Exactly, Liliana worries too much.”

At just the right moment, Elliott chimed in.

“…”

Liliana quietly bit her lip.

Her light green eyes trembled slightly.

“…Thank you.”

More than the victory over Peter, the kind words from the two meant far more to her.

Liliana smiled brightly.

***

In stark contrast to the warm atmosphere of the Balua townhouse, the Torniain townhouse was currently shrouded in a funeral-like mood.

“What on earth is going on?”

Unable to contain her frustration, Lady Torniain expressed her irritation.

And rightly so.

Her daughter was sulking without explaining why, and her only son…

“Why on earth has Peter been holed up in his room since yesterday?!”

Unable to cope with the shock of losing to a seven-year-old girl, he was isolating himself.

From a mother’s perspective, it was nothing short of frustrating.

Just then.

“Lady Ivan has arrived.”

“Lady Ivan? She’s here?”

Lady Torniain’s expression brightened as she welcomed Lady Ivan.

“Oh, how fortunate that you came, Lady Ivan.”

“Is something wrong?”

“The children are all sulking, but they won’t tell me what’s going on.”

Lady Torniain sighed, pouring out her grievances.

“Still, Anita listens well to you, so could you please find out what happened?”

“Of course, just leave it to me.”

The fact that she had to teach these rather unremarkable children while also catering to their whims left Lady Ivan gritting her teeth internally, though she maintained a pleasant exterior.

Even though all of Ivan’s retainers had returned to their rural homes, Lady Ivan stayed in the capital to work as a tutor.

She had built a network during her time as a tutor, and her eloquence allowed her to charm the other ladies.

‘Still, the Duke of Balua was excessive, wasn’t he?’

‘Of course, there were some excessive disciplinary measures.’

‘It’s fine to care for the children, but to be so harsh as to completely dismiss Lady Ivan…’

This was the consensus among the noblewomen who had once been under Lady Ivan’s tutelage.

Although she no longer taught high-ranking families as she had in the past.

Lady Torniain clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“I just can’t figure out why the children are acting like this…”

“Lady Ivan!”

Just then, the door swung open, and Anita appeared.

Lady Ivan quickly put on a cheerful face.

“Oh my, Lady Torniain!”

“Teacher, listen to me…”

As Anita began to whine, she glanced at Lady Torniain, wary of her reaction.

She felt that her mother wouldn’t respond well to this news.

‘Be careful not to cause any trouble with the Balua children.’

After all, Lady Torniain had repeatedly warned her and Peter.

From a mother’s perspective, given the engagement with the Rondini family, it made sense that she wouldn’t want to provoke the Balua family.

‘Hmph, what’s so special about that girl anyway?’

Pouting, Anita dragged Lady Ivan into her room.

Click.

The door closed.

At the same time, Anita’s face contorted with frustration.

“Listen, my brother completely embarrassed himself yesterday!!”

“Embarrassed? How so?”

“Well, here’s what happened…!”

Anita explained the whole story.

Initially, Lady Ivan had a disinterested expression, but her eyes sharpened the moment the name “Liliana” came up.