“W-What did you just say…?”

As Rose stuttered in shock at the word “mistress”, a smile appeared on Erina’s face, opposite to earlier.

“Someone who grew up loved only needs to be a mistress, so I don’t think I need such love.”

“Countess!”

“Oh my!”

Rose, who was holding Mirea’s arm, shouted loudly with a crumpled face, and Mirea next to her screamed in surprise.

“How could you say such a thing…”

“What… Ah! You mean ‘mistress’?”

Erina asked slyly, regaining her composure as she watched the trembling Rose.

“Mistress, you say!”

Erina put one hand on her cheek, tilted her face, and smiled artificially.

“Oh my, then what should I call Lady Rose Asila if not a mistress?”

“Erina, can’t you stop?”

Mirea, who couldn’t come to her senses due to Erina and Rose’s alternating shouts, jumped in surprise and tried to stop Erina.

Even in this situation, Erina could be certain from Mirea’s appearance of trying to embrace Rose somehow.

It seemed Mirea had something to gain from the Asila family.

Just like her own Medelia family did before she got married.

“Ah, I remember. If you don’t like ‘mistress’, how about ‘adulteress’?”

“Countess!”

Gone was the Rose who was desperately wanting to see her in a difficult situation, and now there was only a woman who didn’t know what to do with anger at her words.

“Listen, Lady Rose Asila.”

Erina, who had been covering her mouth and laughing as laughter kept escaping, spoke leisurely while crossing her arms.

“You seem to think you’re having the love of the century, but do you know what other people call it?”

Erina spoke while looking at Rose and the glimpse of silver hair visible beyond her.

“Adultery. A woman who dates a man who is cheating on his wife is also called an adulteress.”

At Erina’s words, something seemed to touch Feiron as the hidden head of hair that had been quietly hiding moved.

“Do you understand?”

Feiron’s body came out from beside the door and faced Erina.

“Count Iolls.”

As Erina’s gaze passed Rose and Mirea to look behind them, the two quickly turned their heads.

“That’s enough, Erina.”

“Ron!”

Despite Feiron’s tone full of embarrassment, Rose couldn’t overcome her sorrow and ran to hug him.

Feiron looked at Erina, who was calmly observing while comforting Rose who was bursting into tears in his arms.

Unlike Rose who clearly expressed her emotions, Feiron felt strangely irritated by Erina’s face, whose emotions were completely unreadable.

“Ron, I, I… sob!”

Rose, unable to even lift her head from his chest and drowned in tears, was heartbreakingly pitiful.

“Shh, it’s okay.”

He comforted Rose, patting her trembling shoulders.

Feiron’s gaze turned to Mirea, who was standing there not knowing what to do.

“Mother.”

“Feiron! Yes, my son!”

Startled by Feiron’s sudden call, Mirea answered with exaggerated gestures.

“Why are you here at this hour?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Mother.”

“I was upset, I was upset so I did it! You scold me for buying just one dress, but the one who’s supposed to be your wife can’t even do that much!”

“Mother!”

Feiron’s angry voice that he had been holding back echoed loudly in the room.

Feiron’s head was already aching from the truth that had been festering for a year, and on top of that, his mother didn’t even know what she had done wrong.

Was she just unaware, or was she saying it was just one dress when she had shopped enough to fill an entire sheet of paper?

His late father may have turned a blind eye to his mother’s extravagance out of love, but at this rate, it seemed it would soon become unbearable.

“Why! What did I do wrong!”

Erina stepped back a step to hide her grimacing expression at the scream echoing in the room.

“Do you really think you’ve done nothing wrong?”

“That’s right!”

“You say that after using up all the money Erina should have spent?”

Mirea froze, unable to even breathe at Feiron’s angry words.

Erina, who had been quietly observing, found the farce unfolding before her eyes ridiculous.

“Ha.”

Erina, who had been watching thinking they were doing this on purpose in front of her, could no longer hold back at the amusing conversation.

“I think that’s enough now.”

Both Feiron and Mirea turned their heads in surprise to look at her at Erina’s words spoken with a smile.

“I really enjoyed watching, so please stop now.”

Mirea burst out angrily at Erina’s words that sounded like appreciating an enjoyable performance.

“What are you saying now!”

“Mother!”

Feiron got angry again at Mirea who shouted at Erina, seemingly just now realizing she was being mocked.

“Lady Iolls, unfortunately, tomorrow is Founding Day, so I don’t want to watch this farce any longer. So I was thinking of wrapping this up for you.”

“Erina.”

Feiron called Erina’s name in a lowered voice.

“Do you remember what you said to me when you got married, Madam?”

Mirea trembled like she was having a fit, startled at the sight of Erina trying to have that conversation again here.

“Child, now…!”

“You said, ‘I’m taking you as a daughter-in-law because I owe something, but I never had any intention of bringing an orphan into this family. All you, a lowly person, can have in this family is the dowry. Do you understand? From now on, I will use the Countess’s money, so keep that in mind.'”

