Dohanna had no intention of responding to her blatantly insincere invitation.

“The Countess is also coming. Do you really not want to come?”

The maid asked again, as if confirming.

“What? The Countess is coming too?”

Dohanna, who had been lounging lazily, immediately reacted.

Now that Rose was gone, Dohanna’s rival was Beliar.

Since she couldn’t take the place of the Countess even after Rose left, she coveted Beliar’s position.

‘Ugh, annoying. I can’t let that Beliar woman go alone with me.’

She didn’t want to see the two of them drinking tea alone together.

If that happened, when others saw it, Dohanna’s position would seem very low.

Although she wasn’t the hostess of the Count’s house, she wanted to appear that way.

She wanted to openly show that she was the one in charge.

And she believed that someday it would be true.

“I’ll go, so prepare it right away.”

Dohanna stood up with sparkling eyes.

“As for the dress, that red one.”

She pointed to the red dress that Eric had previously gifted to Rose.

It used to be a dress she had stolen to wear, but now it belonged to her.

Since her stomach was not very full yet, there was no problem wearing the dress.

It was a bit short, tailored to Rose’s height.

Dohanna covered her skin with thick makeup.

Every time she saw these pimples, her anger towards Rose surged.

“Ugh… because of that Rose.”

She couldn’t take a strong medicine for recovery due to pregnancy, so the healing process was slower.

Although the pimples on her face didn’t completely disappear, they could be covered up to some extent with makeup.

However, it was impossible to perfectly cover the pimples.

She spent quite a bit of time covering the blemishes.

She was about an hour late compared to the time Theresa called.

But Dohanna didn’t care.

She gracefully rose from her seat. Then, in a relaxed manner, she moved her steps not fitting for someone who was late.

The maid guided Dohanna to Theresa.
When they opened the door and entered, Terecia and Beliar were already seated. When Dohanna entered, Terecia turned her eyes towards the clock on the wall.

“You’re late, dear.”

How dare a commoner make her wait. Originally, Terecia, in her usual demeanor, would have thrown cold remarks at her, but she calmly acted as the “kind mother-in-law.”

“We were waiting.”

Without getting up from her seat, she greeted Dohanna with a fake smile.

Dohanna greeted Terecia and casually nodded towards Beliar. Since it had been about an hour, the snacks on the table were quite meager.

“Oh my. There’s nothing to eat. Mother, our child is asking for more food. Could you please provide some?”

Without apologizing for being late, she shamelessly stroked her belly.

Terecia raised an eyebrow at her behavior and ordered the maid.

“Since the tea has cooled down, bring a fresh one. Also, fill up the snacks.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Thank you for what? I’m doing it for our son-in-law.”

Terecia hinted at the nuance of ‘it’s for the grandchild inside your belly, not for you.’

Of course, she didn’t even consider that grandchild as anything special.

Soon, the maid brought warm tea and snacks.

Noticing a different scent from her usual Rooibos tea, Dohanna asked Terecia.

“Mother, what kind of tea is this? I only drink Rooibos tea.”

“It’s ginger tea. I heard it’s good for indigestion. It’s good for your indigestion, dear.”

Dohanna had experience with pregnancy in Korea, so she knew that ginger tea was good for relieving indigestion.

‘Why is she suddenly showing kindness?’

Dohanna looked at Terecia with suspicious eyes.

“If indigestion gets worse, the child may not receive proper nutrients. Try it. I used to drink this tea quite often when I had Eric.”

Dohanna’s doubts eased with Terecia’s words, thinking that Terecia was cherishing her grandson.

Even though Terecia might not like her, she believed that Terecia would spare no effort to protect Eric’s bloodline.

Dohanna found it amusing that Terecia, known for her selfishness, was showing kindness.

She lifted her teacup, thinking of enjoying Terecia’s favor. The strong scent of ginger rose to her nose.

Dohanna drank the tea.

It was almost the same as the familiar ginger tea she knew.

The reaction came after swallowing the ginger tea, not long after.

It was so strong and spicy that her mouth felt like it was on fire.

“Ugh! Blegh!”

Unable to tolerate the unpleasant taste, Dohanna retched.