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

“Ugh.”

Lillian let out a low groan.

She couldn’t see the exact situation as she had her head down, but…

She felt a sharp pain and the sensation of hot blood flowing down. It seemed that a knife had cut her throat.

‘…It hurts, but it doesn’t seem to be a deep cut.’

It was the worst situation, but at least that was a relief.

Lillian breathed as carefully as possible to prevent the knife touching her neck from digging in deeper. Taking a deep breath might cause the blade to graze a vital spot.

‘If it were my mother, she wouldn’t be flustered even in this situation. I should try to stay calm as well.’

It was her first time experiencing such a terrifying situation. However, she did her best to remain composed.

Lilliana tried to observe her surroundings as cautiously as possible without provoking Cedric.

The people surrounding her were trembling in fear from the sudden hostage situation.

And standing twenty steps ahead of them was Vanessa.

She was looking this way with a face full of guilt.

‘Mother… you need to escape quickly.’

Honestly, there was almost no way for Vanessa to save Lilliana in this situation.

Since she had already exposed her vital spot to Cedric, he could kill Lilliana if he wanted to.

So, thinking rationally, it would be right for even Vanessa to flee.

‘Surely, Mother knows that fact, so why…?’

It was at that moment she thought that.

“Now isn’t the time for daydreaming, is it?”

“Ugh!”

Cedric threatened her and grabbed her shoulder tightly. Lilian, groaning in pain, locked eyes with Vanessa.

Vanessa’s face was truly filled with guilt. It looked as if she were feeling this pain in place of Lilliana, her expression twisted in anguish.

Suddenly, that face overlapped with the time when they had pushed me away not long ago.

Finally, Lilliana realized.

‘Oh, I see. Mother pushed me away back then because…’

At first, she thought it was simply because she had garnered hatred.

After thinking a bit more, she considered it might be due to the disadvantages she would face in high society as a follower of Vanessa.

However, Vanessa’s true intention wasn’t so simple.

The reason she had pushed me away all this time was…

‘It was all to protect me.’

Vanessa had clearly been worried that something like this would happen. She knew that when Lilliana got close to someone as politically charged as her, she could get caught up in situations like this.

A late realization.

But now that she knew this fact, nothing would change.

‘I wish I had known a little sooner.’

Still, it was a relief. She had gained the certainty that Vanessa had never hated her for a moment.

“Mother, please run away.”

Lilliana mouthed to Vanessa so Cedric wouldn’t notice.

But then it happened.

“Huh?”

The look in Vanessa’s eyes, which had been filled with despair, changed in an instant.

The translator for Vanessa’s words in her mind suddenly began to operate on its own. She started to understand the meaning contained in her gaze.

‘Don’t give up, and if you’re scared, close your eyes. And… trust me.’

If it wasn’t a delusion, Vanessa was definitely saying that with her eyes.

‘No, it can’t be a delusion.’

Seeing the warm gaze directed at her, Lilliana felt reassured that the translator wasn’t malfunctioning.

‘Yes, Mother!’

Lilliana answered inwardly and unconsciously nodded her head very slightly.

Cedric, who noticed that tiny movement, tore his gaze away from the crowd and glared at Lilliana.

“Don’t even think about sending signals… Ugh!”

It was at that moment.

One of Vanessa’s guards, who had moved behind Cedric to avoid his gaze, restrained his arm.

Ah! Cedric groaned in pain from the sudden attack.

In an instant, his arm was twisted, and he lost the knife he had been tightly gripping.

“Do you think I’m going to let you go?”

In a situation where he had lost his weapon, it seemed that Cedric thought the only way to break free was to hold onto Lilliana tighter.

‘I’m scared.’

The situation unfolded so quickly that Lilliana couldn’t tell if she was safe or not, and she felt fear.

But she simply relaxed her body and closed her eyes. Because she trusted Vanessa.

And indeed.

That was the right choice.

There was no way that the guards of ‘that’ Vanessa wouldn’t struggle against an unarmed Cedric.

In the end, he was overpowered on his other arm as well and lost hold of Lilliana. A knight disguised as a civilian quickly moved her toward the crowd.

Meanwhile, Cedric was engaged in a struggle with the guards.

“Let go! Let go of this!”

