As Susan was about to leave, he hastily called her back.

“Ah, to the jacaranda office.”

Watching him give the order, Ines sat back down on the floor, intending to organize what she had spread out.

After giving the command, he looked at the woman who had already sat down again. Why wouldn’t this woman hesitate to sit down for him at the most crucial times?

He extended his arm to help her stand, and just as before in the square, she immediately overlaid her hand onto his. As he gently pulled, she followed softly.

As she was fully rising, Ines realized her papers were beneath her feet. She moved her foot to avoid stepping on them and her body tilted to one side.

“Whoa!”

In that moment, Carson grabbed her waist with the arm not holding her hand. Ines’s feet lifted slightly off the ground.

Holding her, he effortlessly moved her to a clear spot. Even after her feet touched the ground, neither seemed to think of separating from each other.

Ines looked down at her papers, her hands on his chest.

And Carson looked down at Ines, his hands still on her waist.

She hadn’t been able to reject a man whose feelings she didn’t understand. Even on the day when she’d seen her ex-lover Joseph’s dirty tricks, she’d surrendered herself to him.

He wanted and didn’t want to know what this woman was thinking.

Then, an uncomfortable curiosity came to him.

“Surely you’re not the type to grab anyone’s hand if they reach out?”

At his words, Ines chuckled. For the first time, Carson realized she could laugh like this.

“You said two months?”

“Yes.”

Answering that way, Carson thought that this period felt exceedingly long for him, too.

“Don’t cause any trouble during that time.”

“I’ll…try.”

He pulled her into his arms once more. During that time, there was no reaction from Ines. She was still compliant, neither affirmative nor negative.
But Carson didn’t care. He believed that the naive young noble only knew how to secretly keep portraits and create love tokens for his lover, ignorant of how to act in a man’s embrace.

“Once that time passes, our lives will be very… different.”

Ines nodded. As he said, her life would be completely changed once that time passed. Carson let Ines out of his arms and took a few steps back.

A different, solemn light appeared on his face.

“I’ll convey the message about Pistera to Noah and leave immediately.”

Aligning with his return to polite speech, Ines also adjusted her posture.

“Yes, take care on your journey.”

In the end, Carson left Ines in the room and set out.

Although everyone who owned Swellenden Castle wanted to accompany him to the garden, he conveyed his tasks to Noah and left on horseback. Somehow, he didn’t want such a grand farewell.

The trial of Earl Graham proceeded unusually quickly.

The trial period in Ines’s past experiences had been very long. She had fought a faltering legal battle for six months after being identified as Joseph’s murderer.

The Keinz Empire allowed for two appeals, and her father naturally continued to want trial verdicts. Two of the trials were done in writing, but the last required everyone to appear in court.

Despite her father’s efforts, the tightly woven web prevented any change from the first verdict.

Ines often wondered what would have happened if she had not gone to that court. The memories from that place, which consistently drove her into terrible nightmares, remained as indelible stains.

“Miss, are you alright? You look pale.”

All the way to Graham’s courtroom, Ines was so tense that her palms were sweaty.

Susan was worried, but no words of assurance came out. But she still wanted to see it. The end of the person who had ruined her life and was still corroding it.

No matter how heinous the crime, three chances were given if desired. However, trials involving royalty ended with a single decision. The rain that had been drizzling since morning slowed down the carriage.