“How would I know if it is even my son’s child! For all I know, you could have been rolling around with some lover of yours!”

“Are you actually suspecting that this is someone else’s child?”

“Of course!”

“I have not set foot outside this house since before the wedding.”

“How would I know you have not been carrying on with the servants or the knights in this house! I will not accept that child.”

I poured tea from the kettle on the side of the room. The soft trickling sound filled the quiet room. The white cup filled with fragrant tea.

“If you will not accept it, are you going to kill it?”

Like in my past life? It was a good thing the tea was still pouring, or I might have let my expression harden while looking at my mother-in-law.

“Yes!”

“How cruel. And what would you do if it truly turned out to be his child?”

“It does not matter. My son’s seed must be born from a noble body!”

At that moment, someone caught my eye.

‘If Mother ever comes, leave the door slightly open when you go out.’

I had told Mary that in advance, so the door she had left slightly ajar came in useful. My mother-in-law was shouting at the top of her lungs and had her back to the door, so she seemed unaware, but I could see it clearly.

Dertosse was coming in through that gap.

“…You are being too cruel, Mother.”

“Ha? Too cruel? What is cruel about it? Every time that word ‘Mother’ comes out of your mouth, it makes my skin crawl.”

“Why do you dislike me so much? I am diligently going through etiquette training because I want to get along well with you.”

“Even if you received etiquette training from the imperial court, there is no reason for me to get along with you. No, I have no desire to.”

I let my hands tremble as though I had taken a great blow.

“Mother…!”

“I told you not to call me that. And if you really are pregnant, I will kill it!”

How could she pick nothing but the cruelest things to do.

She was exactly the same as she had been in my past life. So it was not particularly strange or surprising to me, but Dertosse, who had stepped into the room, looked quite shaken.

“Yes, this is a good opportunity. I will have you killed along with it! So if you cannot stand the thought of that, take something to get rid of the child!”

“Mo, Mother. How can you say something so terrible…! This child truly is Dertosse’s.”

“Truly! Even if it is, I will not allow it. How dare something from such a filthy body carry my son’s precious…!!”

In my past life, I had never even thought to let him see this side of her. I had only said in words that she spoke badly to me. Every time I did, my mother-in-law would shed tears and pour her grievances out to Dertosse, acting the victim of some great injustice.

That Evian was clearly out of her mind, that she was jealous of the closeness between her and Dertosse and was trying to drive a wedge between them… she would say things like that.

In the end, Dertosse let go of my hand, tired of my daily complaints and the unkind things I said about his mother.

But not this time.

Knowing that she had always been careful to torment me only when Dertosse was away from home, I had put my mind to use.

‘Oh! In that case… I want to see some pretty flowers.’

‘Flowers?’

‘Yes. Before you go, buy the biggest and freshest flowers from a nearby florist. While you are working, I will look at them and think of you. Oh, and before you leave, make sure to stop by and greet Mother.’

That was what I had said to Dertosse when he offered to buy me whatever I wanted. Because of that, Dertosse had taken the carriage out and returned almost immediately.

‘Because Mother always tormented me after he left.’

And sure enough, everything unfolded exactly as I had anticipated.

“Really… no matter what I do, you will always dislike me?”

“Yes! If you leave this house on your own, or better yet, if you simply die, then perhaps I might find you dear. Otherwise, I have not a shred of fondness for you!”

“…I am trying so hard….”

“I despise even the sight of you trying. Your face, your voice, your every little action, I find them all utterly repulsive!”

My mother-in-law’s fury grew worse and worse, her hands trembling with rage.

How much effort I had put into becoming the perfect victim for this moment, to show Dertosse his mother’s true face. I did not think this alone would drive a complete wedge between the two of them, but I at least wanted him to understand that his mother was not in her right mind.

And looking at Dertosse’s face as he stood behind her, it seemed to have worked exactly as intended.

“Why do you make that expression? Did I say something wrong?”

“Mother… you seem like a completely different person….”

