“Ha… you cannot go in. Yesterday alone, the handmaids caused such an uproar trying to see the head madam.”

“We were already exhausted holding them back, and now the young madam is doing the same.”

The knights shared the same underlying disrespect toward me as everyone else.

“I ordered Mother to be confined, not cut off from all visitors. Isn’t that right?”

“…But…”

“You were right to stop the handmaids, but I don’t see why you need to stop me as well.”

Since that wasn’t wrong, the knights did nothing but exchange glances with each other.

“If you disagree, go and ask him directly.”

“No. His Lordship instructed us to extend every consideration for the young madam’s comfort. So we will open the door.”

In other words, if it hadn’t been his order, they had no intention of opening the door no matter what I said. What insufferable people, with no sense of their place. I forced the corner of my mouth back down as it began to twist.

“Mary and Karla, stay here.”

“…Will you be all right going in alone?”

“Mary is Mother’s person, so bringing her along would clearly be no help, and Karla is a maid, so she wouldn’t be of much help either. Going in alone is better.”

Before either of them could add anything, I rattled off the words and stepped through the open door without hesitation.

And the moment I walked in, a glass came flying at me.

“What gives you the right to come here, you wretch!”

Mother was right-handed.

So anything she threw always came from my left. I naturally stepped to the right.

“That was dangerous, throwing a glass like that.”

The knights who had been peering inside slowly began closing the door at the sight of the flying glass, and I raised my voice for all to hear.

“You wretched girl! Because of you, I…! How dare you come here! Who do you think you are!”

“Why wouldn’t I come? I thought it was only natural, as your daughter-in-law. I was worried about you. More importantly, have you eaten?”

I picked up the shawl that had been tossed on the sofa and draped it over the broken glass. Then I slowly made my way toward her.

“Throwing things like that is dangerous, Mother. What if someone gets hurt? Your position is already weakening. You need to keep at least one way out for yourself.”

“What…?”

“Mother. Think carefully. The more you torment me, the harder things become for you. You don’t want your son to resent you, do you?”

What a truly foolish woman.

But in a way, that reaction was only natural. She was someone who had never lost anything, someone who had always gotten everything she wanted. Just as a five-year-old child can only cry and throw a fit when you give them candy and then take it away, mother-in-law Rose was exactly that kind of person.

‘But that’s no fun. I need her to cause more of a scene. That’s what makes the revenge worthwhile.’

I had no desire to see her cut off her meals and play the tragic, forlorn heroine. I wanted her to keep thrashing around like a fish caught in a net.

I picked up the silver tray sitting to one side and brought it over to her. She had been lying in bed like an invalid, and she ground her teeth and glared at me.

“What are you scheming?”

“I’m encouraging you. Seeing you like this upsets me, Mother.”

“Ha? Now you come here spouting nonsense. Upset? With that despicable face of yours, after ruining things between me and Dertosse like this, you’re upset?”

She was still nothing but rage. I sat down in the chair beside her bed and pressed a spoon into her hand.

“You still blame all of that on me?”

“What?”

“Everything that happened was your own doing. Dertosse simply realized it a little late.”

“You’ve truly lost your mind. Are you saying this is my fault? That I ended up like this?”

“Of course. Including being sent off to the villa. So think carefully. If you don’t want to be thrown out of this place, you’ll need to at least pretend to get along with me.”

I smiled pleasantly and held the soup bowl out to my mother-in-law.

But, true to form, she couldn’t hold back her anger and threw the spoon at me instead. She threw it with such precision that the silver spoon struck my forehead with a sharp crack and tumbled down onto my skirt.

“Ow!”

“You think you own the world now that Dertosse is on your side? The arrogance.”

“……”

“A good beating is what it takes to knock some sense into people.”

“It seems you still haven’t come to your senses, Mother.”

I leaned in close and whispered into her ear in a very small voice.

“Hey!”

Just then, the door opened.

Mother probably hadn’t noticed, being too busy shouting at me, but the noise outside had been gradually building. Whenever Dertosse returned from an outing, he would make a point of visiting Mother. He considered it a son’s duty, and he had done so without fail even after their worst arguments.

