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

Chapter 84



“Hello, I am Elliott von Balua.”

The first to speak was Elliott.

“Thank you so much for attending our engagement ceremony today.”

Following his clear voice, Liliana blushed and added, “I hope you have a wonderful time.”

With those words, the two children took each other’s hands and made their way to the center of the dance hall.

Traditionally, the opening of a banquet begins with the hosts performing the first dance.

In preparation for today, the two children had dedicated several days to practicing their dance.

‘Elliott and Liliana looked so cute while practicing their dance…’

Anriche watched the children with a warm smile.

Elliott placed his hand on Liliana’s waist.

Liliana cautiously met Elliott’s gaze.

Moments later, the music began to play.

It was a graceful minuet.

At the same time, a chorus of gasps arose from the crowd.

“Oh my, how adorable…”

“They’re so cute!”

Indeed, the sight of the tiny children hugging each other and taking careful steps was utterly delightful.

‘Ugh, I want to pinch their cheeks!’

They were just that adorable!

Anriche clenched the hem of her dress to suppress her desire to dance with joy.

Then she began to observe the children closely, worried they might make a mistake.

‘Oh, Liliana is dancing better than I expected!’

Anriche’s eyes sparkled.

At first, Liliana had moved somewhat stiffly, but now she was comfortably following Elliott’s lead.

Meanwhile, there was one person watching Anriche.

‘…Does she really look that happy?’

The owner of that gaze was none other than Alexei.

Anriche was completely engrossed in watching the dancing children.

With each spin and step they took, she silently gasped in awe.

Something about her seemed so endearing.

“……”

His gaze remained fixed on Anriche.

Then, unable to contain his rising affection, Anriche tugged at Alexei’s sleeve.

“Duke, Duke!”

“Yes, yes?”

Alexei snapped back to reality.

“Don’t our kids look adorable?”

Anriche looked up at him, clutching her heart.

Her eyes sparkled as if they contained stars.

Alexei decided to gladly meet her expectations.

“Yes, they are cute.”

“Right? Of course you know, but our kids worked so hard practicing. And…”

Anriche continued to pour out her thoughts without taking a breath.

So much so that Alexei couldn’t bring himself to speak.

‘The children are cute, but you watching them is even cuter.’

At that moment, he realized.

Even though it was an important moment for the children to perform the first dance of their engagement ceremony, he hadn’t looked at the children even once.

***

Finally, the music ended.

Elliott politely kissed Liliana’s hand.

The sight was so delightful that the people couldn’t help but smile.

“To be so young and not make a single mistake…”

“Really impressive.”

“And how adorable they are!”

Wow—!

Clap clap clap!

The sound of applause echoed.

After bowing to the audience, Liliana and Elliott rushed over to their parents.

“Mom, Dad!”

Elliott jumped into Alexei’s arms.

“Dad, I did well, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you were fantastic.”

Alexei smiled as he patted Elliott’s back.

Meanwhile, Liliana looked worriedly at Anriche and asked, “Mom, was I strange?”

“No way! You were incredibly cute.”

“Hehe, I worked really hard not to step on Elliott’s feet.”

Only after hearing her mother’s reassurance did Liliana finally relax and smile broadly.

“I’m glad I looked okay in your eyes, Mom.”

“Well, I think Liliana would be cute just standing still.”

At that response, Liliana’s cheeks flushed a deep pink.

Anriche kindly suggested to the child, “By the way, are you tired? Shall we go take a little break?”

“Yes!”

The Balua family headed to the restaurant set up on the opposite side of the banquet hall.

The buffet table was filled with mouth-watering dishes that looked enticing just to behold.

Among them, the food that caught the children’s attention was…

“Wow, look at this!”

The children gathered around the snack table, specifically the table filled with cookies.

And for good reason; these cookies looked quite different from the ones they usually saw.

They were baked in the shape of cups, coated with chocolate inside, and filled with milk.

It was a thoughtful consideration for the children.

‘Since kids usually run around, I thought it would be nice for them to be able to hold and eat them…’

Anriche watched the children’s reactions closely.

‘The little guests seem… at least not to dislike them?’

Standing before them, Elliott puffed out his chest proudly.

“This cookie was made by me, Liliana, and Mom together.”

“Wow, you bake cookies with your mother?”

The children’s eyes widened in surprise.

Typically, ladies of the house leave snacks like this to their servants.

The idea of making treats with their mother was a novel concept for the children.

Liliana smiled shyly.

“That’s right. It’s a cookie my mother developed herself.”

“It’s easy to eat and delicious.”

“Right, I think so too.”

The children were busy tasting the cookies.

And the adults’ reactions were…

“Oh my, this snack is really fun.”

“I think it would be fine to serve it at a banquet, don’t you?”

It was surprisingly well-received.

‘Huh?’

Anriche tilted her head in confusion.

There were murmurs behind her about how there was no dignity in playing with food, but she thought that was just how things were.

“How did you bake these cookies?”

“Do you just shape them and bake them?”

“I heard the Duchess helped bake these cookies…”

As they spoke, the noblewomen glanced at Anriche with expressions that suggested they wanted to ask her about the cookies.

Well, if that was the case…

Anriche decided to be generous.

“First, you need to shape the cookie properly.”

“Lady Balua?”

The noblewomen’s eyes widened.

Anriche picked up a cookie and continued her explanation.

“And it’s essential to coat the inside with chocolate. Otherwise, the milk will leak out.”

“Oh my, is that so?”

“How did the Duchess come up with the idea of baking cookies in a cup shape?”

“That sounds really fun.”

The noblewomen listened intently to her explanation, asking several questions along the way.

As they chatted for a while…

“Ahem, cough.”

Anriche cleared her throat briefly.

‘Hmm, I’ve talked so much that I’m getting thirsty.’

Was there a servant nearby?

It would be nice to get a drink or something.

Just as Anriche was looking around…

“Lady.”

“Oh, Duke.”

Alexei approached and handed her a glass of cold juice.

…What was this?

Did he really notice that I was thirsty?

Anriche accepted the glass of juice with a look of surprise.

“Thank you.”

She took a sip to quench her thirst.

As the sweet, cool liquid went down, she felt a little better.

And as soon as Anriche finished her drink, Alexei smoothly took the glass from her hand.

The eyes of those watching this exchange widened in interest.

‘The Duke and Duchess were known to have a very bad relationship in the past…’

‘Surprisingly, the Duke is taking such good care of the Duchess.’

‘There’s been a rumor lately that their relationship has improved. Could it be true?’

Meanwhile, regardless of the curious glances from the crowd, the couple was now engaged in a warm conversation.

“How are the kids?”

“I saw them earlier; they seemed to be with their friends.”

“Let’s go get them.”

Anriche extended her hand toward Alexei, smiling brightly.

“It’s about time for dinner.”

“……”

Alexei looked down at her outstretched hand.

Anriche felt a bit awkward.

‘Oh, did I act too familiar?’

Just as she was about to retract her hand…

Alexei firmly grasped her hand in return.

‘Huh?’

Anriche’s eyes widened slightly.

At the same time, Alexei looked into her eyes and smiled softly.

“Let’s go.”

“Oh, um… yes…”

Wha-what was happening right now?


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