To find his wife and daughter, who had fled to another country, he had been driven to desperation like that. He had heard that when they parted, he told his family to leave for another country right away, but he himself could not go. As a fugitive without a new identity, he had no way of crossing into another country.

“Where is my daughter now?”

In his past life, he eventually succeeded in finding his daughter. It was with my mother-in-law’s help.

The child he had assumed had left for another country was not far away at all, and my mother-in-law found out before the physician did and made the girl a maid at the marquis’s estate to keep him from having any other ideas. She had used a child of barely ten years as a weapon.

Because of that, rumors about the girl’s uncertain origins circulated among the maids, and I had heard all of those stories in my past life as well.

Of course, I had no way of knowing what became of the two of them after that. The Rezef of that time was someone who moved only for money, and nothing happened that gave my mother-in-law cause for concern.

‘He worked exactly as much as he was paid, without fail.’

“Do your part in what I ask of you properly. Then I’ll give you information about your daughter. Money too, of course. And when this is all over, enough money to buy a new identity so you can leave without any harm coming to you.”

“……”

“Do you refuse?”

“I can’t trust you.”

“Trust me or not, you have to. At the very least, it’s not a bad deal for you.”

Only then did Rezef give a nod.

“…I see. The fact that you’re offering these terms means it carries that much risk, doesn’t it?”

“Not at all. All you have to do is come running when I call, just as you have been. You won’t even need to actually examine me.”

“…And the reason for that?”

“It’s a kind of… performance. A dramatic device. All you have to do is walk out each time looking as though things are difficult.”

“An extension of the pregnancy, then.”

I gave a nod of confirmation, and he picked up his medical bag again.

When he had come in, his face had carried a look of mild anxiety and irritation, but now his expression was far more at ease than before.

“I sincerely hope everything you wish for comes to pass.”

I handed him one of the jewels that had arrived at the marquis’s estate the day before, ordered by my mother-in-law.

“That’s for today.”

“My, my… now that I see it, I find myself wondering whether I should take it or not.”

“Live the way you always have. Nothing changes just because you’ve spoken with me and become an ally.”

“Understood.”

He snatched up the jewel in one swift motion, like someone who had been waiting for exactly those words.

“Then I’ll take my leave. Please take good care of yourself.”

“Thank you. Mary, see the physician out. And make sure no one is following behind.”

“Yes.”

At the order, Mary led Rezef back out of the room.

For a moment, through the open door, I caught sight of the maids, clearly very curious about what had been happening inside. Far more of them than before had their heads poked out, trying to get a look at what was going on in the room.

“Karla.”

“Y, yes!”

“I’d like to rest. Would you take me to the bed? I think I pushed myself too hard today. My stomach is pulling.”

Karla, who had rushed inside before the door closed, answered in a loud, ringing voice and came to my side.

“Are you feeling very unwell?”

“Yes. I think it must be because of Illia.”

“Oh dear. Then you must rest right away. Lie down in bed and I’ll go get you something to eat.”

“Thank you.”

Truly like a pregnant woman, truly like someone who had needed a physician because of Illia. I lay in bed the entire day without moving a muscle. In the meantime, the maids came and went from the room to tend to their duties.

And so another day drew to a close.

* * *

Perhaps because of the night he had spent away, Dertosse came to see me every evening. Unlike before, he didn’t cling to me like a leech, but he never forgot to ask how I was doing.

Surprisingly, Dertosse brought up his sister a few more days after that.

As on any other night, Dertosse came to see me late in the evening. It was around the time I had just finished washing up and was letting Karla brush my hair.

“A few days ago. I heard your sister-in-law came by.”

“Yes. Did I not mention it?”

“Just what… are you getting up to, Evie.”

He asked me with what seemed like irritation, and I smiled pleasantly.

“What do you mean, getting up? Dertosse.”

Sensing that the mood had shifted, Karla’s hand stilled in the middle of brushing my hair.

I raised my hand and looked at her in the mirror, and Karla quickly stepped outside. Whether she had good enough sense to read the room or not, Dertosse waited until Karla had left before opening his mouth again.

