Even to me, Joyce seemed naive and thoughtless. But that doesn’t mean she deserves to be deprived of basic human treatment.

Even if she had been caught in an affair, that would be grounds for divorce, not for locking her up in the house. But I’m sure the Baron and Baroness think differently. Divorce, to them, is defying a vow made before the goddess and a sin deserving of punishment. To them, they probably feel they’re preserving the family by confining their daughter-in-law. What a miserable world.

“So, what does your husband say? Why haven’t I heard anything about him?”

“…Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“He doesn’t say anything.”

That didn’t seem right. Joyce shut her mouth tight, as if unwilling to talk about her husband. But that evening, I heard something unexpected from the doctor.

“She’s pregnant.”

Damn it. Since Joy had barely touched her food, I brought her a simple dinner to her room and called the doctor just in case, and there it was—she was pregnant.

I chewed through some calming pills, wondering why everything had to go wrong. Was it a mistake to come looking for her, hoping to get the divorce papers signed quickly? Maybe I should have waited until she was in better condition. I steadied myself, took a deep breath, and opened Joyce’s bedroom door.

“Joyce… listen without panicking.”

She already looked prepared to cry.

“Is it… some fatal illness?”

I sighed at the tears brimming in her eyes.

“You’re pregnant.”

“What?”

“You’re pregnant.”

Though every life deserves to be celebrated, I couldn’t bring myself to congratulate her. What if she fell into despair, regretting her life choices so much that she might take drastic action? But Joyce didn’t react the way I’d expected—there was no hysterics.

“Really?”

Her expression was odd. Her face, surprisingly, seemed a mix of anticipation and fear. In a daze, she mumbled to herself.

“Could it be a boy?”

Today is full of surprises.

“Weren’t you saying you wanted a divorce? Why does it matter if it’s a boy or girl?”

At my words, Joyce lowered her head. She fidgeted with her fingers, then gave a faint smile.

“It would just be nice if it were a boy.”

“Why? Would a boy magically make all your troubles go away?”

I couldn’t help sounding a bit sarcastic. Joy looked downcast.

“Maybe it would.”

Exasperated, I plopped down on the edge of her bed.

“And why do you think that?”

“People say so. They say if I give birth to Louis’s son, no one would care if I had an affair or lived separately.”

It’s true; there are plenty of couples who live apart after securing an heir, so I couldn’t argue.

“And Mother said that if I have a child, Louis would finally come to his senses.”

My own mother-in-law had said something similar. Not to me, but to Ian.

“If you raise a child together, you’ll come to love Liv,” she had told him.

I spoke firmly. “That’s just a mother’s empty hope.”

“….”

“You can love your child, of course. You might try to get along with the child’s mother for their sake, but is that real love?”

“My mother-in-law said Louis would come to his senses. She didn’t say he’d love me.”

Joyce placed a hand on her stomach.

“I thought I was just gaining weight from staying in all the time…”

I found myself wanting to ask her countless questions, but I swallowed them down, over and over. Out of them all, the question that escaped my lips seemed like the stupidest.

“…Do you still want a divorce?”

“No.”

What mother would want to make her child illegitimate? Once born, the child would have the privilege of growing up with all the wealth of the Molly estate, and no mother would wish hardship on her child if they could help it. But I still had to ask. Joyce’s feelings mattered to me more.

“Then do you think you can endure this?”

“…Am I really pregnant?”

“The doctor said so, so it must be true.”

“Then… I think I can endure it. Isn’t that strange? Before I came here, I felt I couldn’t take it any longer, and I just wanted to disappear…”

I couldn’t understand Joy. She seemed to be getting brighter by the second. Smiling, she said:

“At least now, there’ll be someone in the Molly family who will love me.”

I didn’t know why, but her words brought tears to my eyes. I pulled her into a hug. Joyce leaned against me and, with a trembling voice, began to cry.

“This child will take my side. I think I can endure it.”

Why does she sound so pitiful? I can’t stop crying. I felt heartbroken but also, in a way, envious of Joyce. It seemed she was already imagining a future with her child—something that would never be allowed for me.

“So, when will you tell your in-laws?”

Pouting her lips like she did when she was little, Joyce replied, “I don’t know.”

“Tell them when you feel ready. But I also have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

I hesitated briefly. I didn’t want to shock someone who was pregnant.

“…Can you promise not to be too surprised?”

“Is it as surprising as finding out I’m pregnant?”

She laughed, and I did too.

“I’m getting a divorce.”

Joyce looked just as shocked as she did when she heard about her pregnancy.

