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

***

“Oh my, did you see that?”

The noblewomen on Le Morgan Street whispered to each other in shock.

“The Duke and Duchess of Balua are out together!”

“And isn’t that the Viscount and Lady Everett with them?”

The Balua family had made an appearance on Le Morgan Street.

Moreover, the four of them were facing each other, smiling brightly.

They looked almost like…

A perfectly ordinary, happy family.

“Oh my, it’s been such a long time since we saw the Duke.”

The Duke had been busy with many duties, due to the Emperor’s strong trust in him. More than that, he himself wasn’t particularly fond of outside activities.

People’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“It seems they’re out together to prepare for the engagement ceremony.”

“Come to think of it, the engagement ceremony isn’t far off, is it?”

The engagement of the Viscount Balua and Lady Everett.

Rumors were swirling that the Duchess was putting a lot of effort into that ceremony.

“…It must be incredibly lavish, right?”

“Is there anyone here who’s been invited to the engagement ceremony?”

“Oh, me!”

One of the invited noblewomen puffed her shoulders proudly.

It was only natural for her to receive envious looks from the others.

Meanwhile, regardless of the attention from those around them, Anriche was focused on watching the children.

“Elliot, didn’t I tell you not to let go of my hand?”

At Anriche’s scolding, Elliot puffed out his cheeks.

“Look at Liliana; she’s been holding onto Mom’s hand the whole time!”

“Right, Mother said we should hold hands well,” Liliana chimed in, nodding in agreement.

“You have to listen to your mom; what would you do if you got lost?”

Alexei subtly sided with Anriche.

“What the heck!”

As a result, Elliot looked sulky.

“Dad and Liliana only like Mom!”

The sight of Elliot sulking was so adorable that the Duke and Duchess couldn’t help but smile at each other.

“Alright, are you all tired?”

However, they couldn’t keep bickering in the street.

Anriche skillfully changed the subject.

“Now that we’ve bought everything we need, shall we go somewhere to rest?”

“I’m fine!”

But Elliot didn’t easily let go of his sulky expression.

Anriche turned to her son and teasingly asked, “Oh, really? Are you sure?”

“…”

“We’re going to a place that sells all the snacks you love, you know?”

At that moment, Elliot’s ears perked up.

Anriche let out an exaggerated sigh.

“I guess if Elliot doesn’t want to go…”

“N-No one said they didn’t want to go?!”

In the end, Elliot was the one who lost the argument.

“…I’ll go.”

“Hmm? What was that? Your voice is too quiet; I can’t hear you.”

“I-I said I’ll go!”

Elliot raised his voice, pouting while still clutching Anriche’s dress.

“Okay, okay.”

Anriche chuckled, ruffling his hair.

Thus, the Balua family entered…

‘Dorine’s Bakery.’

It was the same bakery where they had sent snacks during the tea time with the Torinian Viscountess and Liliana.

Since Liliana seemed to really like the snacks from this bakery, they made a point to visit again.

“Oh, this is…”

Anriche’s expectations were spot on.

Liliana’s greenish eyes sparkled as she turned to Anriche.

“It’s Dorine’s Bakery!”

“Right, did you remember?”

“Of course! It’s the place where you sent snacks during the tea party at the academy, right?”

Liliana beamed, her cheeks flushing a rosy pink.

The four family members then took their seats.

After staring intently at the menu for quite some time, Elliot spoke up with determination.

“Mom, I want the brownie with ice cream on top!”

“I-I’m fine with anything!”

While she said that, Liliana couldn’t take her eyes off the chocolate parfait illustrated on the menu.

‘I guess I should order the chocolate parfait for Liliana.’

Anriche looked at Liliana with warm eyes and suddenly turned to Alexei.

“Speaking of which, what about you, Your Grace?”

“Excuse me?”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Oh, I…”

Alexei looked down at the menu with a rare, troubled expression.

There was a good reason for that.

