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

“Of course, there’s no reason for the young lady and young master of Tornian to necessarily like our Lilliana.”

“W-What are you saying…?”

“But no matter how they feel about her, that doesn’t give them the right to treat her poorly, does it?”

Wait a minute.

Treat Lilliana poorly? What on earth does she mean by that?

Countess Tornian’s mouth fell open.

“I’m aware that Tornian and Londini have been engaged for a long time and have kept in contact regularly.”

Though her voice seemed kind, it was now devoid of any warmth.

“So, I assume your children must have seen Lady Londini treating Lilliana like a maid several times.”

“D-Duchess…”

“But, things have changed now. Lilliana is Elliot’s fiancée and the future Duchess of Valois.”

Anriche stated firmly.

“And I have no intention of backing down when it comes to matters concerning my children.”

A cold sweat dripped down Countess Tornian’s back.

Moments ago, the Duchess had completely banished the Baron of Londini’s family from noble society.

With both the head and his wife in prison, it was safe to say that the family had collapsed.

In this situation, the Duchess was essentially asking her a question.

Would she break off the engagement with Londini and distance herself from them?

Or…

Would she sink into the mire along with them?

Given the situation, Countess Tornian had only one option.

“I apologize, Duchess Valois.”

Countess Tornian clasped her hands together tightly, trying to stop them from trembling visibly.

“It seems my children… may have acted thoughtlessly.”

Well, well.

For a moment, a flicker of interest passed through those violet eyes.

‘At least she understands the situation.’

With a shaky voice, Countess Tornian continued.

“It won’t happen again. I give you my word.”

“I’m glad we could get straight to the point.”

As Anriche nodded, the atmosphere instantly lightened.

“And if I might offer a suggestion, it would be wise to review your hired help more closely.”

“R-Review my help?”

“Yes. Especially since a tutor is someone who takes care of your precious children, correct?”

Anriche shook her head, her displeasure evident.

“I had my own struggles with Lilliana’s tutor.”

“Oh…”

At that moment, Countess Tornian realized something.

‘Come to think of it, Lady Everitt’s tutor was Viscountess Ivan, wasn’t she?’

Until now, she had believed Viscountess Ivan’s story without question.

The one about how she had been unfairly dismissed by the Duchess of Valois.

But… could that really be true?

‘And come to think of it, that’s around when Anita started throwing fits…’

It seemed to coincide with when Viscountess Ivan became their tutor.

Before, Anita had been somewhat headstrong, but not outright arrogant.

Countess Tornian bit her lip.

“…Thank you for your advice.”

For the first time, she felt the need to look into Viscountess Ivan properly.

Suppressing the surge of doubt bubbling up inside her, Countess Tornian slightly bowed her head.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

But Anriche wasn’t done speaking yet.

“This is just my opinion, but I think it would be wise to check on the children of other families as well.”

“The children of other families…?”

“Viscountess Ivan tutors not only Tornian’s children but several others as well.”

Anriche continued in a concerned tone.

“When you keep black ink nearby, it’s all too easy for your hands and feet to become stained without you noticing.”

“Stained hands and feet…?”

“It’s simple. No matter how much you clean the ink bottle near your children.”

Her voice grew low, almost secretive.

“If the friends they’re associating with are covered in ink, isn’t it inevitable that some will rub off on them too?”

“Yes, I understand perfectly.”

Countess Tornian nodded gravely.

Only then did Anriche give her a soft smile.

“Oh dear, it seems we ended up discussing such heavy topics.”

Then, in a friendly tone, she offered some cake.

“This place’s lemon cake is very famous for its taste. Would you like to try some?”

“Thank you, Duchess Valois.”

Her attitude was as warm as if they were old friends.

Countess Tornian forced a smile as she cut a piece of cake and placed it in her mouth.

But sadly, she could taste neither the lemon flavor nor anything else.

It simply crumbled like sand in her mouth.

***

That evening.

After returning to the townhouse, Countess Tornian immediately called her children.

“Peter and Anita, come here.”

Countess Tornian’s demeanor was unusually stern.

Peter and Anita glanced at each other nervously, communicating silently.

‘Why is Mother so angry?’

‘I don’t know!’

“What are you doing, hurry up and get over here!!”

Her sharp voice echoed through the townhouse.

Startled, the Tornian siblings hesitantly approached their mother.

Countess Tornian glared at her children with a fierce gaze.

“What exactly have you two done?”

Anita stammered in shock, repeating the question.

“W-What do you mean?”

“Didn’t I tell you over and over again not to cause any trouble with the children of House Valois?”

Her piercing shout shook the townhouse.

“I heard that you two were bullying Lady Everitt. Is it true?!”

“Ah, well…

“Oh, what should I do?”

Peter hesitantly looked at his sister and finally spoke up in a hesitant voice.

Unable to handle the heavy atmosphere, Anita eventually interjected in a sharp voice.

“T-The teacher said it was okay!”

“…The teacher? Are you talking about Viscountess Ivan?”

Countess Tornian’s eyes turned cold in an instant.

‘And if I might offer a suggestion, it would be wise to review your hired help more closely.’

‘R-Review my help?’

‘Yes. I had my own struggles with Lilliana’s tutor as well.’

…Why was she suddenly recalling her conversation with the Duchess of Valois?

“So, what did your teacher tell you, Anita?”

Suppressing her rising anger, she asked Anita, who cautiously opened her mouth while glancing at her mother.

“Well, um…”

After listening to the whole story, Countess Tornian placed a hand on her forehead.

‘Goodness, I thought she was someone I could trust…’

When a child harbors foolish thoughts, it’s only right to stop them immediately. But to think she’d encourage such behavior instead!

As she bit her lips hard, she looked down sternly at her daughter.

“First, apologize to Lilliana.”

“M-Mother!”

Anita tried to raise her voice to protest.

But under her mother’s fierce gaze, she quickly lowered her head in defeat.

“So, you don’t think you did anything wrong, do you?”

“…”

“Anita.”

After a long silence, Anita finally nodded with a sullen expression.

“…Yes, I was wrong.”

In truth, Anita herself had been doing a lot of thinking since the events at the recent tea party.

Seeing her daughter apologize so readily, Countess Tornian could only sigh.

‘It seems like it really was a significant incident.’

Perhaps due to her upbringing, being the youngest, Anita was quite stubborn.

It was rare for her to admit a fault unless she was truly in the wrong.

For Anita to apologize so easily…

‘How should I handle this situation?’

With a pounding headache, Countess Tornian closed her eyes tightly.

***

The following day.

Anriche received a sincere letter from Countess Tornian.

The contents of the letter could be summarized as follows:

“It seems that the tutor has been improperly inciting the children.

Thank you very much for your invaluable advice.

The tutor has been dismissed immediately.

Additionally, I will thoroughly implement the advice you provided.”

As Anriche toyed with the letter, a wicked smile formed on her lips.

Just then—

Knock knock.

At the soft knock, Anriche quickly tucked the letter into a drawer and looked up.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Lilliana and Elliot ran into the room together.

“We’re back, Mother!”

“We’re back!”

They spoke in unison.

Watching them, who looked like little chicks, Anriche felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Did you have a good day, children?”

“Yes!”

Lilliana nodded vigorously and spoke with bright, sparkling eyes.

“You know, Mother, something amazing happened today.”

“Amazing?”

“Yes. Guess what? Lady Tornian and her brother apologized to me!”

“Oh my, really?”

Anriche’s wicked smile deepened slightly.