“So you are saying I should treat this wretch the same way I treat my own son?”

“Th, that is not what I mean… but at least… at least a little. Please see my sincerity, just a little… I did the work of the servants without complaint because I wanted you to look kindly on me….”

But before I could finish, she cut right through my words.

“That was not something you did. I was the one who ordered it. Does it not suit you perfectly, doing menial work?”

“Mother….”

“Well, if you do not want that, I will take care of it myself. Let you see what happens when something like you dares to think herself fit for our family.”

She seemed to have lost all sense of restraint. Or rather, this time she seemed determined to correct my behavior once and for all, and she grabbed me by the hair.

“Eek!”

“There is no one here to hear you. I told everyone not to come in. It is only you and me in this room. So I will teach you a proper….”

At that moment.

Someone grabbed her shoulder with force.

“Mother.”

My mother-in-law, who had been about to drag me by the hair, spun around at the sudden voice. Only then did she release her grip on me and quickly stepped back.

“Dert…!”

“…….”

“So, so this situation, you see. The thing is….”

“Go ahead and make an excuse. I will hear it.”

A murderous look unlike anything I had ever seen before poured from his eyes.

“…I think you are misunderstanding.”

“Then what is the misunderstanding?”

“Wh, where did you come from? How much did you hear?”

He did not answer her frantic question.

Sensing that the situation was serious, she began speaking rapidly.

“I do not know how much you heard, but Dertosse. So, so this situation… this child made a terrible mistake. Th, that is right, a terrible mistake, and this mother of yours was in the middle of correcting her.”

“…….”

But Dertosse still said nothing and only looked at his mother. The way someone would who was waiting to see what more she had to say.

“Dert…?”

“Go on.”

“Wh, what do you want me to say?”

“Say more about what I just heard.”

“It is a misunderstanding. She did something wrong and I was scolding her for it. You know what kind of person this mother of yours is.”

“…Until now I thought I did. I thought you were always a kind mother, but it seems I was the one who was mistaken.”

At those words, his mother shook her head frantically.

“No, no. I am always a kind mother.”

“You said you would kill her. How could you say something so terrible? Tell me.”

“…No. No. That is not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean? What did you mean when you said you would kill the child inside Evie? When you said you would kill Evie?”

“Th, that is because… that is because… that child made a mistake….”

Dertosse walked slowly toward me and stepped in front of me.

“What kind of mistake could possibly justify saying something so terrible?”

“…A very grave one….”

“You cannot even say it right now. Was there truly any grave mistake at all?”

My mother-in-law, at a complete loss. Dertosse, looking at her with cold detachment. And me, acting the part of someone equally at a loss in the middle of it all.

It was a perfect picture.

“Until now, family to me meant Mother, but after marriage, I think of Evie as my family. And if this is how you are going to be… I can no longer keep you close.”

“What are you saying!”

“I am saying that since Mother seems to have become mentally unsound, I am wondering whether I should send her somewhere far away to recuperate.”

“Me, me! This me! This Rose! You would drive me out! From this marquisate! This marquisate is mine! Mine!”

In her agitation, she raised her voice even before her own son. The one thing she could never lose. It was not her son, not her family, but the marquisate itself.

“No. It is mine. I am the Marquis, and Evie is the Marchioness. Even so, I had thought of you as the kind mother who had been good to me, a mother in her right mind, and I had intended to prevent it from coming to this. But it seems that will not be possible.”

Dertosse, who had been gently stroking my shoulder, shook his head at her in plain view.

“I will have them prepare at once.”

“Wh, what? You are going to drive me out? Me? Me!!”

“Yes. That is right.”

“Th, that is impossible. How could you… how could you… abandon me now, after all this time!”

“Because you are someone who threatens Evie, who threatens my child. Even so, if you reflect on your actions and live well there, I will call you back once the child is born and things have settled.”

Could he really be this resolute.

“Come in.”

At his command, the servants entered as though they had been waiting for exactly that.

“Dert… what are you trying to do right now?”