There was nothing left worth praising about the man. If anything, I would have been more at ease cursing him outright.

A spineless wretch. A man who carries his head around as nothing more than a counterweight. A man whose only skill is chasing after women. It was a shame I still couldn’t say any of that.

In the meantime, he had been fiddling with my hand like some sort of deviant, and then he casually placed his hand on my waist.

“Come to think of it, Evie, you look like you’ve lost a little weight.”

“Have I? I’ve been eating well enough though…”

“Maybe it’s because of the baby. But I heard somewhere that when you’re with child, your chest gets bigger. If there was one thing I always found lacking about Evie, it was that.”

Along with those words, Dertosse kneaded at my waist, and for a moment the thread of my composure nearly snapped with a sharp crack. Was that truly all that occupied his mind?

“Anyway, let’s go quickly. Dertosse.”

“We’re almost there.”

It was his study, a place I had always wanted to visit but that Dertosse had never once allowed me to enter.

I hadn’t imagined it would be this easy to get in. His contempt had felt natural at the time, that someone who knew nothing had no business coming to the study. And yet here he was, bringing me in himself. It felt strangely new.

“First time here, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I never came even before we were married.”

“There’s nothing special about it.”

But there was something special right in front of it.

The butler stood there fuming, as though he had been waiting for Dertosse to arrive. The maids were the same.

“My lord. There is something I must tell you…!”

“It can wait.”

“You must hear this. Things cannot continue like this.”

Sure enough, the moment Dertosse came into view, they all rushed to voice their grievances. But Dertosse simply walked past them, perhaps because of the conversation we had just had.

Despite their master ignoring them, they were about to protest further when they noticed my presence and all snapped their mouths shut at once. The whole area fell quiet.

Dertosse, who had been about to step into the study, turned around as though something had just come to him.

“I nearly forgot to say. From now on, all decision-making authority over every matter in this marquis’s estate goes to Evie.”

“What? B, but!”

“I will not permit any objection to this. Even if every last servant in the marquis’s estate is replaced.”

“Oh…”

“Oh…”

Sighs of varying kinds followed one after another.

“My lord. If you were to hear what happened today…! All the handmaids have been dismissed. Even knowing this, you intend to hand over full authority?”

“Of course. That is my decision. So raise no objections. Even the butler will be dismissed if he objects.”

Watching Dertosse be more firm than he had ever been, the people lined up at the door could only let out one heavy sigh after another. They would hold a grudge over what I had done today and keep pressing Dertosse. He might stand firm and take my side at first, as he was doing now, but he wouldn’t keep it up to the end.

That was exactly why I needed the documents all the more. In case Dertosse changed his mind.

Fortunately, once inside, he unrolled one of the scrolled parchments without a moment’s hesitation, signed it with a flourish, and held it out to me.

“Here.”

“Oh…! I’ve never seen a document like this before.”

“Right? I’ve written your name in for now, as you wanted. But even without something like this, you are the marchioness and the mistress of this house.”

“Even so, I’ve never had anything that was truly mine in my whole life. So I wanted at least something like this.”

The moment I said those words and reached out to take the parchment from him, my vision went dark.

It lasted only an instant, but something flashed through my mind with a brilliant streak.

“Oh!”

“Evie? What’s wrong?”

“Hm…? Oh, no, it’s nothing.”

It was no more than a few seconds, but it was powerful enough for me to understand what people meant when they talked about a flash before their eyes. Because of that, even with Dertosse calling my name, I couldn’t easily pull myself back together.

“Evie? Your face has gone completely white.”

“Oh… no. I just felt dizzy for a moment.”

“Are you all right?”

“I think it must be the pregnancy.”

At that, Dertosse gave a big nod. He had been stroking his chin, and now he gently stroked my stomach with a look of sudden understanding.

“Right. That can happen. I understand.”

“Thank you. Dertosse. Then I’ll go rest for today.”

“Shall I walk you back?”

“No. You must have been up all night with work.”

“Th, that’s right.”

The way Dertosse’s eyes drifted to the left every time he lied was truly telling.

“So don’t worry. I can go back on my own.”

“All right. Then… go?”

“You’re not stopping me today?”

“Hm? Because Evie doesn’t like it.”