So I expected this time to be no different. And sure enough, Dertosse never failed to meet expectations.

“…Evie. You were here?”

He had apparently already heard Mother’s voice from outside, because his eyes were harder than I had ever seen them.

“Dert! My son. You came to see me!”

“Yes. I came because I thought it was my duty. But Mother, what were you doing?”

“What was I doing! Do you have any idea what this wretched girl said to me?”

In the meantime, I cast my gaze downward with a sorrowful look and shifted my eyes toward Dertosse. I made sure to show off the reddened spot on my forehead where the spoon had hit, wearing an expression entirely different from Mother’s, who was screaming and raging.

Dertosse had always been easy to fool. A sad expression meant sadness to him, and a smile meant joy. He was that kind of one-dimensional person, and this time was no different.

Just as I expected, Dertosse’s expression hardened and he walked toward us.

“Good, you’re here. Dert. Listen to this, this wretched girl!”

“Mother. You really… haven’t changed at all. I thought being confined might make you act differently, but you still despise Evie. For no reason.”

“No reason? Do you know what she was trying to do to me?”

“I know.”

“Good! I’m glad you know. Then take my side. Son.”

At that, Dertosse picked up the spoon that had been lying on my skirt. Then he snatched the silver tray away and threw it to the floor.

“She came to offer you a meal. Didn’t she?”

“W, well…”

“But it seems you threw a spoon at Evie.”

“That girl kept…”

If she had just stayed still. If she had just listened to what I said, it might have been halfway there.

‘Of course, I had expected she wouldn’t listen, and that she wouldn’t stay still.’

In the meantime, Dertosse took my hand. Before Mother could say anything more, he pulled me to my feet.

“You don’t need to be here.”

“But Dertosse. Mother ended up like this because of me…”

“That crazy…!”

Mother was still making a scene, but Dertosse seemed not to hear her voice at all.

“Don’t worry about it. No, don’t come here again. Why come somewhere you’ll only get an earful?”

“But you came because you were worried about Mother too.”

“…I did. I came because I thought it was a son’s duty… but I don’t think it is anymore.”

“Dert…”

“I don’t think I need to visit Mother anymore. I’ve seen her at her worst. I won’t show her any more consideration. Whether she starves, causes a scene, or collapses in here, I don’t care. Just stay quiet and go to the villa.”

Those were his final words.

Dertosse grabbed my arm and dragged me out. Not knowing what else to do, I had no choice but to let myself be pulled along, pretending to be dragged out by him.

“Dert, Dert!! Come back! My son!”

Only after hearing her son’s harsh words did my mother-in-law seem to snap back to herself, and she rushed after us.

“Dert! Dert! My son!”

But in her frantic rush, she stepped on the broken glass. I had covered it with the shawl to keep anyone from getting hurt, but she had apparently kicked it aside in all her raging and stepped right on it.

“Eek! I, I stepped on glass! Dert, your mother is hurt. I’m hurt!”

Dertosse stepped out through the door and rolled his eyes with a look of utter exasperation, then turned to a servant.

“Go check on Mother. No need to report back. If she’s hurt, call a physician and have her treated.”

“As for how badly she’s hurt…”

“I don’t want to know.”

The servant, wearing a deeply troubled expression, had no choice but to step inside with the other servants. Dertosse, who would normally have made more of a fuss than anyone, said nothing and dragged me along in silence. He finally let go of me when we reached my room.

“Dertosse. My arm hurts.”

“…Ha.”

“……”

“…Everything was so pleasant and happy right up until I came home, and then I walk through the door and it’s suffocating. Stifling.”

“Dert. About Mother…”

“…You’re part of the problem too. Why did you go there and provoke her?”

True to form, he added that one unnecessary remark.

“I… only wanted to be good to Mother.”

“That’s exactly… you’re not even… ha. No, Evie. That just came out because I was frustrated. I’m not calling you a fool.”

Dertosse, who had let his true feelings slip out without thinking, quickly apologized.

“Dertosse.”

“That came out wrong. There’s no way I actually think that.”