He shouted in rage and tried to escape. However…

“Bind him!”

The knights, disguised as ordinary people here and there at Vanessa’s command, rushed toward Cedric in an instant.

“Let go! Let go of this! What did I do wrong?”

“Hold him there!”

“Shut him up.”

The knights skillfully subdued the resisting Cedric.

Lilliana, who had been slumped down, was pressing on her wound with her hands. Although it was chaotic, it seemed that the situation had somewhat settled, so she cautiously lifted her head.

At that moment, she made eye contact with Vanessa, who was right in front of her.

The red eyes looking at her were filled with concern.

“Lilliana, quickly show me where you’re hurt.”

Vanessa commanded in a voice more urgent than ever.

The moment Lilliana heard those words, she felt the reality of her safety.

The tension completely relaxed, and her legs, which had barely held her up, began to tremble.

However, strangely, a smile appeared on her face.

“I’m okay, hehe. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

“It doesn’t hurt, my foot. Don’t say such frustrating things.”

With affectionate scolding, Lilliana slightly moved her hand to show Vanessa.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a serious injury… I need to stop the bleeding. I’ve called for a doctor, so for now, try to bear with this.”

Saying that, Vanessa took out a handkerchief from her bosom.

The moment Lilliana saw that familiar sight, she couldn’t help but smile like a fool again.

“Don’t laugh. It’s bleeding more.”

How could she not smile upon hearing such words?

The handkerchief that Vanessa took out, as if it were a matter of course, was… the very one that Lilian had gifted her during embroidery class.

“That handkerchief… I gave it to you. I’m so happy, really…”

With those words, all the strength left Lilaiana’s body. Perhaps due to the complete relaxation of tension, her eyes slowly closed.

Thud. She collapsed into Vanessa’s arms.

Lilliana fainted like that.

“Lilliana? Try to wake up.”

I said to Lilliana, who was cradled in my arms. However, she showed no signs of waking up.

‘Has she fainted…? Well, it would make sense since she must have been shocked.’

While continuing to apply pressure to the wound on her neck, I examined her face.

‘Her lips have lost their color. What a sight this is because of me.’

I recalled the moment when Cedric had taken Lilliana hostage earlier.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t shocked at that time.

I never expected that it would be Lilliana, of all people, who would get caught up in this situation.

However, fortunately, I had prepared a plan that accounted for such events, so I didn’t fall into a panic.

‘I was already aware of the possibility that Cedric might take a hostage.’

Of course, the original plan focused on the assumption that he was targeting me. But I had also made prior arrangements with my guards for such unexpected situations.

Pretending to despair at the sight of captured Lilliana was all an act to give Cedric a sense of victory.

Foolish people tend to relax when they feel they’ve won.

While I closed the distance with Cedric to draw his attention, my guards approached very discreetly from behind.

Thanks to that, we were able to rescue Lilliana safely.

But this wasn’t something to be happy about.

Even though she wasn’t seriously injured… Lilliana ended up experiencing something she shouldn’t have because of me.

‘Yes, it’s all because of me.’

It was entirely my fault. I had pushed Lilliana away out of fear that something like this might happen, and in the end, it turned out this way.

‘But even after going through this because of me, you…’

She had fainted from shock. Yet, even as she was losing consciousness, Lilliana smiled at me purely, simply because I was using the handkerchief she had gifted me.

‘She’s not a fool.’

Despite not having fully reconciled with me, she was absolutely delighted by my every action like a puppy…

She was foolish and innocent, but truly a lovely girl.

Before I knew it, I had brought the fainted Lilliana back to the mansion and waited for the doctor to finish treating her before going inside.

“I don’t think there will be any scars.”

“Yes, my lady. Fortunately, you provided good first aid initially. The wound isn’t too deep, so as long as it’s taken care of, there shouldn’t be any worries about scarring. Fainting was simply due to shock, so she should wake up soon.”

I sighed in relief at the doctor’s words. I was truly grateful.

“Thank you for your hard work. You may leave now.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The doctor bowed and then stepped outside.

Now, only Lilliana and I were left in the room.

“Wake up soon, Lilliana. We still have unfinished business between us.”

I settled into a chair beside the bed and waited for her to regain consciousness.