“Didn’t I tell you not to be shocked? Take a deep breath.”

“Ha… ha… are you serious, not kidding?”

“Why would I joke about something like this?”

“I thought you liked Duke Keppel.”

“I do. But don’t you like Lord Louis?”

When I threw the question back at her, Joyce replied, sounding almost incredulous.

“Not anymore.”

“Really? No lingering feelings?”

“That’s right, I have someone else I love.”

Proudly, she pointed to her belly.

“Here, say hi. This is the one I love.”

I waved, smiling. “Hello, little Molly.”

Even though we were having a serious conversation, I couldn’t help but laugh. But this was typical of Joyce. She’d always been someone who could make others laugh. I felt like I was seeing the old Joyce again, and it was comforting. After a long bout of laughter, Joyce spoke up.

“I did like Louis. But I think the love faded long ago, probably right after we got married. I just kept believing he was the only one who could save me and mistook that for love. But it wasn’t.”

I listened quietly.

“I thought if he loved me, everything would be okay. But it’s not like that. Thinking back, both my mother-in-law and my own mother must have known the truth. Back then, I was sick of them constantly telling me to have a child. But now that I’m pregnant, I feel relieved. It doesn’t make much sense to you, does it?”

Joyce had been married for six years. I could imagine how endlessly people must have talked about her not having a child.

I had experienced it too. Luckily, my mother-in-law never brought up pregnancy in front of me, and Ian didn’t even live with me, so I wasn’t openly called barren. But Joyce must have endured remarks about whether something was wrong with her. Perhaps that’s why she seemed genuinely happy to be pregnant, even in these circumstances.

“Louis was nothing. You were the one who got me out of that house, and this child will be the one to end it all. There you go—he was really nothing. That bastard.”

Joyce wasn’t crying anymore. Her blue eyes were filled with anger.

“Do you know what he said to me? That once I had a son, his parents would stop interfering, and until then, we should just tolerate each other. After that, we wouldn’t have to bother each other.”

Wow. How could anyone say such a thing?

“He’s only doing it because it’s his duty. He said I disgust him. My jealousy disgusts him, my immature whining disgusts him. He kept comparing me to you, saying why couldn’t I be more like you? The Duchess of Keppel fulfills her role even though her husband loves another woman, so why do I cry and act so pathetically?”

Joyce buried her face in her hands and started to cry again. I was glad I’d taken some calming pills beforehand; otherwise, I’d have fainted from anger.

“Isn’t he crazy? And you just sat there listening to that?”

“At the time, it sounded true. I didn’t even try to argue. Why am I so stupid? I want to grab him by the collar and tell him I’m divorcing him too.”

Joyce, once so cheerful, seemed to be going mad, all because of that bastard. And his family was just as bad. They acted so morally upright and sensible, yet resorted to such low tactics to keep their daughter-in-law imprisoned. Now that I think about it, when my father was alive, the Molly baron acted like his best friend, but as soon as he passed away, he didn’t reach out even once. If it were me, I’d have looked out for his family out of respect for his memory.

“…Are you really not going to get a divorce?”

“….”

“If it’s about money, don’t worry. Come live with me. I’ll have my pension from my honor medals, so we’ll manage.”

“I want to give this child the best possible future.”

Honestly, I hadn’t really expected her to agree to a divorce. For Joyce and me, we could live quietly after a divorce, but the child would never even get a taste of the privileges that come with the upper class. But I didn’t want her to stay and endure abuse just for the child’s sake, either.

“All right, then we need a plan.”

“A plan?”

Joyce looked at me with curiosity, but I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I crossed my arms and looked at her intently.

“Will you do what I say?”

“Huh?”

“Follow my plan. You need to show him that you won’t just sit back and take it. That way, that bastard will learn to watch his mouth around you.”

“Like… how?”

I grinned.

“Let’s start by making him angry.”

Joyce looked at me, confused, clearly not understanding.

“On second thought, maybe it’s best to tell your in-laws soon. They’ll be thrilled to hear that the grandchild they’ve been longing for is on the way.”

Joy finally seemed to grasp what I was saying and looked shocked. I explained further.

“What does Louis hate the most? His parents’ nagging, right? And what do your in-laws hate the most?”

Joyce thought for a moment and answered, somewhat uncertainly, “When I rebel?”

“Nope. What they hate most is not being able to see the grandchild they’ve been desperately waiting for.”

“…”

“It’s not about actually keeping them away forever. It’s about letting them know that could happen.”

Oh, let them fume with rage.