“I don't see that stalker who was always following you around.”
Eric answered the elegant middle-aged woman's question with a grave voice.
“She said she wasn't feeling well today.”
The middle-aged woman frowned slightly.
“She does all kinds of things.
She obviously got sick because she couldn’t get over her anger.”
Eric's eyes trembled with a dim light for a moment.
The eldest lady continued without noticing her son's expression.
“I feel comfortable because I can't see her in front of me.
I hope she won't continue to go out to eat like now.”
Eric's hand stopped at her words, but she continued speaking, unaware of what was going on.
“Today’s oysters are more tender and delicious, don’t you think?”
"I don't know."
The eldest lady frowned at her son's strict denial.
“Eric, are you...”
At that moment, a familiar person entered the dining room.
“Oh...were you still here?”
The eldest lady's expression collapsed when she heard Cornelia's voice, which somehow showed disapproval.
As soon as I entered the dining room, I saw a middle-aged woman who appeared to be entwined with her husband.
I should have come a little later, even if I regretted it, it was already late.
“They said you didn't feel well today, but you looked better than I thought.”
As soon as she saw me, she was more curious than annoyed by the appearance of my mother-in-law who said sarcastic things.
Don't you know I'm pregnant yet?
“How are you, Cornelia?”
I stared at Eric who suddenly called out to me, staring at me with fierce eyes.
'Oh, he's trying to make me shut my mouth'
Because of his character of not believing in me, I thought he would hide my pregnancy from my mother-in-law and the outside world.
Maybe it's because he's afraid that the eldest lady will faint or have a heart attack if she hears that I have a child out of wedlock.
Well actually my mother-in-law won't faint or anything.
She had a spiteful spirit.
I was worried about what to do.
But you don't have to keep up with his rhythm.
Even before returning, my mother-in-law did not welcome the fact that I was pregnant.
At the same time, I don't remember how much I intervened during pregnancy.
'If it wasn't her grandson, I'm sure she would drag me by the scruff of the neck and scream for divorce, right?'
Without realizing it, I laughed at the idea of speeding up the divorce with the help of my mother-in-law.
At that time…
“Why don’t you answer me?
Did you become dumb because you weren’t feeling well?”
I was very upset by her words, but I calmed down for the moment.
First of all, the first thing to do was to announce the pregnancy.
“Ah, ma’am, indeed, I...”
As I was talking while imagining my mother-in-law collapsing, the server brought over a plate of food.
“Why did you stop talking!
Can’t you answer correctly?”
The grand lady was talking to me the whole time, but I couldn't answer.
This was because the fishy smell of the oysters on the plate was even more disgusting than usual.
'Has the morning sickness started?'
Before going back in time, I used to suffer from morning sickness that made it difficult to resist the smell of oysters.
My mother-in-law forced me to eat oysters, and told me not to be picky.
Originally, I was very upset because I didn't like oysters, but I wanted to impress her, so I tried to work around the situation somehow.
However, there was now no reason to endure the nausea.
“I'll just leave.
Honestly, I don't really like shellfish dishes.”
However, the eldest lady, the standard of a smart lady, did not let me go easily.
"What?
So you're blaming me for eating oysters you don't like?"
“Mom, please stop.”
Eric stopped her, perhaps because he wanted to comfort her, but she got angry.
"What?
Stop?
Is that what you're telling this mother?
I was…"
“Mom!”
“Because you do something like that, this ghost walks away like that!”
I heard a quarrel between the two, but I turned my back.
They weren't my family anyway.
They were the ones who didn't think of me as a family member in the first place.
I don't care what they think of me now.
“Now I'm at my limit...
Excuse me!”
I turned my back and quickly left the dining room.
From the beginning, Mrs.
Brant did not like Cornelia.
It was because she was the worst being in humanity and was convinced that she hated blondes because she was a freak with black hair, and that her reputation was at the bottom.
'And that...she too'
At least Cornelia was hesitant towards her and had a lot of wealth, so she tolerated not kicking her out right away.
But…
Her expression shattered, Cornelia left the dining room without saying anything.
This was an act he completely ignored.
The trembling lady said to her son.
“Why did you suddenly protect that bitch?”
“Does it look like I defended her?
I'm sure it was my mother who told me to take care of my reputation.”
The eldest lady sighed at Eric's words.
'Well, there's no way to protect the defeated ones.'
Since their marriage, Eric has never been close to Cornelia.
No matter how cold-hearted he was, even she advised him to treat the princess appropriately in front of others, considering her son's reputation.
‘But…’
The gaze of the eldest lady who was staring at her son quickly turned cold.
“Wasn’t it true that she dared to answer my words?”
The eldest lady said to Eric coldly.
“You shouldn't be complaining about the oyster dishes earlier.
Because that's something Eric wouldn't do, my boy.”
She quickly approached her son and whispered.
“Don't forget, your duty.”
She got up from her seat and left the dining room as if she could not contain her boiling anger.
While staring back with bleary eyes for a while,
A wild person came to Eric's mind.
For a moment, he remembered that Cornelia had not eaten.
“Randon, send for the chef to prepare a new meal for the Duchess,
Not oysters and seafood...”
Eric, who hesitated for a while, opened his mouth.
“And be sure to send the peaches for dessert.”
After a while, the butler who had gone into the kitchen returned, bowed his head and spoke.
“Your Excellency, your wife ordered a simple feast in advance, so the meal was already sent to the room.
And I couldn’t get the peaches right away.”
When Eric heard this, his eyebrows furrowed slightly with unknown dissatisfaction.
“But I got the peach syrup and made peach dessert for dessert, so I’ll send it right away.”
His frowning expression softened at the servant's words.
“Yes, I understand”
In the end, as Eric headed to his office, he suddenly realized something.
The fishy smell that had bothered him a moment ago, the unpleasant feeling, and the fact that his mother's words had been completely forgotten ever since he remembered Cornelia.
'No, I just...'
Then a bird entered through the open window.
It was a letter from Haight's informant.
[We looked into your request, but there was no man named Damian who was related to the Duchess]
Eric smiled vainly when he received the letter.
Was it a lie?
He thought so and tried to forget it, but strangely, something was bothering him.
She was pronouncing the name as if she was mourning.
'Yes, it's too early to jump to conclusions as a lie.'
Purple eyes always following him as if it were natural and longing for affection.
But for a while, her eyes did not look at him.
As if she didn't need him anymore.
“No, impossible...”
Despite the denial, the anger and frustration did not go away.
In a nervous mood, Eric unconsciously clenched his fist and his eyes sparkled.
'I'd better find out for myself'
I returned to my room to avoid the smell of shellfish and simply ate bread and soup.
The meal was normal, but the dessert was made with peaches.
I couldn't even look at peaches because of my mother-in-law's allergy,
But I was very happy eating it this way.
But many questions were raised.
Why did the chef prepare peach dessert?
My mother-in-law's personality would not allow me to eat this type of candy.
I was wondering for a moment, but then I remembered the last time I saw my mother-in-law.
Her body was shaking and her eyes were wide open as if she saw something she shouldn't have seen.
Thanks to her appearance, I had a good time watching her.
After that smirk,
I remembered a handsome face that kept staring at me in the dining room.
'By the way, I think I should make him think I'm having an affair...'
It makes no sense to make my relationship partner a noble.
It is not enough to get involved with the evil crow of the imperial family, and play the role of the child's father, there must be an exchange, at least something like marriage.
The problem was that after I got married, I didn't even go to banquets or gatherings of the nobles.