That wasn’t it. It was because he had been with Lady Rechel outside and had more than his fill. He used to be plagued by desire all the time, but ever since he started clinging to her, he came to me at night far less often.

“I’m sorry. I want those nights with you too, Dertosse, but for the baby’s sake…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.”

‘I’ll take care of it outside.’ That was what his eyes were saying.

I knew it, and yet I kept the mask on.

“There really is no one like Dertosse. Then I’ll be going.”

I left Dertosse, who made no move to stop me, and returned to my room. Every servant and maid I passed on the way watched me with visible discomfort, but I ignored their stares and reached my room.

“You’re back.”

“I’d like to rest alone now.”

“Understood. Karla and I will step out.”

Mary said those words and left with Karla.

Unlike most mistresses’ rooms, which had a small adjoining chamber where handmaids and maids could rest, my room was so small that no such space existed. So the two of them went all the way outside, and only then did I sink onto the sofa and let my body go limp.

“Haah…”

It hadn’t been that long, but I was unusually exhausted. Perhaps it was from arguing with so many people. My eyes began to close on their own, and sleep felt close.

But the window I had left open for ventilation nagged at me.

I had the thought that sleeping with it open like that would surely give me a cold, yet I only thought it and did nothing, my body sinking further and further into the sofa. I must have drifted into a light sleep.

Then.

“You’re completely unguarded.”

Someone came in through that window.

Unusually bright moonlight poured in. A halo of light shone behind the man standing before it. A man who was captivating and sensual, like the return of a devil.

“Oh…”

“Did you fall asleep with the window open like that?”

“Isen. Why are you here?”

“We’re set to become lovers, so I thought we should see each other often.”

Before I could even sit up, he crossed the room in a few strides and lifted me into his arms in one swift motion. Then he carried me to the bed and set me down gently on top of it.

“Oh…?”

“I prefer it when two people love each other, rather than one loving alone.”

“……”

“You look utterly forlorn, like prey on the verge of being caught by a predator.”

“You came all this way just for that?”

The moment the soft feel of the bed touched me, I came to my senses and looked up at him. This was my third meeting with Isen, but each time he gave off a different feeling.

The first time we met, he had seemed like an overbearing noble. The second time, he gave off the feeling of a child who had gotten hold of an interesting toy. And tonight, the feeling was strong that he was a man who had come in secret at night to see the woman he loved.

The way his eyes curved softly was captivating, and his voice was warm enough to stop the breath.

“Would you believe me if I said I came because I wanted to see you?”

“…Really.”

I was wide awake in an instant.

“You don’t need to keep up the act just yet.”

“Is that so?”

Even though I told him not to, nothing about him changed. He simply pulled a chair over and sat down beside the bed. Thanks to that, my eyes and his met at the same height as I sat up.

“Why did you really come tonight? The matter I mentioned isn’t ready yet…”

“I was curious whether you were all right.”

“You mean me?”

“Yes.”

“…So Dertosse really did go to the ducal house. Given that you came all the way here like this.”

“Does it not bother you? I heard you love your husband quite deeply.”

He crossed his long legs at a leisurely angle and leaned toward me.

“Love. If that’s how it looks and that’s the rumor going around, then I must be doing well. Did Lady Rechel say that?”

“Hardly.”

“Then who gives you information like that?”

“Things about you reach my ears without me having to look. Or perhaps I simply pay unusually close attention to what concerns you.”

Isen’s eyes glimmered in the moonlight.

Was it because Dertosse was the only man I had ever known in my life? Or was it the late hour, the middle of the night, with a man who was a stranger to me here in my private space? My heart trembled, just a little.

Foolishly, I had sworn myself to revenge, and yet my heart moved this easily.

So I refused him.

“Is that so? Regardless, you don’t need to concern yourself with me until that day comes.”

“True. I suppose that’s the distance between us.”

“So the reason you came tonight is simply that you were worried?”

“That’s right. But there’s no need to worry. You still seem solid.”

“Solid…”

“But if it ever feels like that solid shell is about to crack, come to me. I’ll help you however I can.”

I held his gaze quietly. Isen, still sitting there without any sign of leaving, gave the corner of his mouth a small twitch when he saw me staring at him blankly.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I was just thinking that a person really can change like this.”

“You’re the one who brought about this change. Does it not suit you?”

“Of course it does. Only, the way you act will make people misunderstand.”