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

****
The Balua family and Liliana stayed in Anriche’s room until late at night, with the moon shining brightly overhead.

However, they couldn’t linger in her room forever. The three of them eventually rose reluctantly, their faces reflecting lingering regret.

“Please take care of yourself.”

“Have sweet dreams, Your Grace.”

Click.

The door closed.

Behind the closed door, Anriche’s smiling face vanished.

That fact left them with an ache in their hearts.

“Let’s go, kids.”

Alexei managed to maintain a calm expression until he escorted the children to their respective rooms.

“Goodnight, Elliot. Liliana too.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Goodnight, Your Grace.”

The children bowed politely to him before returning to their adjacent rooms.

In that moment, Alexei’s expression crumbled.

‘Earlier, when Elliot and my wife fell into the water together.’

He looked at his palm.

In a frenzy to push both of them out of the water, he had desperately reached out his hand.

And the first person his hand touched wasn’t…

His precious son.

‘I—’

His bright blue eyes trembled slightly.

The person he had tried to save first was Anriche, not Elliot.

“…”

Clenching his fists tightly, Alexei discreetly lifted his gaze to the window.

Underneath the darkening sky, the blue leaves, remnants of summer, swayed indifferently.

If only his heart had been as calm as that.

‘When did it start?’

In a world that was entirely gray, the moment only she began to sparkle with light was…

It was the first time he felt his heart stirred by someone when he had never been particularly moved by any woman before.

‘She’s my wife of eight years.’

It might seem a little strange to realize such feelings for her only now.

But in that moment, Alexei instinctively understood.

He had fallen in love.

“…I love her.”

He whispered softly, burying his face in his hands as if to free himself, even a little, from these overwhelming emotions.

But it was all in vain.

The first love that burned in his heart was redder than the autumn leaves ripening over the lake.

8.The Duchy of Balua

Autumn was nearly over, and it was already the early winter, when trees began to shed their leaves.

Most nobles would spend the spring and summer in the city and descend to their estates during the winter.

This was to handle tasks that could only be done at the estate and to check in on the residents.

‘However, Anriche, before the possession, never went down to the estate even once after marriage.’

Alexei had also refrained from urging his wife to visit the Duchy of Balua.

‘That was probably because he had no expectations of her.’

Thus, he had quietly descended to the estate with Elliot, but…

“This year, I plan to go down to the estate with the kids. Would you like to join us, my lady?”

At that moment, as Alexei cautiously suggested, the first feeling Anriche experienced was intense joy.

“I’d love to!”

The fact that he was offering such a suggestion meant he was finally starting to have expectations of her.

Alexei visibly relaxed at his wife’s cheerful acceptance.

“Then I’ll tell them to prepare.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Anriche nodded vigorously.

As Alexei was about to step out of the room, he glanced back at her.

“It seems you don’t mind visiting the duchy.”

He then smiled brightly.

“I’m really happy.”

Looking at his kind smile, Anriche felt a flutter in her heart.

She responded with a smile of her own.

***

That afternoon,

Anriche welcomed the children home from the academy.

“Mommy!”

“Mother!”

Elliot and Liliana jumped into Anriche’s arms.

Anriche gently patted their heads.

“Did you all have a good day?”

“Yes! Today, we had lunch with Lady Tornian!”

“I don’t like her being around, but since Lily promised to meet her today…”

Elliot pouted his lips.

Anriche smiled faintly.

Still, it was a relief to see that both children seemed to be adapting well to their academy life.

“By the way, kids,”

The children perked up their ears.

“We’re going to the Duchy of Balua as soon as vacation starts.”

Immediately, Elliot’s expression fell, and he glanced at Anriche with concern.

“Then, Mom,”

“Yes?”

“Are you not going again this time?”

“……”

From Elliot’s perspective, it was understandable to worry.

After all, he had always gone to the duchy alone with Alexei.

To ease her child’s worries, Anriche quickly shook her head.

“No, I’m going to go with you.”

“Really?”

In an instant, Elliot’s eyes sparkled with joy.

