"There is no way a child born to a woman like that is my bloodline!"
Doris took a deep breath upon hearing those words.
Asha put her arm around her shoulder and spoke firmly.
"As a fellow woman, I felt so sorry for her, seeing her try to protect her child even in a place like that. You said blood ties are important, but I guess that isn't the case for you either."
"It might not be my son's child!"
"No. The week coincides with the day the two of them went on a trip to the suburbs together. They were together for nearly a week, and I have a sufficient alibi."
Yurizella shook his head desperately.
“I don’t know!”
"Even if you avoid it now, the child support and inheritance you will have to pay anyway once a paternity test is conducted after the child is born."
In the Kaldtran Empire, children were still treated as property, but they were still precious beings.
Even if they are illegitimate children, financial support is legally guaranteed to ensure they fulfill at least their minimum responsibilities.
However, Yurizella turned a blind eye to reality.
It was then.
Doris, who had been feeling intimidated, finally spoke up.
"Hey, Mother! You weren't a good mother to Theo to begin with!"
"What?!"
"Anyway, I... I can't let you raise my child either. Even though you proudly say you never used corporal punishment, you used to lock Theo in a small, dark room for days at a time while starving him, so he suffered mentally."
Doris shouted desperately despite the stares around her.
"I know you treated Linea the same way!"
"What is that ignorant fool thinking!"
Doris squeezed her eyes shut and shouted at Yurizella, who was kicking off his chair in a fit of rage.
"Mother is a child abuser!"
“What?!”
Doris blurted out the truth as if a floodgate had opened.
"Theo told me everything. Mother always takes out your anger on him, calling him a pathetic idiot who doesn't know how to do a single thing."
“My, when will I!”
"He said that the 20 years he spent growing up under his mother were the most terrible time of his life!"
Doris, having spoken as if shooting a remark, gasped for breath.
Asha hurriedly comforted her.
"Calm down. Getting worked up is not good for the child."
"Th-thank you, Marchioness."
In Doris's blue eyes as she greeted her like that, there was sincere gratitude.
All of this goes back to the early morning, the time when the whereabouts of the mistress were found.
***
Knock knock.
Together with Carcel, Asha knocked on the door of a shabby multi-family house in Tusalek.
Asha shook her head with a look of disbelief.
"I can't believe a pregnant woman lived alone in a place like this."
"I understand that she originally resided in the mansion acquired by Count Delmore and was returned to the Count's family after his death."
"My ex-husband probably didn't realize he would die so early, either."
If he had known, he would have gifted a mansion to the woman he loved so much in advance.
"There is no answer. It seems like they are at home, though."
She can sense someone is inside. Judging by the fact that they aren't coming out easily, they seem to be on guard.
Eventually, Asha asked cautiously first.
"Isn't this Doris Viache's house?"
As the woman's voice was heard, the person across from her answered as if slightly relieved.
“That’s right. Who are you?”
"Hmm... How should I put this?"
Asha awkwardly introduced herself.
"I was the Countess of Delmore."
"Gasp."
As the sound of inhaling was heard, Asha spoke affectionately.
"I'm sorry to show up so suddenly. But I have something urgent to ask of you. May I come in for a moment?"
"I got it."
Just by listening to her voice, Asha could tell she had a gentle nature.
Sigh.
What she saw beyond the door that opened with a spine-chilling sound was a terrified woman.
And as if by coincidence, as soon as the door opened, there was Carcel, whose sturdy physique filled the space in front of the door and then some.
“Ouch!”
As Doris screamed in terror, Asha approached her as kindly as possible.
"I'm sorry. This is my current husband, Marquis Rivandel."
"Ri, Marquis Rivandel? Isn't he the leader of the underworld?"
"I wouldn't do such illegal things. Carcel, come in."
Asha entered with Carcel.
Even though it was an old and small room, the interior was decorated entirely with memories of a past lover.
"The house is really warm."
"I apologize. This place is too dirty and shabby to host such distinguished guests."
