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

Anriche followed behind him, feeling a bit dazed.

However, that didn’t mean she felt bad.

On the contrary…

‘…At least compared to before, Alexei seems to regard me as somewhat familiar now?’

With a tingling sensation deep in her chest, Anriche lowered her head.

For some reason, the back of her ears felt warm.

***

The two went to fetch Liliana and Elliot.

Elliot, who had been passionately explaining to the other kids how close he was to his mother, suddenly looked up with sparkling eyes.

“Wow, are you holding hands with Mom and Dad?”

“Uh? No, it’s not like that.”

Anriche quickly tried to let go of Alexei’s hand, but he moved a bit faster, firmly holding on to prevent her from releasing it, and kindly asked the child.

“Why, is that strange?”

“No, it’s not strange or anything.”

Elliot shook his head and smiled brightly at his father.

“I’m glad that you and Mom seem to get along well.”

“……”

“……”

Anriche and Alexei fell silent.

They were reminded of how the relationship between parents can influence their child.

Anriche asked the two kids, “It’s lunchtime now, aren’t you all hungry?”

“Oh, right.”

Elliot blinked his eyes.

He had been so caught up in chatting with the kids that he completely forgot it was lunchtime.

Anriche asked again, “Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll serve it up.”

“Well, I want Caprese salad! Without the tomatoes.”

“You have to eat the tomatoes too.”

Anriche reflexively chided Elliot, narrowing her eyes.

“No, if you take out the tomatoes, it’s just cheese, isn’t it?”

“Anyway, I don’t like tomatoes.”

“Too bad, Mom said not to be picky, right?”

Anriche firmly stated.

“Cheh…”

Elliot puffed out his cheeks.

Ignoring her son’s antics, Anriche picked up a plate and tongs and turned to Liliana.

“That aside, what do you want to eat, Liliana?”

“……”

“Liliana?”

“……”

Still no response.

Anriche looked puzzled.

Liliana was staring blankly at a mother and daughter sitting nearby.

“Liz, didn’t I tell you to place your napkin on your lap?”

Her mother was instructing her on table manners.

The child picked up the napkin with a pout.

‘Liz is… an affectionate nickname for Elizabeth.’

The warmth in her mother’s voice reminded Liliana of past memories.

‘Lily.’

Her deceased parents always called Liliana by the nickname “Lily.”

Lost in those memories, Liliana murmured in a wistful tone, “I wish my mother would call me Lily too…”

Ah!

At that moment, a startled Liliana covered her mouth with her hands.

She had meant to keep that thought to herself, but it had slipped out.

‘Oh no, did she hear me?’

Liliana glanced at Anriche, trying to gauge her reaction.

Anriche was staring intently at her.

“Liliana, what did you just say?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Nothing, huh? I heard you.”

At that, Liliana blushed bright red and stammered as she spoke.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so talkative…”

“Oh my, there’s no need to apologize.”

Anriche asked with a soft smile, narrowing her eyes.

“Lily.”

“……”

At the kind tone of her voice, a smile slowly spread across Liliana’s face.

It was a bright smile, like sunshine.

***

The Balua family sat side by side at the table.

Anriche kept a watchful eye on Elliot to ensure he didn’t become picky.

“Elliot, you have to eat the tomatoes too.”

“……”

Elliot, who had been hiding the tomatoes under the lettuce, made a pouting face for a moment.

Anriche narrowed her eyes at him.

“Hurry up.”

“……Yes.”

Elliot reluctantly stuffed the tomatoes into his mouth with a sulky expression.

‘The lady handles Elliot quite well, doesn’t she?’

Alexei watched with suppressed laughter.

Just then…

“Um, my lady.”

“Hmm?”

Anriche turned around, her face puzzled.

A maid stood there looking apologetic.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well… The Marquis of Sachsen and the Marquise have come to visit.”

“…What did you say?”

Anriche couldn’t hide her incredulous expression for a moment.

The maid continued, flustered.

