Chapter – 11
The door closed soundlessly.
After stepping outside, Meg leaned against the door and narrowed her eyes sharply.
‘What suddenly got into Madam, for her to pay so much attention to Young Master Elliot?’
Today’s Anriche had been strange.
Instead of treating Elliot as a nuisance like before, she spoke to him with a warm smile.
She had even come to see her son before bedtime, handed him cocoa, and asked if he wanted to sleep together with her.
No matter how one looked at it, she seemed like a mother who cherished her son.
And the biggest problem was…
‘…Young Master Elliot is wavering.’
If it had been the usual Elliot, he would have obediently agreed when Meg suggested throwing away the cocoa.
But Elliot stubbornly insisted, saying, ‘Mother gave it to me, so I’m going to drink all of it.’
He had even refused to let her take away the cup, forcing Meg to leave the room empty-handed.
‘This isn’t good…’
Meg frowned as she crossed the hallway.
Just then, maids came running toward her from afar.
“Head Maid!”
“What is it?”
Meg wore a gentle smile across her face.
“A little while ago, Madam came to the kitchen…!”
“She got extremely angry and told us not to speak carelessly about Lady Liliana!”
The maids clung to Meg with tearful expressions.
“What if Madam suddenly starts taking interest in the household affairs now?”
At those words, Meg’s brows stiffened.
Until now, Anriche had shown absolutely no interest in household matters.
The one who had filled that empty position was Meg.
Over a long period of time and effort, she had slowly brought the maids over to her side.
Thanks to that effort, the maids now prioritized Meg’s orders over Anriche’s.
But…
‘If Madam starts involving herself in the household…’
A chill spread through one corner of her heart as if she had swallowed a huge piece of ice.
No, that couldn’t possibly happen.
Meg bit her lips so hard they nearly bled.
That lazy and selfish Madam would never bother herself with taking care of household matters, would she?
“…Head Maid?”
At that moment, the maids called out to Meg suspiciously.
Meg quickly regained her composure.
‘No. If I look unreliable to the maids, it’s over.’
Hurriedly fixing her expression, Meg spoke in the calmest tone possible.
“My, everyone seems very worried.”
“Head Maid, what should we do now?”
“If Madam really starts supervising things, work is going to become incredibly troublesome…”
The maids poured out their worries all at once.
Then Meg shook her head.
“But you still have me by your side, don’t you?”
Meg smiled confidently.
“No matter how much Madam starts paying attention, I’m still the one handling the actual work.”
“…Head Maid.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure you girls don’t suffer, so just trust me.”
At those dependable words, the maids looked at Meg with faces full of emotion.
Meg deliberately let out a deep sigh.
“Still, Madam was a little too much this time.”
“R-Right?”
“Of course. Even adding just one more person to serve increases our workload tremendously…”
Meg comforted the maids in a gentle voice.
“And yet she only glared at you girls over Lady Liliana’s matter.”
“Don’t even mention it, we’re exhausted!”
“The only one who truly understands us is Head Maid!”
The maids crowded around Meg.
“Head Maid is right.”
“We’ll only trust Head Maid!”
“That’s right. Head Maid is someone who has all of the Duke’s trust, isn’t she?”
One of the maids said excitedly.
Meg waved her hand modestly.
“Oh dear, hearing you girls say that is rather embarrassing.”
“Oh, don’t say that. Who here doesn’t know about the relationship between you and the Duke?”
“They say the two of you practically grew up like friends since childhood!”
The maids spoke all at once.
A faint smile appeared on Meg’s lips.
“Well, it’s true that His Grace listens to my opinions a little more carefully than others…”
“And that itself is proof that His Grace favors you!”
The maids continued showering Meg with praise without pause.
Surrounded by the maids, Meg continued walking.
However, her eyes had already turned cold.
‘Still… there’s no harm in being cautious.’
Madam, whose attitude had changed as easily as turning over one’s hand—
And that girl from the Everit Count family who had captured Elliot’s heart in an instant.
