“I am not done talking with this mother of yours! To say such terrible things, that you would abandon me, abandon me…!”

“What is terrible about it? It is perfectly reasonable. I said what I said because Mother refuses to listen. Take her away at once. She does not seem well. Confine her to her room, politely.”

“Dert! You, you would confine this mother of yours?!”

“There was a time I thought it would be better to confine Evie, when I thought one of the two had to be confined. But now I know that is not the case. It seems better for us if Mother is the one confined.”

The servants had already taken hold of both her arms.

“Dert! Dert!!”

“Once the manor on the outskirts of the capital is ready, we will take you there immediately, so please prepare yourself, Mother.”

“Dert!”

Even at his mother’s screams, Dert turned his body completely away, as though deliberately refusing to look. In the end, his mother was dragged out, screaming until her voice went hoarse.

The door closed, and only then did Dertosse look down at me.

But unlike the way he had been just moments before, his eyes were colder than I had ever seen them.

“Evie.”

“Yes…?”

“What could you have done wrong to deserve to hear such things from Mother? Did you get into an argument with her while I was away?”

Sure enough, he had not deviated from my expectations in the slightest. I had wondered what had come over him, being so firm with his mother, but he still believed I bore some fault in this as well.

“…Dertosse.”

“Yes.”

“I do not think you will believe anything I say right now. If you think I am the reason things have gone wrong between you and Mother, it is all right to send me away instead of her.”

“Evie. That is not what I meant.”

“No, that is how it feels. It might even be better that way. Send me somewhere far away, and I will quietly give birth and live there.”

Only the sound of his deep sigh filled the room.

“Why are you being so extreme?”

“Because I think there is no point in trying to persuade someone who already holds a negative view of me.”

“…….”

“And are you not also doubting me, the way Mother does?”

“No, no I am not! Doubting you, of all things.”

“But that is how it feels to me. So send me away. And after the child is born, you can confirm it then. If you still cannot find it in yourself to trust me even then, I will quietly disappear.”

I should have done this in my past life too. I had not even thought of it back then.

I had made up my mind to cling to this place with everything I had, and I begged and begged before his mother and Dertosse as they tried to drive me out. But the more I did, the more they convinced themselves that something was wrong with me, that I was clinging so desperately because of it, and their suspicion that the child inside me was not Dertosse’s only grew more certain.

So leaving was one way to handle it.

“Evie.”

“Let me go. Mother is right. I am the problem. My leaving could be the answer.”

“Evie.”

“It would be easier that way. Send me away, not Mother.”

I rose from my seat the way someone who had given up on everything would, and met Dertosse’s eyes.

“Ha… why are you doing this too.”

“I am not doing anything. I am simply afraid. That your eyes will change the way Mother’s have, that I will be hated for no reason. That frightens me too much.”

“…….”

“So I will be the one to give up. If it is a relationship that cannot be mended no matter how hard I try… I will simply give up. And Mother is someone who was always meant to be here. But I am not. So sending me away will put your mind at ease too.”

Only then did Dertosse seem to come to his senses, shaking his head from side to side.

“I was wrong to think that way. Evie. I will never send you away, never send our child away. Never. Please do not say such things again. It hurts too much.”

“But….”

“I will never come to hate Evie either. Our love will be eternal. I will love you until the day I die, and we will be happy. That is the kind of relationship we have, and Mother is simply making things hard for us. Trust me. I am your husband.”

What a joke. It was almost enough to make me laugh.

He had kept nothing. He had only ever kept what was good for himself.

By choosing me, he gained the marquisate. By choosing me, he stirred Rechel’s jealousy. Then by choosing Rechel, he gained the duchy, and in the end, he was able to have me killed.

He always made the choice that served him best.

Even now, he had simply concluded that keeping me by his side was better than sending me away. I held back the laughter threatening to rise and took his hand firmly.

“Then I will trust only Dertosse.”

“Trust me. I will do anything for Evie.”

“Yes.”

And so we looked at each other for a long while. But Dertosse was always a man who went too far, and sure enough, the moment I seemed a little reassured, he pressed close to me like a snake.