Because…

‘Everything looks so sweet.’

The baked pie topped with stewed apples, the vanilla éclairs, the various flavored macarons…

Just imagining the taste of all these sweets was enough to make his tongue tingle.

Anriche, watching him, opened her mouth slightly in surprise.

“Could it be that you don’t enjoy sweet foods that much?”

“Ah, well…”

Alexei, who was about to reflexively deny it, ultimately nodded awkwardly instead.

He felt as if he had become a picky child.

“…Yes.”

Meanwhile, Anriche couldn’t help but admire the original Anriche’s obliviousness.

‘Wow, after living with my husband for eight years, I didn’t even know his food preferences…’

No matter how hard she searched her memory, she couldn’t recall any information about Alexei disliking sweets.

After pondering for a moment, Anriche pointed to a corner of the menu with her finger.

“How about this?”

“Black tea… chiffon cake?”

“Yes. The black tea has a slightly bitter flavor, which will balance out the sweetness.”

Anriche smiled brightly as she continued to explain.

“And if you order a less sweet tea, it will pair well with the chiffon cake.”

“…”

Instead of answering, Alexei gazed blankly at her face.

And it was understandable because…

‘…My wife has been smiling a lot lately.’

Suddenly, he thought her smiling face was incredibly lovely.

Just then…

“Your Grace?”

As if to ask why he wasn’t responding, Anriche tilted her head, making eye contact with him.

Startled, Alexei hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Ah, yes. I’ll go with what my wife suggests.”

“Good.”

With a gleam in her eye, Anriche adeptly placed the order.

A little while later, numerous treats arrived at their table.

“Wow!”

Elliot quickly pulled his plate of brownies toward him.

Liliana also took her chocolate parfait with an excited expression on her face.

And Alexei…

‘What’s with the overly tense expression? There’s no need for that.’

Anriche suppressed a giggle that was about to burst out.

It was only because he looked so resolute, as if facing an enemy general.

He cut a piece of cake and put it in his mouth.

And then.

‘Hmm?’

His blue eyes widened slightly.

After slowly chewing and swallowing the cake, Alexei let out a short exclamation of surprise.

“…It’s better than I expected.”

“Right?”

It seemed to suit his taste, as Alexei took another big bite of the cake.

Anriche rested her chin on her hand, watching him.

‘Your Grace, you’re somehow a little cute.’

But at that moment…

As if sensing Anriche’s gaze, Alexei put down his fork with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Um, it’s just cute to see you enjoying your food?”

Anriche replied without much thought.

Immediately, Alexei’s face turned bright red.

“I-I!”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll just… go order more!”

He suddenly jumped up from his seat and hurried down the stairs.

Anriche was left dumbfounded.

‘Wait, they’ll ring a bell and a staff member will come to take the order…?’

Elliot seemed to have the same thought as her.

Lost in his brownie, he suddenly lifted his head.

Watching his father walk away, he asked in a puzzled voice, “Mom, what’s wrong with Dad?”

“Um…”

Come to think of it, why was he acting like that?

Not knowing the reason, Anriche simply smiled ambiguously.

***

A carriage adorned with the Sachsen Marquis family crest smoothly came to a stop in front of Dorine’s Bakery.

The people who emerged from inside were none other than the Marquis of Sachsen and the Marchioness.

“How wonderful it is to be out with our son like this.”

While the mother wore a satisfied expression, the Marquis of Sachsen clearly looked annoyed.

“Really, can’t you even visit a bakery by yourself, Mother?”

“Don’t say that.”

The Marchioness glanced at her son, gauging his reaction.

“I just wanted to have a cup of tea with my dear son after a long time.”

“Haah…”

The Marquis shook his head in disbelief, giving his mother a steely glare.

“We’re just going to buy some snacks and leave.”

“Well, of course. I won’t take up too much time.”

Her warm voice was completely different from how she spoke to her daughter.

Thus, the two of them stepped into the bakery.