Mirea took a sharp breath, and Feiron was shocked, forgetting Rose was in his arms as he tensed his body.

Rose shifted uncomfortably in his arms, but no one noticed.

“So, Feiron. How about it? The facts you’ve confirmed.”

Everything Feiron knew was wrong.

He had simply jumped to conclusions about Erina based on his own standards and misunderstood.

His mother’s words, clicking her tongue and asking how such an extravagant daughter-in-law had come into the family, saying she was wasteful, were not true.

All of Erina’s protests about misunderstandings in the early days of their marriage were true.

“What do you want to say in this situation?”

“Why… why didn’t you say anything? If you had said something from the beginning…!”

Erina’s prediction was not wrong at all.

It was already expected that Feiron, upon learning the truth, would ultimately blame Erina while shaking with his own hypocrisy.

“I did tell you. From the very beginning, constantly.”

She had always tried to tell him. No, she had always been trying to tell him.

“But it was you who didn’t listen.”

Feiron could no longer open his mouth.

He had clearly come running to hear the truth from Erina’s own mouth and apologize, but he couldn’t get his bearings in the distorted situation.

He should apologize. Thinking he should apologize even now, Feiron opened his mouth.

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t you dare apologize, Count Iolls.”

A cold rejection silenced Feiron and stabbed at him as he tried to apologize.

No one could point out Erina’s appearance as she looked down at them arrogantly with her eyes raised.

“What would change if you apologize now?”

Erina slowly pointed at Rose, who was struggling uncomfortably in his arms, as she spoke.

“Will you drive out your mistress for me?”

“Countess!”

Rose burst out shouting as she pushed away from Feiron and came out of his arms.

She seemed quite displeased with the word ‘mistress’.

“Erina.”

When Feiron carefully called Erina’s name without immediately expressing rejection, Rose was shocked.

Rose stiffly turned her head to call out to Feiron.

“R-Ron… No, Feiron!”

Feiron looked at Erina with shaking eyes, then looked down at Rose clinging to him.

It was true that he felt sorry towards Erina after learning the truth, but Rose was still the person he loved.

He wanted to always be with Rose, to share his heart and love her anytime, anywhere.

The funny thing was that he still wanted Erina to remain as the Countess.

Feiron knew he was crazy, but he didn’t want to give up anything.

“Rose, no. I can’t drive her out.”

“Ron!”

Rose cried tears and hugged Feiron again.

Erina giggled at the sight of the two.

“That’s what I thought.”

Erina had never even considered the option of forgiving Feiron in the first place.

Even if he had truly changed his mind and said he would drive Rose out, Erina’s heart and future plans would not have changed.

“Erina, so please don’t call Rose a mistress anymore.”

“Sob!”

At Feiron’s words, spoken as if driving in a nail in front of everyone, Rose hugged Feiron even tighter.

“You too, try to embrace her as a Countess.”

But Rose’s body flinched at his following words.

Erina didn’t hide the scornful laughter that burst out.

It seemed it wasn’t Rose but Feiron whose head was full of flowers.

It was amazing how he could think and act only in ways that suited him, to the point where it was now surprising to think about it.

“My, Count Iolls, you’re truly remarkable in many ways.”

Erina spoke with genuine sincerity. Of course, that remarkableness was in a strange direction.

Erina couldn’t understand at all how someone who thought like this could become the male lead in the original story.

“Don’t mock me.”

Feiron’s face, which had always looked at her fiercely, may have softened, but he was still a husband who spouted nonsense to Erina.

‘Ah, tomorrow he’ll become my ex-husband, won’t he?’

Erina realized once again how useless it was to spend her energy facing these three people, and gestured for them to leave.

“Yes, if you have no more nonsense to say, would you please leave? You may not know, but I’m planning to be busy tomorrow.”

“You…!”

“Mother!”

Mirea flared up at the casually waving hand, but couldn’t continue at Feiron’s fierce call.

“Aaagh!”

In the end, Mirea couldn’t hold back and ran out of Erina’s bedroom first with a scream.

Erina frowned, covering both ears.

As Feiron quietly looked at Erina like that, Rose’s eyes, watching Feiron from his arms, flashed fiercely for a moment before fading.

“Ah…”

Rose suddenly lost consciousness in Feiron’s arms.

“Rose!”

Feiron hugged Rose and shouted as he left the room.

“Doctor! Call a doctor to my bedroom right away!”

Rose’s narrowly open eyes in Feiron’s arms met Erina’s, who had been watching the two.

Erina smiled and waved at the sight of Rose observing her while acting.

Perhaps because she had paid too much attention to people she wouldn’t have to face anymore after tomorrow, she felt fatigue rushing in rapidly.

Erina quickly closed the bedroom door, wanting to block out the commotion echoing through the mansion.