Both of them seemed like people she needed to be careful of.
Anriche stepped into the bedroom.
A lively voice greeted her.
“Mother, you’re here?”
“Liliana.”
Liliana jumped down from the bed and ran over to Anriche.
Anriche smiled brightly.
“Oh my, you’ve already changed into your pajamas?”
“Ah… yes!”
Liliana trailed off for a moment.
She suddenly remembered the maid who had escorted her to the room and then coldly turned away.
‘You can change into pajamas by yourself, right?’
Without even waiting for an answer, the maid had simply gone back downstairs.
…But I can’t bother Mother with something this trivial.
I can’t become a “troublesome child” here too.
Hiding her complicated feelings, Liliana smiled sweetly.
“Here, cocoa.”
“Wow, thank you!”
As Liliana sipped the cocoa, she looked up at Anriche with sparkling light-green eyes.
“This cocoa is really delicious…”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
Such a pretty child, and yet she had lived such a difficult life.
Unable to suppress the ache in her heart, Anriche quietly gazed at Liliana.
Liliana tilted her head.
“Mother?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Shaking her head, Anriche gently patted Liliana’s hair.
The moment their eyes met, Liliana gave an innocent little grin.
“Liliana.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“When the maid brought you here earlier, did she do anything that made you uncomfortable?”
Anriche suddenly asked.
She had remembered the kitchen maids whispering among themselves earlier.
At once, Liliana’s shoulders stiffened.
“…Something uncomfortable?”
“Yes. Like making it obvious she disliked you, or giving you unpleasant looks…”
“N-No. Nothing like that happened.”
Liliana reflexively shook her head.
That couldn’t be right though?
The maid who had escorted Liliana to the bedroom was supposedly close with the kitchen maids too…
Anriche looked at Liliana suspiciously.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Liliana nodded fervently.
Well, if Liliana insisted that much.
Although it still felt a little suspicious, Anriche decided to let it go for now.
“If you’ve finished drinking, let’s go brush your teeth.”
“Yes!”
The two headed straight to the bathroom.
Under Anriche’s supervision, Liliana diligently brushed her teeth.
Liliana looked so adorable with white foam all around her mouth that Anriche unconsciously smiled.
After the two of them finished getting ready for bed and lay down side by side on their pillows—
“Um, Mother.”
“Yes?”
At the voice calling her, Anriche turned onto her side toward Liliana.
Even in the darkness, Liliana’s light-green eyes shone clearly.
After hesitating for a long while, Liliana carefully spoke.
“Today… I was really happy to meet you like this, Mother.”
“…Were you?”
“Yes. If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up…”
As soon as she finished speaking, Liliana fell fast asleep.
Anriche reached out and gently pulled the blanket up over the child’s delicate shoulders.
“This isn’t a dream, Liliana.”
The hand patting the child was incredibly gentle.
“From now on, there will only be days where you smile brightly. I promise.”
Anriche tightly embraced Liliana.
For the first time, she felt grateful that she had possessed the role of the “evil mother-in-law.”
Because she had been able to save Liliana from that horrible orphanage…
She truly was grateful.
2. I’m Pretty Sure I Was Only Trying to Win Over My Daughter-in-Law?
Late at night, when all living things were asleep—
The heavy sound of footsteps echoed through the silence.
A handsome man walked into the Valois townhouse.
“You have returned, My Lord.”
Accepting the man’s coat, the butler bowed respectfully.
The Empire’s sharpest sword.
The Emperor’s closest friend.
The head of Valois, the Empire’s only ducal house.
A man adorned with countless titles like a radiant halo.
It was Aleksei von Valois.
“You are later than usual today.”
“There was more work than expected.”
Aleksei gave a slight nod, his face showing deep exhaustion.
“To think even the butler can notice that I’m tired. It seems I need to manage my expressions better.”
Aleksei let out a quiet chuckle.
He raised a hand and rubbed his weary face several times.
After a moment, Aleksei lifted his head.
His vivid blue eyes were now shining sharply, without even the slightest opening.
