When I Quit Being A Wicked Mother-in-law, Everyone Became Obsessed With Me - Chapter 176
Extra Chapter 5
Time flowed like water.
Before long, Elliot and Liliana were approaching their twentieth birthdays.
During this time, Elliot had firmly established himself as an artist through seven solo exhibitions and two international exhibitions.
Liliana, having learned swordsmanship from Alexei, had become a prominent knight throughout the empire.
And finally.
“I can’t believe we’re preparing for the wedding of Liliana and Elliot,” Anriche said with a nostalgic voice.
The two decided to hold their wedding in the year they both came of age.
Delphina nodded in agreement. “It really doesn’t feel real. Time seems to be flying by.”
Delphina, who had been in the duchy, had recently returned to the capital after hearing the news about her grandson and granddaughter-in-law’s wedding.
Anriche and Delphina, the two mothers-in-law, were passionately engaged in wedding preparations.
They had one thing they agreed on:
“Our children’s wedding must be absolutely perfect!”
“How can you think exactly like me?” Delphina replied, clasping her hands over her heart in response to Anriche’s outburst.
Thus, the Valois townhouse became very bustling.
Numerous people visited the Valois household: tailors, jewelers, wholesalers selling foodstuffs, and merchants dealing in dishware.
Amid all this, the day for Liliana’s wedding dress fitting approached.
“Wow, Lily!”
Clap, clap, clap!
Beatrice clapped her hands enthusiastically, her eyes shining like stars.
“Sister, you look like an angel!”
Anriche thought Beatrice’s praise was entirely justified.
After all,
‘Our Lily is the most beautiful bride-to-be in the world!’
Anriche was internally gushing just as much as Beatrice was.
Liliana, dressed in a pure white wedding dress and a translucent lace veil, smiled shyly.
“Thank you, Bella.”
“It’s nothing! I’m just speaking the truth!”
Beatrice exclaimed, her cheeks flushed.
“Today, you look really beautiful.”
Delphina was also busy complimenting her granddaughter-in-law.
Meanwhile, Elliot…
“…”
Was simply fixed on Liliana, as if entranced.
He had no words or reactions at all.
It was as if staring at Liliana was the only task left for him on this earth.
Elliot could not tear his gaze away from his fiancée.
At that moment, as Liliana exchanged a few words with Delphina, she turned to Elliot.
“Elliot?”
“…”
“Elliot!”
Only after Liliana called his name a second time did he snap back to reality.
Liliana carefully asked, “How do I look? Do I seem okay?”
Her voice was filled with anticipation.
Elliot swallowed dryly.
And what he said was,
“Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Can’t you wear a different dress instead of that wedding dress?”
… It was such a ridiculous question.
Liliana couldn’t hide her bewildered expression.
“Huh? Why? Don’t you like this dress?”
“No, that’s not it!”
Elliot jumped up from his seat.
“It’s just…”
After a moment of deep thought, he began to mumble softly.
“… because.”
“What?”
“Yes, because you look too beautiful!”
In an instant, Elliot’s voice shot up.
His face had turned as red as a ripe tomato.
“What, what? Why are you shouting?”
Liliana looked at Elliot with wide, surprised eyes.
But Elliot was completely serious.
“This dress suits you so well and looks so beautiful that it’s troubling.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What if the guests at the wedding fall for you?”
At his serious question, the family fell silent.
“…”
“…”
After a moment of quiet, the first to break the silence was Beatrice.
“Brother, that’s a bit too much.”
“I agree.”
“Bella is right.”
Even Anriche and Delphina, who usually doted on Elliot, said so.
And Liliana, the person in question, said,
“See, our Bella is really smart!”
Instead of defending her fiancé, she showed her boundless affection for her brother-in-law.
Elliot frowned.
“Lily!”
His voice clearly showed he was pouting.
Liliana turned back to him, her expression playful.
“Honestly, you know that comment was too much, right?”
“No, but still…”
And at that moment, Liliana flashed a teasing smile.
“Well, I’ll take that to mean you like me that much.”
“…”
“Thank you.”
At those words, a smile spread across Elliot’s face.
Watching this, Anriche felt certain.
Ah, our son will be tied down by his daughter-in-law for life.
She felt a strangely pleasant emotion.
She let out a short laugh.
That evening.
Beatrice tiptoed over to her mother.
Her eyes sparkled, indicating she had something to say.
“Bella, what’s up?”
“Mom!”
As soon as Anriche asked, Beatrice rushed into her mother’s embrace.
“I heard from the nanny!”
What could she have heard that made her so excited?
Anriche widened her eyes and looked down at her daughter.
Beatrice’s expectant gaze met hers.
“When you and Dad get married, does that mean I can’t sleep with you anymore?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Anriche nodded absentmindedly.
After the wedding, Elliot and Liliana would officially be a couple.
It would be difficult for Beatrice to spend time with them as freely as before, respecting the couple’s privacy.
Upon hearing this, Beatrice declared,
“Then I’m going to sleep with Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Lily and Elliot tonight!”
“… Huh?”
Wait, why did the conversation suddenly turn in that direction?
But Beatrice was serious.
“My friends say there’s something called a pajama party.”
A pajama party.
Anriche had a rough idea of what that was.
It was a time when friends gathered, shared snacks, and stayed up late talking while sleeping in one room.
“Why is that?”
“I want to make some memories with the family before you and brother get married.”
Beatrice blinked her eyes as cutely as she could while saying this.
“… Is that okay?”
In the end, the Balua family decided to have a pajama party a week before the wedding.
Beatrice was so well-prepared that everyone in the family had received matching pajamas with a rabbit pattern.
Even Alexei, unable to resist his youngest daughter’s pleas, changed into a pair of rabbit-patterned pajamas.
“Where on earth did you get these pajamas?”
Anriche asked, unable to hide her astonishment.
Beatrice proudly puffed out her chest and answered,
“Grandma prepared them!”
“… My mother?”
Anriche instinctively turned to Delphina.
Delphina met her gaze with a cheeky expression.
“What? Why?”
Feeling a bit guilty, Delphina snapped back.
“I also wanted to have a pajama party with the family!”
Wait, I haven’t said anything yet…?
Anriche let out a helpless laugh.
Oh, my mother.
She wondered how her little granddaughter and Delphina had gotten along so well.
“Mother, you should think about your dignity.”
Alexei, unable to watch any longer, scolded her.
Delphina squinted her eyes and replied,
“Make sure you keep your dignity first.”
“What?”
“Acting childish in front of Riche is what keeps your dignity?”
“No, that’s not something you should be saying, Mother!”
Alexei couldn’t help but raise his voice.
But unexpectedly, Elliot chimed in.
“I think Grandma is right.”
He was even siding with Delphina.
“Dad, you know you can be really childish sometimes, right?”
Elliot shot a serious look at his father as he spoke.
Liliana, standing next to Elliot, nodded subtly in agreement.
Beatrice also backed up Elliot’s statement.
“Dad, I think what brother said is right.”
“I’m… childish?”
“Yes.”
Beatrice answered without batting an eye.
… And this is why raising children seems pointless.
Alexei found himself sinking into a deep sense of disillusionment about life.