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

“Legal rights and obligations?”

“Yes.”

Anriche nodded firmly.

“First of all, I have no personal feelings regarding Mag. She has received the lawful punishment for her wrongdoing.”

“But just a moment ago, you were talking about Mag…”

“That’s a misunderstanding on your part, Mother. We weren’t discussing Mag at all.”

At that, the steward quickly interjected.

“The fact that the young lady ordered the budget proposal to be brought forth was because you were suspicious of me due to Mag, wasn’t it?”

Wow, he’s weaving it all together like this?

Anriche couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh at the steward’s crafty methods.

The steward continued, putting on the most pitiful voice he could muster.

“If you’re not suspicious of me, then there’s no reason for you to scrutinize a budget that is proceeding smoothly.”

“No, the steward’s argument is flawed.”

Anriche shook her head resolutely.

“Regardless of whether I suspect you, it’s my duty to review the budget for the duchy.”

“No, that’s…”

“I am the Duchess of Balua.”

Having made that statement, Anriche turned to Delfina.

“Mother.”

At her calm voice, Delfina stiffened, her shoulders tense.

“I completely understand why you might not trust me.”

“…”

Delfina’s eyes glimmered with intrigue.

‘What’s gotten into this child?’

In truth, people often struggle to admit that “the other person dislikes me” due to their pride.

Especially someone like Anriche, whose very nature is arrogant.

“But that’s exactly why I must review the budget.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“To earn your trust and to alleviate the distrust the people of the duchy have in me.”

However, Anriche was simply persuading her mother in a calm manner about why she needed to review the budget.

There was no anger, threats, or tears.

Only clear and logical reasoning.

“Wouldn’t it be best to show you that I am fulfilling my duties properly?”

Anriche gazed steadily at Delfina.

It was an argument that was hard to refute.

“…”

After a brief silence, Delfina finally spoke.

“Steward.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Hand over the documents to the Duchess.”

“…What?”

In that instant, the steward doubted his ears.

Delfina looked at the steward with an annoyed expression.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and hand over the documents.”

How can you ask for the documents here?!

The steward nearly shouted in protest.

But he quickly calmed himself.

‘No, after all, she is the Duchess.’

The Anriche he knew was completely inept at her job.

No matter how she looked at the documents, she wouldn’t understand what they were about.

If there were any sensitive documents, he could just filter them out and hand them over.

Moreover…

‘I’ve perfectly fabricated the grounds for the budget.’

He could deceive not just the Duchess, but also the meticulous eyes of the Duke.

‘Yes, let her pretend to work all she wants.’

Stifling a laugh inside, the steward nodded respectfully.

“Understood.”

Then Anriche strode up next to the steward.

‘Why is she suddenly coming this way?’

With that thought in mind, the steward regarded Anriche with a dubious gaze.

However, Anriche simply passed him by.

From the very beginning, her focus wasn’t on the steward, but rather on the administrative officer standing behind him.

“Administrator.”

“Yes, yes! Young lady.”

“Where are the documents?”

“They’ve been moved to the steward’s office. I thought you might want to review them once…”

Hmm.

Anriche’s eyes narrowed.

‘Still, those documents are related to the internal affairs of the territory, and they’re being kept in the steward’s office.’

That seemed a bit strange.

Thinking that, Anriche nodded.

“I see. Let’s go.”

“Where are you referring to?”

“Where else? We need to go to the steward’s office.”

Anriche shrugged lightly.

At the same time, the steward hurriedly called out to her.

“Wait, young lady!”

“Why is that?”

“The young lady doesn’t need to come all the way to my office. I can bring it to her…”

“No, I can’t be an unscrupulous mistress who burdens her subordinates with excessive work.”

Anriche returned the steward’s earlier words back to him.

“I never intended to disturb you, so don’t worry too much.”

“No, that’s…”

“However, if there happens to be any missing documents, it would be troublesome, so I’ll borrow that administrator over there.”

Anriche pointed with her chin at the administrator and flashed a sly smile.

“Then they can check the documents for me, right?”

