The clear sky was covered with clouds, and then a downpour began. The faint sounds of thunder and the rhythmic noise of carriage wheels splashing in the water blended together. The carriage carrying Belial and Eric was incredibly silent.

“It seems like the Earl still loves his former Countess.”

Belial recalled Eric’s actions in the royal palace, where he tried to restrain Rose.

His desperate gaze, which she had never seen before, was surprisingly intense.

“I don’t understand. Even if it was for political reasons that the Marquess de Carhuac entered into a strategic marriage with the Duke of Arteum, could he really embrace another woman while leaving the one he loves?”

Belial had encountered quite a few nobles like Eric. Every time, she couldn’t understand the act of sharing deep relationships with others while having someone they loved.

The relationship between Rose and Eric seemed to Belial nothing more than an interesting aristocratic drama, neither more nor less.

The carriage stopped after a short time. Apparently, they had arrived at the Earl’s residence.

Belial, escorted by the knight who opened the door outside the carriage, got off first.

Eric, seemingly forgetting that they had arrived, absentmindedly gazed out the window. A servant called out to him.

“My lord, we have arrived.”

In response to the servant’s voice, Eric slowly moved his body and got off the carriage.

Rose’s words kept echoing in his mind.

“I don’t love you.”

Eric, who was walking slowly, stopped and made a pained expression.

At that moment, lightning struck. Sharp flashes of light flickered over Eric’s frozen face.

Eric unbuttoned his shirt, which had been buttoned to the end, and muttered a muffled curse.

“…Damn.”

At the end of the corridor, Doriana was waiting for Eric with a sly smile.

“My lord!”

Doriana approached unabashedly, making noise with her nose, and then she tightly hugged Eric as if trying to squeeze her body into him.

“Move.”

As soon as Doriana touched him, Eric frowned and pushed her away.

“Why is our Earl in such a bad mood?”

Doriana approached without paying attention and smoothly came closer to him.

“I wonder why our Earl is not in a good mood today.”

Seeing Doriana, Rose’s face vividly came to Eric’s mind.

“If it weren’t for you… Rose wouldn’t have left me.”

Resentment aimed like an arrow at Doriana, who didn’t admit any wrongdoing.

To make matters worse, Eric, who was already under low pressure, felt more uncomfortable with Doriana.

Unlike usual, where Eric would tolerate Doriana’s tantrums, today was different.

Doriana was not used to such a cold reaction from Eric.

“What’s going on?”

As Eric, without a word, tried to pass by her, Doriana brought up the child’s story like a weapon.

“The child says he likes his father’s voice. Please whisper your sweet voice to him.”
She touched her belly and smiled at Eric. Eric, who had been silently observing Doriana, slowly spoke.

“…It wouldn’t have been like this if it were Rose.”

“What?”

“If it were Rose, she wouldn’t have stuck around without even understanding the atmosphere like you.”

His chilly voice pierced her ears. He scanned Doriana from top to bottom, wearing a displeased expression. After the comparative remark, he coldly passed by Doriana.

As Eric left and Doriana was left alone, she made a bewildered expression and furrowed her brows.

“What? Are you comparing me to that woman right now?”

Ha…!

Beyond embarrassment, anger surged.

Until now, she had always been the ‘subject of comparison,’ not the ‘one comparing.’

Men always ridiculed her in front of their wives or girlfriends.

“Our wife can’t even take care of herself properly. The more I look at her, the more I find her lacking.”

“She only wears loose clothes and has let herself go since before marriage. Even though I told her to exercise, she’s always busy with excuses. She just plays around with the money I earn.”

“If my girlfriend were as beautiful as you, I would never cheat.”

She enjoyed seeing these men lamenting their situations while embracing her.

Whenever she saw men like that, she reveled in her superiority.

To be in the opposite position now was beyond uncomfortable.

A dirty feeling slowly crept up. Despite the hurt to her pride, it couldn’t be this damaging.

Moreover, being compared to someone like Rose, not Belial…!

The Rose who co-possessed with her was just lucky to rise in status as the Countess, nothing more. She had nothing better than herself.

‘Rose, that fox, is slyly trying to get closer to my husband!’

It was clear that she met Rose at the palace banquet.

She probably begged to return to Eric after being rejected by the Duke of Arteum, attempting a maneuver to get back to her man.

‘…This fox!’

Without even considering that Eric might be hanging onto Rose, Doriana grinded her teeth with a distant look.

Doriana had no intention of letting go of Eric.

Now he was her man.

Meanwhile, Duke Arteum still couldn’t leave the palace.

“Diana…”