Doris looked very pale.
Moreover, there was no proper place to sit in the house, so Asha and Doris settled down side by side on the old bed.
Carcel also came in, closed the door, and stood in front of it as if guarding it.
Doris glanced around nervously, then suddenly bowed her head to Asha and apologized.
"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Yes?"
"It is true that I... loved him, no, the Count, presumptuously. I have committed a truly irreversible wrong against you, Madam."
Asha shook her head at Doris, who was raising her hands and begging profusely.
"No, that isn't it. That isn't why I came. Besides, the Count and I have no feelings for each other to begin with, so I didn't even care."
“S-sorry”
With a pale face and dry, cracked lips, she looks more like a sick person than a pregnant woman.
With that thought in mind, Asha brought up the main point.
"Ms. Viache, no, Doris, I'll get you out of here."
"Yes?"
"Even so, a pregnant woman shouldn't be in such a dangerous place."
"Ha. But to think you remarried..."
Doris, glancing sideways at Carcel, could not hide her bewildered look.
"Actually, I brought Linea home from my mother-in-law, and it seems like she holds a grudge because of that."
"Isn't Linea the Count's daughter?... Come to think of it, how did you know I was pregnant?"
"I can tell just by looking. Anyway, since Doris's child is also the Count's child, Doris has a right to it."
Doris stammered, as if completely confused by this sudden situation.
“It is right?”
"If the child is born safely, there is the right to demand child support and a safe environment from the father's family. Naturally, since the Count has passed away, the child could also inherit their share."
"I don't know anything about that."
Doris shook her head wildly with a look of fear in her eyes.
Judging by how she held her belly so tightly, it seemed she was scared because the child was her top priority.
Asha comforted and reassured her.
"Doris, I'll move you to your new house today."
"But why are you willing to do such a thing for someone like me, Madam?"
A faint suspicion rose in her eyes.
Asha opened her mouth and answered Doris.
"I want to make a deal with Doris."
“Uh, deal?”
"My mother-in-law wants Linea back, so she will definitely plead her innocence in front of people."
At those words, Doris's eyes became a little clearer.
Asha calmly continued speaking.
"It’s not simply because she wants Linea; she has a child abuse trial coming up. There is likely also a calculation involved to ensure that public opinion or the fact that she lost custody of the child does not work against her."
"Indeed."
"So, I would like Doris to appear before my mother-in-law and testify to the people."
Doris, who had been lost in thought for a moment, asked back.
"Testify? You mean go to court?"
"No. A ball is scheduled for tonight, and my mother-in-law will attend and cause a ruckus to get attention."
"Then, should I just say that I was pregnant when she caused that commotion?"
Asha looked into Doris's eyes, which were like those of a calf still harboring fear, and spoke.
"Doris probably knows. You know that the abuse my former mother-in-law inflicted on the Count has been passed down to Linea as well."
Doris's expression darkened upon hearing those words.
Asha held her hand tightly.
"Actually, I am also a mother."
"A child... between you and the Count already...?"
"No. It's Linea. I decided to become a mother because I couldn't stand watching my child being abused."
Asha said with a playful smile.
At the mention of the child's mother, Doris seemed to feel a sense of kinship with Asha.
"I don't want Linea to return to that house, nor do I want her to become a tool used to her advantage in my mother-in-law's trial."
Doris nodded.
"Doris knows that the Count was also subjected to abuse, right?"
In response to Asha's question, Doris finally let out a small sigh and said
"Because of that, the Count always kept all the doors in the house open, and he felt safe only when he kept the lights on, even when sleeping."
Asha sneered as she recalled the day she herself had been locked in the warehouse.
"That's right. And my mother-in-law tore up the books, dolls, and dresses I bought for my child with my own money right in front of the child."
Doris took a deep breath.
"So... Will you help me just this once? In return, I will make sure Doris and the child regain the rights you rightfully deserve."
And so, Doris nodded heavily and ended up exposing all of her mother-in-law's misdeeds in front of everyone.
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