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

Moreover.

“Lady Everett!”

“Are you okay?!”

In the flurry of pushing the plate away, white cream splattered all over Liliana’s sleeve.

The shocked students quickly pulled out handkerchiefs and busily began to clean up the broken plate.

But among them, the most surprised person was Anita herself.

“Oh, um… that’s…”

“…”

Anita, who was about to make an excuse, bit her lip tightly.

She hadn’t intended to go this far.

It had just been a fleeting moment of anger…

‘What should I do? She’s definitely going to be angry.’

It was a perfect opportunity for her to be criticized.

If the roles were reversed and Liliana had made such a mistake toward Anita, Anita would have thrown a fit.

Anita anxiously glanced at Liliana.

And then,

“It’s okay.”

…It’s okay?

Anita’s expression momentarily turned blank.

Instead of getting angry, Liliana smiled gently as if trying to comfort Anita.

“…Lady Everett.”

“I’ll just be a moment; I need to go to the restroom.”

As she wiped her sleeve with a handkerchief, Liliana got up and left.

She was likely going to clean off the cream.

At the same time, the students subtly glanced back at Anita.

“This time, Lady Torniain has gone too far.”

“What if Lady Everett really gets angry…?”

“Everyone, be quiet!”

Anita snapped, unable to contain her embarrassment.

The students fell silent, but they couldn’t hide their dissatisfied glances.

‘Wait, do they think we’re their servants or something?’

‘Even if she’s a noble and we’re commoners, that doesn’t mean she can act like this!’

‘We’re all students at the academy, so how can she casually tell us to shut up?’

In an instant, the atmosphere turned chilly.

And rightly so, because they weren’t just ordinary commoners.

The academy admitted students strictly based on merit.

Graduates from the academy were among the most distinguished talents in the empire and were often appointed to high-ranking government positions in the future.

This meant that students admitted to the academy received treatment equivalent to that of nobles, regardless of their backgrounds.

Anita’s behavior at that moment was clearly inappropriate.

Just then, Jenit quietly stood up.

“Where are you going, Lady Londini?”

“Oh, I’m just going to the restroom for a moment.”

With a smooth smile, Jenit hurried off toward the restroom.

In order to achieve her true goal for attending the tea gathering today, she needed to speak with Liliana alone.

***

Liliana couldn’t hide her flustered expression as she looked down at her sleeve, ruined by the cream.

“…What am I going to do?”

She dampened her handkerchief and tried to wipe away the cream on her sleeve.

But the more water she applied, the more the cream spread, making it impossible to clean properly.

‘This dress was personally chosen by my mother…’

Of course, her mother would probably say not to worry about the dress getting dirty, but she still wanted to treat it with care.

Just as Liliana let her shoulders droop in despair,

“Liliana.”

“…”

In that moment, Liliana’s expression hardened into a chill.

After all, the owner of that voice was someone she definitely did not want to meet alone.

“Lady Londini.”

Jenit shrugged and flashed a smile.

“You can call me Sister Jenit, you know?”

“No, we’re not that close, are we?”

At that firm response, Jenit’s face stiffened.

“…You’re really funny. You used to cower and couldn’t even muster a word against me?”

“Well, I may have been like that in the past, but there’s no reason for me to live like that anymore.”

After staring at Liliana for a while, Jenit sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders.

“Fine, whatever. I didn’t come here to bicker with you.”

With that, Jenit stepped closer to Liliana.

“I wanted to talk to you alone, and now I finally have the chance.”

“I have nothing to discuss with Lady Londini.”

“But I do,” Jenit said, her eyes gleaming as she stared at Liliana.

Liliana instinctively stiffened her shoulders.

‘Is she really confronting me right now?!’

Of course, she knew very well that she didn’t have to obey Jenit’s orders at this moment.

However, her past experiences of being bullied by Jenit made it difficult for Liliana not to shrink back.

Meanwhile, Jenit looked at the frozen Liliana with a satisfied expression.

‘Yes, this is how it should be.’

Liliana looked best when she was scared and trembling, like a little mouse standing before a predator.

Jenit continued in a relaxed tone.

