I Became the Mother-in-law of the Regretful Female Lead

While Lilliana was asleep, I took care of several tasks.

After all, given that such a hostage situation had unfolded in a highly populated area, there were a few issues that needed to be resolved.

The most important one was deciding what to do with Cedric.

‘I’d love nothing more than to finish him off with my own hands, but…’

Unfortunately, I couldn’t.

Too many witnesses had already seen the incident. If I had been the only victim, I would have handled it as I wished, but since Lilliana had been caught up in it, it wasn’t that simple.

So, I had no choice but to hand him over to the guards after managing to capture him. He would likely face punishment soon enough.

‘He dared to touch the duke’s daughter… The verdict will probably be the same as his father’s—execution.’

With that, the direct line of the Baron Henry family would be completely wiped out. The collateral branches would certainly cause a commotion for a while, but that wasn’t something I needed to worry about right now.

What was important to me right now… was this child.

I looked down at Lilliana, who was still lying on the bed.

Her complexion, which hadn’t been good when she fainted, had improved slightly, perhaps because she’d had some rest.

Sitting beside her, I reached out and gently took her wrist, massaging it softly, hoping it would help, even a little.

How much time had passed?

“…Mother…?”

Finally, she woke up.

“Lilliana. You’re awake?”

“Ugh… Yes, yes…”

Still groggy, she slowly raised herself up.

After blinking a few times, her eyes gradually regained their clarity.

“Are you feeling better now?”

She slowly nodded her head.

Seeing her fully awake, the anxiety that had been sitting in my heart disappeared. The doctor had said she would be fine, but I couldn’t help but worry about the possibility that she might not wake up.

I sighed deeply in relief. But now that the worry was gone, I started to feel angry.

“That was such a foolish thing to do. Telling me to run away! You should have prioritized yourself! How could you say something so reckless?”

Lilliana didn’t frown at my harsh words. Instead, she simply smiled faintly.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I made you worry again, didn’t I? Hehe.”

I let out a small laugh at her foolish expression. The saying, ‘You can’t stay angry at a smiling face,’ couldn’t have been more true.

“But really… it’s such a relief. We’re both safe in the end, aren’t we?”

Her bright voice only made my heart ache more.

“Safe? What do you mean safe? You’ve got such a large wound on your neck!”

“What does it matter? It’s just this much… Besides, Mother, you’re safe. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Foolish. So utterly foolish. How do you expect to survive in this harsh world with such a soft heart…”

Overcome with emotion, I lowered my head.

The truth is, I was worried. I feared that when Lilliana woke up, she would resent me.

I had already given my heart completely to this child… but I was scared she would say she no longer liked me.

But of course…

Lilliana, even in a moment like this, remained steadfast.

‘Maybe the soft-hearted one isn’t Lilliana, but me.’

No matter what she goes through, this child’s spirit never wavers.

I used concern as an excuse to push her away many times… but Lilliana always came at me with all her might.

Even though she must have been afraid of being rejected, her courage never wavered.

I had really liked Lilliana when I was reading the original story… but in reality, she was even more amazing.

‘With someone as resolute as you, how could I not like you?’

I forced myself to swallow the tears that threatened to rise and kept up my usual cold demeanor.

“Promise me, Lilliana. Promise that you’ll never think of doing something like that again.”

“Hehe…”

Liliana smiled as if she wasn’t confident she could make such a promise, her eyes darting sideways.

I sighed, frustrated.

“Hah, really. This won’t do. I’m too afraid of what foolish thing you might try next, so I guess I’ll have to keep you by my side to watch over you.”

“Huh? Mother? What did you just say…?”

Lilliana, pretending not to notice, had been looking away, but now she whipped her head around, her face suddenly close to mine. Her bewildered expression showed she was worried she had misheard me.

I glared down at her, my expression fierce as I barked at her.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

Finally realizing what I had said, Lilliana’s eyes grew wide. Overcome with joy, her blue eyes welled with tears.

With a voice louder and clearer than ever, she shouted:

“No! Of course not! How could I have any complaints!”

“That’s right. Of course, you shouldn’t.”

“Yes, Mother… Thank you. Really, truly, thank you so much… Huh—”

Unable to hold back any longer, Lilliana burst into tears.

I didn’t know why she was so overjoyed by something like this, but feeling a bit embarrassed, I said something harsh again.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not because I find your behavior endearing that I’m keeping you close.”

But she was too busy crying to hear a word I said.

Sob, sob.

For the first time, Lilliana was making a sound I’d never heard before, crying as if her heart would break. Then, as she moved closer and closer, she finally collapsed into my arms.

“Oh, really.”

I said that in disbelief, but even so, I patted her back.

Like a child seeking comfort, Lilliana pressed closer into me.

She continued to sob in my arms for quite some time.

It was a full hour later when Lilliana finally stopped crying.

“Ugh… I feel dizzy.”

Still clinging to me, she cautiously pulled herself upright.

That’s when we both noticed my clothes, soaked through.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, Mother. I got your clothes all wet because of me. What should we do? I’ll buy you new ones as a gift—”

“They’re clothes I was going to throw away anyway. It doesn’t matter what got on them, it’s not something I care about.”

Watching Vanessa respond so nonchalantly, Lilliana gave a small smile.

‘Mother really… She goes through so much trouble to say she doesn’t care. But that’s part of her charm.’

She looked up at Vanessa with admiration in her eyes. Even in a moment like this, there wasn’t a hint of a crack in her expression.

“More importantly, Lilliana.”

“Yes, Mother? What is it?”

Vanessa, who had been sitting beside her all this time, suddenly stood up and walked over to the nearby desk.

She returned holding something that looked oddly familiar.

‘Oh, that’s…!’

Lilliana belatedly realized what it was. It was the stationery she had carefully chosen after much deliberation.

“You were still gripping this tightly even as you fainted. Is it important to you?”

Vanessa held out the wrapped stationery, and Liliana quickly took it.

She hurried to check its condition.

‘Oh no!’

She had already noticed from a distance that the stationery seemed damaged, but up close, it was even worse.

It seemed her blood had splattered on it while she was held hostage, staining the paper a dark red. The discolored blood gave off a faint metallic smell.

‘I put so much effort into picking it…’

Lilliana unknowingly made a disheartened expression.

She wasn’t usually the type to get upset over material things, but today was different. She had chosen that stationery with such care, hoping to make a good impression on Vanessa.

Noticing her expression, Vanessa spoke up.

“Don’t waste your energy fretting over something like that. I’ll buy you more stationery—however many you want.”

As soon as she heard those words, Liliana’s disappointment vanished completely. She smiled brightly.

“It’s okay, Mother! I don’t need it anymore.”

Vanessa looked puzzled, not understanding Lilliana’s suddenly shifting emotions.