“Then Mom is going to see Grandma this time too?”

What? Grandma?

Anriche’s expression faltered for a moment.

Now that she thought about it…

‘That’s right, the Duchess Dowager is at the duchy, isn’t she?’

Duchess Dowager Delphina von Balua.

She was Alexei’s mother and would be Elliot’s grandmother, an epitome of an elegant noblewoman.

With a noble status and a matching innocent personality, Delphina was the complete opposite of her daughter-in-law.

However, the two women had never really gotten along…

‘…Which isn’t surprising.’

Anriche, who had been arrogant and acted as if she were the center of the world, had clashed with Delphina, who had a somewhat childlike side to her.

The two women, whose personalities were at extreme opposites, had developed a strong dislike for each other upon meeting.

‘Honestly, is it necessary to be that rude, even to someone beneath you?’

‘Oh dear, what’s wrong with me? This isn’t rudeness; it’s noble behavior!’

That day, they had a pretty intense argument.

And after that, Anriche had vowed never to step foot in the Duchy of Balua again.

‘So now, I’m going to meet my terrible mother-in-law?’

Anriche felt a surge of resentment about the current situation.

No, what kind of difficulty level is this?

When Anriche first became herself, she had been hated by Alexei and Elliot!

But just then…

“…Mom?”

Elliot called out to Anriche cautiously.

Before she knew it, his round eyes were filled with worry.

Anriche hurriedly reassured him.

“That’s right, we’re going to see Grandma together.”

“Hehe.”

Only then did Elliot smile with relief.

Anriche turned to the children.

“Both of you, go wash your hands and have a snack.”

“Mom, what’s for snack today?”

“I heard they baked fig pound cake…”

At that response, Elliot’s face lit up with excitement.

“Pound cake? That’s awesome! Let’s go, Lily!”

“Let’s go together, Elliot!”

The children rushed outside.

At the same time, Anriche’s smile faltered slightly.

The Duchess Dowager.

Thinking of her reminded Anriche of someone else.

‘Gregor Hansen, Mag’s father.’

Although Mag was dismissed, Gregor was still serving as the head butler at the duchy.

“……”

Anriche’s gaze grew cold.

It seemed that this visit to the Duchy of Balua wouldn’t be comfortable at all.

***

A few days later.

Anriche sat in the carriage, filled with amazement.

“Wow, this is amazing.”

Her eyes were glued to the sight of the Duchy of Balua unfolding outside the window.

“I heard the Duchy of Balua is the center of the northern region, but…”

It looked even more impeccable compared to the city.

Just comparing the streets, it almost seemed more developed than the city itself.

And there was someone behaving just like Anriche.

“Wowww…”

That person was none other than Liliana.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hung from the carriage window side by side, engrossed in sightseeing.

“Mom, it feels like we’ve entered a fairy tale world!”

“Do you think so too, Lily? I feel the same.”

Meanwhile, Alexei couldn’t take his eyes off the scene of his wife and child chatting away.

At this moment, the thought occupying his mind was…

‘So cute.’

Ever since he realized his affection for Anriche, he had often found himself falling into a strange sensation.

Just being in the same space with her made the world glow in vivid colors.

‘Even now.’

The moment Anriche flashed a gentle smile at the child, he couldn’t help but feel happy.

But then…

“Mom’s right.”

Liliana muttered in a dreamy voice, startling Alexei back to reality.

Anriche turned to the child with a puzzled expression.

“Huh? My words?”

“Mom said, right?”

Liliana turned to Anriche, her eyes sparkling brightly.

“The scale of the Duke’s residence is said to be comparable to that of a palace.”

“…Did I say that?”

“Yes. You said that when I first entered the Balua family.”

Liliana’s cheeks flushed a rosy hue.

“What don’t you know, Mom? It’s really amazing.”

“No, that’s…”

Anriche struggled to hide her ambiguous expression.

‘Sometimes, I feel like Liliana thinks I’m amazing for no reason…’

And every time that happened, she felt the need to become an adult that Liliana could look up to.