“Just what is going on that no one tells me anything? If Sister Illia hadn’t come to me herself, I would have had no idea she even visited!”

So that was what this was about.

I rose from the vanity and walked toward him. I looked at him without flustering or changing my expression, then spoke.

“Dertosse. You were the one who said you didn’t want to receive reports on everything that happens in the household.”

“…What?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? No matter how frantic and busy you are, to think you’d forget your own words.”

His face went white, as though the sky had come crashing down. The overbearing air he had been carrying just moments before vanished at once. His eyes trembled endlessly, as though a buried memory had come back to him.

“Th… that was…”

“That’s why no one reported to you.”

“……”

There was no fool quite like him. The fact that I had once trusted and lived by someone like him in the past was something I could only resent.

“Th, that may be… but why didn’t you say anything, Evie?”

“Because you didn’t ask?”

“…Oh. I see.”

“If you had asked, I would have answered.”

“…That’s no excuse. What does it mean to be a married couple? Shouldn’t we at least tell each other who we’ve met and what was said?”

I gave a deep nod, watching him shoot himself in the foot so impressively.

“You’re right. Dertosse. You’re absolutely right.”

“Right.”

“But then why don’t you say anything, Dertosse?”

“What?”

“You said we’re a married couple. So why don’t you tell me who you’ve been meeting and what was said?”

I looked at him and spoke each word carefully, one by one. At that, this fool of a man mumbled at his own words and his lips trembled.

“You and I are not the same.”

“Not the same in what way.”

“What?”

“I’m just saying, Dertosse. And besides, didn’t you agree to leave everything concerning the household to me?”

“Is that why you sent my sister away like that?”

I smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes! And if she comes again, I’ll send her away the same way.”

“…Are you out of your mind?”

“No, I’m not. I simply have no desire to see her face after everything she’s put me through. Did you know your sister tried to hit me? That day too? My stomach was even pulling afterward. I ended up calling for a physician.”

It was at those words, “your sister,” that his expression hardened, and his face darkened.

“A, a physician!”

“He said the stress could harm the baby. I spent the entire day in bed because of it. And while I was going through all of that, you paid no attention to me. When you saw me in bed earlier than usual, you showed no concern at all.”

“Th… so… are you, are you all right?”

He seemed to come back to his senses and grabbed my hand.

“The baby. Is our baby all right?”

“Right now, yes. If anything, I’m the one who wants to be angry at you. You didn’t even ask me what happened. You just listened to that woman and came to confront me.”

“…That… that’s… I mean… Sister was crying and making such a scene…”

“Then I should cry too. I should cry and say how wronged I feel.”

“…No. Don’t do that. I’m worried something might happen to the baby.”

I shoved away his hand, which was fiddling with mine in that unsettling way of his even now.

“So you’re only worried about the baby, not me.”

“No. It’s not like that.”

“Of course it is.”

“It’s because you didn’t see it… Sister… she really… made such a scene. I must have lost my mind for a moment. I thought everything Sister said had to be right and I didn’t stop to think of you. So stop being angry. All right?”

“…Forget it. Dertosse. You’ll keep taking Illia’s side, over and over again. Even though I’m the marchioness, you’ll always let yourself be pushed around. Just like you spent your whole life being pushed around by Mother.”

Only then did he straighten up, as though someone had thrown cold water on him. He ground his teeth like a man who had developed a deep wound around the subject of his mother.

“Pushed around by Mother? That’s never happened!”

Hasn’t it. You fool. If I hadn’t been the one to open your eyes, you would have spent your whole life being pushed around by your mother. And now you want to pretend otherwise.

I found it so absurd and ridiculous that I had to fight back a laugh.

“I… truly feel sorry for you.”

“Hm…? Sorry for me?”

“You spent your life being pushed around by Mother, and now you let your sister push you around like this too. You’re such a capable and remarkable person…”

“D, do I seem that way?”

“Yes. But… you don’t seem to know how remarkable you are. That’s why women push you around… poor thing… that’s why I want you to shine. I want you to shine brightly, without being pushed around by Mother or your sisters.”