“Come to think of it, have we not been a bit dull lately?”

“Dull?”

“I have been stressed enough lately from not being able to spend time with Evie, so how much longer do we have to go on like this?”

Only then did I understand what he meant, and I scrunched my eyes with a bright smile.

“Not now.”

“Why? How long do you expect me to hold back?”

“Until things stabilize? The doctor said so.”

“…….”

“And Dertosse. Were you not on your way out before you came back for a moment?”

Dertosse, who had apparently forgotten that fact, let out a low murmur.

“Ah. That is right.”

“Go on. Do not worry about me.”

“Yes. In any case, you do not need to worry about Mother. There is a marquisate villa on the outskirts of the capital. It has not been maintained, so it will take a little time to prepare… but just wait a little.”

“You do not need to go to such lengths. All I want is peace at home and happiness for everyone.”

“Then you have even less reason to worry.”

At that moment, something seemed to come to him, and Dertosse suddenly stepped outside. I thought he was leaving just like that, but this time he went beyond my expectations.

What Dertosse brought back was flowers.

As though he had not forgotten my request for the biggest flowers, he came back with an armful of large blooms. But for something he had put some thought into buying, the wrapping was careless.

“Thank you.”

“I thought wrapping was pointless, so I just brought them as they were.”

“All right.”

What he thought of me was made perfectly clear by this alone. He bought them because I asked, but it came from no place of genuine feeling. I already knew he was that kind of person, so it did not particularly hurt.

It was simply that these flowers had brought Dertosse back, and thanks to that, I had driven my mother-in-law to the edge, and that alone was enough to put a smile on my face.

“Are you really that pleased?”

“Yes.”

“Had I known, I would have bought them more often.”

He looked at me without feeling.

“I have heard that women like such things, and I suppose it is true.”

“It is not so much that I like flowers. It is that I like a gift someone brought me with me in mind.”

“Is that so?”

At that moment, the gaze he had been directing at me with such discomfort until just a moment ago changed in an instant.

“Liking flowers, is it? Any woman would feel that way, I suppose?”

“Perhaps?”

“Good.”

Seeing him suddenly look pleased, I had a rough idea of what he was about to do. He would walk straight out and buy an armful of flowers to present to Princess Rechel.

They say that when a husband is unfaithful, his wife can read the situation from nothing more than the change in his behavior, and it was not wrong. It was almost strange that I had never once noticed how differently his expression changed depending on who he was with.

“What is good?”

“Nothing. Never mind. Now get some rest.”

“Yes.”

“If there is anything you want to eat, tell the servants and make sure you eat. I may be late, so do not wait up.”

He gave my head a light stroke and walked out without hesitation. The way someone with urgent business would. Once he disappeared, I, who had been smiling until just a moment ago, tossed the flowers he had given me carelessly onto the table and lay down on the sofa.

“Are you all right, my lady?”

The moment he left, Mary came in looking somewhat startled.

“I am fine.”

“There was quite a commotion this morning. I was rather shaken.”

“Is there anything to be shaken about? This is nothing out of the ordinary here.”

“What concerns me is you. After all that chaos, are you truly all right?”

I sat up at the sight of her worried face.

“Today actually went smoothly, all things considered. On any other day, it would have been worse, not better.”

“…It can get worse than this?”

I looked at the door behind her.

The firmly shut door. Only after looking at it did my expression harden.

“Yes. Because Dertosse came.”

“…If he had not come….”

“I would have been dragged out by the hair.”

“What is your reason for staying in a place where you are treated that way?”

“Because the time has not yet come. A person must always wait for the right moment. Act too soon and you will be devoured.”

I looked at her with a steadier expression than I had ever worn.

“So you must make sure to pass that along to him. If the right moment is missed, everything could fall apart.”

“Understood. I will do my best to help you achieve the outcome you want, my lady.”

“More than that, are you all right, Mary? Things are going this way for now, but you are the one I am more worried about.”

“I can take care of myself, so please do not worry. More importantly, the flowers. What would you like me to do with them?”

At that, I slowly got up and looked at the flowers. The flowers had done nothing wrong, but every time I looked at them, I could not help but think of him.