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

Lilliana bit her lip hard. She tried not to be nervous, but her palms were damp with sweat.

‘I might make a mistake at this rate. I need to calm down.’

Whew. Taking a deep breath, Lilliana wiped the sweat from her hands on her skirt.

She wasn’t usually this tense, but today, she had a reason for being so nervous.

‘Mother has summoned me to the mansion.’

‘M-Mother? Really? She really wants to see me…?’

Finally.

She was getting a chance to speak with Vanessa, someone she thought she might never see again.

‘This is my one and only chance. I have to do well, no matter what.’

Lilliana had been through an incredibly tough time.

It hadn’t been that long since she first met Vanessa.

But… time felt meaningless because, before she knew it, she had grown more dependent on Vanessa than she’d realized.

‘It’s the first time I’ve ever received such kindness from someone who wasn’t family.’

Though Vanessa always acted as if she were annoyed, there was warmth in her actions.

And to Lilliana, that warmth was incredibly precious.

That’s why being rejected by Vanessa had felt like pure hell.

She blamed herself endlessly, knowing that she was the one who had created this situation.

Even though she smiled on the outside, inside, she missed Vanessa terribly.

‘I don’t want to feel like this anymore. I want to be close to Lady Winder again.’

That’s why she had to make the most of this chance she’d been given. She couldn’t let her nerves ruin everything.

She spent the entire night agonizing over what she would say to Vanessa, trying to think of ways to win back her heart.

Lilliana rehearsed the words she’d prepared over and over in her mind as she anxiously waited for Vanessa to arrive.

Unlike the turbulent time she had been through, the living room of the Winder mansion looked just as it always had.

Lilliana was too nervous to even touch the teacup in front of her as she waited for Vanessa.

About five minutes passed before Vanessa finally appeared.

Lilliana hurriedly stood up to greet her.

“M-Mother, have you been well…?”

Her voice trembled, but she managed to say the greeting she had planned.

Just as she was about to say the rest of what she had prepared, Vanessa responded.

“You’ve grown quite gaunt.”

A brief, concise statement.

But as soon as she heard those words, all the thoughts in Lilliana’s mind vanished.

Until now, Lilliana had believed Vanessa had avoided her because of a sense of betrayal.

Because she had dared to deceive Vanessa. Because she had dared to lie to her.

She believed Vanessa was disappointed in her because of that.

But… but.

She said I’ve grown gaunt?

Lilliana’s mind scrambled to interpret Vanessa’s words.

That must have been concern. Vanessa was genuinely worried about her health, seeing how thin she had become from not eating out of despair.

Tears threatened to well up.

‘…Even when she’s disappointed in me, Lady Winder still worries about me.’

How could I have wronged someone so kind?

Even if Vanessa hated her, Lilliana couldn’t blame her.

She swallowed back the tears that were welling up. Crying now would make it seem like she wasn’t being sincere.

Though her throat was tight, she forced herself to stammer out her thoughts.

“…I’m sorry for deceiving you, Mother.”

“…”

“I know I betrayed your trust. I also know you might hate me for even calling you ‘Mother.’ I understand that this is all my fault. I realize how pathetic I must seem, but…”

Lilliana raised her gaze from the ground to meet Vanessa’s eyes, her bright red ones glittering like rubies. She expressed the deepest truth of her heart.

“I truly like you, Mother. I know you might not believe me, but I really, truly like you.”

After she finished speaking, silence lingered between them for a moment. Lilliana grew so nervous that her neck stiffened, unsure of how Vanessa would respond.

Finally, Vanessa opened her mouth.

“A relationship built on lies will get you nothing, Lilliana.”

Thud. Her heart sank. In despair, Lilliana lowered her head.

“But… I don’t think your feelings for me were a lie.”

“M-Mother? Does that mean…?”

“I understand your feelings. But give me some more time to think. I’ll call for you again.”

Lilliana’s blue eyes lit up with joy.

“Until then, make sure to eat properly. If you show up looking this pitiful again, I’ll scold you thoroughly.”

Vanessa’s words were scolding, but Lilliana replied in the most enthusiastic voice she could muster.

“Yes! I’ll be sure to remember that!”

“Mother, I’ll take my leave now.”

I saw Lilliana off after our conversation ended.

The carriage with the Loke family crest slowly disappeared into the distance. Once it was completely out of sight, I let out a long sigh.

‘…At least Lilliana won’t be struggling for a while now.’

Lilliana’s appearance after such a long time was truly a mess.

I thought she would at least be eating a bit while dating Jeremyon, but that was not the case at all. It seemed Tristan’s words about her starving at home were true. She was even thinner than when I saw her last time.

‘What was I so troubled about?’

It felt like Lilliana had given me more affection than I had realized. And… it was the same for me.

I had said I would think about it more, but in reality, I had already made all my decisions.

I decided not to push Lilliana away anymore.

‘I still don’t know if this is the right direction. But… I want to be honest now.’

Lilliana was truly precious to me.

As a reader of the original work, I thought she was a remarkable girl with her bravery, but when I faced her directly, all those feelings turned into affection.

Those sparkling blue eyes, filled with admiration and fondness for me, were truly adorable. She had to be precious to me.

But because of that, I thought I had to push her away even more.

As long as she was by my side, there was a high possibility that painful things could happen.

From being looked down upon in social circles to threats of assassination, there was a great chance I would get caught up in turmoil.

So I wanted to keep my distance from her so that Lilliana could live freely and happily…

‘If i wish for Liliana to be by my side knowing all those facts…’

I didn’t want to push her away any longer.

She was the first person who had treated me sincerely during the lonely past seven years since coming to this foreign land.

‘But for that, there’s something I need to finish first.’

I glanced at the servant standing beside me.

Although he said nothing, it seemed he understood what I wanted as his eyes sparkled.

“I’ll take you straight to the office, my lady.”

I nodded once and headed to the office.

In the meantime, the servant seemed to have completed all the preparations and handed me a thick document.

“This is a report summarizing Cedric Henry’s activities over the past week. During the weekdays, he was holed up in the mansion, but this week he showed suspicious movements.”

As I received the bundle of papers and began to read, I nodded. The servant continued his report.

“On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we received information that Cedric Henry was loitering near the Winder mansion. On Tuesday and Friday, he was spotted several times near the boutique that you frequently visit.”

Listening to the report, I fell into thought.

Cedric Henry had been the person I was keeping an eye on since the last assassination incident.

And the reason I was suddenly investigating him was…

‘Cedric Henry is the only son of the Count Henry.’

Count Henry was a collateral relative of the Winder family, who had instigated my husband’s murder and even tried to kill me.

He seemed to have dreamed of a thoroughly perfect crime, but after being unable to withstand my threats, Doctor Zitmin exposed him, revealing all his crimes.

As the earl was captured, the reputation of the Henry family was dragged through the mud. The only one left from that family was his son, Cedric.

In other words, he likely harbored a deep grudge against me.

From his perspective, I was the villainess who took away his father and his family’s honor.

“Perhaps he will try to assassinate me in the near future.”

I could be so certain because, in the original story, Jeremyon almost got assassinated by him.