“To be honest, I was really surprised when the Duchess of Balua took you away.”

“…”

“No matter how much of a promised engagement it is, who would keep a promise with a girl from a family that has completely fallen apart like you?”

Jenit shrugged, flaunting her disdain.

Then she looked at Liliana up and down with the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey.

“But now that you’ve really become the fiancée of the Duke of Balua…”

A sly glint appeared in Jenit’s eyes.

“Isn’t it time for you to repay the favors you’ve received all this time?”

“…Favors?”

“Right. You know that our family was punished by the Balua Ducal House because of you, right?”

Liliana’s eyes widened at this information she had never heard before.

Jenit crossed her arms and continued.

“There was a tax investigation by the imperial family.”

“A tax investigation?”

“Exactly! It was really bad; the taxes were astronomical. Do you have any idea how hard it was for us?”

Liliana didn’t know much about tax investigations, but she understood that the Londini family must have had a tough time.

After all, the Londini family had always feared the tax investigations that came from the orphanage.

“Because of you, even the imperial tax officers got involved. It’s utterly unreasonable…”

“Wait a moment.”

At that, Liliana narrowed her eyes and asked,

“Why did they seek revenge?”

“What? It’s because of you…”

“Please provide a clear reason instead of this vague excuse.”

Jenit gritted her teeth.

Really, what a sharp-witted girl she was!

To be precise, it was because they had embezzled the living expenses that should have gone to Liliana, but there was no way she could say that outright.

“Um, well, the Duchess mentioned it.”

“What did she say?”

“She was unhappy that we raised you, coming from such a lowly family. So…”

“…My mother said that?”

Liliana asked back with a skeptical voice.

Jenit raised her voice.

“Yes, she did?! She said she wanted to teach our family a lesson, so she initiated the tax investigation…”

“Lies.”

Liliana shook her head firmly and spoke up.

“My mother is not the kind of person who would say that.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Jenit tilted her chin up defiantly.

“The Duchess of Balua’s personality is quite famous in society, you know?”

“What do you mean it’s famous?”

“Isn’t it easy for her to vent her frustrations on our family?”

“Lady, don’t speak carelessly about my mother.”

At that moment, Liliana shot a fierce glare at Jenit.

“My mother is the kindest person in the world.”

“…”

Hearing that firm voice, Jenit momentarily found herself at a loss for words.

When the Duchess of Balua had come to take Liliana from the orphanage, she remembered the fierce gaze with which the Duchess had looked at the Londini mother and daughter.

Just thinking back to that time, it hardly seemed fitting to call the Duchess “the kindest person in the world,” did it?

“…Anyway! Because of you, our family has suffered, so you should compensate us.”

“The damages I caused aren’t clear, so why should I compensate you?”

“Stop nitpicking! It’s so annoying!”

Jenit raised her voice in exasperation.

Liliana watched her with a wary expression.

“Well, I don’t expect anything too significant.”

Jenit pursed her lips, looking somewhat serious.

“Because of the tax investigation you caused, our family is in quite a difficult situation, so I would like your help with that.”

“How am I supposed to help with that?”

“Are you stupid? Don’t you know the Duke of Balua is the richest in the empire?”

Jenit yelled at Liliana, sounding frustrated.

“Our family runs an orphanage!”

“And so?”

“I’m asking you to make a donation, a donation!”

With her chest puffed out proudly, Jenit quickly added,

“Plus, you owe us for raising you until now, don’t you think? This is a pretty cheap deal.”

Then, she cocked her head to the side and looked at Liliana with a smirk.

“Plus, if you don’t agree to my proposal, you might find yourself in a difficult situation too.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Think about it. After all, you’re supposed to be the future mistress of the Balua house.”

Jenit took a step closer to Liliana, bringing her lips near her ear.

“You seem ungrateful for everything we’ve done for you, and the fact that you’ve caused our family to face a tax investigation is already quite enough to look ungrateful.”

“…Lady.”

“And if rumors spread that you even rejected a donation…”

Jenit lowered her voice and whispered,

“Wouldn’t the reputation of the Balua Ducal House take a significant hit?”

“…”

Liliana clenched her lips tightly.