“Since they are Elliot’s maternal relatives, they insist on attending the engagement ceremony…”

Are these people really making it a hobby to barge in uninvited?

This had happened before, too…!

Anriche’s eyes sharpened with irritation.

“So, where are they now?”

“If we’re not careful, the engagement ceremony might turn chaotic, so we’ve temporarily ushered them into the reception room.”

“Good.”

Anriche nodded, furrowing her brow.

‘I thought they wouldn’t attend the engagement ceremony out of pride.’

After the previous encounter on Le Morgan Street, she had assumed they would take it lightly.

She shouldn’t underestimate their audacity.

Suddenly standing up from her seat, she looked back at Alexei and the two children.

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Let’s go together,” Alexei said, also rising to his feet.

However, Anriche shook her head.

“No, both you and the Duke can’t leave the table at the same time.”

“But…”

“It’s fine.”

Anriche shrugged her shoulders as if to reassure him.

“I’ll tidy things up quickly, so it’s better if you stay here, Duke.”

“…My lady.”

“Still, thank you for worrying about me.”

She flashed a bright smile at him.

Then, she quickly turned away and disappeared.

Alexei, watching her retreating figure with a stunned expression, bit his lips.

‘This won’t do.’

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t let his wife go alone like this.

Alexei beckoned to a maid.

“Can you watch the children for a moment?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The maid hurriedly approached them.

Just then…

Liliana and Elliot looked at each other silently.

Without waiting for anyone to speak first, they put down their utensils.

“We want to go too.”

“No way. You two are the main characters of this engagement ceremony…”

“Mom is more important than the engagement ceremony,” Elliot declared firmly.

Adding to that, Liliana clenched her fists and chimed in, “I want to see my mother, too!”

Alexei let out a long sigh.

After all, there was no sign of the two kids yielding.

“Then you must not cause any trouble, understood?”

“Yes!”

The three of them promptly headed in the direction Anriche had gone.

***

Standing in front of the reception room door, Anriche let out a long sigh.

“Hah…”

She struggled to suppress the irritation bubbling up from deep within her.

‘…First of all, I must not make a scene.’

There was no need to publicly display that the Duchess of Balua didn’t have a good relationship with her family.

In fact, if it were just her, she wouldn’t mind…

‘This is an engagement ceremony for Elliot and Liliana.’

So she wanted to handle everything as quietly as possible.

“Anriche!”

The Marquise of Sachsen, who had been sitting on the sofa, jumped up.

Her usual elegant demeanor seemed to have vanished, replaced by an aggressive stance.

“Mother.”

Anriche faced her mother without so much as raising an eyebrow.

It wasn’t just because she hadn’t been invited to the engagement ceremony; her mother looked strangely agitated.

“You!”

The Marquise of Sachsen approached her daughter with heavy footsteps.

“You rejected your sister’s request for help so coldly, didn’t you?”

Anriche raised an eyebrow instead of responding.

The Marquise, unable to contain her excitement, raised her voice.

“But you’ve given the entire orphanage to that girl named Liliana, haven’t you?”

“Oh my, Mother, it seems you’re quite out of the loop.”

“Wh-What?!”

Anriche gazed at her mother with a calm expression.

The Marquise ground her teeth in frustration.

Of course, she knew that Anriche had acquired the Londini Orphanage and renamed it the Everett Orphanage.

She was also aware that Anriche had established a foundation in the names of Liliana and Elliot to support the Londini Orphanage.

‘But I didn’t think she would hand over ownership itself to that girl, Liliana!’

To give such a precious orphanage into the hands of a girl with no blood relation whatsoever!

Wouldn’t it be better to hand it over to her own sister?!

Boiling with anger, the Marquise of Sachsen had to take several deep breaths.

Just then, the Marquess of Sachsen interjected in the conversation.

“Mother, please calm down.”

“Hah, Denis.”

The Marquise dramatically pressed her forehead.

“What on earth are we going to do about your sister?”

“Don’t be too hard on her. After all, she’s not the type to think deeply, is she?”

“……”

Anriche looked at her younger brother with a blank stare.