“…”

“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Mother, I’ll see you next time.”

Having shown courtesy to Delfina, Anriche took the administrator and left the room.

The steward felt a chill run down his spine.

‘When did the Duchess start handling things so meticulously?’

But just then, Delfina called out to the steward in a cold voice.

“Steward.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Just now, Anriche referred to herself as ‘an unscrupulous mistress who burdens her subordinates with excessive work.’”

Oh no.

The steward bit his tongue in a moment of panic.

Delfina’s eyes had narrowed dangerously.

“What does that mean?”

“Uh, well…”

“Could it be that the servants are gossiping about Anriche behind her back?”

The steward felt his mouth dry up under Delfina’s cold gaze.

It was understandable; Delfina was someone who drew a clear line between personal and professional matters.

“Even so, Anriche is the Duchess of Balua. How on earth are you managing the subordinates?”

“No, that’s…”

After giving an elaborate excuse, the steward finally managed to escape from Delfina’s fierce glare.

***

In the days that followed, Delfina was filled with complicated feelings.

‘Regardless of my feelings towards Anriche, she is the rightful Duchess of Balua.’

That meant Anriche deserved to be respected as the head of the family.

However, considering the recent quarrel between the steward and Anriche…

‘If the people in the duchy are indeed gossiping about Anriche…’

Deep lines formed on Delfina’s forehead.

Moreover, Anriche’s recent attentiveness to the children stood out in her mind.

‘Lily is not only training in swordsmanship, but she’s also diligently preparing to become the mistress of Balua.’

‘Can’t you trust Lily just a little bit more?’

Anriche’s earnest voice echoed in her ears.

If it had been the old Anriche, she wouldn’t have cared at all about looking after the children…

“Haah.”

Delfina let out a long sigh.

Liliana, and swordsmanship.

If Anriche hadn’t been neglecting Liliana’s education but rather had made a careful decision to teach her swordsmanship…

And if Liliana really was receiving the kind of education that would prepare her to be the Duchess of Balua…

‘Alright. First, let’s hear what Liliana has to say.’

After a heated internal debate, Delfina stepped outside.

Her destination was the training ground where Liliana was receiving her swordsmanship training.

***

Upon arriving at the training ground, Delfina unexpectedly ran into someone.

“Oh my, Elliot?”

“Ah, Grandma!”

It was Elliot.

With a sketchbook on his lap and a pencil in hand, he seemed to be drawing.

Delfina glanced at the sketchbook and her eyes widened.

“Oh my, did you draw all of this, Elliot?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Elliot nodded nonchalantly.

On the white paper, there were drawings of Kate and Liliana dueling.

Although the lines were light, the figures captured not only the movement but also the physical features of the subjects perfectly.

“I heard you received an award at the recent competition; you certainly have the skill to deserve it.”

“W-Where did you hear that, Grandma?”

Elliot’s face flushed bright red.

Delfina squinted playfully at him.

“What do you mean, my precious grandson won an award and I wouldn’t hear about it?”

“…Hehe.”

Elliot smiled shyly instead of answering.

Delfina bent down and ruffled Elliot’s hair.

“More importantly, you actually thought to enter the competition.”

“Really?”

“You used to act like you had no interest in such things at all.”

“Oh, that.”

Elliot looked up at Delfina, thoughtful.

“My mom suggested that I should give it a try.”

“…Anriche?”

Delfina’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Did she suggest it?’

If she had no interest in the children, she wouldn’t have made such a suggestion at all.

Just looking at the old Anriche…

In that moment, a loud shout broke the air.

“Yah!”

It was Liliana.

She sprang off the ground, swinging her wooden sword with all her might.

Clang!

The sharp sound of wood striking wood rang out.

Liliana’s long blonde hair danced behind her as she moved.

Her sea-green eyes sparkled with determination.

‘Wow.’

In that instant, Delfina’s gaze was captured with intrigue.

In truth, Delfina was almost a novice when it came to swordsmanship.

Yet…

‘At that age, she can have such remarkable skill?’

Even someone unversed in the art could recognize that this was overwhelming talent.