When I Quit Being A Wicked Mother-in-law, Everyone Became Obsessed With Me

“Are you very busy, Riche?”

“Oh, Alexei?”

At the unexpected visit, Anriche quickly stood up.

“Why aren’t you asleep at this hour?”

“How could I sleep when you’re working so hard?”

Alexei shrugged lightly and handed Anriche a warm cup of cocoa.

“Here, drink this.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Anriche accepted the cup without hesitation.

‘They say sugar helps with fatigue, after all.’

As the sweet liquid flowed down her throat, she finally felt a bit more alive.

Watching his wife drink the cocoa, Alexei glanced at the desk.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

His blue eyes were fixed on the mountain of paperwork.

Anriche’s face brightened.

“That would be really helpful!”

There were so many documents to review that no matter how many times she checked them, it seemed endless.

Alexei’s expression grew subtly complex at her response.

“…Did His Majesty, by any chance, assign you excessive work?”

“What?”

“If that’s the case…”

He looked like he was ready to march off and grab the emperor by the collar.

Anriche gasped.

“No, it’s not like that!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I’m doing this because I want to work hard.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Only then did Alexei’s fierce expression soften a little, though there was still a hint of doubt.

To divert his attention, Anriche hurriedly handed him one of the documents.

“Here, start by looking at this.”

“…”

With a slightly disgruntled look, Alexei took the paper.

“A carriage rental business?”

“Yes.”

Anriche quickly nodded.

“They sometimes rent out carriages for a certain fee, it seems.”

“Then the main customers would likely be wealthy commoners or nobles.”

“Correct.”

Then, Alexei asked her with a curious expression.

“But wouldn’t those people prefer their private carriages rather than using a shared one?”

“Well, it’s not like I didn’t consider that.”

Anriche shrugged as she replied.

“The more customers we have, the better it is for business, right?”

“Of course, but…”

“To attract a wider customer base, I think it’s important to know where both regular people and high-status clients tend to go.”

She clenched her fists with determination.

“Who knows? This research might even help upscale the shared carriage business in the future!”

“…It’s great that you’re so enthusiastic, but aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

Anriche smiled brightly.

“If I’m going to do it, I want to do it well, right?”

Looking at his wife, Alexei sighed deeply.

“Fine, Riche should do what she wants.”

“Thank you.”

“But I still don’t like seeing you overwork yourself.”

Alexei took a seat on the office sofa with a serious expression.

“From now on, I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Hmm, aren’t you busy, too?”

“Watching you overwork is harder than getting busier myself.”

At his resolute answer, Anriche looked a bit troubled.

“Alright, I’ll rest tomorrow.”

Finally, his expression softened a bit.

“Do you promise?”

“Of course.”

Anriche nodded vigorously.

“Then, to make sure you can rest comfortably tomorrow…”

With a sly smile, Alexei started going through the documents with a determined hand.

***

About two hours later.

Anriche was newly amazed at her husband’s capabilities.

‘Wow, the pile of documents has already decreased this much.’

The towering stack had noticeably shrunk.

‘At this rate, I might be able to get to bed within an hour.’

Feeling content, Anriche reached for the next pile of documents.

It was a list of people who had rented carriages and the routes those carriages had taken.

The documents were quite thick, indicating that the carriage rental business was thriving.

‘Huh?’

Her face subtly stiffened.

After flipping through a few pages, she noticed a familiar name.

‘Denis… Sachsen?’

The name belonged to none other than the Marquess of Sachsen.

Anriche couldn’t hide her shock.

‘No matter how hard the Sachsen family is struggling, I didn’t think they’d need to rent carriages.’

Besides, hadn’t the marquess recently earned a fortune from a successful investment?

Of course, where he got the initial capital for that investment was another question entirely…

“…”

Biting her lip, Anriche continued reading the documents.

What she gathered from the records was this:

The Marquess of Sachsen had been renting carriages on a regular basis.

However, he never rented from the same carriage company twice.

He went out of his way to switch companies each time.

And the destination of these carriages was…

‘285-7 Harriet Street.’

…always the same location.

‘This is definitely suspicious.’

She gripped the documents tightly.

‘It’s like he’s trying to keep his destination hidden.’

Anriche raised her head abruptly.

“Alexei.”

Alexei looked at her, puzzled.

“What is it?”

In a serious tone, Anriche handed him the document.

“Denis’s name is listed here.”

“…No way.”

Surprise flashed across Alexei’s face.

“Do you mean the Marquess of Sachsen?”

“Yes.”

Anriche nodded heavily.

“Do you remember the rumor we heard?”

“Rumor…?”

“The one about the Sachsen family’s financial situation suddenly improving.”

At that, a sharp look crossed his blue eyes.

“Now that you mention it, I remember hearing something like that from the Viscount of Skyler.”

“Exactly. And there were also rumors that the First Prince was going undercover to observe the lives of the citizens…”

Anriche added a bit sharply.

“You know, Alexei, the First Prince isn’t exactly the type to go on undercover missions.”

“…You’re absolutely right.”

Alexei nodded in agreement.

A heavy silence fell between them.

“…”

“…”

After a moment, Anriche spoke in a subdued voice.

“It seems… we need to investigate Denis’s destinations.”

“Are you sure?”

“About what?”

“The Marquess of Sachsen is your younger brother, isn’t he?”

At his cautious question, Anriche felt an odd sting at the tip of her nose.

Because she knew it too well.

‘Alexei despises Denis.’

And yet, right now, Alexei was prioritizing Anriche’s feelings, showing concern for her first.

That alone…

‘He’s being considerate of me.’

She smiled softly.

“It’s fine.”

“But…”

“I’m not so immature that I can’t separate work from personal matters.”

Only after hearing her response did Alexei seem to relax a bit.

At that moment—

“Riche?”

Alexei looked at her in surprise.

She had suddenly stood up and sat close beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“You were worried about me, right?”

A small voice echoed.

“Thank you.”

At her whisper, a gentle smile appeared on Alexei’s lips.

“…It’s nothing.”

He extended a hand and gently patted her shoulder.

The tension slowly drained from her body.

‘When I’m by his side… I can just be myself.’

No need to try so hard to impress; she could just be natural.

Anriche closed her eyes, a faint smile on her lips.

It was a peaceful smile.

***

‘The Harriet estate, and these rented carriages…’

After first catching onto this “suspicious activity of Denis’s,” the first thing Anriche did was collect information.

She visited various carriage rental companies, gathering all available data related to “rented carriages” and “the Harriet estate.”

‘There must be a reason Denis is frequently visiting that place.’

With a sharp gaze, she combed through the documents.

And as a result—

Here’s what she discovered:

‘More than a third of the people renting carriages are heading to 285-7 Harriet Street.’

Anriche looked at the documents with a curious expression.

‘And all those people are visiting there regularly, too.’